Newstalk's 'Different Nation, Different Station'

connundrum

I'm a long time listener to Newstalk, and would have rated the station at 7/10 before they went national - the only thing that dragged it down was the repeats and/or failure to keep broadcasting till a decent hour (especially at the weekends).

Since they have gone national I guess it is a better, I actually enjoy the magazine programmes at the weekend and everything else is pretty much the same.

The only thing that is getting under my skin is the constant tag ''Different Nation, Different Station'. They must play it about 8-10 times an hour!! Now I do listen to other stations and I know that they repeat a lot of their tags but I don't notice them.

This is one small thing that might actually lead me to switching station, as every time that tag comes on - I feel like punching the radio.

Other than that still 7/10

mike65

Someone mailed Sean Moncrief about that slogan wondering wtf it was meant to signify. He came up with a vaguly plausible explaination!

It is annoying as is the phone-tone sting at before the news (which by the way goes on wayyyyyyy to long for a standard top-of-the-hour headline run through).

Also has anyone got confused listening the the main news headlines which feature a clip of audio then the related headline? Its the wrong way round.

Mike.

miketv

Yeah I have to agree there, love the station too but the jingles are really bad, The other one that makes me want to switch over is... ,Apache Pizza, Its not the size that matters its the taste, or some **** to that effect , and its repeated at every break etc, drives me bonkers

FlutterinBantam

Agree there . I have listened to them quite a bit recently and have to say they are giving RTE a run for their money.

Agree with Mike who says that the Different Nation etc stuff gets on yr nerves,but in my opinion if they hold the current format and don't try to be all things to all men they will capture a large segment of the market.

Genghis

They do promote themselves very heavily - and I can't decide if this is because they are new and they want to make sure that if a new listener tunes in that they learn all about the station, or if it is because they are new and therefore unproven to advertisers, and therefore have lots of vacant advertising space.

Either way, expect to hear lots and lots about the 9 PPI awards they won over the next 3-6 months.

PS good point about the arseways news clip - definitely the wrong way round. Can work on TV, but not on radio. The trouble is you hear the headline (for the previous clip) and then listen to the clip for the next item and try to see the link.

Finally, I mentioned it before, and I will again - get rid of the mid-bulletin backing music. We tune in to you because we want to hear news and we want to hear talk - there is no need to entertain us during the newsbreak like you are fulfilling some pain-in-the-arse licence obligation to broadcast news - a la 98FM.

Mossy Monk

love it. especially in the Afternoons. but yes, Different Nation Different Station. give it a rest already

Liam Byrne

Completely underwhelmed by NewsTalk....the anorak in me tuned in for the first few days, and it managed to sound like a Dublin station relaying nationwide, akin to RTE.......that was me gone; ads without 01 prefixes, lots of discussion about Dublin things, people getting excited about texts from "down" the country, etc, etc........very badly focussed.

Today FM is the only station that (generally at least) doesn't make these mistake.

brettmirl

I had to laugh about two saturdays back... was tuned into (i think) Roisin Ingle. She was doing a food slot...from what i could gather it was a regular feature. They were talking about olives and she asked her contributor if it was possible to get olives "down the country". I was laughing so much I nearly crashed the car.

Karen Coleman, who is on beforehand, seems to have a near-orgasm everytime she gets a text from Cork or Kerry and then proceeds to say hello to all 'the lovely people in cork and kerry'.

The bosses at newstalk really should take most of their presenters past the M50 someday and show them where they are broadcasting to.

spank_inferno

The "different nation" thing is a pain, but then the station is entirely commercial so they have to eek out as much revenue as possible as they are trying to compete with the big boys now.

Come to think of it why do we allow RTE to get advertising revenue?
How is this fair to the private stations that RTE gets the lisence fee handed to them on a plate and also get advertising revenue.

RTE like the BBC should be commercial or not, it they wish to be commercial they shouldnt have the lisence fee at all....
Or should the status quo remain so that as tax payers we pay nearly €1million per year for pat kenny to work 2hrs a day?

DMC

Ahhh, the old chestnut. Because you are not comparing like with like, the BBC has a lot more money, unless you want to pay a €400 licence fee per annum.

