Newstalk Megathread

yamo

Camelot wrote: »

Last night Michael Jacksons death was announced, wall to wall discussions were had, his songs were played on many Irish & British radio stations > but Newstalk wasnt one of them due to the 10pm 'Live' shutdown & the through the night 'repeats'

I followed the whole story on BBC Radio Five Live.

Newstalk currently seem to be an 'opinion based', half baked, directionless joke and they really need to pull their finger out & become a serious 24 hour NEWS Radio Station (just like Radio Five), or alternatively just limp along aimlessly, neither fish nor foul, with a bit of music and no proper news coverage

What do you think Newstalk have in the way of resources for something like that? It's not a music station, so they wouldn't have a bunch of Michael Jackson CDs sitting around. They don't have journalists on call for events like Michael Jackson dying. You could argue that if it were a major world event such as a war or a political assassination, then maybe they could break into coverage of that.

It was a late night event, which is not something that would merit all night coverage on an Irish Radio Station. Did RTE break into 24 hour news coverage? Ireland is a small country with fairly minimal media resources. It's fine for Sky and BBC, both of whom run as 24 hour news stations to cover major events like this. Newstalk would maybe have covered the story for a small handful of people who weren't watching either of the 24 hour stations on TV. Would that have justified the expenditure that an overnight broadcast would have brought on? Not at all. Not for a celebrity who had undoubted talent, but a questionable personal life.

TaxiManMartin

What is Tom Dunne doing on Newstalk.
Every morning i have to switch off as soon as he comes on. And im not the only one either.
His show is just not doing it for the type of content i expect newstalk to have.
Please Newstalk get rid of him and continue the style of your morning programs on through the day.

Firetrap

yamo wrote: »

What do you think Newstalk have in the way of resources for something like that? It's not a music station, so they wouldn't have a bunch of Michael Jackson CDs sitting around. They don't have journalists on call for events like Michael Jackson dying. You could argue that if it were a major world event such as a war or a political assassination, then maybe they could break into coverage of that.

It was a late night event, which is not something that would merit all night coverage on an Irish Radio Station. Did RTE break into 24 hour news coverage? Ireland is a small country with fairly minimal media resources. It's fine for Sky and BBC, both of whom run as 24 hour news stations to cover major events like this. Newstalk would maybe have covered the story for a small handful of people who weren't watching either of the 24 hour stations on TV. Would that have justified the expenditure that an overnight broadcast would have brought on? Not at all. Not for a celebrity who had undoubted talent, but a questionable personal life.

I just thought I'd point out that they did have live programming on at the time. Culture Shock.

humberklog

Firetrap wrote: »

I just thought I'd point out that they did have live programming on at the time. Culture Shock.

Indeed. Which I was just listening to...at about 8.45 driving from the beach. "News just coming into Culture Shock- Jacko's dead". So it was covered at the time and then revisited on a Saturday afternoon, for the love of god. Sham.

luckat

What drives me crackers is the way Newstalk takes to the sports along with all the other lemmings every weekend afternoon all summer. I'd love to have just one channel that had news and news focus on all the time.

humberklog

yamo wrote: »

Not for a celebrity who had undoubted talent, but a questionable personal life.

I think you're strenghtening Camelot's point about NWTK being 'opinion based' right there.

It's not about them not covering Jacko it's about them not being there past 10 in the evening and when they are there they do appear just as Camelot says (and you re-affirm).

Could it be that expensive to live feed WRN from midnight to 6.30?!

Firetrap

Culture Shock on a Thursday night and Splanc on a Friday are live. It's not wonderful I know but better than nothing.

LordSutch

I was just trying to hilight the fact that I had to listen to all the latest Jacko news on Radio Five Live, because here in Ireland we don't have a proper professional 24 hour news radio station > and Maybe we should do? and maybe Newstalk could be 'tweaked' to become this serious News Radio Station, instead of its current remeit as a 12 hour 'opinion based' station with through the night repeats ............

GhostInTheRuins

Tweaked? A complete overhaul is what they need.

c montgomery

NewsTalk!!!!

I actually really like the station as i like talk radio but i have some real issues with it.

Saturday evening at about 7 i was listening to it and they were broadcasting rumours that michal jackson had died. I dont mind a station playing repeats late at night but playing them on a sat afternoon is really unacceptable.

The 30 cent text charge!!!!!!!!
What a complete rip off. This station depends somewhat on people texting in and giving their opinion, to be charged 30 cent for this is a scandle.
To text any other station its "normal text rates apply". Today fm have a standard network rate for texts and they are owned by the same company and are in the same building.
I just have it when they are talking about rip off ireland and how were get overcharged for everything here but when i text in to give out about their text rate they never read out my comment.

Oh and that fool they have doing the lunchtime news show, what a sensationalist prick. Who gives a **** what gerald keane thinks of anything, he seems to be on the show every week. A poor presenter on a poor show.

