Eileen Dunne: Incredible

bobbyss

She has been reading the nine o'clock news for a long time now. 'Next to come on the nine o'clock news...'.

Lifeless. Dull. Boring. Tedious.

Could she not inject a bit of passion? A bit of something different? A bit of humour? A bit of interest? Even the odd interview she does with a reporter sounds staged and pre arranged.

Not asking for all singing, all dancing. Just a little bit of personality.

SEPT 23 1989

Maybe a few drinks would loosen her up

brian_t

Yes, she is incredible.

Did you know that she is married to Macdara Ó Fatharta who plays Tadhg in Ros na Rún.

lertsnim

bobbyss wrote: »

She has been reading the nine o'clock news for a long time now. 'Next to come on the nine o'clock news...'.

Lifeless. Dull. Boring. Tedious.

Could she not inject a bit of passion? A bit of something different? A bit of humour? A bit of interest? Even the odd interview she does with a reporter sounds staged and pre arranged.

Not asking for all singing, all dancing. Just a little bit of personality.

She is a competent news reader who doesn't show bias. What more do you need from a newsreader? A limelight loving cretin like Kay Burley?

bobbyss

lertsnim wrote: »

She is a competent news reader who doesn't show bias. What more do you need from a newsreader? A limelight loving cretin like Kay Burley?

Yes I agree completely. She is competent.

The comparison with Burley is a false one however. Burley presents the news for a longer period of time per day. She is more than a newsreader. She links up with other presenters and journalists at home and abroad and does way, way more interviews. I don't see Dunne do many interviews on air with politicians, economists and people in the news in general.

When was the last time she interviewed, for example, a Minister live on the news?

Her interviews are usually with an RTE reporter. And dull, podding interviews they are too. Perhaps about three questions would be the quota.

Presenting the news is about being more than competent however. I could not imagine for one moment Dunne having the skill set to do Burley's job but Burley could do Dunnes's job with her eyes closed.

Burley is nice to look at too.

I don't understand why you refer to Burley as a 'cretin' or suggest she shows bias?

lertsnim

I never suggested Kaye Burley shows bias. If I did please show me where I did. I stand by limelight loving cretin though.

bobbyss

lertsnim wrote: »

I never suggested Kaye Burley shows bias. If I did please show me where I did. I stand by limelight loving cretin though.

Is there anything in particular that makes you say that Burley is a 'limelight loving cretin'?

Can you recall any interviews Dunne does with non reporters live on the news-something that Kay does every day?

Who do you think has a more varied skill set?

Sam Kade

bobbyss wrote: »

She has been reading the nine o'clock news for a long time now. 'Next to come on the nine o'clock news...'.

Lifeless. Dull. Boring. Tedious.

Could she not inject a bit of passion? A bit of something different? A bit of humour? A bit of interest? Even the odd interview she does with a reporter sounds staged and pre arranged.

Not asking for all singing, all dancing. Just a little bit of personality.

WTF do you want her to do? Start jumping around the place like that hyena Tubridy?

bobbyss

Sam Kade wrote: »

WTF do you want her to do? Start jumping around the place like that hyena Tubridy?

I did actually suggest about five things that she could do.

Sam Kade

bobbyss wrote: »

I did actually suggest about five things that she could do.

Count yourself lucky, did you ever see the weathermen on sky news and other UK channels? When they finish they stop dead with an awkward silence not even a goodbye out of them.

bobbyss

Sam Kade wrote: »

Count yourself lucky, did you ever see the weathermen on sky news and other UK channels? When they finish they stop dead with an awkward silence not even a goodbye out of them.

Yes I have noticed on Sky News that but it is not only the weather folk where there is a gap between ending of a report and typically an ad break. It happens to news presenters too. It happens almost every day and it is almost a part of every programem now. I think they are trained to expect a delay (for whatever reason) between ending a report until the camera closes off on them. What I also notice is how professional they deal with it. No panic at all. I never get a sense that it is awkward.

Have you also noticed how Jeremy, (I forget his surname) on Sky News is so relaxed, so professional, so at ease with reading the news and doing interviews. Seamless. Could you compare Eileen Dunne to him? Chalk and cheese.

brian_t

bobbyss wrote: »

Burley is nice to look at too.

Ah, so that's your problem with Eileen.

bobbyss wrote: »

Have you also noticed how Jeremy, (I forget his surname) on Sky News is so relaxed, so professional, so at ease with reading the news and doing interviews. Seamless. Could you compare Eileen Dunne to him? Chalk and cheese.

This is exactly what Eileen Dunne is too.

Sam Kade

bobbyss wrote: »

She has been reading the nine o'clock news for a long time now. 'Next to come on the nine o'clock news...'.

Lifeless. Dull. Boring. Tedious.