White Horse

Liam Byrne wrote:

Completely underwhelmed by NewsTalk....the anorak in me tuned in for the first few days, and it managed to sound like a Dublin station relaying nationwide, akin to RTE.......that was me gone; ads without 01 prefixes, lots of discussion about Dublin things, people getting excited about texts from "down" the country, etc, etc........very badly focussed.

It's not too bad, to be honest. Once I got used to the fact that it isn't a national station. It's a Dublin station broadcasting to Dubs around the country.

I listen to a lot of UK talk radio; 5 Live, TalkSport etc.

It's always interesting listening to the different attitudes of people.

I now understand better how Dublin people think.

Genghis

The funny thing is that most of the Newstalk presenters are in fact from outside Dublin themselves.

Primetime
Ger Gilroy - Athy, Co. Kildare
Claire Byrne - Mountrath, Co. Laois
Orla Barry - Bishopstown , Co. Cork
Brenda Power - Kilkenny
Sean Moncrieff - Mayo
George Hook - Cork City

Evening / Weekends
Eoin McDevitt - Dublin (doesn't sound it, eh?)
Karen Coleman - Cork
Roisin Ingle - Dublin
Jerry O'Sullivan - Kerry
Oisin Langan - Waterford
David norris - Dublin

Another factor is the prominence and importance of texting in. Obviously the station has a Dublin listenership developed, which means that the majority of its texts are from Dublin, which may mean that the opinion and reaction is very Dublin-centred.

White Horse

Genghis wrote:

The funny thing is that most of the Newstalk presenters are in fact from outside Dublin themselves.

This is true. However, these presenters are "Dublin-ified". The live and wrok in Dublin, probably for many years. Dublin life forms their concerns and interests. It would be great to have regional studios with presenters living and working outside of Dublin.

Genghis wrote:

Another factor is the prominence and importance of texting in. Obviously the station has a Dublin listenership developed, which means that the majority of its texts are from Dublin, which may mean that the opinion and reaction is very Dublin-centred.

This is a really good point. I wonder whether people outside of Dublin and other urban centres go around with mobile phones and are interested in texting. Is it possible that this is a self-limiting factor for Newstalk.

mike65

White Horse wrote:

I now understand better how Dublin people think.

Scary is'nt it?

Mike.

kraggy

Genghis wrote:

Sean Moncrieff - Mayo

He's actually from Galway. Ahascragh believe it or not!
Really.

And have to agree with the phone numbers being given out without prefixes thing is a bit insulting.

Also when they say down town, or in town. Which town exactly? Cork, Galway? Ah, you mean the only town that matters...not.:rolleyes:

mike65

Moncreiff is not even from Galway - he was born in London!

Mike.

kraggy

considers himself from galway.

moved there when he was 11 or 12 and went to secondary school there.

he's more galwegian than mayo, that's all i was saying.

k.

byte

Regardless of where Moncrieff is from, I like his show, though due to its timeslot I don't get to hear it too regularly. When I do get to listen in the evenings, it's George Hook. While his show may have merits, I cannot stand his voice! Don't know why, it just annoys me, so I listen to The Last Word on TodayFM instead.

superdudeman007

Does anyone else think that a lot of stuff on Newstalk is identical to RTE R1? This morning I listened to the breakfast show by accidnet, thinking it was morning Ireland for ages.

Chillwithcian

kraggy wrote:

he's more galwegian than mayo, that's all i was saying.

Lol


Newstalk are good, but not excellent 7/10. Dont know how the 'Diffrent nation thing' applys what was ireland like before they went national that was so diffrent?:cool:

mollser

Preferred it before it went national.

In addition to the highly irritating different nation different station, they've also introduced this du di du du duuh beepy thing at the news time, that sounds very cheap, it drives me mad! :mad:

and also the technology bird who helps GHook out, wtf?? She spent a half hour playing Intel corporate songs, worst radio i've ever heard. She wasn't around before they changed...

