The Ryan Tubridy Show **Mod: Read OP**

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018428#Comment_122018428

Another possible title for his autobiography: "150,000 Reasons Why"?

Regards…jmcc

dxhound2005

His Ghost Writer should be able to come up with something better than that. Maybe one of his low paid Ghost Readers could be persuaded to do the job.

Tork

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018551#Comment_122018551

Is that the best you can come up with? Unless he was careless with his money or had made poor financial decisions, it's a no-brainer that he'd be very wealthy by now. God knows, RTE paid him enough over the years. I would hope that he has a happy family life, and that he has friends. It's the sort of thing everybody should have in their lives, regardless of what their career is.

As for the rest of what you've written, I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree. Has his career been "very successful"? That's an interesting question to ask, especially now that we're seeing how he's faring outside of RTE. It is true to say that many plum presenting jobs came his way in RTE, but whether that was because of his talent or because he knew the right people, that's certainly up for debate.

I, like many other people on this thread, have taken the time to listen to his Virgin radio show. It has been a revelation but not in a good way. What he is presenting is the sort of radio show that many DJs in Ireland could do with their eyes closed. In theory it's a show that's beneath his talent and should be something he can do without breaking into a sweat. All any of us has to do is tune in any given day and we can hear for ourselves how it's going. If he's so talented and successful why isn't he making any impact in the UK? Why are other radio stations there clamouring for his signature? Why isn't he popping up as a guest anywhere? I don't count Terry Wogan's son's podcast or an interview on Times Radio to be meaningful in any way.

It's also very disingenuous to assume that everybody who isn't slavering over his every word is a middle-aged male loser. I don't agree with people abusing each other on Twitter but they aren't everybody who's commenting on Tubridy. You don't have to be a hate listener to observe that Tubridy isn't very good at his job after all and that he got high ratings because he was handed bomb-proof gigs.

NIMAN

I think this could be a risky podcast for him.

Once the topic of conversation is books in general, he'd need to control the tangents or he could end up getting asked about things he's read himself by guests, and he could be found out.

I have always maintained that at best Tubs is a casual reader, no more obsessed than the average reader, who often wouldn't even tell you they read books. He tries far too hard to tell us so often how much he loves books, and to be photographed holding books, that I think it's all an image thing.

Rick O'Shea would be safe when it comes to casual chats going off topic, as he is genuinely well read. Tubs could be found out.

Terence Rattigan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018617#Comment_122018617

what about “Nothing Compares to Me”?

dxhound2005

I wouldn't trust what O'Shea comes up with. When the influencers know that he is reading two books a week, they know he is an easy mark to push their products on to. And he in turn will try to influence the "average reader" whatever that is supposed to mean.

Rick O'SheaSat 2 Mar 2024 at 02:30

This week I want to start with an admission. Before the mid-2010s I read about 14 or 15 books a year. Every time I went into a bookshop (which was frequently — I was still buying them, of course) I’d feel a buzz of low-level anxiety about the tidal wave of new books that looked unmissable to me. At the rate I read, I’d get to a tiny fraction of them, so I decided to do something about it. It changed my life, personally and professionally.

In a moment of (possibly alcohol-assisted) insanity at Christmas 2013, I decided to read 100 books the following year. It’s roughly two books a week. Not impossible, but it would take some doing. I said it out loud on my radio show and on social media so that I would have witnesses and no way to back out.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018799#Comment_122018799

Great. It even has a Sinead O'Connor angle. :)

Regards…jmcc

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122017894#Comment_122017894

You don't do self awareness I see.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018837#Comment_122018837

How do you think that books are promoted by publishers?

Rick O'Shea has built up a following of people who think that his book recommendations are worth considering. Tubridy doesn't have quite the same following and this podcast seems to be an attempt to rebrand himself after the RTE and Virgin Radio gigs. It is really the same thing that he's been doing for years on his radio show but allows for a new set of questions for his guests. And there's even a misery porn slot in it. How could Tubridy fans not like it?

