The Last Word

liam7831

Lads, Matt does a great job a real pro, but jebus the amount of ads these days are really starting to piss me off.

And the crappy traffic reports, does anyone listen to this crap, its the same traffic jams on the same roads every day for the last 10 years

maxwell smart

liam7831 wrote: »

Lads, Matt does a great job a real pro, but jebus the amount of ads these days are really starting to piss me off.

And the crappy traffic reports, does anyone listen to this crap, its the same traffic jams on the same roads every day for the last 10 years

I'll tell you who doesn't listen to those traffic reports, anyone who could make a difference with the traffic

Ursus Horribilis

Following on from a discussion which has sprung up on another thread here, I though I'd start a new one on this show.

I like his show but I feel it's getting repetitive at times

Declan A Walsh

Adam Teeny Munchies wrote: »

I like his show but I feel it's getting repetitive at times

I feel the same way about the show. I have no particular issue with Matt Cooper but sometimes the items can be a bit tedious ...and sometimes the guests too! Last week, I tuned in when he was interviewing Ivan Yeats. Now, that was good and proves that The Last Word can still deliver.

The question is does The Last Word really fit with Today FM anymore? I have said it before on other threads - maybe it would make more sense on Newstalk.

liam7831

I find Cal Thomas quite annoying at this stage, and don't get me started on Paul conspiracy theory kimmage

Passenger

liam7831 wrote: »

I find Cal Thomas quite annoying at this stage

Why, may I ask? I quite like his Tuesday segment tbh.

liam7831

Passenger wrote: »

Why, may I ask? I quite like his Tuesday segment tbh.

Because it's the same old boring crap every week out of him about the right to
bear arms and dissing Obama etc etc. We get it, change the record

Passenger

liam7831 wrote: »

Because it's the same old boring crap every week out of him about the right to
bear arms and dissing Obama etc etc. We get it, change the record

It's somewhat refreshing to hear one of the more Conservative US commentators on Irish radio as it's usually the other side we're only ever exposed to.

hullaballoo

I noticed around 2009 that Cooper started to become quite vitriolic and populist in his viewpoints and that affected his shows for me. It hasn't gotten any better since then and his personal issues seem to dictate the slant his shows take. An obvious example is his take on US politics but there are more insidious issues that have an effect on the broader population.

Has anyone else noticed that when he covers the car insurance issue, it's always a representative of the insurance industry he interviews with no balancing interviewee? I know his show is sponsored by an insurance company and that may be a reason but I find it disappointing that a man who used to have very good credibility would let something like sponsorship, or personal prejudices, dictate the content of a real live issue for his audience.

hullaballoo

hullaballoo wrote: »

I noticed around 2009 that Cooper started to become quite vitriolic and populist in his viewpoints and that affected his shows for me. It hasn't gotten any better since then and his personal issues seem to dictate the slant his shows take. An obvious example is his take on US politics but there are more insidious issues that have an effect on the broader population.

Has anyone else noticed that when he covers the car insurance issue, it's always a representative of the insurance industry he interviews with no balancing interviewee? I know his show is sponsored by an insurance company and that may be a reason but I find it disappointing that a man who used to have very good credibility would let something like sponsorship, or personal prejudices, dictate the content of a real live issue for his audience.

Ive kind of noticed that lately, and he has some snide/smart remarks when people call him out via text on not being impartial, im no Trump supporter but he never bashed Hilary

Harry Palmr

I stopped listening to Matt Cooper years ago when I realised I was listening to the same programme 5 days a week.

Does he still have that weather spoofer on, Ken Ring?

The Parish Priest.

The show should bring back Fr Wishy Washy

Owryan

They need to get rid of that "chatty" news format. It like something you might hear on a youth channel to try make the news interesting.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Harry Palmr wrote: »

I stopped listening to Matt Cooper years ago when I realised I was listening to the same programme 5 days a week.

Does he still have that weather spoofer on, Ken Ring?

No, thankfully, not in two years or so.

Fr Tod Umptious

Adam Teeny Munchies wrote: »

Ive kind of noticed that lately, and he has some snide/smart remarks when people call him out via text on not being impartial, im no Trump supporter but he never bashed Hilary

On Friday Yeats was trying to explain articulately why Trump was popular in the US but Cooper kept cutting him off will silly sofmoric jibes, Yeats gave up.

eyeball kid

Owryan wrote: »

They need to get rid of that "chatty" news format. It like something you might hear on a youth channel to try make the news interesting.

Yeah, I hate that as well. As soon as I hear that the 5 @ 5 or the 6 @ 6 is coming up, I instantly switch to Newstalk to Radio 1. Not a fan of that format at all.

liam7831

eyeball kid wrote: »

Yeah, I hate that as well. As soon as I hear that the 5 @ 5 or the 6 @ 6 is coming up, I instantly switch to Newstalk to Radio 1. Not a fan of that format at all.

