Is Pat Kenny about to go as host of Late Late Show?

In defence of Bill.

Bill's role is to play the foil for the lads. Any time I've seen him interviewed he has the affability and warmth to keep things going so I think he would be good.

After all its not rocket science, Parky had the same warm personality and the shows worked well, Pat is too tense to get things flowing and have a bit of craic with the guest.

Yeah I think Bill would be quite good at this. Watching him on the Olympics he got the best out of the panel - like stirring things up between Gary O'Toole and Eamon Coughlan about who is better Bolt or Phelps - all the time sitting back with a grin!! He seems to know how to get people talking while at the same time being able to control the flow so that they don't go too far off topic.

You know, I think Pat Kenny is alright as Late Late Show host but he has one major flaw. His main role is to ask questions and keep the conversation going and he can do that ok as far as I am concerned.
BUT its the types of questions he asks that bother me...He is a tabloid interviewer !
What I mean is that he always wants to ask about the personal lives of the guests no matter what their background is, he wants to dig up the dirty private life of all his contestants and spends too much of the interview talking about stuff that most people dont care about unless they are ghouls or Big Brother fans or oul biddys.
For example, if he had a guy on that had climbed Everest, skiied to the South Pole and swam the English Channel all in one month, he would ask one question about his remarkable achievement and then 10 about his "messy divorce in 1987"....e.g. so did your marital breakup in 1987 contribute anything to your quest ?? etc etc
I think Pat thinks that making his interviews sensational, he will get more ratings. Maybe for some but most people want to hear about the primary thing that makes the guest famous than their private lives.
I have seen him bring on bubbly comedians who were up for a laugh but sent them off at the end deflated and thinking about their terrible childhood....
Maybe the person that writes his Questions is at fault, I am not sure.

Teabag said:

Maybe the person that writes his Questions is at fault, I am not sure.

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you would think the auld Pat who is so overpaid and underworked could think up his own questions.

rabbit said:

you would think the auld Pat who is so overpaid and underworked could think up his own questions.

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Yeah maybe that is the problem.

I think that many of the sums paid to the top RTE personalities are quite indefensible. As I understand it (and I must admit I have not looked into it in any great detail), a lot of them are on contracts for services (routed through their own companies) rather than hired as salaried employees. This means that RTE can invest in a show, invest in making someone a high profile 'star' and then that person can go out and exploit this investment of public money for his\her own private gain.

I suspect that the argument that 'we have to pay these rates or these people would go elsewhere' is hogwash, or at best greatly overstated; At a minimum, RTE should put this theory to the test by shedding (i.e. not renewing contract with), say, one in every 15 of these people each year. If after, say, Five years of this, it became obvious that the people who left were indeed going on to even more lucrative careers elsewhere and to the detriment of RTE, then I would certainly re-evaluate (and eat a large slice of humble pie). But the present policy is craven and in my opinion gives bad value to the taxpayer.

MOB said:

I think that many of the sums paid to the top RTE personalities are quite indefensible. As I understand it (and I must admit I have not looked into it in any great detail), a lot of them are on contracts for services (routed through their own companies) rather than hired as salaried employees. This means that RTE can invest in a show, invest in making someone a high profile 'star' and then that person can go out and exploit this investment of public money for his\her own private gain.

I suspect that the argument that 'we have to pay these rates or these people would go elsewhere' is hogwash, or at best greatly overstated; At a minimum, RTE should put this theory to the test by shedding (i.e. not renewing contract with), say, one in every 15 of these people each year. If after, say, Five years of this, it became obvious that the people who left were indeed going on to even more lucrative careers elsewhere and to the detriment of RTE, then I would certainly re-evaluate (and eat a large slice of humble pie). But the present policy is craven and in my opinion gives bad value to the taxpayer.

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Well said

Purple said:

Well said

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ditto


If Pat Kenny (and he's just a n example - I've nothing against him) was told they weren't going to meet his demands what would he do?

Excellent point, MOB. Who exactly is looking for Pat Kenny. It amazes me the salary that he and many others enjoy. When they go on holiday,does the whole station close down? I though Miles Duncan did a better job than him this summer. If there was an ounce of bravery in RTE management, they would slash their salaries wholesale and tell them to get on with it. It's a big presumption that there is no one out there that couldn't do his job. But then again , RTE is using our money ,and fails in my opinion , in its public broadcast remit. STOP, end of rant!!