iRadio job losses and Galway studio closure

flazio

Article from rte.ie

The iRadio Group, which operates two regional radio stations, has announced it is to lay off about 20% of its full-time staff.

The group announced it is restructuring the two stations - i102-104 in the northwest and i105-107 in the northeast.

In a statement, the company said advertising revenue had fallen due to the economic downturn and that steps needed to be taken to secure the economic viability of both stations.

Staff were told today that ten full-time staff and two part-time employees will be made redundant from the middle of next month.

This reduces the number of full-time staff from 52 to 42.

iRadio also announced that it will now co-locate both radio stations at its existing facility in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Shareholders will be required to invest a further €1.5m in the company.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0309/iradio.html

From what I hear 5 full timers and one part timer has to go from each station. Though the biggest loss is without doubt their Galway facility.
Sad to hear they are moving out of Galway as I thought that was part of their appeal to be in a young vibrant city. Hopefully they won't lose any of that appeal in Athlone. I wonder if we will lose any on air names.

Slidey

Not surprised. It is brutal radio.

For Forks Sake

Slidey wrote: »

Not surprised. It is brutal radio.

+1

Their target demographic appears to be dumber-than-average 14 year olds

Fuzzy Clam

It might not be all bad for the guys at i.
McDonalds announced 200 or so new jobs recently. Might suit some of the i presenters.

ella23

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

It might not be all bad for the guys at i.
McDonalds announced 200 or so new jobs recently. Might suit some of the i presenters.

How Horrible insensitive of you! A lot of these people are staring down the barrel of a shotgun at the moment, their livelyhoods are being compromised because of this unfortunate turn in events...Most likely the staff are reading this board at the moment, and the last thing they need is bitter people like you trying to make them feel even worse...have some compassion and empathy and think about how you would feel if you were in their shoes...shame on you!

eth0_

Well then perhaps they should innovate and stop being like every other boring as hell, inane drivel commercial radio station.

Slidey

iWish

Fuzzy Clam

ella23 wrote: »

How Horrible insensitive of you! A lot of these people are staring down the barrel of a shotgun at the moment, their livelyhoods are being compromised because of this unfortunate turn in events...Most likely the staff are reading this board at the moment, and the last thing they need is bitter people like you trying to make them feel even worse...have some compassion and empathy and think about how you would feel if you were in their shoes...shame on you!

How am i trying to make them feel any worse ?
It's a fact that some of them are going to have to seek alternative employment.
They don't have a God given right to be in radio, do they?
Are you suggesting that working in MacDonalds is beneath them?
How horribly insensitive of you to Maccers workers!

Personly, I think some of them may be better suited to work other than radio.

Do (did) you work for i ?

mylombardi

Fuzzy Clam,

Just searched through your old posts and you really have an agenda against the iRadio group, especially i105-107.

I can only guess that you went for the same license and didn't win or maybe you went for a gig and was turned down or maybe just maybe mammy didn't buy you that pony because she spent all her money on the showbands.... who knows..

What I do know is that people who work in radio stations like "i" can handle the criticism, they are professionals... of course everyone is entitled to their opinion but as we all know........critics rarely create

Reading posts like yours, somehow gaining perverse pleasure in people losing their jobs... well that shows the measure of the man you are...

A sad faceless troll at the end of a keyboard... and yes I know I'm only aiding the troll by posting this reply but sometimes you have to stand up for your friends against horrible people like you.

Best of luck to everyone in iRadio - keep up the great work

eth0_

Hello iRadio person - why don't you shake up your station and make it stand out amongst the myrriad other cruddy commercial stations in Ireland? How about loosening the vice-like grip of the playlist on some of your DJ's?

In this economic climate, if you expect to copy the identikit commercial radio blueprint, expect to fail, tbh.

Diabhal Beag

No loss. I stopped listening when Chris Greene left. Tommy and Hector leaving was a big blow though.

Fuzzy Clam

mylombardi wrote: »

Fuzzy Clam,

Just searched through your old posts and you really have an agenda against the iRadio group, especially i105-107.

I can only guess that you went for the same license and didn't win or maybe you went for a gig and was turned down or maybe just maybe mammy didn't buy you that pony because she spent all her money on the showbands.... who knows..

What I do know is that people who work in radio stations like "i" can handle the criticism, they are professionals... of course everyone is entitled to their opinion but as we all know........critics rarely create

Reading posts like yours, somehow gaining perverse pleasure in people losing their jobs... well that shows the measure of the man you are...

A sad faceless troll at the end of a keyboard... and yes I know I'm only aiding the troll by posting this reply but sometimes you have to stand up for your friends against horrible people like you.

