Local Radio & the Internet

irish1967

This has been bugging me for quite a while and funny it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I know are 2 local radio stations are on the net.. Ocean FM and Highland Radio but why are their sites so slow to update !

I noticed over a recent bank holiday weekend that no one died and nothing news worthy whatsoever happened in the entire county for 3 days !! I know we have a peaceful county but I think thats pushing it a bit far.

Just checked now (Saturday 11am) an elderly man was killed in a RTA yesterday evening outside of Ballybofey according to RTE.ie but no mention on our 2 local station sites.

How exactly do their websites operate?
Do they realise if they were up to date people would visit the site more often? (an increase in site trafiic might open doors for profitable advertising revenue from the site)
Can anyone who updates these sites spell?
Wouldnt it be better to have no site at all rather than a half baked effort?

(I have to admit the Ocean FM is the more guilty of the 2 sites but maybe thats because I visit it more frequently.) I am sure you guys have examples of news cock ups that they have made on line.

Daniel O Donnel

As I read your messege I was listening to Highland on line for rally updates!
Just checked the news part and there is a report about the Drumkeen accident.
Dont think the site is that bad.

irish1967

Hmmm. I am sure it may be coincidence but the site gets updated 2 minutes after my post !! lol

Daniel O Donnel

My favourite gaff on Highland radio was when Oisin Kelly finished the sports news one time by saying " that the sports news and Im Chris Ashmore" quickly folllowed by a cough and "no Im not Im Oisin Kelly"!

irish1967

I think my favourite was the newsreader to said.. "a man was injured in an RTC near Letterkenny RTA earlier today"

donegalman1

Neither station employ Journalists after 6pm, I think the news at 7 when local is more often pre-recorded so there are no journalists to update the website in the evenings.

RTE to be far have much bigger resources to do things all evening including €160 license fee I'd rather not be paying every year.

INN supply the news for the evenings to local stations, but the websites are the stations own to update.

RMDrive

In fairness I don't think the highland site is too bad. I depend on it to get some local news and it usually covers all the important stuff.

Harps

Yeah Highland's is pretty good to be fair, probably the best for local news. The likes of the Letterkenny Post site are just pathetic in comparison..their 2nd headline under 'latest headlines' is a story from over a month ago. Highland at least is updated every day so you cant complain

donegalman1

realistically, not knocking the fact that internet is the way forward, is it really a priority that a local "Radio" station works on its web presence yet. The web is definately secondary and not a condition of their licence.

Only a handful of people contribute to the Donegal Boards, it certainly would not indicate a need for an online presence for any local business. If I were Highland I would think I was meeting demand in this genre so far, I certainly wouldn't risk any more financially to have a full online service.

Be interesting to get the full and true online listenership even! Even at guesstimates it would not be worth their while to follow the online route.

They are fufilling their obligations BCI wise and any more is a bonus.