2fm - New schedule coming

Yeah, the redtops are a very reliable source. 🙄

You deserve lots of thanks

nope? But I’m intrigued

Yeah I'd expect Laura Fox to get a bit of a promotion to a full time week gig.

Fair play to her, she has worked her way up from local radio to online radio to fill-in to weekend and now potentially weekdays. I'll always have respect for that. She wasn't just handed a cushy number because of name or bought a slot.

I think it might be time for Kevin Bakhurst to call Dan Healy into his office and ask what the hell is going on.

A good day. If they’re running so quickly when a bit of discipline is imposed then they were a waste of space to begin with.

Apparently Dan told a "Town Hall" meeting in RTE yesterday that he's all about bringing through fresh talent and has done lots of this already, with some Pulse presenters.

I don't know if anyone there had the decency to laugh in his face.

I also think Backhurst is very comfortable with all of this.

He can't go cap in hand to the Dept looking to fund 400 voluntary redundancies with the risk of another Doireann or Jennifer related Instagram land mine exploding.

I'm glad I put a few € on this coming to fruit 🤑

sounds like theyre bringing in cheaper labour. i said it above, there will be current fill in 2fm presenters / weekend presenters given primetime weekday slots.

Dan Healy aka Head of Audio Strategy and 2fm, I imagine he will soon be Director of Content Audio before the year is up.

How relevant is BBC Radio 1 to youngsters in the UK these days? It's been the model that 2fm moulds itself on since its inception. But these days I feel like Radio 2 is the more relevant music station over there. Maybe it's time for 2fm to aim for Irish equivalent of BBC radio 2 listeners rather than BBC Radio 1.

Do we need 2FM at all?

I imagine with the “stars” walking out because their income sources are limited, they are Backhurst & Co are figuring out that by losing listeners they can have a mandate to shut that station down.

...

That'd be 2FM going back to its roots. So many of the DJs from its first decade of existence came from a pirate background (including one G. Ryan) and were virtual unknowns when they started out. Of course it was easier to become a household name in those days but it was a formula that worked. If a presenter is likeable and competent, and plays good music, they'll go a long way towards holding their listeners.

Healy is absolutely flailing here on Claire Byrne.

I can hear his lips sticking to his gums.

He's actually insufferable.

How is he charge of anything?

Who actually aspires to be a 2fm presenter these days when anyone with ambition has multiple options for launchpads with the internet?

The two johnnies make more from their podcasts without the overheads of rte.

Their exit only confirms 2fm's irrelevance to generations whose main milieu is the internet.

Easier path if you are good and if RTÉ or any company can develop you, but its also important to role the dice when the time comes to leave the organisation that has supported you.

I have no real problem with RTÉ taking the 2 Jonnies, Doireann or Jenny Z and supporting them, in reality the 2 Jonnies were taken to boost 2FM audience. Which they kind of did, but defenders of RTÉ will say they really weren't given enough time, I'd argue that that is about a far as they could have brought it and they would have flatlined over the next few years and we'd still be talking about them.

Doireann is a grifter and that is fine, it will be interesting to see where she goes with her podcasts following this, perhaps I underestimate that side of the industry.

Jenny Z on the other hand doesn't really have anything from that side of things. She's not like the 2 Jonnies and their touring talks/comedy. And unlike Doireann she doesn't have a podcasting background. It will be interesting to see if she retains the presenting role on DWTS. I have a feeling that RTÉ TV will want some connection to their Radio stations especially as no Radio 1 presenter is currently on TV. Nothing stopping RTÉ getting Claire Byrne and Louise Duffy to present DWTS.

Sorry Miriam O'Callaghan is the only RTÉ Radio 1 presenter also on TV. Aine Lawlor on TWIP. No one expects the Spanish inquisition !

They're leaving as they have to sign new contracts with 2fm and have to declare all external revenue too. The 2 Johnnie's wanted time off to go on tour but 2fm said no, so they left.

To be fair to 2FM you can’t build a prime time schedule around people going on tour for months or weeks at a time. To be fair to the 2 Johnnies, if you’re that successful, youve outgrown the slot anyway.

It’s a bit disconcerting that Dan Healy seems to be still intent on chasing social media personalities for future roles. Given the current batch are leaving due to changed terms, will any up and coming or established social media types want to sign up or, if they do, will try stay if their other ventures prove more lucrative than the 2FM gig?

I don’t really get social media as a draw for a radio listenership but how did we get here from the starting point of radio enthusiasts doing it because they love the job?

You can tell when someone is on radio because they love it. The enthusiasm shines through and they’re passionate about what they’re presenting either music or anything else. All I hear from a lot of modern radio is a presenter shouting “Look at me!”

…and they have a touring musician presenting a weekend nighttime music show, when most of his tour dates are on weekends!