Marc Coleman to depart NewsTalk 106-108fm

AwaitYourReply

Marc Coleman who has been confined to just Sunday nights 9:00-11:00pm on NewsTalk 106-108fm announced on Sunday evening 21/12/2014 that he is to leave the show and NewsTalk after working 5 Years at the station. He paid tribute to his Producer John O'Donovan and production team. He would be often labelled as a right-wing economist but he usually managed to present plenty of sharp debate and interesting argument from various sides. I believe he is taking up a role with the Irish employers body, IBEC around February but he will continue to host the show through the month of January and seemed confident the show would continue on NewsTalk after his departure under producer John O'Donovan. He had gone out 2-3 times a week but when Pat Kenny arrived on mornings, Tom Dunne subsequently moved to weeknights which meant Marc ended up on Sunday night only. Who will succeed Marc Coleman in February?

Loafing Oaf

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

Marc Coleman who has been confined to just Sunday nights 9:00-11:00pm on NewsTalk 106-108fm announced on Sunday evening 21/12/2014 that he is to leave the show and NewsTalk after working 5 Years at the station. He paid tribute to his Producer John O'Donovan and production team. He would be often labelled as a right-wing economist but he usually managed to present plenty of sharp debate and interesting argument from various sides. I believe he is taking up a role with the Irish employers body, IBEC around February but he will continue to host the show through the month of January and seemed confident the show would continue on NewsTalk after his departure under producer John O'Donovan. He had gone out 2-3 times a week but when Pat Kenny arrived on mornings, Tom Dunne subsequently moved to weeknights which meant Marc ended up on Sunday night only. Who will succeed Marc Coleman in February?

I like that he referenced his cough when making the announcement, good to know he's at least aware of the issue...

Re the replacement, this is Newstalk's problem, they're not nurturing new talent...maybe they could tap someone else from the INM stable, Dan O'Brien would be good...

L1011

And the level of crazy on Irish radio slowly starts to subside to normal levels again...

CountyHurler

I'm not surprised really.. It was sort of on the cards when the show was pushed aside to make way for Tom Dunne's move after Pat Kenny joined... And who listens to the radio on the Sunday evening...

Hopefully that Dil one will follow him out the door shortly... Find the most liberal country in the world, and then host a weekly show calling the inhabitants racist...

Mycroft H

Ahhh I liked Marc, always nice to have a few dissenting views, good for debate.

wnolan1992

Mycroft H wrote: »

Ahhh I liked Marc, always nice to have a few dissenting views, good for debate.

Agreed. He annoyed the arse off me at times, but his show was something different which I liked.

It's been on the cards though. Can't imagine he enjoyed being reduced to just Sunday evening.

AwaitYourReply

Correct me if I am wrong (I know it will be done) but I seem to recall that Marc used also double-job as I think he was NewsTalk economics editor at one point as well but I've not heard him as a regular contributor to their News & Current Affairs programming like The Right Hook etc; for quite a while. Maybe this role finished when he took over his own show? The permanent cough he suffered could be extremely annoying from a listener point of view at times.

CountyHurler

I enjoyed Marc as well... but having that clown Bill Tormey on with him all the time made the show pretty unbearable...

AwaitYourReply

CountyHurler wrote: »

I enjoyed Marc as well... but having that clown Bill Tormey on with him all the time made the show pretty unbearable...

Yeah, I was not a fan of that particular contributor either (I'm sure he is a genuine guy) but I never found him riveting when he joined the conversation! We have Marc's coughing and spluttering for the month of January anyway he assures us

gene_slackman

Mycroft H wrote: »

Ahhh I liked Marc, always nice to have a few dissenting views, good for debate.

yes , it was nice to have one openly conservative voice on irish radio

AwaitYourReply

gene_slackman wrote: »

yes , it was nice to have one openly conservative voice on irish radio

Marc made the point to his guests and listeners on air that while he would be seen as far right wing - unlike his producer, John O'Donovan who would come from the complete opposite side as in far left wing yet they both had an excellent working relationship because they were equally passionate in their convictions. Marc was saying he respected those who had real conviction in their views.