Could she not inject a bit of passion? A bit of something different? A bit of humour? A bit of interest? Even the odd interview she does with a reporter sounds staged and pre arranged.

Not asking for all singing, all dancing. Just a little bit of personality.

Would you be on th PROC by any chance

http://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239532

bobbyss

brian_t wrote: »

Ah, so that's your problem with Eileen.


This is exactly what Eileen Dunne is too.

I never said Dunne was not professional etc. I did say she was a competent newsreader however. I suggested she is boring, dull and lifeless. She never is stretched professionally however. Reading the news is difficult but it is, in my opinion, not the most difficult job in the world. Burley does this and conducts varied interviews with all sorts of politicians and leaders.

I find Kay more attractive to look at than Eileen Dunne also.

endacl

bobbyss wrote: »

Is there anything in particular that makes you say that Burley is a 'limelight loving cretin'?

Two things do leap out....
1. She craves the limelight.
2. She is a cretin.

Hope this helps.

brian_t

Maybe stick up a poll to see who boardsies would prefer to get their news from - Eileen or Kay.

degrassinoel

Eileen for sure, she's better than that eejit dobbo too

flutered

brian_t wrote: »

Yes, she is incredible.

Did you know that she is married to Macdara Ó Fatharta who plays Tadhg in Ros na Rún.

her auld fella spent a lifetime in rte sport, kinda keeping it in the family

Dirty Dingus McGee

flutered wrote: »

her auld fella spent a lifetime in rte sport, kinda keeping it in the family

This is Mick Dunne commentating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0h3QQIBH6Y

Red Kev

She doesn't do interviews as the 9 O'Clock News isn't the place for them. It's a 30 minute programme to fit in all the days news, sport and weather and is followed up Monday to Thursday by various political programmes on RTE and TV3. So it's easier to leave the interviews to them rather than having the same talking heads on repeating themselves.

As regards her sober style, well there's a lot of people who want news and not delivered in a razzmatazz style SHOCK!! HORROR!! OMG!! fashion of Sky, Fox, CNN. So RTE, BBC, ITV and Jon Snow on Channel 4 still do it for me. I'd rather sober, correct news than the exaggeration and speculation that 'breaking news' brings us.


Is Kay Burley a cretin? Watch these...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfS4DsYD6iU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qREded9DOM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjkth9R8JN4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj7Waq121NE

bobbyss

flutered wrote: »

her auld fella spent a lifetime in rte sport, kinda keeping it in the family

I remember well Mick. Probably the driest sports commentator of GAA I ever heard. Kept in the family ok.

bobbyss

Red Kev wrote: »

She doesn't do interviews as the 9 O'Clock News isn't the place for them. ]

Not true. She does interviews regularly. Tommy Gorman and Catriona Perry last Thursday for example.

The 9 o'clock News is certainly the place for interviews.

Take for example the recent threatened bus dispute. It was crucial Ingrid Miley was interviewed to give updates on negotiations. In addition, Monday to Thursday political programmes on RTE do not necessarily cover the news of the day as sometimes they are special reports about other issues.


Comparing Kay and Eileen is really fruitless I suppose. Of course if you are on air longer every day, if you are doing outside broaddcasts and reporting from different countries, of course there will be cock ups. That's a given because it is more challenging. Burley has often presented the news live from abroad. She is more experienced than Eileen at that. And that demands greater skills than sitting in a studio as Eileen has been doing for a long time.

But I simply find Eileen staid and dull. Competent, worthy and professional-yes. But I would expect that from a veteran broadcaster. It is minimum requirement.

arkrow

Boring thread.

Red Kev

bobbyss wrote: »

Not true. She does interviews regularly. Tommy Gorman and Catriona Perry last Thursday for example.

The 9 o'clock News is certainly the place for interviews.

Take for example the recent threatened bus dispute. It was crucial Ingrid Miley was interviewed to give updates on negotiations. In addition, Monday to Thursday political programmes on RTE do not necessarily cover the news of the day as sometimes they are special reports about other issues.


Comparing Kay and Eileen is really fruitless I suppose. Of course if you are on air longer every day, if you are doing outside broaddcasts and reporting from different countries, of course there will be cock ups. That's a given because it is more challenging. Burley has often presented the news live from abroad. She is more experienced than Eileen at that. And that demands greater skills than sitting in a studio as Eileen has been doing for a long time.

But I simply find Eileen staid and dull. Competent, worthy and professional-yes. But I would expect that from a veteran broadcaster. It is minimum requirement.

Talking to Caitriona Perry, Ingrid Miley or Tommie Gorman isn't an interview. She's talking to her colleagues, knowing what they are going to say; she doesn't challenge them. It's a standard technique for breaking the report up and insuring that it's not a continuous 3 minute monologue. Talking to the head of a union or Michelle O'Neill or Sean Spicr would be an interview. The 6 O'Clock News does it, the 9 O'Clock rarely does.