Moncrefe is excellent as is off the ball.
The breakfast show is ok, it was better before yates.
Tom Dunne is a complete lightweight, i like him and i know he could be a whole lot better but when he's talking about really trivial mundane things like emptying the dish washer and a nice cup of tea ya had the other day its hard to stay tuned.
Hook is a clown.

That is all

hacx

Don't text, email. It's free.

not bakunin

gerald from cork has texted in........thats on 53106 for 30cent.........



soul destroying.

brettmirl

not bakunin wrote: »

gerald from cork has texted in........thats on 53106 for 30cent.........



soul destroying.

What did Gerald have to say for himself - was it anything earth shattering?

andrewk08

A Few weeks ago when Ivan Yates started, I just said, enough and switched.
I haven't listened to the Breakfast show since. Haven't listened to Hook in months, his ego has overcome him (he was ok when he started, apart from his poor diction which is not ideal for radio).

Newstalk have slipped into mediocrity

mick_irl

mick_irl wrote: »

What did Gerald have to say for himself - was it anything earth shattering?

Oh so what, Newstalk want listeners' opinions on various topics and invite listeners to join in...what exactly is the problem with that???

And calling it 30c whoring doesn't wash - email is also an option which is free

brettmirl

Turn on your sarcasm detector there salonfire.

I'm sick of people harping on about the 30c texts which is, in my opinion, not a big deal.

In fact its a good indicator of how people react to various topics

If only Newstalk had RTE's mighty budget and hire such high calibre personalities such as Pat Kenny, Joe Duffy, Gerry Ryan and the rest (now thats sarcasm!)

deadhead13

Newstalk have come up with a successor to "Different Nation - Different Station". "Listen...Think...Know...Feel - Newstalk 106-108 fm". Catchy isn't it, profound even. I wonder how many hours of creative brainstorming and thinking outside the box went into that.

humberklog

Listen. Think. Know. Feel and repeat.

Quite a mantra alright.

Bard

Honestly, I must say that when I worked (*voluntarily!*) in a community station a while back, we put more time and effort than Newstalk seem to - into making sure our repeated programs stayed just as fresh and relevant sounding at the repeat times -- and if there was anything time-specific or if there were topics that were likely to change rapidly between the live and repeat slots, we'd find something to replace them with - just in case - (usually just music) in the repeat.

Their need for repeats (a combination of their policy of being all - or at least as clost to all as possible - talk, and literally not having enough to adequately fill the schedule) and the way that they put these repeats out seriously let them down IMHO.

mike65

Anyone in the biz know if Newstalk are giving away advertising time? I've been listening to the business show repeat this morning and there are some massively long ad breaks - 4/5 mins at a time, the contents are largely the same each time so I was wondering if they have a deal for low listening periods.

Firetrap

The amount of repeats is ridiculous. They should be looking for things like what they have on Radio 1 - documentaries by first timers. Think of all the people who are doing media studies - I'm sure they would happily produce a documentary that's going to be broadcast on air for a pittance just to have it on their CV. A little bit of imagination is needed. Someone commented on the repeat of Culture Shock. I was listening to it live when they were talking about rumours of Michael Jackson's demise. It's bad form to be broadcasting the same thing a few days later when the man's just about to be planted.

LordSutch

Have had the opportunity to have a quick listen the last two mornings, and all he seems to talk about is his wife & kids. I did listen to him when he first appeared on newstalk, and all he did then was laugh, mumble & laugh, now its all about what his family had for breakfast & what they did at the weekend

Badabing

Camelot wrote: »

Have had the opportunity to have a quick two min listen the last two mornings, and all he seems to talk about is his wife & kids. I did listen to him when he first appeared on newstalk, and all he did then was laugh & mumble, now its all about what his family had for breakfast & what they did at the weekend

Oh and you missed the big debate in his family over which of the children was being let go because of the reccesion! The man is a joke at this stage.

Firetrap

He's better off not trying to be funny. I heard a bit of his show this mornign when he was talking to an ex-Sawdoctor about the old Trip to Tipp Féiles from the 90s. That was better stuff. Maybe he should present a music type show where he talks to musicians from bands past and present and looks at classic albums etc.

Arthur Daley

Badabing wrote: »

Oh and you missed the big debate in his family over which of the children was being let go because of the reccesion! The man is a joke at this stage.

Yeah, 9.05 am it's the end of the news and sports, turn off quick.

I'm sure Tom should have stuck to pet sounds really.

themont85

I find T Dunne okay, when I have the oppertunity to listen to him that is. I find it weird all the negative stuff said about him, when he used to stand in for D'arcy on Today FM people said it was a drastic improvement. Speaking of D'arcy, the hate seems to have receeded from this board a little as of late.

tbh

Firetrap wrote: »

He's better off not trying to be funny. I heard a bit of his show this mornign when he was talking to an ex-Sawdoctor about the old Trip to Tipp Féiles from the 90s. That was better stuff. Maybe he should present a music type show where he talks to musicians from bands past and present and looks at classic albums etc.

just in case you weren't being sarcastic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Rock_Profiles

mike65

Knew that format sounded familair. Still if he did that on NT then the station would yet again be drifting from its remit.

tbh

yep, I don't know if there's any hate for TD personally, it's just a round peg in what we hoped would be a square hole...

