A tightly focused music format will be the key to the future success of Radio Ireland, according to consultants brought in to help revive the struggling station. One of them suggested yesterday the station was "over-resourced". The planned approach was criticised yesterday by the station's former controller of programmes, Mr John Caden. Mr John Revell and Mr Geoff Holland, of Ginger Radio Ltd in London, will be involved with Radio Ireland for a year and may ultimately become shareholders in the station. Ginger Radio makes radio and television programmes for a number of British stations, including the Chris Evans-presented TV shows, TFI Friday and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush.
Mr Revell denied yesterday that Radio Ireland listeners could expect more of the "shock-jock" approach associated with Evans, whose irreverent style has made him one of Britain's highest-paid entertainers. "You could hardly do that for 24 hours a day," he said.
Instead, the approach would be to give Radio Ireland a music format which made it clearly identifiable from other stations. "Part of the problem with the station is that it's been quite disparate from a programming point of view. It feels like a different radio station at different times of the day and you just can't do that in commercial radio in the 1990s," he told The Irish Times.
Mr Revell described the independent radio sector here as one of the most competitive in Europe. Dublin's 98 FM and FM 104 stations were "very tightly formatted" and there was also strong competition outside the capital. "We're going to spend a lot of time listening to those guys to see what they're up to," he said.
He said the amount of music on the station was "certainly" going to be increased but this could be
achieved while meeting the requirement of Radio Ireland's contract with the Independent Radio and Television Commission that no more than 60 per cent of the output be music.
Mr Revell dismissed suggestions that the station was understaffed and under-resourced. "I've never seen a commercial radio station that was so well resourced and, in a way, over-resourced. They [the staff] seem to have pretty much everything they want, but perhaps they weren't being directed properly."
Mr Revell, who was put in touch with Radio Ireland's chairman, Mr John McColgan, by U2's manager, Mr Paul McGuinness, said the possibility of the consultants becoming shareholders was still being discussed with the board.
The arrival of the Ginger Radio consultants coincided with the surprise resignation on Monday night of Mr Caden, who yesterday questioned the direction of the station. Mr Caden said a decision had been taken, on foot of market research carried out by the station, to focus on housewives in the 30 to 35 age group by broadcasting music in the "soft and medium adult contemporary" category. He said it neither made commercial sense nor was it the job of a national station to concentrate on such a narrow, niche market. "The `dumbing down' of the station's standards will seriously damage the provision of news and current affairs and will restrict its role as a forum for public debate," he said. He said he had resigned in protest at the failure of the station to adopt the policies and provide the facilities required for a credible national broadcasting service.