Great station otherwise

vallo

The beeps during the news are thee most annoying thing about the "new"stalk station. Especially at the end where they come every few seconds between the main news/traffic/weather slots.
Still not mad about the morning show. Ger Glibroy is annoying and he hands over to some other guy for the sport which is plain silly. Don't understand what the commotion about the co-presenter is (Claire? Byrne?) - she is very poor without her script, she cuts accross people in interview in a quite unhelpful manner and her voice is very one-dimensional. I don't think she is suited to radio ... maybe she'll improve, but I've started wandering back to Morning Ireland.
I haven't heard the weekly morning shows yet. I never got what Life! was supposed to be about and I can't stand Brenda Power - I understand from other boards that she has used her new soapbox to whine about her usual peeves against breastfeeding women within days of starting her new show. yeuch. I'll listen in next week (mid-term break) before I comment on the overall day-time line-up.
Hook is still okay. Moncrieff is entertaining.
And I have to stick up for Karen Coleman - she is one of the best things about Newstalk as far as I am concerned.

Dave!

I listen to Newstalk in work every day, and on the bus home

My opinion...

Breakfast show - Very good! I didn't think that Ger Gilroy was political at all, since he always did the sports show, but he asks some good questions and handles the guests quite well for the most part. I believe he got a bit of a bollicking from listeners the other day for cutting in too much in an interview with a minister, but I didn't get to hear it so can't comment. I don't know much about the female on the show, but she seems consistent enough!

Orla Barry - I can't stand this show... I know it's aimed at women, but it's still annoying listening to talk about pregnancy every poxy day :mad: (I don't like any other radio stations, so I just leave it on usually)

Brenda Power - I hate her! Her voice annoys the sh*t out of me. And the show doesn't appear to aim for any balance, it's just people ringing in and moaning and her looking for more moaners. The other day she said "If anyone has been treated as badly by [the council or somethin like that] -- or WORSE -- then ring us on......etc", which kinda annoyed me. She didn't seem to want to hear about the positive experiences. It seems kinda tabloidy in the way she steers the show, which is strange considering she's held in such high esteem.

Lunchtime - Decent enough show. Brendan o Brien asks good questions and handles the guests well enough. The show deals with interesting topics as well.

Moncrieff - Good ass show! Seán's fairly intelligent and seems to have a sound opinion on most things. I don't really find him as funny as I used to, but there's still some good parts of the show, eg. the beer tasting and movie reviews. I preferred the bloke that used to do the movies, but he's supposedly gone to the sports department so he's been replaced by someone else. I like the input from texters, and my own remarks are often read out if I can cough up the 15c :rolleyes:

Hookie - My favourite show! Nice and political! GH asks great questions, handles the tough guests very well, etc. He seems to do his research too, and ya often hear the guests saying "that's exactly correct George", cos he has a good understanding of what's being discussed. He doesn't take himself too seriously either.

That's all I listen to Great station

My only gripe is that there is too many breaks!

BTW anyone see the Newstalk ad on the TV? Can't remember what station they had it on, but it was quite long and showed clips of all the primetime presenters talking. There was a clip of Hookie saying "I'm a patient man, minister, so I'm going to ask the question again". Very dramatic

vallo

DaveMcG wrote:

Brenda Power - I hate her! Her voice annoys the sh*t out of me. And the show doesn't appear to aim for any balance, it's just people ringing in and moaning and her looking for more moaners. The other day she said "If anyone has been treated as badly by [the council or somethin like that] -- or WORSE -- then ring us on......etc", which kinda annoyed me. She didn't seem to want to hear about the positive experiences. It seems kinda tabloidy in the way she steers the show, which is strange considering she's held in such high esteem.

Christ on a bike ... that was a new low on national radio.
One exchange I heard during the week went like this. A woman who lives on her own refuses to open her front door unless it is someone she knows because "you just never know". She told about a man who came to sell perfume who she spoke to from the safety of an upstairs window, refusing to open the door. At this Brenda Power says "oh you know that e-mail that goes around about the guy who gets you to sniff perfume but it's really a chemical that knocks you out ...". To which the horrified caller says "oh my god, I had a narrow escape so!"
Appalling radio for saddos.
I know what you mean about her annoying voice and the worst part it the way she goes "mmm" "mmm" "mmm" every few seconds when her caller is talking.

mike65

Brenda Power says "oh you know that e-mail that goes around about the guy who gets you to sniff perfume but it's really a chemical that knocks you out ...". To which the horrified caller says "oh my god, I had a narrow escape so!"

