Present Tense

  • News from the wireless

    May 15, 2008 @ 5:54 pm | by Shane

    Among the most noteworthy figures to come out of the latest radio listenership results show that RTE Radio One’s Drivetime has overtaken Today FM’s The Last Word, although with only 3,000 listeners (223,000 vs 220,000) in the difference they are effectively neck-and-neck. Still, given the weaknesses of Drivetime - it is often bland, overly-segmented, generally that bit too safe - it will get quite a boost given it had slid behind Matt Cooper’s show in the past year. George Hook, by the way, has 97,000 listeners (up 3,000), so is making very slow but definitely unspectacular progress.

    Elsewhere, Marian Finnucane’s weekend show continues to build a strong listenership. Her Saturday show is now fourth overall, with a total audience of 309,000 (her Sunday show is 8th). Since moving to the weekend, she has emphasised what an excellent broadcaster she is. The interview with Nuala O’Faolain - radio that froze you in your tracks - may have gained the attention, but each weekend she has been delivering lively radio that, on Sundays, is showing up Sam Smyth’s often rambling and all-too-pleased-with-itself Sunday Supplement.

  • Nuala O’Faolain

    April 14, 2008 @ 8:24 am | by Shane

    Although there has been a large amount of coverage of Nuala O’Faolain’s interview with Marian Finucane - including the entire transcript in the Sunday Independent - it should still be listened to. It can be found on the RTÉ website here (from 6m 50s).

    This morning, Nell McCafferty was interviewed on Morning Ireland and addressed the issue of how we talk about (or avoid talking about) death, and raised the issue of euthanasia - something, she emphasised, which was not raised by O’Faolain herself. A deliberately uncomfortable conversation, and clearly difficult for interviewer Aine Lawlor, you can here that here here (from 1hr 47m 37s).

  • Samantha Power on RTÉ; and when does off-the-record not mean off-the-record?

    March 7, 2008 @ 7:08 pm | by Shane

    “I suspect the guillotine is hanging over my head.”

    Samantha Power’s interview on RTÉ Radio 1’s Today with Pat Kenny would have been interesting anyway, but given that it was perhaps her last public comments before being axed from the Obama camp for calling Hillary Clinton a “monster”, it has an added pathos now (although that depends on your political viewpoint).

    You can listen to that interview here. You’ll find her comments on the “monster” controversy from 52:30 minutes on.

    As a journalist it raises the important question of what is off the record and what is not; and is it unfair to quote her as saying that Clinton “is a monster, too - that is off the record - she is stooping to anything”?

    If journalists printed everything that they were told was off the record, newspapers would be far more exciting places. But they don’t, often to maintain relationships with sources, out of respect for interviewees, and because of the unwritten code introduced by the mere mention of teh words “this is off the record”. They are supposed to act as invisibility dust, hiding the remarks from the record. But not this time.

  • 1 Pat Kenny = 3 Derek Mooneys

    February 29, 2008 @ 10:17 am | by Shane

    pat-kenny-2.jpgThose RTE salaries in full:

    1) Pat Kenny: €849,139
    2) Gerry Ryan: €558,990
    3) Marian Finucane: €455,190
    4) Joe Duffy: €367,804
    5) Ryan Tubridy: €346,667
    6) Derek Mooney: €242,408
    7) Marty Whelan!: €229,056
    8 ) Miriam O’Callaghan: €221,383
    9) John Kelly: €204,675
    10) Bryan Dobson: €193,610

    Some thoughts: (more…)

  • Trapattoni, O’Brien, Bertie and RTÉ

    February 13, 2008 @ 6:57 pm | by Shane

    First, RTÉ Radio 1 cut the FAI press conference early, which was frustrating in itself. Then Drivetime’s Mary Wilson went to an interview with Denis O’Brien, whose modesty does not stretch to preventing himself from going on the national airwaves to admit that it was, indeed, he who has quietly come to the rescue of Irish soccer. No strings attached. The thanks of the Irish people will be enough. Adoration would be a bonus. OK, then, you may kiss his ring.

    (By the way, at the press conference it was suggested that O’Brien hasn’t done it for match tickets. I’m guessing that, should he want to, he can already watch the match from behind bulletproof glass, while being fed champagne and caviar by women dressed in nothing but 1988 Irish jerseys.)

    But from there, Wilson went to the only man more likely to somehow turn this great moment for Irish soccer into a personal triumph - Bertie Ahern. Why ask Bertie what he thinks? Because he’s An Taoiseach Jimmy Rabbitte.

    And in fairness to him, he showed once again that he has a future in football punditry by spouting dull cliche with the verve of a pro. Thank you RTÉ for giving us the chance to hear his forgettable platitudes.

  • Ding ding: John Waters v a Blogger

    January 22, 2008 @ 5:23 pm | by Shane

    Frankly, I’m not sure how seriously we should be taking John Waters’ comments on blogs - he was quite clearly being mischevious the first time around - but he has repeated them a couple of times on radio and in print since. Also, despite the fact that it’s been a talking point online over the past week, I’m always reluctant to open up this blog to any wider discussion on a colleague.

