2FM Time signal / News on the hour

johndoc

johndoc wrote: »

If you're short of time checks, have a listen to moaning ireland.... they use the time to finish each sentence, handover to the news, handover to ad breaks, pick up from ad breaks, interview close, etc etc etc. I think its replaced the full stop in that studio.

They sometimes get them wrong too. When I listened to it I noticed they often gave out the time an hour ahead of what it actually was.

kilomike31

I see on the iplayer schedule it says "All times:GMT" although they are clearly Summer time. RTE mustn't know the difference. It might explain a lot

Boards.ie didn't make that mistake. Look at the bottom of the page and you'll see "All times IST".

Bard

kilomike31 wrote: »

This morning on RTE 2FM after the pips that "aren't a time signal" the news reader announced it was "9 o'clock"; it was actually 9:02:15.

Have these people sooo little initiative or intelligence that they can't deviate from the script to give the actual time ?

Most other radio stations will give the actual time even if they're late with something. Nobody cares if the news is two minutes late but it would be nice if you could trust the time they give you.

Many radio newsreaders won't waste time by putting a timecheck into the bulletin script these days and will just launch into the stories.

Personally, when I WAS reading news with a script that included a timecheck at the beginning, I'd make sure I was as correct as possible (without sounding like a pedantic git!) - so I'd say "it's just coming up to 9 O'Clock" or "it's just after/a couple of minutes after 9 O'Clock" for example.

Most (local) stations go 2-3 minutes early to news these days though in an attempt to get the jump on each other and be back to the music the earliest. From what I've heard (locals in Dublin), they tend to say "it's 9 O'Clock" rather than "it's just coming up to..." or "it's almost...".

For the same reason, the youth services like iRadio (10 to the hour) and Spin (quarter to the hour) take their news early too... so that when the other stations are starting their news, they're playing music. iRadio don't mention the time in their bulletins though, they just launch straight into the first story... pretty sure Spin don't either, it's just "hi this is [name] with the story..." and then into the first story.

I could ask is there a creeping unprofessional attitude taking hold in 2FM ? RTE used have a brilliant record, even internationally, for their approach to broadcasting.

RTE are still recognised internationally for their professional approach to broadcasting. Radio 1 was, for example, just named the world's best radio station for the 2nd year running at the New York Festival. 2FM is a different story though and could certainly do with a shake-up.

Trick of the Tail

Radio 1 a 'better' station than BBC Radio 2? 'Better' than BBC Radio 4?

I don't think so.

Standards are slipping - and although it's easy to call people who complain about incorrect time checks pedantic, all those little details do add up to denigrate the overall sound of the station.

Poor mic/studio quality; bad timekeeping; presenters who do three-quarters of an hour a day; poor editorial control... all details, but all contributing to making Radio 1 not as good as it should be.

A.

Bard

alinton wrote: »

Radio 1 a 'better' station than BBC Radio 2? 'Better' than BBC Radio 4?

I don't think so.

Ah ok, so you obviously know better than the industry experts who form the panel of judges (listed at the bottom of this page)? You'd better let them know they were wrong so...

On a serious note, though... I DO agree with you in a way - RTÉ Radio 1 wouldn't be my pick for 'best station in the world', but that said, I certainly wouldn't begrudge them the award or say that they don't deserve it. The stations you quote (BBC R2, a music station aimed at an older market and BBC R4, a talk station focused primarily on news, documentaries, comedy and the arts) aren't necessarily directly comparable with RTÉ Radio 1 content wise, but yes, they're two good examples of stations which do their jobs and fill their remit brilliantly.

Standards are slipping - and although it's easy to call people who complain about incorrect time checks pedantic, all those little details do add up to denigrate the overall sound of the station.