TwoShedsJackson

gene_slackman wrote: »

yes , it was nice to have one openly conservative voice on irish radio

Absolutely, we will be bereft without a genius like Coleman, author of The Best is Yet to Come - published in late 2007.

Forget the Celtic Tiger. Ireland's stunning economic growth is part of a much bigger trend that could see its population double by the middle of the century. The Best is Yet to Come tells the story of Ireland's incredible journey back to the future.For the first time since 1861 the Republic's population last year hit 4.2 million. Part I of the book tells the story of that recent history, and compares Ireland to Israel - another country with a large diaspora that to being encouraged to return home.Even without the diaspora tens of millions of migrants around the world are beginning to seek a better life. Part II of the book explains why Ireland has become a migrant magnet, and why powerful global forces will keep them knocking on our door.

In answering these questions, Part IV concludes by assessing the kind of country we become if we take up the challenge of our future. Ireland's miracle is far from over. As anxiety mounts about the end of Ireland's boom, The Best is Yet to Come argues that Ireland is not experiencing the beginning of the end, but rather the end of the beginning. Ireland is undergoing a demographic recovery with decades yet to run.

drugstore cowboy

CountyHurler wrote: »

Hopefully that Dil one will follow him out the door shortly... Find the most liberal country in the world, and then host a weekly show calling the inhabitants racist...

She's in her element with all the media attention at the moment because she's a foreign lesbian having a baby.

EVERY time I hear her show she has to bring the fact she is gay into whatever topic is on.

AwaitYourReply

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

Absolutely, we will be bereft without a genius like Coleman, author of The Best is Yet to Come - published in late 2007.

As mentioned on "The Marc Coleman Show" last night - just TWO more editions will be presented by Marc on NewsTalk 106-108fm as follows:

Sunday 18th January 9:00pm - 11:00pm
Sunday 25th January 9:00pm - 11:00pm

This show will leave a void once it is at the end of it's current run in two weeks time. I wonder will NewsTalk 106-108fm keep a similar late night live news & current affairs type show on the air once Marc has moved on to greener pastures?

Loafing Oaf

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

I wonder will NewsTalk 106-108fm keep a similar late night live news & current affairs type show on the air once Marc has moved on to greener pastures?

Doesn't seem like they will. According to the schedule World in Motion and Talking Books are being moved into Coleman's old slot.

AwaitYourReply

A few years ago they was another live night time chat show on weeknights on NewsTalk called "Late Night Live" with Declan Carthy and i think it was also produced by John O'Donovan. Sadly cut backs at NewsTalk meant this was one of the 1st shows to face the chop which was a pity as it was an excellent show at the time. Now all we have in Cork for late night live chat is: "Niall Boylan at Night" on Classic Hits 4FM weeknights Mon-Thurs from 9pm or "The Late Debate" with Cormac O'Hara on RTÉ Radio One on Tues/Wed/Thurs from 10pm.

suicide_circus

drugstore cowboy wrote: »

She's in her element with all the media attention at the moment because she's a foreign lesbian having a baby.

EVERY time I hear her show she has to bring the fact she is gay into whatever topic is on.

She's just about the most appalling person on radio today. Complete lack of warmth, sincerity or witt.
Her own personal soapbox from which she pontificates about the cruel and backward irish.

AwaitYourReply

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Doesn't seem like they will. According to the schedule World in Motion and Talking Books are being moved into Coleman's old slot.

Ah it's a shame no more live Sunday night chat on NewsTalk 106-108 radio which is a pity.

I'm not very enthusiastic about the Psychic Live show hosted by Deborah Or from 10:00pm on Sunday nights on Classic Hits 4FM. I feel it has run it's course. Deborah in her role as Psychic originally formed part of Niall Boylan's Show when his show used also go out on Sunday nights in the past.

Maybe there are late night live chat shows further afield on weekends - I must check out what's out there beyond these shores. Internet radio is a godsend!

JimboJones74

Always liked Declan Carty on newstalk. Is he working on another station anywhere?

petronius

I much miss the Marc Coleman show, he was an alternative view now missing from Irish Radio, initially moving his weekly show in to sunday in favour of the lightweight non-serious Tom Dunne and his pals during the weeks

conorh91

gene_slackman wrote: »

yes , it was nice to have one openly conservative voice on irish radio

Plenty of Irish radio hosts don't hide their politics, which would broadly be in line with Coleman's.

