150KTubs - future career in Virgin Radio and other soulful pursuits **Mod: Read OP**

he’s had his 90 minutes of fame now. His material is creaking and sagging so it’s a no from me.

This isn't the Afterhours forum.

I think if this thread and indeed this site is taken with the large pinch of salt needed then it can be good fun. If you find yourself peering in through the virtual sweetshop window like some Charlie Bucket type character as Tubridy chooses yet another bar then I’d suggest that isn’t healthy.

I’m coming round to the idea that the odd hate-listen might be ok. Why not, if that’s what floats one’s boat. I gamble on horses, which I’m sure some people find a bizarre and pointless hobby.

I would (politely) suggest that constantly visiting his instagram, speculating about his salary/love life/mental health, making up pretty tragic fantasies and scenarios etc is quite sad behaviour and probably has something to do with what Freud called projection. I think Jung’s view of it is more robust though -

Carl Jung introduced the notion of ‘projection’ to explain how people can feel certain they know  what another person is like and what they think, then interact with the other person on the basis of those assumptions.

Jung also went on to propose that often these assumptions are false and say more about the person making the assumptions than they do about the other person. He suggested that everyone has ‘shadow’ personality traits ie elements of our personality that we dislike or of which we are ashamed and that rather than acknowledge their presence, we attribute them – project them – onto other people.

Maybe some of the people ridiculing Tubridy’s love of books is because the last book they finished was a Dan Brown? In 2005 before they got “always on” internet.

Interesting too that the thread has been taken way off track.

RE the format, I would concur with others who've said Tubs runs a risk of being found out here. My thinking is, he will keep it very light, unfocused and will make an effort to constantly sidetrack the conversation and run the chat down cul-de-sacs that have little to do with the topic at hand aka his Late Late Show style… Taking a shot every time he says "How did that make you feel?" may lead to liver failure.

He is such a monumental spoofer. If he was a fraction of the book nerd he claims to be, the podcast would have been something he would have started during his RTE years, just like so many current RTE presenters have podcast side hustles. Now that the wheels are coming off in Virgin and he runs the very real risk of being ousted at any point, he's cobbled together another C and D list Irish celeb love in with his old pals, books being the McGuffin for everyone involved to promote themselves.

Yawn.

The timing of the launch of his podcast is interesting. The RAJAR figures for Q1 2024 are out next month.

Regards…jmcc

I agree - I think it'll be the same sort of format that his radio show and the LLS were. It'll be more familiar territory for him because he'll be talking to another person, rather than trying to present a show solo. We've all heard him on Virgin… Whether retreading this old ground will pull in the numbers is another matter entirely. He is coming very late to the podcast market, which is now a very crowded space. There are already podcasts for just about every subject under the sun out there, along with the highlights podcasts the radio stations put out. I like podcasts but there are only so many of them that any person can subscribe or listen to. This'll have to be pretty special or it'll fizzle out once the inevitable hype dies down.

There are so many ways to get podcasts, is it possible for any lay person to see how many people are listening? I mostly use a podcast app and subscribe to feeds for what I listen to. Others, as you've mentioned, use Spotify. Others use Apple Podcasts, or YouTube (if available). It has more of a decentralised feel to it. Also, perish the thought, is it possible to manipulate the numbers?

It would be necessary to rely upon the podcast providers for the statistics. The real danger for Turbridy is a fragmentation of the audience across platforms. Youtube might have some more accessible statistics. It is always possible to manipulate a system. On systems that don't require a creditcard or user verification, the use of multiple sims for mobile Internet access would be one method (a click farm) but that would be obvious to platforms through analysing the logs. It is quite different to using meatbots (a term for online influencers) to make it look like there is an audience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_farm

The podcast idea looks like an attempt to package Tubridy's LLS/RTE/VR show style into a new-ish medium. The problem is that his target demographics aren't exactly the younger demographics that listen to podcasts more than radio. Some of his more connected fans will listen. However, Tubridy will be completely reliant upon the quality of guests.

Regards…jmcc

It is simply a highly formatted show for Tubridy complete with the usual misery porn slot. A sort of mini LLS.

Regards…jmcc

The small set of those fans who might be more proficient at Internet access may also have Kindle readers or apps. That's an obvious monetisation route for a podcast but Easons doesn't have such a closed loop. It depends on selling print editions.

There's also a timing issue. A radio in the background at a specific time of day is one thing. Going off and downloading or listening to a podcast is different. It puts the audience in control and requires the audience to take some actions beyond having a radio on in the background. Will all those Tubridy fans convert to a podcast audience? No.

Tubridy will have to grow the podcast's audience and make it important enough for a celebrity to appear on it. That requires publicity and promotion.

Regards…jmcc

The Indo has reviewed the first episode of Tubridy's podcasts:

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/radio/the-bookshelf-with-ryan-tubridy-podcast-review-just-one-problem-it-doesnt-sound-like-tubs-has-read-the-books/a181699271.html

It is paywalled.

Regards…jmcc

Think it is a series of weekly podcasts with a limited number in the first series.

Regards…jmcc

Is he recording the “big podcast” in dublin or london?

To be fair, this isn’t ’Ryan Reads Books’. It’s all about the guest and their choices.

One quote from the Indo article says it all, really

The worst moment came when Tubridy asked Walliams what, in the event of him writing his autobiography, the book would be called. Walliams replied that he had written an autobiography. (It was called ‘Camp David’, which is a good title. It was published in October 2012 by Michael Joseph. God Almighty, is there no researcher?)

Walliams gently said that he’d like to write a memoir about being a father which he would entitle ‘With You’. He saved it. Just.

That's embarrassing for Tubs.

Then again, preparation was never his strong point.

He had a team of researchers in RTE that made him look good. This seems to be more the real Tubridy rather than the RTE Tubridy.

Regards…jmcc

Asking who Philip Larkin was, not really a highlight either.

So much for Tubridy's literary credibility.

Regards…jmcc

It's also on Castbox (I haven't subscribed). The typically modest description is:

"On ‘The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy’, the renowned broadcaster, author and book lover sits down with household names to discover the books that have influenced their lives.

Every week, Ryan will turn the pages of their life through the prism of three books: The childhood book, the book that made them cry, and the book that changed their life.

‘The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy’ is brought to you by Eason – Ireland’s favourite bookseller."

Larkin wasn’t added to the Leaving Cert until the early 00’s, if I’m not mistaken.

If Augustine Martin didn’t deem him worthy of inclusion in ‘Soundings’ then Ryan, and many others of his “vintage”, might it be as aware of his work either.

I find it hard to believe that anyone self describing as bookish has not heard of Larkin by the time they're in their 50. He certainly would be known by Irish writers.

Considering that Tubridy has often cited Kazuo Ishiguro as one of his favourite authors, it was incredible to see his lack of knowledge on Walliams' selection of Ishiguro's book. He didn't seem to know anything about the novel.

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-serial-hoaxer-who-fooled-morning-ireland-with-fake-news-of-kazuo-ishiguro-s-death-1.4833173

Shortly afterwards, Ryan Tubridy corrected the error and told listeners it was a fake story. "Kazuo Ishiguro, who wrote one of my all-time favourite books … has been reported to be dead," Tubridy said on his show.