    Well, it’s getting harder to avoid because tomorrow morning at 8.30am, on Newstalk’s Breakfast Show, he’ll face off against Fergal Crehan from Tuppenceworth, so hopefully it’ll give the debate a bit more depth.

    Although, given how hard it is to avoid using the language of confrontation when even discussing the discussion then it may be too pugilistic for anybody’s good.

  • The secret of Today FM’s success? Sacking me

    November 16, 2007 @ 12:35 pm | by Shane

    Way back, when I was just starting out in the dog-builds-up-dog, dog-knocks-down-dog world of journalism, my first regular paid gig outside of college was as a researcher in what was then known as Radio Ireland. I worked on the breakfast show (as presented by Mark Byrne) in the days before anyone listened to it. Even though I was working behind the scenes, I helped pioneer that current fashion for including researchers and producers in on-air banter. Although, when I say “helped pioneer” I really mean “set back by a decade”.

    Mario Rosenstock was drafted in all that time ago, before Ian Dempsey eventually take over. I did sketches with him, including a passable Ian Paisley. This happens to be the only impression I can do, so we wrote him into a lot of sketches. (more…)

  • Stat of the day

    November 7, 2007 @ 9:16 am | by Shane

    83% of all radio ads this week will feature Steve Davis singing about his unpredictability.

  • Bad ideas = Genius

    October 31, 2007 @ 9:13 am | by Shane

    Before it comes to the end of its current run, listen to BBC Radio 4’s Genius. Presented by Dave Gorman, it invites listeners to send in an idea, and Gorman and guests decide whether it’s “genius” or not. It’s a kind of pointless Dragon’s Den. Pointless in a good way. Genius ideas have included:

    - Claiming the east and west poles.
    - Hooking up gym equipment to feed the national grid.
    - Steel drum urinals – for musical trips to the loo.
    - Using talking parrots to assist mutes.
    - Getting old people living in homes to watch live CCTV and report misdemeanours, thus keeping them entertained and reducing crime.

  • Twink: still angry.

    September 25, 2007 @ 3:33 pm | by Shane

    Today’s Liveline proved that there are some people left in Ireland who don’t realise that if you push the wrong buttons, Twink will explode.

    UPDATE: Link had changed. It’s now been fixed.

  • Ireland vs Georgia / Radio vs TV

    September 17, 2007 @ 10:34 am | by Shane

    Let’s overlook the match itself, chiefly because I’ve spent a lot of money on booking a trip to the Argentina game and it increasingly looks as if I’ll be paying for the pleasure of having my spirit sliced, minced, ground into burgers and fed to the Argentine pack.

    Instead, let’s look again at the coverage. Newstalk has been encouraging the public to turn down the sound on their TV and turn on the radio commentary. I did that on Saturday night. Some thoughts:

    1) The radio coverage was a few seconds behind the TV. On the TV, you could see the Georgian makes break towards the line, while Newstalk’s commentator was still chatting about the previous move. Then, several seconds later, he’d suddenly yell “Oh! And Georgia go for the line!” while you could see that the attack had broken down. It continually sounded as if he was getting a prod in the ribs.

    2) Hook was ridiculously optimistic, telling listeners at half time that the reason why Georgia stayed on the pitch was because they were too exhausted to move. They would, he assured us, wilt in the second half. They didn’t.

    3) Which is perhaps why he became so apoplectic as the match wore on: he was as annoyed by his ill judgement as the Irish display.

    4) Bizarrely, there was an ad at half-time, telling listeners that the match could be seen on TV3. Surely, anyone within reach of a telly would have turned it on in the first place. And why does Newstalk carry an ad urging people to switch off Newstalk?

    5) Regarding TV3, there was an hilarious moment when Matt Cooper went over to an interview with, I think, Eddie O’Sullivan. “He’s talking to Sinead Cassan.” Cue very male, very obviously UTV voice.

  • “Next on Morning Ireland, behind the scenes on Winning Streak”

    September 6, 2007 @ 1:17 pm | by Shane

    Well done to Morning Ireland for bringing the nation the news that matters - such as the report this morning that Diarmuid Gavin’s new show, Diarmuid’s Pony Kids, is on the telly tonight. Of course, it needed the leg up given that it only has the RTÉ Guide, several trailers and several radio and television stations through which to sell the show.

    Coming next week: a one hour special on Dan and Becs. Presented by John Bowman.

  • Something for the weekend

    August 24, 2007 @ 8:28 am | by Shane

    “Debate” on The Last Word in which David Quinn asks Psychics Live owner Tom Higgins for verifiable proof of astrology. Thrust of the row: “Prove astrology,” says Quinn. “No you prove religion,” says Higgins. “No you prove astrology,” retorts Quinn. “No, you prove religion.” Occassional sensible person texts in to point out that neither is on what you could call solid ground.
    Link
    (more…)

  • Swing votes?

    April 10, 2007 @ 7:05 pm | by Shane

    Discussion on Tuesday’s Tubridy Show about political bias in the print media. Starts about seven minutes in.

    Link: Tubridy Show archive

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