Pat Kenny, for example, has become noticeably more vociferous on prudence in public finance and advocates some very sensible pro-enterprise arguments in the face of ridiculous public sector waste and union demands.

You could say the same of Ivan Yeats and John 'Sabatticals' Murray (formerly of the PDs) too. The difference is they don't troll the public quite as explicitly as Coleman did.

Granted, I'm only talking about economic politics. They'd all be a good deal different to Coleman on social issues like gay rights and abortion.

Ol' Donie

petronius wrote: »

I much miss the Marc Coleman show, he was an alternative view now missing from Irish Radio, initially moving his weekly show in to sunday in favour of the lightweight non-serious Tom Dunne and his pals during the weeks

Yeah, went to stick it on last night and Talking Books was on. I really liked having a live discussion on Sunday night.

petronius

Not knocking Talking Books which I like and Talking History is great.
But i think replacing a topical current affairs show with a lifestyle show is not the role Newstalk should be playing

Ol' Donie

Really wish the show was still on. Miss it more than I expected to.

CountyHurler

Ol' Donie wrote: »

Really wish the show was still on. Miss it more than I expected to.

I didnt get much chance to hear him on the Sundays, Donie, but I do miss him from the weeknight shows... Dont miss that blueshirt sidekick of his though..

FGR

What bugs me is that they didn't move Tom Dunne back to TodayFM - His current show is basically a music show with very niche topics for a very niche audience.

Why can't we have a decent current affairs show ?

wnolan1992

FGR wrote: »

What bugs me is that they didn't move Tom Dunne back to TodayFM - His current show is basically a music show with very niche topics for a very niche audience.

Why can't we have a decent current affairs show ?

Or even a decent arts show a la The Green Room. Lots of interviews, covering music, film, TV, theatre, exhibitions, video games, everything. I love Tom's show, but it's out of place on NT.

Mycroft H

Ah whatever about finding a new home for Tom; his music show is great. Really diverse stuff, I've discovered heaps of bands from just listening to that show.

ThisRegard

And I love the comedy hall of fame on Wednesdays.

touts

Mycroft H wrote: »

Ah whatever about finding a new home for Tom; his music show is great. Really diverse stuff, I've discovered heaps of bands from just listening to that show.

But is that really what is expected from a News and Current Affairs station? There must be 50 other stations on the dial where you can discover heaps of bands that all basically sound the same as the ones Tom plays.

I think Newstalk has dumbed down significantly in recent months. Ivan and Chris have the same shallow chat every 30 minutes. Half of Pat Kenny's show seems to be authors, actors and singers plugging their latest work. Moncrieff is as off the wall weird as ever. Hook is winding down to retirement and padding his show with segments like "You really should go see your Doctor" and "This week in 1952 the number 15 record was". I find myself tuning into the RTE alternatives (Morning Ireland, Sean O'Rourke, Drivetime etc) more than the Newstalk ones. Coleman might not have known his arse from his elbow when it came to economics but at least he got a good discussion going. His departure turned out to be a symptom of a deeper malaise at Newstalk.

drogdub

touts wrote: »

But is that really what is expected from a News and Current Affairs station? There must be 50 other stations on the dial where you can discover heaps of bands that all basically sound the same as the ones Tom plays.

I think Newstalk has dumbed down significantly in recent months. Ivan and Chris have the same shallow chat every 30 minutes. Half of Pat Kenny's show seems to be authors, actors and singers plugging their latest work. Moncrieff is as off the wall weird as ever. Hook is winding down to retirement and padding his show with segments like "You really should go see your Doctor" and "This week in 1952 the number 15 record was". I find myself tuning into the RTE alternatives (Morning Ireland, Sean O'Rourke, Drivetime etc) more than the Newstalk ones. Coleman might not have known his arse from his elbow when it came to economics but at least he got a good discussion going. His departure turned out to be a symptom of a deeper malaise at Newstalk.

Agree with above, except their sports coverage, which is excellent as ever.