I agree it's pants

NIMAN

Used to be a fan of the show a while back, but like many others am tiring of it now. Fed up listening to a repeat of the competition, over and over. They are obsessed by competitions.

Agree with many other about other issues. Matt, despite what he might claim, comes across as very biased on certain subjects. Trump being the main one, he just can't contain his hate for him.

The traffic reports also get me. Same old, same old, read by some of the worst readers in the business, always appear to be rushing to squeeze the report in, and as a result spend top much time stumbling over their words. Arwyn Foley is the worst for this, when I hear that report coming on, I switch over.

The 5@5 and 6@6 always reminds me of John Cravens Newsround, which I used to watch as a child in NI. It was on the beeb and was news for kids.

Good points of TLW, and which keep me listening to the show for another while, are Cal Thomas and Marian McKeown. Enjoy them. And Ed Hayes is a welcome return guest recently.

But I do find RTE1 getting more of my ear when I'm driving in recent times. Matt isn't bad, but he's no Dunphy!

Mc Love

hullaballoo wrote: »

I noticed around 2009 that Cooper started to become quite vitriolic and populist in his viewpoints and that affected his shows for me. It hasn't gotten any better since then and his personal issues seem to dictate the slant his shows take. An obvious example is his take on US politics but there are more insidious issues that have an effect on the broader population.

Has anyone else noticed that when he covers the car insurance issue, it's always a representative of the insurance industry he interviews with no balancing interviewee? I know his show is sponsored by an insurance company and that may be a reason but I find it disappointing that a man who used to have very good credibility would let something like sponsorship, or personal prejudices, dictate the content of a real live issue for his audience.

He's almost gone Full Ray Darcy

Mc Love

Owryan wrote: »

They need to get rid of that "chatty" news format. It like something you might hear on a youth channel to try make the news interesting.

Its like the 3 word weather on Spin eugh!

satguy

I remember when Matt Cooper used to fill in for ED, when ED would go MIA or was on a bender. Back then Matt was sharp as a pin.
If he got his teeth into something, he was like a dog with a bone, and was great to listen to.

( can I just add that when ED was in the big seat, The Last Word was "Required Listening")

After ED left and Matt took over, things were fine for a while, but you could feel the slow slide to mediocrity after only 6 months of Matt's stewardship.

These days my commute to work is only 3 minutes, and if I was still doing my 2 hour jaunt, The Last Word, as it is now, would be soul destroying.

jezzer

satguy wrote: »

I remember when Matt Cooper used to fill in for ED, when ED would go MIA or was on a bender. Back then Matt was sharp as a pin.
If he got his teeth into something, he was like a dog with a bone, and was great to listen to.

( can I just add that when ED was in the big seat, The Last Word was "Required Listening")

After ED left and Matt took over, things were fine for a while, but you could feel the slow slide to mediocrity after only 6 months of Matt's stewardship.

These days my commute to work is only 3 minutes, and if I was still doing my 2 hour jaunt, The Last Word, as it is now, would be soul destroying.

I actually hate when matt is like a dog with a bone, he goes all high pitched and squeaky and is very annoying, making argument for the sake of argument doesnt make for good radio.
I wouldnt call the last word mediocre i think its a fine show but the little changes they are making arent good, the 5 at 5 and 6 at 6 are just daft (although I do like to hear more of susan keoghs voice, she is some fox) and paul kimmage is just crap.

JoeA3

The quality of his regular contributors ranges from good to very bad IMO.

An example of bad - the regular sports contributors. Surely to fcuk there's better options out there than the likes of Lawrenson and Tony "awlroight Matt!" Cascarino? The pair of them have been literally phoning it in for years, trotting out the same lazy cliches with little or no actual insight. Neil Francis and Paul Wallace - that dour pair manage to make rugby sound even more boring than it already is.

The TV review segment... they couldn't possibly find a more irritating pair of giggling twits if they tried.

I do enjoy the Cal Thomas segment, he's a car crash waiting to happen but he calls a spade a spade, not afraid of offending anyone.

I must say when he's doing the American segment, he's a bit biased as he seems to challenge Cal more than Marian, and I despise any golf segments on it as he gets really giddy over it

wherearemykeys

I enjoy Matts show. I get to listen from 4.30 - 6pm. I became a regular listener after Will Leahy was dropped from 2FM. I have to say I enjoy the segments where he had the likes of Brendan Courtney on chatting about the Fair Deal or Una Mullally talking about dealing with cancer. Liam Cunnigham was talking about Syria. Before Christmas he had Tommy Byrne an Irish Formula 1 Driver. Those segments give an interesting mix to the show rather than full time talking the same thing over and over.

jezzer

wherearemykeys wrote: »

I enjoy Matts show. I get to listen from 4.30 - 6pm. I became a regular listener after Will Leahy was dropped from 2FM. I have to say I enjoy the segments where he had the likes of Brendan Courtney on chatting about the Fair Deal or Una Mullally talking about dealing with cancer. Liam Cunnigham was talking about Syria. Before Christmas he had Tommy Byrne an Irish Formula 1 Driver. Those segments give an interesting mix to the show rather than full time talking the same thing over and over.

