Tag Archives: Newstalk

Pat Kenny (left) with Ryan Tubridy at the 50th anniversary Late Late Show in 2013

This afternoon.

Via Irish Times:

Ryan Tubridy, Claire Byrne, Pat Kenny and Matt Cooper were among the main winners in the latest Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) survey of radio audiences, with all four presenters consolidating and adding to their pandemic gains.

Newstalk said The Pat Kenny Show had become its biggest ever programme with 184,000 listeners, while Matt Cooper’s drivetime audience on Today FM reached its highest point in a decade, while there were gains too for Radio 1 after last year saw some slippage from the station’s Covid-19 crisis highs.

Um..

Ryan Tubridy’s ‘nice little distraction’ now number two Irish radio show (Irish Times)

The mainstream.

YOU love it.

RollingNews

Before

After

This afternoon.

Journalist Ewan McKenna is censored by Newstalk for raising issues prompted by leaked correspondence from the Independent Science Advisory Group (ISAG) critical of covid response critics that appeared on the website Gript.

Update:

John McGuirk, Gript founder, writes:

Newstalk, since this story was published, appear to have re-instated the original interview with Ewan McKenna in full. This poses several questions that are quite serious: If, for example, the defamation lawyers working for Newstalk had insisted that the section be removed, there would be no reason to re-instate it. The decision to re-instate the section makes this look much more like an editorial decision. In other words, we can be reasonably certain that McKenna’s interview was censored for political reasons.

Anyone?

Revealed: How Newstalk “disappeared” a criticism of the Zero Covid group (Gript)

 

Communicorp, the radio group owned by Denis O’Brien, has agreed a sale of the company to UK group Bauer Media Audio for an undisclosed sum

This morning.

Via Newstalk:

Bauer Media Audio has today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Communicorp Group subject only to regulatory approval.

The group comprises of Ireland’s only two national commercial radio stations Today FM and Newstalk, alongside local stations Spin 1038 and 98FM in Dublin, and Spin Southwest in Limerick, as well as leading digital radio sport station Off The Ball, digital audio exchange audioXI and aggregated listening platform GoLoud.

Bauer Media Audio has today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Communicorp Group (Newstalk)

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Meanwhile…

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin

This evening.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin spoke to Mary Wilson on RTÉ’s Drivetime ahead of a meeting he is expected to hold with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Thursday.

They discussed the confidence and supply agreement that his party shares with Fine Gael and which underpins the Government.

They had this exchange…

Mary Wilson: “If there’s a vote of no confidence put down in the Minister for Health, what will Fianna Fáil do?”

Micheál Martin: “Well, if there’s an agreement to Easter, in our view, there will be no need for such motions of confidence or no confidence.”

Wilson: “But if there is one?”

Martin: “If there’s an agreement, we’ll stand by the agreement…”

Wilson: “So you’ll abstain?”

Martin: “…as we have…”

Wilson: “You’ll abstain?”

Martin: “As we have with all other agreements.”

Wilson: “You’ll abstain?”

Martin: “But I think we’ll have to be in agreement in advance, in my view. Otherwise, everybody is vulnerable to the opportunism that such motions represent. We had one before Christmas, Mary. Everybody knew it was a pre-Christmas stunt. No-one wanted an election on the 28th of December. I’m talking about the motion of no confidence in [Housing Minister] Eoghan Murphy. So I’m not really, I’ve no interest in that type of political stunt-making.

“But what I am interested in is the way to avoid all of that is to have a sensible agreement and others then might follow – Independents and other smaller parties might say ‘you know, that’s reasonable, let’s get four or five important pieces of legislation through…”

Listen back in full here

EARLIER:

Fiach Kelly, in The Irish Times, reports:

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said there is “no question” of his party voting for the Government as requested by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Mr Varadkar has asked Mr Martin to support the Government in some Dáil votes if he wants to secure an election date.

Mr Martin told Newstalk he will not change his approach, setting up a confrontation between the pair at a meeting on Thursday night to discuss the election date and the end of the confidence and supply deal.

The meeting will take place in Dublin although the time and venue have not yet been confirmed.

Micheál Martin says ‘no question’ of his party voting for Government (The Irish Times)

Micheál Martin says ‘no question’ of his party voting for Government (Newstalk)

Listen to the Newstalk interview in full here

 

From top: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar; Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin; Instructions via Whatsapp to Fine Gael staffers

“How can we trust Micheál Martin on health? He established the HSE.”

“Why should we trust FF? They destroyed the economy.”

“Will Bertie Ahern ever run for the Arás (sic) on the FF ticket?”

“Is the talent there on the FF frontbenchers (sic)? Outside of Micheál Martin and a handful of others you don’t have many household names.

“On housing Darragh O Brien (sic) constantly criticizes (sic) Eoghan Murphys (sic) background – is it right to always play the man and not the ball?”

“Are you feeling the pressure from your own backbenchers?”

“Why should we trust FF on housing?”

“Do FF have a clear, stated policy on personal taxation?”

Above are a series of suggested questions that were sent from Fine Gael’s digital team to party members last Thursday evening via WhatsApp.

Sunday Business Post journalist Hugh O’Connell reported yesterday that the Fine Gael members were instructed to send these questions – or reworded versions of them – into Newstalk during a live interview with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin last Friday.

Mr O’Connell reported:

“Leaked WhatsApp messages seen by The Sunday Business Post show that dozens of Fine Gael staff and activists were told by the party’s digital team to reword suggested questions ‘in your own voice’ as ‘we don’t want to make it obvious it’s coming from us’.

“They were also told to avoid using email addresses with either Fine Gael or Young Fine Gael in them.”

Meanwhile, from the vaults

The Fine Gael online campaign team during the 2011 general election.

Good times.

Previously: Fine Gael’s Frape Room

Former presidential hopeful Peter Casey

Laura Slattery, in The Irish Times, reports:

Peter Casey, the candidate in October’s presidential election, is recording a series of “individual reports” for Newstalk, the radio station owned by Denis O’Brien.

However, a spokesman denied that he was being given his own regular show or that he was a potential replacement for the weekend slot vacated by George Hook.

Mr Casey, who finished second in the presidential election with 23 per cent of the vote, is understood to be authoring several 15-20 minute segments for the Communicorp station, which will run across its main weekday shows.

Presidential candidate Peter Casey is Newstalk’s latest recruit (The Irish Times)

Rollingnews

George Hook

The angry old white guy who says it like it is market.

The bottom’s falling out.

Radio Today reports:

George Hook is retiring from Newstalk after 16 years with the station at the end of his current contract.

…George will present his last “Saturday Sit In” in December.

Presenter George Hook to retire from Newstalk (Radio Today)