Regards…jmcc

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018895#Comment_122018895

How does O'Shea turn that following into money?

Beechwoodspark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018772#Comment_122018772

Any awkward questions or “gotcha” moments will be well edited out before public airing, NK media will make very sure of that.

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018947#Comment_122018947

Then you should appreciate that the internet is the greatest communications revolution since the printing press. Some people use it compliment and deepen their pre internet reading habits.

You don't use it that way obviously.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018936#Comment_122018936

His website ( www.rickoshea.ie ) might be a clue. Think that he also has a book club with 40,000 members. But this is the Tubridy thread.

Regards…jmcc

HBC08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018772#Comment_122018772

In my opinion it's not the way that the alleged podcast will be about books that'll be the issue.Its the fact that it's a podcast at all,he'll be very exposed as the figures will be there for all to see.No spin,no NK bluster tactics,just numbers.

I don't hate Tubridy, I never warmed to him as he was completely see through and often disingenuous when on the Late Late.I also found him to be totally unsuited for the role and a terrible talk show host.

The whole payments scandal and subsequent performance at the PAC made me actively dislike him.From the scandal itself to the Renault gigs to saying he'd pay back the 150k to handing in the documents at the last minute to actually being reinstated but being so arrogant he managed to fook that up to "I love your county" .......it was all so brass neck while pathetic at the same time.

Let's just say I'm not rooting for him in any of this

He's already been found out in the UK,the podcast is just the final nail in the coffin.

It really is a remarkable fall from grace.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019141#Comment_122019141

It has all the makings for a bestseller book and perhaps a Netflix movie.

Regards…jmcc

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122004876#Comment_122004876

Along with Cathy Kelly, Amy Huberman, Marian Keyes and who ever else is doing the rounds with a new book to premote.

Why a book that made you cry. FFS, Everyone wants someone to cry during an interview hoping it will go viral. It is so transparent.

How about a book changed your view about something.

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122005033#Comment_122005033

Most of the Easons I have been outside of Dublin. Have more stationary in stock then books. If you want a recent release or something in their top 10 you are ok. Great if you want Dan Brown. Not so great if you want something by Thomas Aquinas.

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122006182#Comment_122006182

It is a pretty good podcast. Once you acept Richard Osman loves everthing and that Marina Hydes wiki quotes her as saying she is Piers Morgans best mate.

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122006865#Comment_122006865

I can't imagine well. Any time I heard she came across as incredibly negitive and unlikeable.

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122017632#Comment_122017632

O'Shea seems to have a genuine love of books. I am not his biggest fan and think he is a bit of a lightweight. But he really does like a good book I think he might have run one of those god awful 52 books in year things. With his followers on X formally known as Twitter.

With all that said, he was an awful choise for the RTE poetry show. I remeber when he was being asked about his favorite poets and I think his choices tallied with his leaving cert poets.

Stick to the books Rick.

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122017049#Comment_122017049

I am doing the lords work here. I have read it so you don't have to.

1. George’s Marvellous Medicine - He then goes on to say it could be any book by Roald Dahl really and writes about how Dahl made him a better person. Ok Ryan, but why chose GMM over The Twits or BFG. This does not bode well for your show if just throwing out names is what you expect your guests to do.

2. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - I haven't read this one.

No real explaination as to how it made him cry. Just that the ending is sad.

3. Chronicle of the 20th Century

Yeah I don't really get why this one changed his life. Something about liking the pictures and "Amongst
the photos and news stories featuring politicians like JFK and Winston Chruchill, there are glamorous shots of The Beatles and Frank Sinatra. ".

Oh it ignited his love of history my bad.

4 - He was going to name his biography "Mugged by God in a hoodie". That one is never going to work, it would focuse to much on his pay scandel and its aftermath. But always good to roll out O'Connor. Helps with the SEO.

He has opted for the Peace in the Valley. Which strikes me as a little self serving some might say egotistical. Given RTs life has been almost entierly peaceful.

