Newstalk Megathread

Imhof Tank

McDave wrote: »

IMO Chris Donohue is a pretty good *presenter*. He has a pleasant disposition and he weathers the BS he gets from Yates very well. He's not, though, an interviewing heavyweight, and I wouldn't centre a heavyweight current affairs programme on him. But when you look at the jokers heading up NewsTalk current affairs these days (Yates, that twit at lunchtime, George Hook and Marc Coleman), Chris at least comes across as genuine.

As for Amma, I'm afraid I can't get past the phoney advertising-meejaland accent. When someone speaks with an affectation, I'm afraid I can't take them at face value. Sounds like a voice designed to slide effortlessly into the corporate world. Incidentally, strictly she's not D4 (from Carlow apparently) - although spiritually I suppose she is.

As for professionalism, that's something I equate with Richard Crowley, Rachel English and Pat Kenny (certainly in his prime).

The content? Reporting facts? Not too difficult that, is it?

Well you would think it shouldnt be too difficult, but then you look at Chris butchering even the straight factual stuff with his mangled vocabularly.

McDave

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Well you would think it shouldnt be too difficult, but then you look at Chris butchering even the straight factual stuff with his mangled vocabularly.

I guess what it boils down to is that subjectively:
- I like Chris!
- I don't like Amma!!

Imhof Tank

McDave wrote: »

I guess what it boils down to is that subjectively:
- I like Chris!
- I don't like Amma!!

OK, lets agree to differentualise, as Chris might say

McDave

Imhof Tank wrote: »

OK, lets agree to differentualise, as Chris might say

'Totally' as Amma might say to Rosser!

McDave

Imhof Tank wrote: »

OK, lets agree to differentualise, as Chris might say

-Or-

'Roysh' as Rosser might say to Amma!

littlefriend

Not sure if I dreamt this but I think I heard that Chris is presenting Dunphy's old show tomorrow morning

delaad

Imhof Tank wrote: »

No - personal guarantor

The business was a Limited Company, as I understand it.

Harry Angstrom

littlefriend wrote: »

Not sure if I dreamt this but I think I heard that Chris is presenting Dunphy's old show tomorrow morning

I think you're right. Yates was saying something about being off for the weekend on Friday morning. Don't think I'll be tuning into Chris O'Donoghue though. He's a bit too bland for my liking, especially without Yates. I wouldn't exactly share the same political views as Ivan Yates but I always find him entertaining.

As to the Off The Ball segment with Trevor Hogan, did those guys honestly not think they were going to be arrested by the Israeli's the minute they sailed anywhere near Palestinian/ Israeli waters?? Call me cynical but it looks like nothing more than a publicity stunt to me. :rolleyes:

jimmyw

Chris needs to lose the suit:p

newcavanman

Well at least bloody Marian will be happy today . I have thought for a long time that Dunphy was a clown, but by god he was a really entertaining clown . But apparently Newstalk have given up all thoughts of a fight if they are sending Chris out to bat on a sunday morning . The guy is barely tolerable as a foil to Yates on weekdays, but when you consider Dunphy had Marian on the ropes on sunday mornings , this was just a joke. I reckon Marian can count on the €500,000 a years for a few more years if this is all the opposition she is going to get !!!!

GSF

Is it still Justin McCarty on Today FM instead of Sam Smyth? Hes not quite as lightweight as Chris.

Lapin

Most journalists will do anything for a free lunch or a backstage pass.

But if you want your bum licked dry, just give Ivan Yates a pair of tickets to your gig.

Mario Rozenstock obviously has this much sussed this out.:rolleyes:

Imhof Tank

delaad wrote: »

The business was a Limited Company, as I understand it.

Thats right, but he personally guaranteed its liabilities.

Its not rocket science.

Dub13

Did anybody ever find out why they cut back the Friday Off the ball...?I wounder if we will ever see it back,it just does not feel the same to be previewing the weekend action on a Thursday.

fred funk }{

Dub13 wrote: »

Did anybody ever find out why they cut back the Friday Off the ball...?I wounder if we will ever see it back,it just does not feel the same to be previewing the weekend action on a Thursday.

I'd imagine the number of listeners would be dramatically down on during the week. People's evening habits change come Friday.

delaad

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Thats right, but he personally guaranteed its liabilities.

Its not rocket science.

Thanks for that.

As a matter of interest, has the business been liquidated yet, or is it still in receivership?

Imhof Tank

delaad wrote: »

Thanks for that.

As a matter of interest, has the business been liquidated yet, or is it still in receivership?

Youre welcome

I dont know whether his business is in liquidation as yet, but Im sure if you are that interested you can do a rudimentary search and you'll find out.

If you are suggesting that liquidation vs receivership is relevant to the fact that he is seriously insolvent - you are wrong.

coonecb1

Hooky's back, and Newstalk has it's anchor back

Off the Ball is the dessert to Hook's main course.

Harry Angstrom

Dub13 wrote: »

Did anybody ever find out why they cut back the Friday Off the ball...?I wounder if we will ever see it back,it just does not feel the same to be previewing the weekend action on a Thursday.