Burley is massively incompetent, look at her prepared interviews and the stuff she comes out with is nonsense. But some people like that form of drama/tabloid style news. I don't.

Eileen Dunne isn't the best by a long shot; Anne Doyle was far better. But I'd take Eileen Dunne over Kay Burley lliterally any day of the week.

Professor Moriarty

Doubt if this fact will add anything to the discussion but Eileen Dunne has a glass eye.

Red Kev

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

Doubt if this fact will add anything to the discussion but Eileen Dunne has a glass eye.

Yeah...and Dobbo has a Jap's eye.

dublinman1990

I don't mind who reads the RTÉ 9 O'Clock News at any time. As long as they do a good job at it; that is all that matters for me.

Eileen Dunne is one person who I think is fine at reading the news at that time. Although I preferred Anne Doyle over her for news reading ability.

You have other compentent news readers who do a regular good job of reading the 9 'Clock News like Eileen Whelan, Una O'Hagan, Kate Egan, Ray Kennedy, Aenghus McGrianna & Brian Finn. You have an adequate range of cover to manage that job when Eileen Dunne is out.

bobbyss

Red Kev wrote: »

Talking to Caitriona Perry, Ingrid Miley or Tommie Gorman isn't an interview. She's talking to her colleagues, knowing what they are going to say; she doesn't challenge them. It's a standard technique for breaking the report up and insuring that it's not a continuous 3 minute monologue. Talking to the head of a union or Michelle O'Neill or Sean Spicr would be an interview. The 6 O'Clock News does it, the 9 O'Clock rarely does.

Burley is massively incompetent, look at her prepared interviews and the stuff she comes out with is nonsense. But some people like that form of drama/tabloid style news. I don't.

Eileen Dunne isn't the best by a long shot; Anne Doyle was far better. But I'd take Eileen Dunne over Kay Burley lliterally any day of the week.

I am afraid we shall have to disagree.

I think there is a misunderstanding as regards what constitutes an interview. Glenda Gilson and her colleagues on Expose regularly interview movie stars and so on. I don't think she 'challenges' them. So if that is not an interview... then what is it?

I have seen Kay interview all sorts of political head honchos but Eileen rarely if ever does.

Maybe it's is not part of her job description. Perhaps Kay is a journalist and news presenter who thinks and speaks for herself while Eileen maybe is only a news presenter who reads what is written for her.

You can take Eileen and I will take Kay.

bobbyss

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

Doubt if this fact will add anything to the discussion but Eileen Dunne has a glass eye.

Is that it? I always knew there was something. That's unfortunate.

How did it happen do you know?

padd b1975

brian_t wrote: »

Yes, she is incredible.

Did you know that she is married to Macdara Ó Fatharta who plays Tadhg in Ros na Rún.

Great character, probably the best bad guy on Irish television over the last twenty years.

coolbeans

bobbyss wrote: »

She has been reading the nine o'clock news for a long time now. 'Next to come on the nine o'clock news...'.

Lifeless. Dull. Boring. Tedious.

Could she not inject a bit of passion? A bit of something different? A bit of humour? A bit of interest? Even the odd interview she does with a reporter sounds staged and pre arranged.

Not asking for all singing, all dancing. Just a little bit of personality.

You do realise that news is not entertainment? At its best it's supposed to be objectively informative. I can understand why you may be confused given recent events but still... Entertainment may be news bit that's a whole new thread.

Professor Moriarty

bobbyss wrote:

Is that it? I always knew there was something. That's unfortunate.

bobbyss wrote:

How did it happen do you know?

Mea culpa. She actually doesn't. Some years ago, a person I know had to get a prosthetic eye. She was given a leaflet with a picture of Eileen Dunne on it. She assumed ED also has a prosthetic eye. In fact, ED is practically blind in her left eye since early childhood. Dunno why.

bobbyss

coolbeans wrote: »

You do realise that news is not entertainment? At its best it's supposed to be objectively informative. I can understand why you may be confused given recent events but still... Entertainment may be news bit that's a whole new thread.

Wishing someone had a bit of life and personality about them is not asking for entertainment instead of the news.

coolbeans

bobbyss wrote: »

coolbeans wrote: »

You do realise that news is not entertainment? At its best it's supposed to be objectively informative. I can understand why you may be confused given recent events but still... Entertainment may be news bit that's a whole new thread.

Wishing someone had a bit of life and personality about them is not asking for entertainment instead of the news.

Na. I'll turn on Father Ted or Fox News if I want entertainment.

Dirty Dingus McGee

bobbyss wrote: »

Wishing someone had a bit of life and personality about them is not asking for entertainment instead of the news.