Yea I agree, I love those interesting guests, a while back he also had some guy in who wrote a book on the irish is south america, i certainly prefer that than listening to some half baked union rep or parish pump politician giving the same old stupid answers, although it was funny when matt tried to get danny healy rae to admit he had a shotgun!

heybaby

Still think Cooper is the best at this style of show, mind you Anton would be stiff competition as far as broadcasting capabilities are concerned. There has been some mention of his show bring repetitive but it's difficult to avoid this when the show is on 250 days a year.

It will be interesting to see where The Last Word will stand now Today Fm is aiming at a 15-30 listenership. I note Cooper is bringing the show around college campuses in the coming weeks which is very much confirmation of the move to aim younger.

Given Coopers age profile himself, Phil Cawley, Dempsey and Mcloone very much jar with Today Fms new younger direction. While their license wouldn't allow for the talk / news content to be dropped I could see the much younger Gavan Reilly ably take over a revamped drive time show.

jezzer

heybaby wrote: »

Still think Cooper is the best at this style of show, mind you Anton would be stiff competition as far as broadcasting capabilities are concerned. There has been some mention of his show bring repetitive but it's difficult to avoid this when the show is on 250 days a year.

It will be interesting to see where The Last Word will stand now Today Fm is aiming at a 15-30 listenership. I note Cooper is bringing the show around college campuses in the coming weeks which is very much confirmation of the move to aim younger.

Given Coopers age profile himself, Phil Cawley, Dempsey and Mcloone very much jar with Today Fms new younger direction. While their license wouldn't allow for the talk / news content to be dropped I could see the much younger Gavan Reilly ably take over a revamped drive time show.

Yea I have to say I am impressed by Gav Reilly, a very able deputy for Cooper at times...

When I heard cooper say yesterday that they were going to UCC i was thinking for feck sake, as if students give a toss about the last word, he said he will be there to talk about contraception, stis and the like, such a load of sh1te, i'm sure spin south west cover all that

The Parish Priest.

heybaby wrote: »

Still think Cooper is the best at this style of show, mind you Anton would be stiff competition as far as broadcasting capabilities are concerned. There has been some mention of his show bring repetitive but it's difficult to avoid this when the show is on 250 days a year.

It will be interesting to see where The Last Word will stand now Today Fm is aiming at a 15-30 listenership. I note Cooper is bringing the show around college campuses in the coming weeks which is very much confirmation of the move to aim younger.

Given Coopers age profile himself, Phil Cawley, Dempsey and Mcloone very much jar with Today Fms new younger direction. While their license wouldn't allow for the talk / news content to be dropped I could see the much younger Gavan Reilly ably take over a revamped drive time show.

Ah now they aren't going after the 15/30 market. They are going after the 20/44 market which has always been their target market since they launched in January 1998

jezzer

The Parish Priest. wrote: »

Ah now they aren't going after the 15/30 market. They are going after the 20/44 market which has always been their target market since they launched in January 1998

have you listened lately? they are going after the 15-24 age group

AnthonyCny

I like Matt but he's cringe when he talks about Trump

arch_stanton

I've been a listener since the Dunphy days and can't help feeling that the show has dropped in quality over the last year or so. The 5 at 5 nonsense has been well commented already. While I disagree with most of what Cal Thomas has to say at least he's civil, articulate and probably not a bad old sort behind it all but some of the recent right wing lunatics have been unlistenable. Ed Hayes is interesting but I don't think he'll be a regular guest.

I find Paul Kimmage overly negative. His typical report is, I was watching sport X at the weekend and couldn't help thinking they're all off their head on drugs......brain damage, crippling injuries......Lance
Armstrong......reads a long article from the paper like a schoolboy reading his homework..... He just doesn't seem to enjoy sport

hullaballoo

Yeah, Kimmage is impossible to listen to. He has no credibility on any sport really so I don't get what TLW and Newstalk (IIRC) are doing bringing him in. He's very much a single issue contributor. Drugs this and that. I don't care if they're all off their tits tbh, I enjoy watching them for the most part.

