The Radio Year: This year the national broadcaster stuck with the safe and familiar, but there were some gems hidden in the schedule, writes Bernice Harrison
At 86 per cent, listenership to radio in Ireland is among the highest in Europe - but it's slipping, not fast, admittedly, but the figures are heading south. In 2003, 2 per cent fewer people tuned in.
In TV-land the threat to the national broadcaster comes from foreign and satellite channels, but for radio, the stations chipping away at the national broadcaster's listenership figures are the locals, where familiar accents, the death notices and lively discussion on the minutiae of local planning issues hoover up listeners. In the face of this sort of competition, looking back over the year, it's a bit surprising that it's been a case of same old same old at the national broadcaster. Where are the new voices? One new presenter on RTÉ Radio 1 this year was Tom McGurk who took over the Sunday Show at the start of the year, giving it a punchy gravitas; but since he was bringing years of TV broadcast experience into the studio he could hardly be called an entirely new voice.
Highlights on RTÉ included Cathal Póirtéir's Blasket Island documentary series in January which explored the immense literary legacy of the island and delved into the work of Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig Sayers and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Also earthy and powerful was the Newfoundland festival in November which, through a series of plays, documentaries and Canadian broadcasts, located a far-off place firmly in the mind. Particularly poignant was hearing the Irish inflections - a legacy of past generations - in the voices of the Newfoundlander fishermen.
Liveline (RTÉ Radio 1) is still the only talk radio programme (outside the news) where it is impossible to predict exactly what's going to be on or which way the item is going to go and that, more days than not, makes for compelling listening. Joe Duffy and his team had a good year, from the daft rows in January about You're a Star (could the McElhinney twins sing? Was it really a Cork conspiracy?) to the shocking story in December of the man who had abuse charges against him dropped and the effect the charges had on his life.
The unsung hero of radio this year was Joe Taylor - the man who brings the tribunals to life on Tonight with Vincent Browne and clearly the most talented, versatile voice on air. His re-enactments of the tribunals (with Malcolm Douglas) continue to be one of the few things that are difficult to turn off and they bring out the unique strength of the medium. It simply wouldn't be the same on television. Ray Burke's recent difficulties gave listeners the chance to hear again Taylor's spookily accurate impersonation, and there have been times during the year when the same re-enactment has cropped up on Five Seven Live, Morning Ireland, and Playback.
On Today FM, the easy-going Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show provides the only laugh-out-loud comedy on the radio with the Gift Grub team and, directly after, The Ray D'Arcy Show which has settled into a very happy groove.
Lowlights included the return of Gay Byrne for a summer series called, predictably, Gaybo (June, RTÉ Radio 1). His rant about what he deems to be bad diction among newsreaders and continuity announcers stands out as one of the most teeth-grindingly irritating radio segments of the year. Again, where are the new voices? There was some rejigging of the RTÉ schedules in the second half of the year, and while some elements of it made sense, such as giving Vincent Browne the extra 30 minutes, others were more puzzling. Rattlebag used to be repeated nightly, giving nine-to-five workers the chance to catch up with what's happening in the arts. Donal O'Herlihy (the other new presenter on RTÉ Radio 1 that I can think of) now has the slot for a round-up of the day's radio - a sort of instant Playback (without Ruth Buchanan's singing and with humorous links), but why get rid of the Rattlebag repeat? And why are some truly excellent programmes still buried in strange time slots? Mooney goes Wild (RTÉ Radio 1, Sundays) has shrugged off its earlier anorak tendencies and broadened out to be a lively, informative nature programme that would have even broader appeal if wasn't lost in its present Sunday morning slot. And isn't it time that Bowman Saturday was moved out of the milkman slot or at least was repeated at a more wide-awake part of the day? His programme on the 20th anniversary of the shooting of President John F Kennedy was particularly good - though really every week he comes up with a programme you're always glad you listened to,even at that shut-eye time of the day.
A wish list for 2004 would include a decent consumer programme - there's certainly the appetite for it if the calls about price scams, product recalls, interest rates, house prices, the list goes on, to all the phone-in programmes throughout the year proves. Lunchtime with Damien Kiberd (NewsTalk) does a price comparison item once a week and even that shows how informative such comparisons can be. Maybe that's a chance for a new voice.