"HIRING a 25 year old unknown to present daytime programme five days a week shows that Radio Ireland's commitment to new voices is not just empty rhetoric." Philip Boucher Hayes was quoted as saying this about his programme Entertainment Today in the promotional material Radio Ireland published before its March 17th start.
Last week BoucherHayes was let go with little ceremony. A letter told him there was "listener resistance" to his programme and that he would not be needed after the weekend. Next month it will be the turn of the Sessions, a nightly programme that features different music daily, blues, Jazz, country and western or folk. The producer, Pat Hannon, it is believed, has been told the programme is to end.
Meanwhile, Radio Ireland has offered Gerry Ryan, not exactly a new voice in Irish broadcasting, £1 million over three years. If he does move from 2FM, it is assumed by those inside the station that he will take over the morning slot from Cliona Ni Bhuachalla.
More change is on the way, and industry sources are suggesting that within a few months Radio Ireland's schedule will hardly be recognisable. Understandably staff morale is very low.
After three months on air, Radio Ireland is performing worse than Century was after the same length of time. There will be no official figures until the end of the summer, but private surveys undertaken by other stations show very low levels of performance.
It would appear that Radio Ireland now has a 2 per cent market share of the listening audience, with an audience reach (or "listened yesterday") figure of 6 per cent. Its own target is 10 per cent of market share within the first year.
SUCH figures have to be viewed with some scepticism, as they are being leaked by the opposition.
No one is suggesting, however, that Radio Ireland is doing well. As one RTE source suggested, Gerry Ryan would be worth £2 million to Radio Ireland, given its performance to date. And talking of millions, industry sources are suggesting that the station is probably taking in about £1 million in a full year, with £2 million at least in outgoings.
Michael Bowles, of the Media Bureau, said it was difficult to give an accurate picture of Radio Ireland without the research. His gut reaction is that it is not doing well. His company had put some clients' money into the station, but "the price reflected our gut feeling".
He said Radio Ireland had a dismal level of promotion and used none of the usual tricks for winning and retaining audiences, such as competitions.
Stuart Fogarty, the managing director of AFA Advertising, said the advertising industry had welcomed Radio Ireland. It was hoped it would mean extra advertising time and lower costs. Everyone wanted it to do well, "but we are hard nosed. Advertising money follows audiences. We don't care if the station is playing nonstop music or news all day long, if it has an audience we put money in. Radio Ireland has not attracted the audience."
The rumour was that it had an audience reach of 4 or 5 per cent. "That is pathetic and it is because of its programming." AFA had placed some test advertising, he said, but the response had been poor.
Fogarty said he would have expected the station to be doing much better after three months on air. A station should be at its peak just after its launch. There is the curiosity and novelty value. People turn on to see what it is like. "If they do not like what they hear, and turn elsewhere, it could take years to get them back," he said.
Dublin's FM104 was a good example. It had not done well at the start, when it was known as Capital. It took seven years and two name changes before it could claim to be a success.
In other areas, news for instance, things have been allowed to run down because of costs. Journalists who have left, or have been moved to fill holes elsewhere, have not been replaced putting pressure on the other journalists. This was particularly acute during the general election campaign.
Radio Ireland actually went into the general election with a part time political correspondent, as Mark Costigan had been roped into copresenting Daybreak, the two hour early morning news programme, after one of the original presenters, Gavin Duffy, left.
And all this during a period when advertisers are desperate for more advertising time. Radio advertising is worth about £40 million a year, but despite the health of the economy that has remained flat because RTE, with a limit on the amount of time it may devote to advertising, has not been able to accommodate the extra business.
THE Radio Ireland schedule approved by the Independent Radio and Television Commission only three months ago appeared designed to match RTE Radio 1. Early morning news and current affairs matched early morning news and current affairs, midmorning magazine programmes versus magazine programmes, but nothing on Radio Ireland has been strong enough in either resources or presentation to beat RTE.
Some programmes are doing better than others. Daybreak has benefited from the fact that it starts earlier than Morning Ireland. The Last Word is also believed to be doing well. Everyone speaks highly of the loyal audience for John Kelly's Eclectic Ballroom, an early evening music programme in which the choice reflects the presenter's idiosyncratic taste.
Radio Ireland's chairman, John McColgan, insisted to journalists and the IRTC last March that his station was not interested in attracting stars from RTE. That would not be creating a new voice in Irish radio, he suggested. Now its only strategy seems more music and getting Gerry Ryan.
Last March the promoters said they had pockets deep enough to operate without profits for three years. The question not asked at the time was what level of losses the station could sustain for those three years.
It appears the shareholders might be asked to dig even deeper into their pockets. Some shareholders might want to sell their stake and if they do Radio Scotland, the successful Scottish media company, which has a 15 per cent stake in Radio Ireland and owns Downtown Radio in Belfast, might buy.
Within the advertising industry many are predicting that within two years Scottish Radio will be a major shareholder. That, they say, will save Radio Ireland. Radio Scotland's chairman, Jimmy Gordon, wants to be a player in Irish radio and his company has supplied much expertise.
The irony is Scottish Radio was an applicant for the national radio licence. It failed. What will the IRTC say if it eventually gets it via the back door?