I still can't understand the reasoning behind this. As most of the major sporting events take place over the weekend, it seems only right that the Friday Off The Ball programme should be the most important show of the week, but some bright spark in Newstalk decides that it should be a truncated show mostly with repeat interviews. :rolleyes:

Silliest decision since Beckham thought it would be a good idea to wear his wife's knickers.

Dub13

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

I still can't understand the reasoning behind this. As most of the major sporting events take place over the weekend, it seems only right that the Friday Off The Ball programme should be the most important show of the week, but some bright spark in Newstalk decides that it should be a truncated show mostly with repeat interviews. :rolleyes:

Silliest decision since Beckham thought it would be a good idea to wear his wife's knickers.

And to make it even stranger the lads come in and only do 30 min live,so why not just get them to do the rest..?

Grolschevik

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

I still can't understand the reasoning behind this. As most of the major sporting events take place over the weekend, it seems only right that the Friday Off The Ball programme should be the most important show of the week, but some bright spark in Newstalk decides that it should be a truncated show mostly with repeat interviews. :rolleyes:

.

Would it be because pretty much the whole of the last hour of Hook on a Friday is sport?

Harry Angstrom

Grolschevik wrote: »

Would it be because pretty much the whole of the last hour of Hook on a Friday is sport?

You mean George having a nice cosy chat with his rugger buddies and his faux bonhomie with the likes of Big Ron?

heyheyhey1982

I talked to Ken about this a while back- He explained that 15 live hours a week for a show was tough. The shows where getting a bit thin- so Friday got sacraficed. It was done around the same time Newstalk employees got a 10% pay cut- so it was maybe giving the lads something back

jimmyw

About the comments re the mayor of Naas,I cant believe George Hook allowed that fella that was on with him call his guest (and presenter) a "thick", whether you agree with her or not.That was terrible.

Around the 24.46 min mark, part 2.
http://media.newstalk.ie/listenback/221/tuesday/2/popup

Well he did cut him off soon after though.

Harry Angstrom

jimmyw wrote: »

About the comments re the mayor of Naas,I cant believe George Hook allowed that fella that was on with him call his guest (and presenter) a "thick", whether you agree with her or not.That was terrible.

Around the 24.46 min mark, part 2.
http://media.newstalk.ie/listenback/221/tuesday/2/popup

Well he did cut him off soon after though.

Imagine what the Global Village programme is going to be like on Saturday night!

ballsymchugh

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

Imagine what the Global Village programme is going to be like on Saturday night!

oh shyte.

delaad

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Youre welcome

I dont know whether his business is in liquidation as yet, but Im sure if you are that interested you can do a rudimentary search and you'll find out.

If you are suggesting that liquidation vs receivership is relevant to the fact that he is seriously insolvent - you are wrong.

I would have thought that it would be better for him if the receivership was still in operation, given that it would imply that the business is a going concern.

bamboozle

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Well you would think it shouldnt be too difficult, but then you look at Chris butchering even the straight factual stuff with his mangled vocabularly.

Chris this morning was taking about 'kinky budget cuts proposed by the govt'

nc2000

All in all the standard of Irish radio has plummeted. A mate of mine used to work for Newstalk and was there during the recent layoffs,she seemed to think they weren't going to make it through 2012.
I saw this the last day in Galway, not a bad take on Irish radio full stop.

http://www.youtube.com/user/nickylarkin#p/u/4/jfmhs5d0y7U

telekon

nc2000 wrote: »

All in all the standard of Irish radio has plummeted. A mate of mine used to work for Newstalk and was there during the recent layoffs,she seemed to think they weren't going to make it through 2012.
I saw this the last day in Galway, not a bad take on Irish radio full stop.

http://www.youtube.com/user/nickylarkin#p/u/4/jfmhs5d0y7U

Hi Nicky! :pac:

nc2000

I'm not Nicky...I don't know him, just thought the piece was funny.

GSF

bamboozle wrote: »

Chris this morning was taking about 'kinky budget cuts proposed by the govt'

thanks. I thought I was mis hearing. you have to wonder whats going through Chris' head sometimes

telekon

GSF wrote: »

bamboozle wrote: »

Chris this morning was taking about 'kinky budget cuts proposed by the govt'

thanks. I thought I was mis hearing. you have to wonder whats going through Chris' head sometimes

Yea he can be a bit odd at times. He probably deserves the relentless daily slaggings off yates when i once felt sorry for him...

chughes

GSF wrote: »

thanks. I thought I was mis hearing. you have to wonder whats going through Chris' head sometimes

Probably thinking about the item on Swinging in Dublin.

Caledonman

GSF wrote: »

thanks. I thought I was mis hearing. you have to wonder whats going through Chris' head sometimes

The answer is, not a lot!! He is an awful presenter, no charisma, and is a terrible listener. He just seems to ask the questions he has written down, and can never deviate from them if something interesting is said by a guest. Dreadful.

Genghis

I listen to the Breakfast show every morning, usually from 8:30 until just after 9:00. What really gets on my nerves is around 9am, Chris religiously describes the morning as having been 'very busy'. Every single morning, he says the same thing at about the same time.