Christ on a Bike indeed. Thats the kind of crap that sounds more 'typical' of a late night phone on Dublin radio (you know the sort).

Mike.

Greenman

byte wrote:

. When I do get to listen in the evenings, it's George Hook. While his show may have merits, I cannot stand his voice! Don't know why, it just annoys me, .

I'll second that.

Re Listening on the net I really wish they would increase their streaming speed, it sounds like shortwave.

ronbyrne2005

Hate that woman on breakfast show( louise williams)

miketv

vallo wrote:

Christ on a bike ... that was a new low on national radio.
One exchange I heard during the week went like this. A woman who lives on her own refuses to open her front door unless it is someone she knows because "you just never know". She told about a man who came to sell perfume who she spoke to from the safety of an upstairs window, refusing to open the door. At this Brenda Power says "oh you know that e-mail that goes around about the guy who gets you to sniff perfume but it's really a chemical that knocks you out ...". To which the horrified caller says "oh my god, I had a narrow escape so!"
Appalling radio for saddos.
I know what you mean about her annoying voice and the worst part it the way she goes "mmm" "mmm" "mmm" every few seconds when her caller is talking.

Ah I heard this too! It was complete fear, never open you door to anybody or you'll be...agghhhhh:)
no wonder there is no community spirt anymore

TarfHead

vallo wrote:

And I have to stick up for Karen Coleman - she is one of the best things about Newstalk as far as I am concerned.

That is the irst time I have seen her name and one of the best things about Newstalk used in the same sentence !

J.R.HARTLEY

White Horse wrote:

This is a really good point. I wonder whether people outside of Dublin and other urban centres go around with mobile phones and are interested in texting. Is it possible that this is a self-limiting factor for Newstalk.

maybe they're just not stupid enough to pay 30c to greedy newstalk bosses

Big Tone

Their annoying, grating catchphrase on Newstalk "different nation, different station" makes me tune to a different station alright (96-9 FM Talk) in a different nation (Boston, USA) for REAL talk radio! Problem solved!

RoundyMooney

Speaking as a Corkman, Newstalk is the audio equivalent of the "Irish" Examiner.

It didn't work for them either.

Greenman

Big Tone wrote:

Their annoying, grating catchphrase on Newstalk "different nation, different station" makes me tune to a different station alright (96-9 FM Talk) in a different nation (Boston, USA) for REAL talk radio! Problem solved!

As per http://www.969fmtalk.com/

Streaming up to 36 kbps not like crappy and mean 20 kbps.

brettmirl

Can they not change their programme liners when presenters are off?

Karen Coleman has been off for the last three weekends now, yet everytime they go into or out of a break the liner says "from XXX to YYY the wide angle with Karen Coleman....".

Richard Aldice is covering for her...his voice grates my ears.

Liam Byrne

RoundyMooney wrote:

Speaking as a Corkman, Newstalk is the audio equivalent of the "Irish" Examiner.

It didn't work for them either.

Can't say I agree......The Irish Examiner is refreshing (I buy it most days), because it offers an alternative perspective on the news, compensating for the fact that all of the other national newspapers come from Dublin.

In NewsTalk's case, the "alternative" is still from, well, Dublin :rolleyes:.

RoundyMooney

Liam Byrne wrote:

Can't say I agree......The Irish Examiner is refreshing (I buy it most days), because it offers an alternative perspective on the news, compensating for the fact that all of the other national newspapers come from Dublin.

In NewsTalk's case, the "alternative" is still from, well, Dublin :rolleyes:.

Oh, don't get me wrong, that was my point precisely. I read "de paper" most days myself. What I alluded to was the parallel of a provincial media source attempting to go national, without success.

The general notion of a decentralised national daily is commendable, which is why Newstalk overwhelms me with apathy right now.

Maybe it will improve as the station beds in.

Liam Byrne

Sorry - crossed wires; all I meant was that I don't agree that "it didn't work" for The Examiner. IMHO, it does.

NewsTalk doesn't have the advantage of counterbalance, so I can't see it working,

Big Tone

One of the many legendary talk radio hosts in the US!

