Not telling a radio presenter's colleagues that the presenter's contract is not being renewed.

political analyst

Louise McSharry was interviewed for the Weekend Magazine of the edition of the Indo published earlier this year, on 29 January. One of the issues discussed in the interview was her shock departure from 2FM last October.

One day (she thinks it was a Tuesday) she got a phone call from her agent, who told her that 2FM were not renewing her contract. Louise was asked not to tell anyone about her departure until Thursday of the following week. She felt that she was put in a difficult position, particularly when, in the meantime, she met the small team that had worked with her on the show.

She decided to disregard what had been asked of her due to her wariness that the news could end up in the papers. So she announced her departure in an Instagram post, which went down like a lead balloon among 2FM management, and so it was decided she wouldn't be allowed to broadcast her final show because, as I quote from her, "I couldn't be trusted".

In the interview, Louise said that, in her experience, communication from 2FM management was never great.

Why would management at 2FM or at any other radio station not want a presenter whose contract has not been renewed to tell colleagues about it until a certain day?

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058235756/not-telling-a-radio-presenters-colleagues-that-the-presenters-contract-is-not-being-renewed

I am surprised that it was simply "we are not renewing your contract". I would have thought that at the very least they would have offered her less money in a negotiation. It's not like her show was an intrinsic part of 2fm, RTÉ could argue it had lost an audience... but for a weekend show that looks like they had no real plans to replace.

The role out of 2FM's new schedule was very very messy, as one person in the Radio forum pointed out the initial line up did not include Dan Hegarty, only for him to get the 11pm slot.

I think the drip feeding of information from RTÉ was the problem.

I also think, in my opinion, either Louise's agent got details of a new package and was unwilling to accept it without consultation or her agent advised her of a new contract and Louise tried to negotiate for the same terms as before but ultimately RTÉ were not willing to negotiate.

I don't think RTÉ did themselves any favours in replying to that article. But I don't think we really have the full story, its unlikely that RTÉ would want to get into a war of words. Louise has also hedged her bets as far as returning to RTÉ, she's been very diplomatic in fairness to her.

The reason RTÉ didn't want her stating that she was leaving was because they had the new schedule under wraps, again I assume and this is purely an opinion.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118801360#Comment_118801360

Why would RTÉ want to keep its new schedule for 2FM under wraps until a certain day?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118802061#Comment_118802061

To have an arranged PR launch for it on that specific day - which is what all broadcasters do.

It always strikes me as a sector that isn’t worth the effort of pursuing a career in. The media in general seems to offer no stability or job security, and for the vast majority (most of whom are freelance) - low pay, huge stress, often legal risks and responsibilities (in current affairs especially) and general chaos.

On the entertainment side it seems people are dropped without explanation - at the whim of a schedule refresh, much like changing a playlist on your iPhone.

It might be fun, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend anyone waste their time looking at as much more than a hobby.

icdg

I’m very reluctant to let this thread continue, since it basically involves discussion of the terms of employment of a particular named individual - I’m not sure any of us would like our own employment contracts discussed on a public forum. Thread closed.