Best of luck to everyone in iRadio - keep up the great work

We went through all this crap last year with i Radio staff registering on Boards to make just a point of how great they are. In fact, one of the posts was suspiciously like yours, and you call me a troll:rolleyes:

If, as you state, you're all pros who can take the criticism, then why do many of you sound so amateurish on air?

As I told you last time, I have no agenda against i.

Having said that, I still think it's the worst licenced station I've ever heard.

mylombardi

Well there was must be more like minded people like me then! Fairplay to that poster too!

Enjoy talking to yourself as I have said all I need to say

ella23

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

How am i trying to make them feel any worse ?
It's a fact that some of them are going to have to seek alternative employment.
They don't have a God given right to be in radio, do they?
Are you suggesting that working in MacDonalds is beneath them?
How horribly insensitive of you to Maccers workers!

Personly, I think some of them may be better suited to work other than radio.

Do (did) you work for i ?

I'll be perfectly honest with you here... I applied for a job in i in the first rounds of the talent search... i was narrowed down quite close to the launch, unfortunatly someone else was given the job over me... I still moved to Galway and am now quite happy here...
But unlike some people posting here I have no sour grapes towards the company... I hear them for what they are... And I do know some of the employees...
And on the your McDonalds Jibe there... I'm sure people who have worked years in the media industry, and three years with iRadio do not want to work in McDonalds...that's a fact of life! As you well know yourself...McDonalds is a great place to work, when in college...when you have yet to find a job in your chosen field or when there is no other alternative...Nobody chooses it as a career...and if they do they are not going far...nothing against McDonalds, they serve their purpose, and thankfully they are keeping people employed, arteries blocked and obese people fat!

But whatever your little problem is with the iRadio, could you try not to get so much sadistic glee out of unfortunates who are about to lose their jobs... It is happening all over the country and it is a heartbreaking thing for some families... And remember Karma is a B!tch.
Now get back in to your little box and maybe try and have a little compassion for these people!

Fuzzy Clam

Good luck with your search for a new job.

flazio

Sheesh, just cos a radio station isn't a talking newspaper or playing nothing but anti establishment music or 'vintage' music doesn't mean it's not worthwhile.
Now I have no links to 'i' if anything Chris Greene and his stupid catchphrases really irritate me, but for the most part I like aspects of both 'i' s .
Won't go into detail otherwise I might sound like an advert.
Needless to say I turn on my radio to be entertained first and informed last.
Does that make me a thicko yob? I hope not.
I don't want my radio to tell me how to beat the recession or who's responsible, I just want to hear something with a good beat, for free and legal.

Fuzzy Clam

mylombardi wrote: »

Well there was must be more like minded people like me then! Fairplay to that poster too!

Enjoy talking to yourself as I have said all I need to say

Maybe you're a little slow.

You were that poster!

Trust me, there are no like minded people like you. Least I hope not for humanities sake.

tbh

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

It might not be all bad for the guys at i.
McDonalds announced 200 or so new jobs recently. Might suit some of the i presenters.

not very sensitive fuzzy.

mylombardi wrote: »

Fuzzy Clam,

Just searched through your old posts and you really have an agenda against the iRadio group, especially i105-107.

I can only guess that you went for the same license and didn't win or maybe you went for a gig and was turned down or maybe just maybe mammy didn't buy you that pony because she spent all her money on the showbands.... who knows..

What I do know is that people who work in radio stations like "i" can handle the criticism, they are professionals... of course everyone is entitled to their opinion but as we all know........critics rarely create

Reading posts like yours, somehow gaining perverse pleasure in people losing their jobs... well that shows the measure of the man you are...

A sad faceless troll at the end of a keyboard... and yes I know I'm only aiding the troll by posting this reply but sometimes you have to stand up for your friends against horrible people like you.

Best of luck to everyone in iRadio - keep up the great work

Not really the kind of traffic we want in this forum, please and thanks.

let's quit the bitching lads, and stay on topic. thanks.

Elevator

I could see this coming from week 5/6 tbh, I am reluctant to post on here as i knew a couple of the people who got a serious oppertunity with this radio group but the overall quality of most shows except Tommy and Hectors was worse than brutal. What's worse is I also know people who advertised on the station. Talk about buying the hype and having no real business sense. Why anyone in their right mind would want brand association is beyond me.

I hear a bunch of idiots laughing at each others jokes and being generally stupid childish from the school kids on the bus every morning and it pains me to put up with it. Why would I tune in to hear the same nonsense??

It was quite obvious to me from early on that the cash was too good to be true for the presenters who for the most part were never on radio b4 it and one or 2 should never be allowed on another station ever again. Also I were looking for mad money for their guys to show at events and speak a few
words, my best mates Ma was running a cancer charity event in local hotel 10
mins walk from I and was quoted €3,500 for someone to show and my mate never even heard the name his Ma told him.