Well I don't know if you're referring to me there, but I wasn't calling people who do it 'pedantic'. I, for one, don't see the point in the pips being there unless they're there to give you the exact time. I used the word pedantic in reference to myself in that I wouldn't (pedantically!) say "it's 2 and a half minutes past 9" or "it's just over a minute to 9" when starting a bulletin and would instead opt for "just after 9" or "just before 9".

News bulletins really don't have to be bang-on top of the hour... but if they're not going to be, I agree that they really shouldn't use the pips.

Poor mic/studio quality; bad timekeeping; presenters who do three-quarters of an hour a day; poor editorial control... all details, but all contributing to making Radio 1 not as good as it should be.

A.

I agree on the audio quality and certainly if people show up late, that's a very bad thing... (although, on a tangent, I'm sure you'll understand that 45 minutes of on-air time a day doesn't equate to someone only doing 45 minutes of work per day...) - overall - YES, RTÉ Radio 1 certainly could and should be a lot better than it is at present... but then again, that could be said of most stations - there's always room for improvement.

gavindowd

Fm104 never manage to get the news right on the hour and you can regularly hear Ben Murray say "Fm104, ppi station of the year it's nearly (X) o clock"on the news intro. This is when it's 5 to the next hour

Going Forward

kilomike31 wrote: »

This morning at 9:01:40 they had what sounds like a 'time signal' and then the news reader comes on and says "It's 9 o'clock...". I can imagine people around the country setting their watches based on this !

They all have mobile phones now, no watches;)

I HATE the way the time is bandied around on radio:mad:
Unprofessional, lazy and sloppy.

I would expect it from dimwit DJs on dumbed-down stations,(2fm does fit the bill there!) but NOT from a national broadcaster.

I have always wondered do they not realise that they are now broadcasting globally and whether they like it or not they are Irish ambassadors, and as such should clean up the very basic points of their act.

Some great Irish radio has been archived over the years; little is worth preserving of today's drivel.

JamesReeves

I have noticed that a bit with some stations, take, for example 98fm in Dublin as someone already pointed out they tend to be 2 mins early for news but yet still say “It’s x o’clock”, unless the bulletin is in the evening when the news comes in from Network News and they have to hit it bang on the hour.
With SPIN South West / SPIN 1038 – (Same news broadcast from Dublin for both) tend to be exactly on the quarter to the hour and always say the time as – “it’s 10:45 hi I’m (name) and here’s the story)
My local station, Limerick’s Live 95 FM are usually bang on the hour for news, but sometimes they can be late/early but if this is the case they say “it’s just coming up to 11 o ‘clock” or “it’s a little after 12 o’clock” and they always finish the bulletin with the time.
Can’t say I’ve heard it on RTÉ radio as I don’t listen to it.

Bard

gavindowd wrote: »

Fm104 never manage to get the news right on the hour

And as far as they're concerned, that's fine! They don't manage to get it right on the hour, because they don't want to get it right on the hour! They (and other local stations), as I already explained in an earlier post, go 2-3 minutes early to news these days, in an attempt to get the jump on each other and be back to the music the earliest.

gavindowd wrote: »

you can regularly hear Ben Murray say "Fm104, ppi station of the year it's nearly (X) o clock"on the news intro. This is when it's 5 to the next hour

Well if he's saying "nearly", then he's not actually wrong, is he?

Onthe3rdDay

alinton wrote: »

Radio 1 a 'better' station than BBC Radio 2? 'Better' than BBC Radio 4?

I don't think so.

Standards are slipping - and although it's easy to call people who complain about incorrect time checks pedantic, all those little details do add up to denigrate the overall sound of the station.

Poor mic/studio quality; bad timekeeping; presenters who do three-quarters of an hour a day; poor editorial control... all details, but all contributing to making Radio 1 not as good as it should be.

A.

I'd take those awards with a pinch of salt. They're a publicity stunt. Look at the awards for each country. If you submit an entry fee you'll get something as long as you pass a certain standard. On top of that they're selling spares, just in case you need a extra one or two around the office!