John Clarke quits 2fm

windowcleaner

Jim carroll has the scoop

http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2009/08/13/2fm-boss-john-clarke-to-step-down/

mike65

Now is the time to move against Ryan!

deadhead13

Unfortunately he has 3 years left on his current contract. It would be too expensive to get rid of him. They could move him, but where to?

mike65

Sunday afternoon

dave98

lyric fm

deadhead13

RTE Junior.

keefg

cleaning the offices

bbability

Another reason this man is stepping down is maybe the fact that he's reaching retirement age... Best of luck John in the future:D

juuge

His legacy will be the unconditional support he had over the years for Gerry Ryan who I believe is in the Mater Private having his head pulled out of his aras.

deadhead13

Dave Fanning in todays Indo - "I'll be going back to 2fm soon, probably at the end of this month. The station is being overhauled next year and they're no longer aiming to attract kids. Claire Duignan wants to aim at adults between the ages of 25 to 44. I was told the two big names on 2fm will be Gerry Ryan and myself"

Sigh. Looks like, not only is Gerry going nowhere but this big "overhaul" seems to be merely a means of justifying him still being at the station. Their two "big names" are getting on a bit, so instead of changing them - they change the target audience instead. Brilliant.:rolleyes:

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/fanning-returns-as-2fm-boss-steps-down-1859865.html

GSF

So 2FM wants to go up directly against Today fm. Will they drop colm & Jim Jim then as they dont appeal to any one over the age of 12?

SuperDude87

A station with Gerry "I'm always right" Ryan and Dave "So cool nobody listens to me" Fanning is a station I wouldn't want to be a part of.

I mean did they even try going after the kids? Rick O Shea on when the kids are in school (worked MUCH better at night and even now for a good while there's no Foley to compete with) Putting a DJ that is very hard to warm to on at lunchtime. Will Leahy I'm not a fan of just something I can't put my finger on but it was a bit of fun for the drivetime. I always liked Ruth Scott so her slot was good.

I find it hilarious and agree 100% what somebody else said they can't get the kiddies in so they change the demo!

2fm's glory days are WELL gone IMO!

Manimal

deadhead13 wrote: »

Dave Fanning in todays Indo - "I'll be going back to 2fm soon, probably at the end of this month. The station is being overhauled next year and they're no longer aiming to attract kids. Claire Duignan wants to aim at adults between the ages of 25 to 44. I was told the two big names on 2fm will be Gerry Ryan and myself"



http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/fanning-returns-as-2fm-boss-steps-down-1859865.html

They want to be an over 25s radio station just like every other radio station out there, it makes you wonder how RTE are allowed to run a poormans Today/Q/104/98/4fm/Corks96 etc etc. Its hardly a market thats underserved at the moment now is it!!!!

dave98

i hate Gerry Ryan and i HATE Dave Fanning even more. There is no dj as bad as Dave Fanning

Liam Byrne

Manimal wrote: »

They want to be an over 25s radio station just like every other radio station out there, it makes you wonder how RTE are allowed to run a poormans Today/Q/104/98/4fm/Corks96 etc etc. Its hardly a market thats underserved at the moment now is it!!!!

Er ? The two Spins, the i's, and Beat ?

Firetrap

A lot of those "older" radio stations are only picked up in major urban centres. The teeny market is saturated. Even in the sunny south east where I live, I can receive Beat, Spin and i something or other. All of which is tinnitus radio to my thirtysomething ears :pac:

chalkitdown1

What does this mean for his Sunday show? I'd really miss it if he's leaving 2fm completely. Or is he just stepping down as the boss, but remaining a DJ? The article makes no mention of it.

GSF

So 2fm expect older listeners to trot back to them after telling them to feck off and that they weren't interested in them 2 years ago. i wonder if this means a certain L Gogan will get his daily show back?

ibarelycare

deadhead13 wrote: »

Dave Fanning in todays Indo - "I'll be going back to 2fm soon, probably at the end of this month. The station is being overhauled next year and they're no longer aiming to attract kids. Claire Duignan wants to aim at adults between the ages of 25 to 44. I was told the two big names on 2fm will be Gerry Ryan and myself"

Sigh. Looks like, not only is Gerry going nowhere but this big "overhaul" seems to be merely a means of justifying him still being at the station. Their two "big names" are getting on a bit, so instead of changing them - they change the target audience instead. Brilliant.:rolleyes:

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/fanning-returns-as-2fm-boss-steps-down-1859865.html

Why would they get rid of Gerry Ryan? Surely he pulls in one of the highest audiences on the station?