I wish everyone involved the best of luck in the future

Now pirate radio is what I'm talkin about

tipperaryboy

Why cant any irish station innovative.. and really be different from the rest.

tbh

tipperaryboy wrote: »

Why cant any irish station innovative.. and really be different from the rest.

too much of a gamble, I'd say.

rogue-entity

tbh wrote: »

too much of a gamble, I'd say.

That.. and licenses are given to businessmen not innovators.

tbh

rogue-entity wrote: »

That.. and licenses are given to businessmen not innovators.

because the innovators don't have the money QED

I'm agreeing with you, btw, it's crap. But it's life - radio, especially commerical radio in ireland, isn't for the greater good of the art, it's for making money, pure and simple.

coldwood92

didn't like them anyway

rogue-entity

tbh wrote: »

because the innovators don't have the money QED

I'm agreeing with you, btw, it's crap. But it's life - radio, especially commerical radio in ireland, isn't for the greater good of the art, it's for making money, pure and simple.

Prettymuch.

Elevator

Pirates ftw

More Music

tipperaryboy wrote: »

Why cant any irish station innovative.. and really be different from the rest.

Well it looks to me that iRadio tried to innovate, they were after all unlike any other station in Ireland if the posts here are anything to go by.

Did it work, no. Now they're closing one of the i studios and cutting jobs.

Safe radio works it seems. And makes money for the investors.

L.Jenkins

So there coming to Athlone minus a few. I've seen the Athlone and it will be a squeeze and I dont see how there going to manage running all them shows with only 3 studios!

Trick of the Tail

They're not, there are two new studios being built there.

And the company is taking more currently vacant space on the same floor for admin.

A.

L.Jenkins

alinton wrote: »

They're not, there are two new studios being built there.

And the company is taking more currently vacant space on the same floor for admin.

A.

Do you work for Iradio!

Trick of the Tail

I work for a company which numbers iRadio among its clients.

A.

L1011

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

No loss. I stopped listening when Chris Greene left. Tommy and Hector leaving was a big blow though.

Chris Greene was moved to the Athlone based station to attempt to boost listernship there, he didn't "leave" as such.

105107 has an almost impossible task to get listeners as their main audience base already listens to the Dublin stations and they don't (can't) target the older audience. The abysmal market share of East Coast and Kfm (and also not the healthiest share of LM FM) shows this quite clearly...

Beau

I love i105-107, what can I say its entertaining! Their presenters come across as just normal good craic Irish lads/girls and I like the mix of music they play when I'm in a certain mood. Live in Dublin now so I don't get to listen to it that often. Anyway, I hope it survives.

airhorn

i 102-104 used to be allright at the start but it went down hill fast same old sh!t everyday in house jokes etc, if you were'nt from the areas where the presenters were from or living there would be absolutey no point in listening to it eg. Fergal Darcy constantly banging on about B'sloe.

At the moment its just about allright in small bursts, but overall im not surprised the station is in some sort of trouble.

I won two tickets to the Ireland v England rugby match on the Tommy & Hector show last year anyways to make a long story short after going up to Dublin the night before the match for a live broadcast where i had to tell my story (the story that won the prize) live on air & to collect my tickets i was told afterwards that they could only get their hands on one ticket & thats all i got, bare in mind i had my wife with me & a hotel booked, needless to say it left a sour taste in my mouth.

BennyBlanko

airhorn wrote: »

i was told afterwards that they could only get their hands on one ticket & thats all i got, bare in mind i had my wife with me & a hotel booked, needless to say it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Thats DISGUSTING!:mad:

and you took it lying down?

airhorn

BennyBlanko wrote: »

Thats DISGUSTING!:mad:

and you took it lying down?

Oh there was abit of a work over it allright, in the end i was told bluntly (by on of the presenters) that either i took the ticket or i did'nt it was up to me more or less told to shut up, what else was i supposed to do then in all fairness, i felt like making a beeline for Tommy & Hector they were 2 proper pricks throughout the ordeal too. The story was that Paddy Power was supposed to be giving the tickets but in the end only had one & could'nt get his hands on another, it was pretty obvious that the other ticket was given to someone else a friend of theirs.....someone more important than me too probably.

In the end my wife got the bus home on the Saturday morning (day of the match) & i went to the match on my own.

With stunts like that being pulled by that radio station is it any wonder they are in abit of trouble.

