RADIO / Maggie Kenneally

The granting of a national radio license to NewsTalk 106 is the most interesting development in Irish radio since the in...novative Ray Burke liberalised the radio market in 1988. It will challenge the dominance of RTÉ radio in the market – or rather the dominance of RTÉ Radio One – in a way that has not happened so far. True, Radio One has lost massively to the local radio stations around the country, but it still retains a dominance by virtue of being the only national current affairs station in the country.

Do you notice, incidentally, how Radio One regularly boasts about having the top nine programmes in the country for listenership? Someone in RTÉ thinks this is exceptional. But how could it not be so? RTÉ Radio One is the only national current affairs radio channel – of course its programmes will be in the most listened to. But if you take any one area of the country, outside Dublin, I bet there is not a single Radio One programme in the lead.

NewsTalk has made a credible fist of talk radio, in spite of its huge disadvantage in the Dublin market vis-à-vis RTE. Disadvantage because of the monopoly Radio One has had for decades in this market. NewsTalk will have to up its game to compete with Radio One nationally, but there are indications it is capable of doing just that.

Contrary to the almost unanimous consensus among the radio cognoscenti, Morning Ireland is not unassailable. The format is tired, the stories are often weak, items are given too little time, some of the presenters talk far too much, there is an obnoxious self-regard about the programme which sometimes is just awful. The programme would be assailable, but not by Eamon Dunphy. He just doesn't have the nous, the professionalism and the knowledge of current affairs to compete with the likes of Richard Downes, John Murray, Áine Lawlor and Cathal Mac Coille. But there are lots around who do have the capacity to take on Morning Ireland, for instance a former presenter of that programme, Richard Crowley, who would cost a fraction of what we hear Dunphy is paid and who would take the settled Morning Ireland team to the cleaners.

The Radio One mid-morning slot is also open to some serious competition. Ryan Tubridy has been awful since his switch from 2FM and Pat Kenny is past it. Two young, sharp bright presenters (at least one of whom has to be a woman) could take them out.

Sean O'Rourke is a different proposition and unless NewsTalk can buy him in, there is a problem here. Damien Kiberd and Brendan O'Brien certainly won't compete. How about someone like Michael Clifford now of The Sunday Tribune? A Cork accent, great intelligence, humour and in-depth knowledge of current affairs and he has an edge.

On the evening drive-time slot, George Hook is already doing the business so leave him – with a national audience and the loss of Rachel English from Five-Seven Live, he can do some damage.

The schedule after 7pm hardly matters, but here NewsTalk has the edge if the Señor de la Casa is anyone to go by (and often he is not) for Ken Early and Ger Gilroy are, he says, the best in sports radio.

In a few years, Radio One will be unrecognisable. That will be good news and it will all be because of NewsTalk.π