Rarely do I find inspiration from UK prime ministers stepping down, yet credit where credit is due, Rishi Sunak has a compelling angle with his proposal to revive national service, wouldn’t you agree? It is widely known how keen everyone is on receiving commands to carry out activities they detest, young people in particular, and somebody needs to address the surplus of unwanted roles.
This is where I’m heading. It’s evident in the title. We in Ireland are in desperate need to establish our own interpretation of national service in which all youths are obligated to finish an enforced tenure as a host at 2FM.
Naturally, it would be challenging. It’s likely that a majority if not all of the adolescents would favour a traditional national service where they are compounded to embark on desolate landscapes, oblige stringent commands from superior authority and repeat identical proceedings again and again for weeks and months.
Being compelled to commute down the dual carriageway to Montrose, conforming to RTÉ’s (director) general Kevin Bakhurst’s new regulations, premiering Billie Eilish’s newest tracks and occasionally dealing with the canteen’s infestation of rats would unquestionably present a contrasting experience.
This might be harrowing in its own unique way, but it would also signify a valuable contribution towards any government’s effort to uplift the nation’s overall morale, even if it just aids reducing expenses at RTÉ.
My empathy for 2FM is vast. This is a platform which, turning 45 this Friday, is fighting to remain significant within a fiercely competitive landscape where there appears to be an endless selection of fresher, youthful options for audiences to connect with and employers to cherish. The apprehension it is experiencing is a feeling I am a handful of months away from experiencing myself.
When RTÉ initially set up the station as Radio 2 back on May 31st, 1979, it assured us it would be “comin’atcha”. Now, it requires a fresh slogan and a rejuvenated strategy—one that pays homage to its roots and recognises the evolution of radio and its presenters’ career progression. In today’s world, one does not need to be on a worldwide comeback tour with a boy band like Westlife’s Nicky Byrne, as a justification to step away.
Indeed, there may be some merit to drafting randomly chosen young adults who are yet to venture abroad, in order to compensate for the vacancies on the programme lineup following the departure of Doireann Garrihy, the 2 Johnnies, and Jennifer Zamparelli. This action would be less of an “it’s your time to shine” plan and lean more towards “we’re coming for you” sort of canvas.
It’s easy to disregard this plan out of hand. Let’s say you aren’t amongst the 764,000 who make up the weekly listenership of the station, as per the statistics given by the Joint National Listenership Research study. You might also contend that 2FM secures its 6.1% share of listeners aged 15 and over, and its 12.2% share amongst 15-34-year-olds – without requiring your listening contribution, hence why should you or more realistically, your offspring or grandkid sacrifice their liberty to support its broadcasting?
Yet, what slips your mind is that a compulsory 2FM service plan could be designed to safeguard us all from our collective arch-nemesis: the podcasters.
To prevent further expansion of podcasters, only young individuals devoid of any individual podcast aspirations would be permitted on state-run microphones. This could lead to more realistic energy levels at daybreak and could be a character-building experience for everyone involved, thereby also solving RTÉ’s staffing issue.
This staffing problem is predicted to escalate due to Bakhurst’s appeasing plan to eliminate almost all of RTÉ’s digital radio channels offered to the government, including RTÉ Pulse, where Laura Fox, Zamparelli’s official 2FM successor, first obtained her opportunity.
Given that the available workforce from national service would surpass even the needs of 2FM’s presenter crew, RTÉ could rescue RTÉ Pulse, RTÉ 2XM, RTÉjr radio, and RTÉ Radio 1 Extra from being discontinued and use any unoccupied Gen-Z recruits who haven’t managed to evade the enlistment.
2FM’s previously financially stable position has taken a toll, as its profit-making days are over. An investment of €2.60 out of every €160 licence fee goes into the operational expenses of the station. However, in 2022, its expenses escalated to €11.2 million, outpacing its commercial income. This resulted in a relatively standard attribution of €3.6 million from the license fee revenue.
Several Irish press members are once again endorsing the extreme measure of closing the station. This argument, as 2FM’s director Dan Healy underscores to anyone willing to hear, is not a subject of conversation in the UK regarding BBC Radio 1, boasting a market share of 4.5 per cent. There are even some journalists who seem overly eager to take the reins of 2FM into their hands.
Venturing into their territory, it may appear logical for the station to reinforce its current public service practices like extending its support to Irish music, attending more festivals, retaining its current hosts and leveraging the advanced distribution platform expected to debut with RTÉ’s upcoming audio app redesign.
To address any criticism around declining listener numbers, 2FM should unapologetically dismiss those complaints. There’s always the possibility of a more audacious, Sunak-like undertaking. The broader societal advantages of an immersive 2FM program which requires young people to familiarise themselves with the linear broadcasting history, sharpen their face-to-face communication skills, and offer comfort to listeners who respond incorrectly to quiz questions might be worth exploring.
Admittedly, the finer details require further deliberation. Though it appears, Sunak is also in the same boat when it comes to finalising the specifics.