I listen to Newstalk 106 a lot – more than I listen to RTE. Apparently, I'm one of the few.
I have to say I'm glad to read that Eamon Dunphy hasn't helped the station. I think he had his moment on TodayFM when he brought some serious competition to RTE for radio news. However, now we have his former show on TodayFM and George Hook on Newstalk using the same format.
My biggest problem with Newstalk is the frequent dive into crudity. This can happen at any time, but seems most prevalent on their sports program, Off the Ball.
I generally like this program. The presenters are young and good. However, they often venture into territory that really is of little interest and they do so in a language that should be out of bounds.
For example, last week they discussed the fact that snooker player Shaun Murphy is a Christian and that Murphy met his wife through a Christian chatroom. They then descended to discussing Murphy's virginity in totally inappropriate language. I was so annoyed I actually hurt myself diving on the radio to turn it off.
The station could be far better, but I'm still glad it's there.