LordSutch

Certainly no hate for TD, but he really is a lame excuse for a radio presenter.

Firetrap

tbh wrote: »

just in case you weren't being sarcastic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Rock_Profiles

Sorry yeah...I forgot to stick in a smilie to make my point. I'm not sure what sort of radio he's suited to but he's not so good on his own rabbiting on into a microphone.

mike65

Gah! Ger Gilroy in for Eamon Keane.

robo

Yep it is good to hear him back.
Hope it is for the week at least!

Firetrap

Anyone's better than Eamonn Keane. Well, apart from Claire Byrne maybe :cool:

lynski

I am a TD fan. I totally enjoy his style and the topics he covers. maybe it is an age thing? I would be closer to his age.

grenache

Firetrap wrote: »

Anyone's better than Eamonn Keane. Well, apart from Claire Byrne maybe :cool:

I quite like Eamon Keane, i find i can relate to him, a lot more so, than say, Pat Kenny or even George Hook. He's passionate and asks the right questions. He's also quite knowledgable on topics such as politics and sport.

lynski wrote: »

I am a TD fan. I totally enjoy his style and the topics he covers. maybe it is an age thing? I would be closer to his age.

I'm not a fan of Tom Dunne though, he seems like a decent guy but i just find his style of presenting to be monotonous and laboured. There's just something about the way he talks that has me dozing...

Nicht Besonders

humberklog wrote: »

Listen. Think. Know. Feel and repeat.

Quite a mantra alright.

I cringe every time I hear that.

The new presenter promo's are really dreadful too.

tbh

grenache wrote: »

I quite like Eamon Keane, i find i can relate to him, a lot more so, than say, Pat Kenny or even George Hook. He's passionate and asks the right questions. He's also quite knowledgable on topics such as politics and sport.
.

Ha! I'm the same. I feel dirty for saying it, but.... I don't mind him! Apart from stating the obvious from time to time in a way that makes it seem like he's dropping pearls of wisdom to us from on high (see also: @alanrantwell), I find him quite good.

mike65

Booooooooooooooooooooooo!

FlutterinBantam

tbh wrote: »

Ha! I'm the same. I feel dirty for saying it, but.... I don't mind him! Apart from stating the obvious from time to time in a way that makes it seem like he's dropping pearls of wisdom to us from on high (see also: @alanrantwell), I find him quite good.

Certainly not the worst,certainly provides a good alternative to the "Music by numbers" with Collins on RTE1.

"Still holding hands"

Mossy Monk

I heard a Christmas song on Newstalk this morning. **** off already.

holmyster

newstalk rules

deadhead13

Bloody hell, praise for Eamon Keane? - a very disturbing development in the Radio forum.

Dub13

Tomorrow is going to be a big news day with the An Board Snip report out.I had hook on for a few min today and he said tomorrow they will be coming from a shop (i think he said M&S).

Now there is not a hope in hell I will listen in as the sound is going to be crap,I don't car what kind of panel they have on talking about it I don't want to listen to a radio program coming from a shop.

robo

Tune to Matt Cooper on Today FM...even if Hooky was in the studio, The Last Word will be much better!!!

Dub13

robo wrote: »

Tune to Matt Cooper on Today FM...even if Hooky was in the studio, The Last Word will be much better!!!

I have been bouncing between the two over the last few months but recently I have been listing to Hook less and less.I just don't get why they think I would like to listen to the show coming live from a shop.

Its very simple,I want good quality debate from informed people and a good sound quality with as few adds as possible.

dh0661

Dub13 wrote: »

I have been bouncing between the two over the last few months but recently I have been listing to Hook less and less

I do the same!

Quick question - was newstalk any better before it went nation wide?. I never had the "privilege" of tuning in when it was only Leinster based.

The Black Oil

Yes, it was worth listening to when its brief was smaller. They seemed less obsessed with text comments (well, from a money point of view, I suppose) and the programmes were tolerable, listenable. I don't know anything about radio production, but it seemed reasonably solid, also.

I've not listened to it in a year or more now. Don't miss it at all.

robo

Yes I listened more to Newstalk when it was only in Dublin (Culchie living in Dublin). They were more about news and discussion.

I just can't listen to Hooky anymore, he does my head in, asking stupid questions and showing off that he knows things, like with the I.T guy Joe, they would discuss more if we didn't have to listen to George go on about his new PC and 400GB hard drive...I am not interested in the lovely Ingrid, so I am now fully tuned to The Last Word, cos at least you don't have shop windows and informative talking, where Matt will challenge people and try and get the answers...he is not perfect but better than Hook!