The announcement by Newstalk that it is to launch a new schedule in early February confirms a revamp that has been expected since the arrival – and departure – of high-profile presenters at the station in recent months. But while the changes had been preceded by a flurry of headline-grabbing personnel switches between the Bauer Media-owned commercial channel and its rival RTÉ Radio 1, the details of the schedule are less dramatic, amounting to a sensible reshuffle rather than a radical overhaul.
As expected, former RTÉ Radio 1 host Claire Byrne takes over the 9am-midday weekday programme occupied since 2013 by Pat Kenny, who in turn is to present a new weekend show from March. Shane Coleman and Ciara Kelly, currently the co-anchors of Newstalk Breakfast, make a less predictable move up the schedule to helm drivetime show The Hard Shoulder from 4.30pm-7pm, filling the gap left by former presenter Kieran Cuddihy’s jump to RTÉ Radio 1 as Joe Duffy’s successor on Liveline. Meanwhile, Anton Savage leaves his weekend show to replace Coleman and Kelly in the station’s 7am-9am slot. (Andrea Gilligan, presenter of Lunchtime Live, and long-time presenter Séan Moncrieff remain unchanged in their afternoon berths.)
Newstalk’s managing editor Eric Moylan described the makeover as “a new era” for the station, but it seems more akin to moving chess pieces around the board to secure a stronger position. Byrne’s installation in Kenny’s time slot has been flagged since news broke in August that she was defecting from RTÉ. One of the country’s best known broadcasters, she has to retain the large audience built up by her predecessor, while seeing off the challenge of Radio 1’s David McCullagh, who has taken over her old role.
The elevation of Coleman and Kelly to The Hard Shoulder is more of a surprise, but it’s a logical move. The duo have formed a sparky chemistry during their five-year morning stint, with Kelly – a former GP – often pitching herself as the mildly anti-woke voice of the squeezed middle, while Coleman, a richly experienced journalist, regularly plays the centrist straight man. Their formula, which makes for lively if occasionally overwrought morning listening, seems well suited for the early evening slot, where the pair’s opinionated approach may strike a chord with frustrated commuters, as well as differentiating them from Radio 1’s newly installed Drivetime team of Katie Hannon and Colm Ó Mongáin.
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Anton Savage, however, is arguably the biggest winner to emerge from the refreshed roster. Almost nine years since he lost his midmorning chatshow on Today FM (also now owned by Bauer Media), Savage is back hosting his own prime time weekday programme on national radio, albeit at an earlier hour. The move comes not only on the back of strong ratings for his weekend show, but also as a reliable stand-in across Newstalk programming. It also represents a break from the twin-presenter format that Newstalk Breakfast has relied on since 2010, when the on-air partnership of Ivan Yates and Chris Donoghue debuted. Savage’s solo turn will lack the pyrotechnics of previous duos, but the wryly amused manner and current affairs experience of the presenter (who is also a co-founder of PR firm the Communications Clinic) should compensate, as well as setting him up as less forbidding alternative to Morning Ireland on Radio 1.
Similarly, while Newstalk’s forthcoming schedule changes appear incremental compared to Radio 1’s recent dramatic reconstruction, the commercial station equally looks to be presenting itself as the reliable option for listeners seeking continuity after the upheavals in RTÉ, both in its recruitment of Byrne and the canny switching of proven presenters.