BennyBlanko

airhorn wrote: »

Oh there was abit of a work over it allright, in the end i was told bluntly (by on of the presenters) that either i took the ticket or i did'nt it was up to me more or less told to shut up, what else was i supposed to do then in all fairness, i felt like making a beeline for Tommy & Hector they were 2 proper pricks throughout the ordeal too. The story was that Paddy Power was supposed to be giving the tickets but in the end only had one & could'nt get his hands on another, it was pretty obvious that the other ticket was given to someone else a friend of theirs.....someone more important than me too probably.

In the end my wife got the bus home on the Saturday morning (day of the match) & i went to the match on my own.

With stunts like that being pulled by that radio station is it any wonder they are in abit of trouble.

Wow- you went away easily.
You even now have a very strong case to take an action against them.

Barname

I am not surprised

I had to endure that station recently

disgraceful stuff, no originality, pure shoutfest

it is a cookie cutter of any regional try too hard regional english radio station

I wish them further failure. they are a tarnish on our culture

version1

well i hope they keep going strong!!the sh1t radio we have in galway,i radio has been one of the best things for the west of ireland...

GSF

BennyBlanko wrote: »

Wow- you went away easily.
You even now have a very strong case to take an action against them.

should have threatened to go to the papers with that story. That would have forced them to cough up

mandz

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

No loss. I stopped listening when Chris Greene left. Tommy and Hector leaving was a big blow though.

I stopped listening to i102-104 at the same time. I don't like Mary McGill or whatever her name is. Chris Greene is now on in the afternoon on i105-107. I think I prefer i105-107.

L.Jenkins

mandz wrote: »

I stopped listening to i102-104 at the same time. I don't like Mary McGill or whatever her name is. Chris Greene is now on in the afternoon on i105-107. I think I prefer i105-107.

Chris Greene is a walking, talking <SNIP>!!!! Jaysus, I never heard a pair of stations that appeal to the intellectually challanged like IRadio. I bet they couldnt rub a 100 IQ points between them!

Slidey

No personal abuse of the presenters please

patrickc

i drives facebook has the following

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/iDr...il/72988935771


Ok so news is out...but alot of you may not have heard. the new line up does not involve myself or phil! We'd just like to say a massive thank you for always tuning in and we're gona miss you loads... But hey bigger and better things are to come and if you live in Dublin the wait won't be too long x x


apparently all shows now are 4 hour long

flazio

And their mirror show on i102-104 'iWake Up with Louise & Lynch' has also fallen by the wayside. From what I've heard from 105-107's side, Breakfast lads will be 7-11, iWork will be 11-3, Third i will be 3-7, I think Ar Eileamh is untouched on both i s and iTalk stays for 102-104. iRock is gone on Mondays so a shake up on the nights is on the cards as well.

digmycrazydance

i loved iradio (im in mayo) i loved chris and i was exstatic when i found the podcasts and then i found idrive which i love too and after a while i started to love italk again and i loved the iwake up. this new has made me so sad. i think there going to lose me as a listener. i may stay on for italk as i love pete and mary. but thats it. i hate fergal d'arcy now. i saw him last year at the no name club and he seemed sound but this weekend at the same event he seems so arrogent that although he does his job well he has lost me a listener. i don't mean to bash him im just actually really upset about this. i feel like sh1t first ugly betty now this whats next glee?

L.Jenkins

Has Peter Ganley left the IGoHome show for ITalk. I know Fergal D'arcys relatives, he can be a fit full of himself. I met Peter Ganley Saturday in i105107, soundess lad you'd ever met.

niamh2709

I did work experience (Transition Year) at the very beginning of the radio station and i can honestly say that the i105-107 crew are the nicest bunch of people you will ever come across. They play the music people want to hear so you can't fault them on that. On i102-104, Ar Eileamh and iTalk are class. Just because they are not your demographic doesn't mean they are bad. I'm 17 and most of my friends listen to i105-107 or i102-104 while studying etc. .

paulhannon

MYOB wrote: »

Chris Greene was moved to the Athlone based station to attempt to boost listernship there, he didn't "leave" as such.

He left i102 to go to go back to college and finish his degree. It was when the guy on the talk show for i105 left he was asked back to take over from him. Glad they did too, he's brilliant!

coldwood92

coldwood92 wrote: »

didn't like them anyway

even though i said that then I like them now:D

barryd09

ItsThatManAgain wrote: »

I met Peter Ganley Saturday in i105107, soundess lad you'd ever met.

i will vouch for peter too,an absolute gent.one of the hardest working people i know and he LOVES his job.

paulhannon wrote: »

He left i102 to go to go back to college and finish his degree. It was when the guy on the talk show for i105 left he was asked back to take over from him. Glad they did too, he's brilliant!

x2 chris greene is brilliant