The sad state of radio worldwide

Radio is becoming all about money and not about the listener or quality of programming. This is once again evident in the decision that RTE 2FM has made recently with the Rick O’Shea and Nikki Hayes’ shows.  I began listening to Rick’s show about 6 months ago, stumbling upon it quite by accident but liking the banter of this soft spoken witty DJ with an Irish accent. Due to time zones, I’d be having my breakfast with Rick while he made getting home at the end of a workday, easier for his local Dublin listeners.

Rick’s show enabled the listener to text or email in – answers to life’s burning questions, contests for school children, even reuniting a visiting American woman with an Irishman she had met and literally fell in love with on her last vacation – all she had to go on was his name. Rick’s show was unique in a sea of boring radio programming – and I looked forward to it each morning.

As stated though, RTE 2FM has decided to cut the budget and has done so by reformatting the show to music only with no talk except to introduce the next song and tell listeners where it lies on the hits chart. This has enabled the station to cut researchers from three to one, hence saving coin. But at what expense?

What RTE 2FM dont realize, is that listenership also generates revenue. Our two most successful stations here, CFOX.com and ROCK101.com both have the lion’s share of listeners, both locally and also Canada-wide. Why? The personalities of the DJ’s, the vibe of the shows, the availability of the listeners to be interactive with what’s happening on air… all things that RTE 2FM seem to be missing in the equation. Hopefully they’ll wake up, smell the coffee and reinstate Rick (and Nikki) to their former glorious selves on air.

You can join the Facebook Campaign, or email your displeasure to complaints@rte.ie I did.

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