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019257#Comment_122019257

Rick left X.

https://extra.ie/2023/12/22/entertainment/celebrity/rte-rick-oshea-twitter

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122017744#Comment_122017744

The Wager was a tent poll blockbuster in the litery world. Their was a lot of hype surrounding this book. If it was a movie it would be similar to Star Wars The Force Awakens or the first Avatar movie. I would have been amazed if he hadn't mentioned it.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019257#Comment_122019257

He has the book review column down pat. It also managed to compress a "review" of a book into a few paragraphs and make it interesting and that's a difficult skill to master. Most people don't want the crap that is passed off as being "intellectual" but they might buy the books and put them on bookshelves to impress others. The reasons for people buying books vary. It doesn't matter if they are History, SF, Fantasy, Crime, Chick Lit etc. What matters is that they read the books and get enjoyment from doing so.

This makes a podcast like Tubridy's a very tricky proposition for book sales. Will people buy books on the recommendation of a celebrity guest? Some will. The danger for Easons is that some of those people who might make an impulse purchase because of the recommendation will go to Amazon and buy it for their Kindle thus losing a sale for Easons. A few might go to an Easons shop (not quite nation-wide) and buy a print edition. But it gets down to the number of viewers/listeners/downloads that Tubridy's podcast will get. A few Easons gift certs for competitions might even help but that requires some kind of way for the audience to contact Tubridy/NKM. But will the audience be there for the books or for a podularised version of Tubridy's radio show?

Regards…jmcc

L1011

Even beyond the questions as to how much he actually reads; you can read a lot and be bloody useless as a book reviewer / commentator

When I was 5 days in the office in a previous job I'd go through a novel and a non-fiction book a week most weeks on the train, sometimes more. If I had to write a review of any of them it'd be Vogon poetry grade.

I don't get the impression he's a good reviewer. We know he's a mediocre interviewer with an obsession with misery from his Irish radio and TV work.

You could format a book podcast pretty easily - get people on the promo circuit, get other reviewers in if you don't/can't review something yourself every episode and you get at least four 'free goes' a year where you can basically edit a clipshow together - Booker Prize, Nero Prize and the Dublin International prize plus a year in review job. But the interviews and reviews have to be good - very good - to gain and keep an audience.

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019382#Comment_122019382

Perhaps I wasn't clear. My issue is not with his selections. It is with his reasoning behind why he chose them. He hasn't provided one beyond.

"I like this book because it made me sad".

"I like this book because I liked the pictures"

Why did the book made him sad? What resonated with him that made him sad?

Why did he like the pictures? Was it the contrast of the glamour of hollywood, with dreary 80s Ireland?

Who knows. Not me anyway after reading his top three books. He might as well have answered. I like all books. They make me feel sad sometimes, then other times they make me feel happy.

The article is supposed to set out and explain the format for the podcast.

But he breaks from the format in his first book.

No reason why he chose it, and then goes on to say it could be any RD book.

The format is restricted to books Ryan, not authors, or genres.

You intentionally set it up that way.

After reading RTs choices. I am still at a loss as to why he chose them over something else.

If this is the standard that we can expect from his podcast. It will not last long.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019399#Comment_122019399

Writing a review is a skill. It can be learned. Good reviewers will build up a following because people trust their reviews and opinions. Building up that kind of trust in a podcast will be difficult because it would largely be the opinions of others rather than those of Tubridy. If he cannot get enough A Listers who read books, there's a chance of it becoming the RTE canteen roadshow.

Regards…jmcc

Bellbottoms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019495#Comment_122019495

It looks like his first guest is David Walliams.

I suspect guest wise he might be ok. Once he is happy to rely on authors doing the circuit for their latest release.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019514#Comment_122019514

Hope he's allowed to speak as he seems to be an interesting character.

Regards…jmcc

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019195#Comment_122019195

Nah, the quests will come from this list

Claire Byrne

Joe Duffy

Kathryn Thomas

Pat Kenny

Doireann Garrihy

Dave Fanning

Anna Geary

Dermot Bannon

Carl Mullan

Donncha O'Callaghan