To lose one high-profile radio presenter might be regarded as a misfortune. To lose fou r within the space of a month suggests that something is afoot behind the scenes at 2FM, RTÉ's pop music station. The departures of Jennifer Zamparelli, Doireann Garrihy and The 2 Johnnies mean 2FM has gaps to fill in all its key daytime slots.
That need not be a disaster; any radio station whose mission is to appeal to younger listeners needs to be capable of refreshing its roster on a regular basis. But it seems a remarkable coincidence that such a rash of departures should take place just weeks ahead of the introduction of new transparency requirements on presenters’ commercial activities. 2FM head Dan Healy did not deny that these played a part in the mass exodus, although he insists other factors are also at play.
Under Healy’s stewardship, 2FM has regained some market share from its commercial rivals. It has done so in part by signing up presenters who had already developed their own personal brands as influencers and podcasters. The downside of that strategy is that those presenters may calculate that reduced budgets and heightened scrutiny mean a post-scandal RTÉ is no longer worth the trouble.
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