And how are they changing their target audience? 2fm don't seem to have a clear target demographic.

deadhead13

ibarelycare wrote: »

Why would they get rid of Gerry Ryan? Surely he pulls in one of the highest audiences on the station?

And how are they changing their target audience? 2fm don't seem to have a clear target demographic.

I'm going on what Dave Fanning said - "from next year...no longer aiming at kids...aim at adults between the ages of 25 to 44.

As for getting rid of Gerry Ryan, it is more wishful thinking on my part than anything else. I don't think I'm alone. I fully accept the he has maintain a large audience over 20 years. But I would also suggest that there is an even greater number of people who wouldn't dream of tuning into 2fm between 9 and 12 because he is on it. Of course I have no way of measuring or proving this. I also think the 9-12 slot of one of the National Broadcasters main radio stations would have a large audience with or without G. Ryan.

Firetrap

GSF wrote: »

So 2fm expect older listeners to trot back to them after telling them to feck off and that they weren't interested in them 2 years ago. i wonder if this means a certain L Gogan will get his daily show back?

I wonder are they going after a sort of BBC Radio 2 format? Wonder who will be for the chop? And who will be dredged back up?

jdscrubs

I hope that Dave Fanning is put on in the evening around the same time that the boring DJ Damian Farrelly is on. They should fire that man as he is boring beyond belief. Keep Gerry Ryan where he is. Cut back Nicky's lunchtime show by a good hour, extend Rick O'Shea's show by another hour and bring back what he used to do on the afternoon slot like asking random questions to the public, etc. Shorten Ruth's show in the evening. Have dave fanning on around 9 then after him have the dj who is on after 12 that I cant remember the name of.

ibarelycare

jdscrubs wrote: »

I hope that Dave Fanning is put on in the evening around the same time that the boring DJ Damian Farrelly is on. They should fire that man as he is boring beyond belief. Keep Gerry Ryan where he is. Cut back Nicky's lunchtime show by a good hour, extend Rick O'Shea's show by another hour and bring back what he used to do on the afternoon slot like asking random questions to the public, etc. Shorten Ruth's show in the evening. Have dave fanning on around 9 then after him have the dj who is on after 12 that I cant remember the name of.

+1 on this entire post

alpha2zulu

I wonder are they going after a sort of BBC Radio 2 format?

Hopefully not,I've tried to listen to some of the BBC R2 output such as Wogan,Bruce,Wright and their shows(Chris Evans excepted)certainly seemed aimed at an 40+audience.

Speaking as a 21year old, 2FM in its current form just seems to be all over the shop.The entire weekday schedule lacks any bite or identity whatsoever in my point of view.
Its a shame to see because at the weekend you do find some very good material from the likes of Jenny Greene, Dave Redmond, Dan Hegarty Cormac Battle. The talent is there for a half decent schedule but the dinosaurs just seem to dominate.

If it was up to me:
0700-1000 Ray Foley (Good investment to poach from Today FM)
1000-1200 Gerry Ryan (Pays the bills at least if the listener figures are anything to go by
1200-1430 Cormac Battle
1430-1630 Damian Farrelly/Jenny Huston
1630-1930 Jenny Greene (Will Leahy's show is only af a shadow of the Saturday show several years ago)
1930 onwards- Get some of the new talent from the youth stations,Spin, Beat,i,Red etc. These sations have some cracking DJ's.

Gone:Colm and Jim Jim, Ruth Scott, Rick O Shea,Sunday Jukebox,Leahy back to Saturdays

GSF

Firetrap wrote: »

I wonder are they going after a sort of BBC Radio 2 format? Wonder who will be for the chop? And who will be dredged back up?

Marty Whealan back on breakfast; Gogan back at lunchtime, Fanning back in the evenings maybe? :eek:

More Music

chalkitdown1 wrote: »

What does this mean for his Sunday show? I'd really miss it if he's leaving 2fm completely. Or is he just stepping down as the boss, but remaining a DJ? The article makes no mention of it.

From the article:
RTE radio chief Clare Duignan........
"Mr Clarke will stay on as a senior producer and may continue to host his weekend show 'Ireland's Biggest Jukebox'. The hunt for a replacement station boss is expected to begin in the coming weeks."

deadhead13:
"But I would also suggest that there is an even greater number of people who wouldn't dream of tuning into 2fm between 9 and 12 because he (G Ryan) is on it. Of course I have no way of measuring or proving this."

So they should remove him, even though you admit he has good listernship figures, on the off chance people don't tune in because he's on........ even though you have no way of proving it!

