If I ran 2FM...

DublinWriter

...I'd nick Pat Courtenay from Nova to replace the fusted blush on every weekday between 9am and 11am.

Fran1985

really? here's hoping you get the job so

T.C.O.B

Sack the lot of them (bar Dave Fanning and a couple of others), go with some fresh blood, sure the ratings may take a hit for a bit but maybe they'd find a few decent braodcasters.

telekon

They need the balls of the lads over at BBC Radio 1. They got rid of Jo Whiley, Edith Bowman, Chris Moyles and have demoted Scott Mills from drive, all replaced by young presenters in their 20s to reflect the target audience. Bold moves, something RTE know nothing about...

(Should be noted that I personally these changes were a bad thing. The gutter-accented irritation that is Fearne Cotton for the lovely Jo Whiley?!? :eek: F*ck that!! :mad:)

_feedback_

Listened to Dave Fanning while driving for a couple of hours last weekend. He was a pleasure to listen to. Witty, silly, intelligent, funny, knowledgable and listenable. Plays half decent music too.

Used to like when he was on drivetime there about 10 years ago. He's a bit wasted where he is, but who knows, maybe that's what he likes at this stage.

Dub Ste

DublinWriter wrote: »

...I'd nick Pat Courtenay from Nova to replace the fusted blush on every weekday between 9am and 11am.

:eek::eek::eek:

Please say you're joking,Courtenay is one of the worst "DJ's" I've ever heard,his kraazzzyyyy stlye is so annoying,I wouldn't inflict him on the nation,that's just cruel !!!

Infoanon

telekon wrote: »

They need the balls of the lads over at BBC Radio 1. They got rid of Jo Whiley, Edith Bowman, Chris Moyles and have demoted Scott Mills from drive, all replaced by young presenters in their 20s to reflect the target audience. Bold moves, something RTE know nothing about...

I would go back further - they need a Matthew Bannister type to do what BBC did to the 'smashie and nicie' Radio 1 of the early '90s

Until 2FM works out what it is trying to be the ratings will continue to fall

I would also have opt out programming for the biggest market ie Dublin but lets walk before we run !

wnolan1992

Hector, Tubridy, Gogan, Cormac Battle, Fiona Looney, Damien Farrelly and possibly Colm Hayes(depending on who we could get to replace him) would all see the door within ten minutes of me arriving at the building.

DT100

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Hector, Tubridy, Gogan, Cormac Battle, Fiona Looney, Damien Farrelly and possibly Colm Hayes(depending on who we could get to replace him) would all see the door within ten minutes of me arriving at the building.

I would add Will Leahy to that list...

wnolan1992

DT100 wrote: »

I would add Will Leahy to that list...

Personally, I'm a fan of Leahy. His is probably the only listenable Drive-Time slot on the nationals.

JonathanAnon

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Hector, Tubridy, Gogan, Cormac Battle, Fiona Looney, Damien Farrelly and possibly Colm Hayes(depending on who we could get to replace him) would all see the door within ten minutes of me arriving at the building.

I agree with you on most of the above except Tubridy... I'd keep him on so he could serve tea to whoever replaced him in his 9am-11am slot, a sort of full-circle grounding experience.

gavindowd

Right Then: (using the existing crew there)
06:00 Ruth and Paddy
10:00 Micheal Cahill
12:00 Hector (to contend with Ray Foley)
15:00 Louise Mc Sherry
19:00 Jenny Greene
22:00 Colm Hayes Phone-in (bit random!)

NO REPEATS OVERNIGHT!

smurfs5

telekon wrote: »

They need the balls of the lads over at BBC Radio 1. They got rid of Jo Whiley, Edith Bowman, Chris Moyles and have demoted Scott Mills from drive, all replaced by young presenters in their 20s to reflect the target audience. Bold moves, something RTE know nothing about...

(Should be noted that I personally these changes were a bad thing. The gutter-accented irritation that is Fearne Cotton for the lovely Jo Whiley?!? :eek: F*ck that!! :mad:)

Completely agree with this. Ben Cooper has made some seriously bold moves. However, I'm sure Greg James has haemorrhaged listeners on Drive- he is seriously awful in the 4-7 slot. Also, Chris Moyles is irreplaceable at Breakfast unless Mills got it so Grimshaw has a tough job ahead. Cooper has certainly done what has been asked of him, though, and brought in Grimshaw and James on the flagship shows. Mills and Moyles are still the best presenters on BBC R1 by far, though. It is so sad that the "Wake up with Moyles, Get Home with Mills" era is over. :mad:

Most of the 2fm crowd should have seen the door by now. Who is running that station and how do they still have their job? They don't seem to have a clearly defined target audience. They desperately need to solve that immediately.

wnolan1992

gavindowd wrote: »

Right Then: (using the existing crew there)
06:00 Ruth and Paddy
10:00 Micheal Cahill
12:00 Hector (to contend with Ray Foley)
15:00 Louise Mc Sherry
19:00 Jenny Greene
22:00 Colm Hayes Phone-in (bit random!)

NO REPEATS OVERNIGHT!

Not a hope in hell would Hector be able to compete with Foley imo.