Harry Angstrom

nc2000 wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/user/nickylarkin#p/u/4/jfmhs5d0y7U

Bizzarre. A great example of the horrors of unemployment, if nothing else.

Grolschevik

GSF wrote: »

thanks. I thought I was mis hearing. you have to wonder whats going through Chris' head sometimes

He was probably distracted by the RTE "liable" case...

Imhof Tank

delaad wrote: »

I would have thought that it would be better for him if the receivership was still in operation, given that it would imply that the business is a going concern.

Really dont know where you're going with this - I said he was underwater and knew all about belt tightening; you questioned this -asking rhetorically whether he was a sole trader.

The point is this - he is financially f**ked due to the collapse of his business.

ballsymchugh

on a lighter note...

coming up today on moncreiff, are ghosts perverts?!

Imhof Tank

Genghis wrote: »

I listen to the Breakfast show every morning, usually from 8:30 until just after 9:00. What really gets on my nerves is around 9am, Chris religiously describes the morning as having been 'very busy'. Every single morning, he says the same thing at about the same time.

"We've loads to get through, but first ............. " is another one of his expressions

Ive noticed as well he has some sort of facination with bad weather forecasts. When the outlook is for it to turn poor later in the day, he will be issuing code blue alerts, imploring people to "dress for the weather"

He also got owned by the Priest's union shop steward this morning. Father ? had done his homework and quoted from an Amarach survey that the general public belived 1 in 5 priests has personally abused children - which is obviously completely wrong. He blamed the media's sensationalist approach partially for the public being so uninformed, especially in light of the case in the news this week. He specifically objected to "doorstepping" priests on the steps of the church as Primetime Investigates did.

Chris flew into a huff, totally misisng the point and tried to equate reporters "doorstepping" Enda Kenny for quotes on the budget or whatever with what Primetime did. He has probably done a bit of doorstepping a few politicians in his time and actually sees himself as an intrepid reporter, on a constant quest for the truth.

You are out of your depth Chris, either make drastic changes to your style or give up the presenting now before you kill your chances of a career as a roving reporter

neris

That x politican they had on this morning about 845 was talking some bull about racism in this country. He was talking about anti jewish riots in the 1920s in limerick and saying how it was all going to kick off again

Imhof Tank

Theres a creepy childishness about Chris too.

This morning and yesterday he referred to "knickers" - (meanings mens underwear - the context being did Ivan use his laundry bill allowances when he was a minister for dry cleaning his knickers (yesterday) and today - we're getting our knickers in a twist)

2 grown men in the studio, alone, why wouldnt he say something other knickers? He has now implanted a certain image in my mind which I could have done without.

elvis jones

I noticed that Ivan ignored texts about his ministeral pension this morning while sticking the boot into all public servants and their wages etc.

fred funk }{

elvis jones wrote: »

I noticed that Ivan ignored texts about his ministeral pension this morning while sticking the boot into all public servants and their wages etc.

Ivan has addressed his pension many times. His take on it is that, as he is bankrupt his debtors will not allow him to reduce his income voluntarily. Basically, the bank gets his pension.

DEFTLEFTHAND

What are peoples views on 'Shenanigans' with Sile Seoige? I quite like it, The shows fluffy content and presenter are the perfect tonic for a hungover Saturday morning in bed.

hacx

lovely alliteration.

bbability

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

What are peoples views on 'Shenanigans' with Sile Seoige? I quite like it, The shows fluffy content and presenter are the perfect tonic for a hungover Saturday morning in bed.

You know its certainly not the worst show on newstalk. For me she is not doing a bad job considering her lack of experience behind a Mic. At least she's concentrating on one thing at a time unlike her skin and blister.

Lapin

bamboozle wrote: »

Chris this morning was taking about 'kinky budget cuts proposed by the govt'

GSF wrote: »

thanks. I thought I was mis hearing. you have to wonder whats going through Chris' head sometimes

telekon wrote: »

Yea he can be a bit odd at times. He probably deserves the relentless daily slaggings off yates when i once felt sorry for him...

chughes wrote: »

Probably thinking about the item on Swinging in Dublin.

Caledonman wrote: »

The answer is, not a lot!! He is an awful presenter, no charisma, and is a terrible listener. He just seems to ask the questions he has written down, and can never deviate from them if something interesting is said by a guest. Dreadful.

Genghis wrote: »

I listen to the Breakfast show every morning, usually from 8:30 until just after 9:00. What really gets on my nerves is around 9am, Chris religiously describes the morning as having been 'very busy'. Every single morning, he says the same thing at about the same time.

Imhof Tank wrote: »

"We've loads to get through, but first ............. " is another one of his expressions.....

You are out of your depth Chris, either make drastic changes to your style or give up the presenting now before you kill your chances of a career as a roving reporter

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Theres a creepy childishness about Chris too.......

Ah lads, calm down.

I've been critical of Chris myself in the past (and Yates in equal measure), but I actually think he has come on a lot in the last year.

Anyway. Did I hear him correctly at the end of Fridays programme saying that the coming week will be his last on Newstalk Breakfast ?

If so, it could be a case of being careful what you wish for.

michael999999

Chris said it was hes last time doing the breakfast weekend show on Sunday mornings.