She's a newsreader.She is supposed to just read the autocue that's all there is to it.It's not supposed to be anything more complicated or interesting than that.

cml387

A bit of history.

A lot of this is to do with the BBC because RTE have inherited a lot of the BBC's mannerisms over the years.

Initially the BBC refused to have any in vision presenter on television news programs.

It was felt that the "news" was too pure and sacred to be tainted by a human being who might (shock horror) indicate some feeling or comment, even by a raised eyebrow or tone of voice.Remember the BBC regarded its news functions very seriously.

When ITV started in 1955 it had no such hangups and had in vision news readers from the start (Robin Day and Chris Chataway) on its news service ITN.

The BBC relented and brought in visible newsreaders but, and this is the point, they were drawn for the acting profession, not journalism. It was this ethos that lead to Telefis Eireann newsreaders being actors (Charles Mitchell).

The move to use journalists to read the news (common in the US) was slow to arrive here and in fact when the BBC tried it with John Simpson and John Humphries it was a disaster.

The most important factor in modern news presentation is that middle age is OK for a man but not for a woman (e.g. Moira Stewart's unfair demise from news presentation). The BBC have relented somewhat after a storm of protest.

So fair dues to RTE for staying with Eileen, and if you think she's old and boring then maybe the problem is with you.

bobbyss

cml387 wrote: »

A bit of history.

A lot of this is to do with the BBC because RTE have inherited a lot of the BBC's mannerisms over the years.

Initially the BBC refused to have any in vision presenter on television news programs.

It was felt that the "news" was too pure and sacred to be tainted by a human being who might (shock horror) indicate some feeling or comment, even by a raised eyebrow or tone of voice.Remember the BBC regarded its news functions very seriously.

When ITV started in 1955 it had no such hangups and had in vision news readers from the start (Robin Day and Chris Chataway) on its news service ITN.

The BBC relented and brought in visible newsreaders but, and this is the point, they were drawn for the acting profession, not journalism. It was this ethos that lead to Telefis Eireann newsreaders being actors (Charles Mitchell).

The move to use journalists to read the news (common in the US) was slow to arrive here and in fact when the BBC tried it with John Simpson and John Humphries it was a disaster.

The most important factor in modern news presentation is that middle age is OK for a man but not for a woman (e.g. Moira Stewart's unfair demise from news presentation). The BBC have relented somewhat after a storm of protest.

So fair dues to RTE for staying with Eileen, and if you think she's old and boring then maybe the problem is with you.

To be clear: Are newsreaders (Dunne, Whelan, Dobson etc etc) in RTE qualified, trained journalists or are they simply newsreaders and nothing more.

Both Dobson and Dunne read the news. But I have never seen Dunne for example anchor Budget Day or Election night.

My complaint, as above, is that Dunne is listless, lifeless and boring. I never mentioned age at all. I prefer to look at Burley because I find her more attractive. There really can't be too many years between them anyway.

Re Charles Mitchell. Yep when he did the Nuacht it was like listening to a foreign language.

brian_t

bobbyss wrote: »

Burley is nice to look at too.

bobbyss wrote: »

I find Kay more attractive to look at than Eileen Dunne also.

bobbyss wrote: »

I prefer to look at Burley because I find her more attractive.

As cml387 said "the problem is with you."

bobbyss

brian_t wrote:

As cml387 said "the problem is with you."

Kay is, I believe a better broadcaster. More engaging and interesting. I like watching her more than Dunne who pales in comparison I think.
And I have a problem because ...?

cml387

I've quoted this before on Boards, but this is Armando Ianucci's famous quote on Kay Burley:


"Being interviewed by Kay is, as we all know, like being interviewed by a backward child. That's obviously great most of the time. But occasionally she will throw you a curveball like a child might: 'Why is there war?' 'What is Europe?' – and if you can't answer it's you who ends up looking like the thick-as-pig**** chancer."

degrassinoel

bobbyss wrote: »

Kay is, I believe a better broadcaster. More engaging and interesting. I like watching her more than Dunne who pales in comparison I think.
And I have a problem because ...?

Your news is always going to be skewed by how attractive the anchor is presenting it to you.

Pretty feckin' shallow tbh

TheRiverman

I met Eileen at a GAA function about three years ago.Very very nice lady and an excellent newsreader,but I sometimes wonder when does evening become night in RTE when Eileen says"good evening,tonight on the 9 o'clock news".Still miss Ann Doyle and her pronunciation of "sexual" as "sex yule":)

bobbyss

degrassinoel wrote:

Your news is always going to be skewed by how attractive the anchor is presenting it to you.

degrassinoel wrote:

Pretty feckin' shallow tbh

The attractiveness of an anchor is a factor. There is no doubt about that. I am sure that was one, of many, criteria that Kay and Eileen were hired. Both well presented and attractive.