Have a read off this;


http://www.969fmtalk.com/Personalities/ImusintheMorning/tabid/54/Default.aspx

Now, where are the distinguised personalities on Newstalk? I dont hear any.

ZENER

Before Sean & George it's like listening to Tricia or Oprah. Sean is brilliant - topical, humorous & sarcastic is just the right amounts. George is related to a guy I work with so I have some link with him . . . . I also like off the ball with Ger and the crew, the fans phone in, Giles, Lawerenson (sp?) - especially when they said ManU wouldn't make top 4 this season ???!!.

Sean gave a very good explanation of the whole "diff'rent nation, diff'rent station" thing that made sense so it doesn't really bother me any more. I miss McWilliams in the afternoon and Kiabert (sp?) and the repeats start way too early.

I have to say the "Going National " has bothered me a bit, too may boggers texting in makes me feel less involved. They go nuts when a bogger texts or calls in like they didn't appreciate the dubs that made them in the first place.

Love the pseudonams that the texters use - Pope Marmalade III ! - class !

If they can sort out the niggley things that make them sound a bit amature they could challange Radio 1 (RTE that is . . . )

ZEN

darkbeatz

love newstalk but yeah the jingles DO MY HEAD IN. the different nation different station drives me feckin nuts. GIVE IT A REST! And the guy that does that voice gives me the creeps. He does some add for a medicine for colds or flus. At the end of the add there is a sneeze and you just here " bless you " and its VERY CREEPY

Mr E

I really like Newstalk, but the Apache Pizza ad (done in the style of Crazy Frog... oh how witty) makes me gag.

mountainyman

Newstalk is brutal, Ger Gilroy's voice grates and he is stupid.
Carol Coleman is like a teacher.
Hook is a bluffer.
Moncrieff is 2 hours of that 98 FM breakfast show.
Brenda Power is unbelievably bad.

MM

Quatre Mains

connundrum wrote:

The only thing that is getting under my skin is the constant tag ''Different Nation, Different Station'. They must play it about 8-10 times an hour!! Now I do listen to other stations and I know that they repeat a lot of their tags but I don't notice them.

This is one small thing that might actually lead me to switching station, as every time that tag comes on - I feel like punching the radio.

Lads
sorry for the late entry to this thread, but I felt the need to say I simply cannot believe Newstalk are still blaring out that slogan every 5 minutes - I thought they might have dropped it after a couple of weeks. This thread has already covered several other editorial(?) issues such as the crappy new jingles etc. However, recently I've copped that the same person who does that 'different nation' thing is now soundbyting ALL the shows('sponsored by...' etc) and station ads etc. So you get him going into ads, during the ads, and at the end of the ads. Even worse, all the ads all have this crap gimmick where they take all the bass from his voice every second line. I'm no expert in the field of radio but I do know whats annoying - myself and the 2 guys I drive to work with every day have listened to Newstalk for well over a year now, but as of last month no more - because as conundrum says above, "every time that tag comes on - I feel like punching the radio".

bowsie casey

I only listen to radio at certain times of the day, 8-9 am, lunch and 6-8 pm, so I guess the regular commuter timetable.

IMO, Newstalk provides the best radio in the morning and lunchtime, while I listen to Today FM for The Last Word. I rarely listen to RTE1, and am allergic to 2FM.

8-9 am: If you want News/Sport/Current Affairs, Ger & the wooden bird who works with him beats Ian Dempsey. The features on the Dempsey show are pretty good (Gift Grub etc) but his voice annoys me.

Lunchtime: again, for news, Eamon Keane is the best choice at this time.

Evenings: I don't like Hook, Cooper's my man. But then I always switch back to off the ball.

Although some of the mid-morning stuff is patchy, Newstalk is my favourite station (and I am not a Dub !)

Know what you mean about the jingles though, they do overdo it a bit....

bbability

Its very patchy. Lunchtime with Eamon Keane had really impressed me. For me Newstalk doesn't start until midday. And from someone who detested 2fm, Bowie, give it a try with the new line up. The music has improved ten fold this week and Rick O Shea is a breath of fresh air at 2pm.