He has also rubbed up pretty much an entire nation of rugby fans the wrong way with his witterings as well but to me, it's just him attempting to stay relevant after he realised not everyone has the same views he does on taking paracetamol before a match.

heybaby

The Parish Priest. wrote: »

Ah now they aren't going after the 15/30 market. They are going after the 20/44 market which has always been their target market since they launched in January 1998

They are absolutely going for a younger demographic. All you have to do is look at the playlist 7am-7pm to see that. Today is a completely different animal to that which started out in 1998, they will push the envelope as much as they will get away with as far as their remit is concerned. Cooper is bringing The Last Word on a national tour of college campuses, that doesn't really scream 20-44 demo to me.

morris_miner

cooper has gone ultra PC this past eighteen months or so , he used not be like that

he has become a thumping bore

morris_miner

kimmage did good work in the past but he has the personality of an insufferable crank

jezzer

arch_stanton wrote: »

I've been a listener since the Dunphy days and can't help feeling that the show has dropped in quality over the last year or so. The 5 at 5 nonsense has been well commented already. While I disagree with most of what Cal Thomas has to say at least he's civil, articulate and probably not a bad old sort behind it all but some of the recent right wing lunatics have been unlistenable. Ed Hayes is interesting but I don't think he'll be a regular guest.

I find Paul Kimmage overly negative. His typical report is, I was watching sport X at the weekend and couldn't help thinking they're all off their head on drugs......brain damage, crippling injuries......Lance
Armstrong......reads a long article from the paper like a schoolboy reading his homework..... He just doesn't seem to enjoy sport

oh man you got it in one, particularly on Kimmage, FFS, i want sports coverage, what happened, how it happened, who played well etc, not some sour auld journalist who is going around with a chip on his shoulder, everything has to be brought back to drug taking, bad injuries and lance armstrong, give it a bloody rest (some of the time he hasnt even watched the games yet proceeds to say how dangerous it is) and then reads a "great piece" by one of his journo mates, I DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO A LAD READ A NEWSPAPER ON THE RADIO...they had him on yesterday to talk about his favorite subject, cheating in cycling....give me a break...

jezzer

hullaballoo wrote: »

Yeah, Kimmage is impossible to listen to. He has no credibility on any sport really so I don't get what TLW and Newstalk (IIRC) are doing bringing him in. He's very much a single issue contributor. Drugs this and that. I don't care if they're all off their tits tbh, I enjoy watching them for the most part.

He has also rubbed up pretty much an entire nation of rugby fans the wrong way with his witterings as well but to me, it's just him attempting to stay relevant after he realised not everyone has the same views he does on taking paracetamol before a match.

That paracetamol thing really got on my nerves, paul o connell (our greatest ever player) got dragged into it too, a disgrace

Macy0161

hullaballoo wrote: »

I noticed around 2009 that Cooper started to become quite vitriolic and populist in his viewpoints and that affected his shows for me.

I actually think is a problem with most of the "Current Affairs" programmes across Radio (and TV) at the moment. There's very little balance, and seem to be sensationalising/ campaigning for one side or the other. That's not really what I want - I want the differing opinions and make my own judgement. They're all trying to take the liveline approach to broadcasting.

I think the 5 at 5/ 6 at 6 is awful. I like the sport, including Kimmage. I like Cal Thomas and Marian, although have turned off that other shouty Trump guy the last couple of weeks.

jezzer

Sahurday

jezzer

Paul Kimmage is on holidays hallelujah!!! I didnt have to listen to his miserable voice yesterday evening

Ursus Horribilis

I thought that Dr Rory Hanley(?) guy was Michael O'Leary giving his opinion on the health service.

neris

I think cal got matt with the bill Clinton sound bite. Matt furiously trying to compare what Clinton said add totally different to trumps aims

Clonmel1000

jezzer wrote: »

Paul Kimmage is on holidays hallelujah!!! I didnt have to listen to his miserable voice yesterday evening

Was Franno on to try justify the latest heroic defeat by the goys?

jezzer

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

Was Franno on to try justify the latest heroic defeat by the goys?

franno always sounds like he is in bed

jezzer

Deedsie wrote: »

It's become a populist echo chamber. They had two people on discussing the sale of alcohol on Good Friday. Tripping over themselves condemning the law and agreeing with each other. Small bit of balance would be nice.

Not everyone thinks we need 365 days of alcohol sales.

well said, at the moment there is proposed legislation giving a lifetime ban on someone caught drink driving yet the same people seem to think we should have alcohol available 24/7 365, the hypocrisy of it all...

jezzer

anyone hear gift grub this morning? mario got kimmage spot on! "i'm reading this out load because it gives me an air of authority..."

ThisRegard

The show, like many chat shows, is hosted by someone with specific point of views, dating way back to when he was involved in newspapers. Why do people expect 'balance' all the time?

Mc Love

Have started to listen to Newstalk on the way home, and seems much better than the Last Word

jezzer

Mc Love wrote: »

Have started to listen to Newstalk on the way home, and seems much better than the Last Word

who is on it and whats the format?