Maybe those people don't tune in to G Ryan because they prefer their local stations offering at that time and they find local issues more compelling. Or maybe they prefer Radio 1 or reading the newspaper. They wouldn't tune into 2fm at that time no matter who was on.

If you had a sales executive working for your business that was constantly achieving targets and bringing in much needed revenue, would you take them off the job because some people didn't buy product off them? Maybe even knowing that these people don't want your product anyway no matter who was selling it. I wouldn't gamble, possible putting jobs at risk unnecessarily.

Firetrap

When I think of Gerry Ryan in the 2fm schedule, I think of the saying "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM." He may not be everyone's cup of tea but he has been pulling in a large listenership for years. That's the bottom line. Perhaps someone else who's cheaper might get similar figures but it's a big chance to take if you're the station manager and your ass is on the line.

deadhead13

More Music wrote: »

From the article:
RTE radio chief Clare Duignan........
"Mr Clarke will stay on as a senior producer and may continue to host his weekend show 'Ireland's Biggest Jukebox'. The hunt for a replacement station boss is expected to begin in the coming weeks."

deadhead13:
"But I would also suggest that there is an even greater number of people who wouldn't dream of tuning into 2fm between 9 and 12 because he (G Ryan) is on it. Of course I have no way of measuring or proving this."

So they should remove him, even though you admit he has good listernship figures, on the off chance people don't tune in because he's on........ even though you have no way of proving it!

Maybe those people don't tune in to G Ryan because they prefer their local stations offering at that time and they find local issues more compelling. Or maybe they prefer Radio 1 or reading the newspaper. They wouldn't tune into 2fm at that time no matter who was on.

If you had a sales executive working for your business that was constantly achieving targets and bringing in much needed revenue, would you take them off the job because some people didn't buy product off them? Maybe even knowing that these people don't want your product anyway no matter who was selling it. I wouldn't gamble, possible putting jobs at risk unnecessarily.

Someone defending Gerry Ryan, makes a change. You seem to have missed the "wishful thinking" part and the post saying that they wouldn't get rid of him because he has 3 years left on a very lucrative contract, but nevermind. However there was a chance that his stance over the pay cut would have p***ed off enough people to have seen a dramatic fall in his audience. His last lot of JNLR figures were down, but not by nearly enough to put his position under any threat.

Alternatively there was a slight chance the RTE heirarchy were also p***ed off enough with him to act, they did get a lot of negative reaction from the general public at the time (it is interesting that they still haven't released their list of the "stars" salaries). But Dave Fanning's comment about him and Ryan going to be the big names in the new line-up has put pay to that.

More Music

deadhead13 wrote: »

Someone defending Gerry Ryan, makes a change. You seem to have missed the "wishful thinking" part and the post saying that they wouldn't get rid of him because he has 3 years left on a very lucrative contract, but nevermind............

I'm not defending Gerry Ryan as a person (after all, I don't know him), more the position he's in and the listernship he commands. As a station boss or an advertiser you cannot really ask for much more from him.

I didn't miss the 3 years in his contract part. It's not worth commenting on the obvious because if they put him on for 2 hours every Sunday for the next 3 years he will still be entitled to his full salary. And then 2fm will also have pay somebody to take over the 9-12 slot 5 days a week.

2fm is run as a commercial operation. I can't see any good reason to move him, either on a financial or programming basis.

deadhead13

If it is not worth commenting on the obvious, then why are you insisting on spouting the obvious at me. I never said they should, or would get rid of Gerry Ryan. I merely expressed a preference that they would. If you want a game of one-upmanship, find someone else to play with.

Fuzzy Clam

More Music wrote: »

I didn't miss the 3 years in his contract part. It's not worth commenting on the obvious because if they put him on for 2 hours every Sunday for the next 3 years he will still be entitled to his full salary. And then 2fm will also have pay somebody to take over the 9-12 slot 5 days a week.

....unless it's in his contract that he gets weekday mid mornings......

After all, it is in his contract that we get to admire his handsome face on the telly box for at least one series per year.

More Music

deadhead13 wrote: »

If it is not worth commenting on the obvious, then why are you insisting on spouting the obvious at me. I never said they should, or would get rid of Gerry Ryan. I merely expressed a preference that they would. If you want a game of one-upmanship, find someone else to play with.

Because it maybe wasn't so obvious. That aside, you never said they should get rid of Gerry, but wished they would. I can see the subtle difference between the two.

Now, that should even the score!

Firetrap: +1 on the "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM" post.


Regards,

GR
MM