Here's mine:

06:00 Ruth and Paddy
10:00 Dave Fanning
12:00 Nikki Hayes
15:00 Will Leahy
19:00 Jenny Greene
21:00 Tom Dunne (He's out of place at Newstalk, he could easily revive his Pet Sounds slot here)

Dave Fanning would go against my own preferences, but I can't think of any established DJ out there that would be able to:
a) Break away from the talk-show format that is the scourge of Irish radio at time.
b) Fit in to that talk-show format better than Fanning.

gavindowd

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Not a hope in hell would Hector be able to compete with Foley imo.

Here's mine:

06:00 Ruth and Paddy
10:00 Dave Fanning
12:00 Nikki Hayes
15:00 Will Leahy
19:00 Jenny Greene
21:00 Tom Dunne (He's out of place at Newstalk, he could easily revive his Pet Sounds slot here)

Dave Fanning would go against my own preferences, but I can't think of any established DJ out there that would be able to:
a) Break away from the talk-show format that is the scourge of Irish radio at time.
b) Fit in to that talk-show format better than Fanning.

Acctualy, they could bring back the whole Dusty, Rick & Ruth (Nightly from 9) but maybe without Dusty!

MJ23

It's way overdue to let Larry go home. He constantly gets names wrong, he should go home.
That eejit Will Leahy would be the first to get the boot. He never stops about how many days it is to the weekend "it's Wednesday, the week is half over, only 2 more days to the weekend". Just shut up please

cena

MJ23 wrote: »

It's way overdue to let Larry go home. He constantly gets names wrong, he should go home.
That eejit Will Leahy would be the first to get the boot. He never stops about how many days it is to the weekend "it's Wednesday, the week is half over, only 2 more days to the weekend". Just shut up please

I would keep him. Maybe get rid of cormac battle

StaticNoise

Sadly, the issue with 2FM lies far further than it appears. From the bottom to the top, from personnel and production, it falls shorter than is even expected.
Firstly, and let's remember this: 2FM is entirely commercial.

Age demographic
Over the years, those involved in the station have argued over what age group they are pitching for, and that has led to the age positioning being 'changed'. Maybe it is because they want to target as many demographics for advertisers, or it is possibly because they don't know themselves, but 2FM is a mish-mash of target audiences. They want to be a 4FM in some respects, but also Spin in others. Now, there's a major difference here, and it's obvious. It's also more obvious that the station hasn't a clue as it is trying to be pitching to both. And failing at it. They now, at this time, are saying they are 25-44. They were 15-40. Now that's a chunk.


Presenters
As said earlier, 2FM want to grab different demographics. This, and in addition to the widespread nepotism that lies in RTE, they have a mix of varied people behind the mic. Let's look at the schedule.

06:00 Damian Farrelly - A one hour stint. Varied audience.

07:00 Breakfast With Hector - The prodigy snatched from iRadio to revive their programming. And, with all this, his sidekick (Tommy) isn't here, and they also shove him on in the early hours. Wacky, but forced, really. And, for a 30-something audience.

09:00 Tubridy - Nice guy, but not everyone's favourite. Far more suited to in-depth, well debated arts and similar talk, but given his trademark book reviews and some 'light' material. Two hours at the helm, pitching most certainly towards an older audience. It's a pity that he is placed here. He'd do very well on BBC radio, as wanted.

11:00 Colm Hayes - Former Strawberry Alarm Clock and previous pirate. Somewhat a shock jock, but far more tamed since his sidekick wasn't invited to stay on 2FM (and he headed back to FM104). Now he's filling the boots of Gerry Ryan. And let's be honest: love him or hate him- nobody can do that. Even with that in mind, Gerry appealed to a broad age, but very much those in their late twenties and older.

12:00 Larry Gogan - A legend in his own right. Someone who does know his craft, but sadly, many don't want older classics. It's the stuff, as said, you'd hear on 4FM.

14:00 Rick O'Shea - Raspy Tweeting radioman. He's know for his deep voice, crispy words and social media love. Some sample tracks are from The Clash, Jessie J, No Doubt, Pet Shop Boys and others. A bit too varied for a younger market.

16:30 Will Leahy - Formerly Saturday Show, waybackwhen. Now he's doing Drivetime and mimicking every single other drivetime radio programme. And, it sounds very similar to the other 2FM shows.

19:00 Dave Fanning A guy who knows his stuff. Okay, so he may love U2 a little bit too much, but knows his tunes. Now he's doing the later programme, only with more talking. Today FM at this time walks all over his new format, sadly.


We can go on for hours, but it's clear to see that they are not consistent in reaching their age group.


Production values
2FM, from a sound imaging and output point of view, sound tired, cheap and old. The same voiceover artist recording the title of the show, and in the next breath telling us where the Roadcaster is that week. Time for an ad break? A quiet, forgettable 'whisper' ID. Same with the news. Slight pulsating sonic image, then some pips and it's "RTE News on 2FM". Remember when they were 'Newsbeat', like BBC Radio 1?


Overall
2FM has not being doing well. It's sad to see a national broadcaster's station going to the dogs. It needs fresh blood, a proper clean-out and revamped image. Even if it is going for the age group it is aiming at now, it needs to shake things up. Consistency is key, and they don't have that. Maybe it is just because of the problems that run across RTE- but at the rate things are going in radio centre in Montrose, they're doing themselves real damage. And it's damage that is nearly becoming irreversible.

efb

Sell it off.