Newstalk Breakfast show- Is this Newstalks version of Joe Duffy

I can't help notice that the Breakfast show is turning into a version of the Joe Duffey show for people interested in business and financial news.

It seems to be constantly getting off on gloomy news and trying to push an agenda one being the people on tracker mortgages are causing hardship for people on variable mortgages, Public versus private sector, rich versus poor.


Ivors new nickname should be Ivor 2 spoons becuase he is constantly stirring.

I have to admit though, I do find the show entertaining but will the show survive when the economy picks up? I doubt it.

Its not quite at Joe Duffy level of gratuitous, rolling on the floor wallowing in misery. Its competition is Radio 1 which I find a bit too stiff, & I have a particular dislike of Cathal MacCoille's style (just a personal taste thing, not saying he can't do his job or anything else).

Niallers said:

It seems to be constantly getting off on gloomy news and trying to push an agenda one being the people on tracker mortgages are causing hardship for people on variable mortgages, Public versus private sector, rich versus poor.

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What???? Are you saying that they actually blame the hardship variable rate mortgage holders are having on tracker holders? I haven't listened in a few weeks as I have swapped back over to Radio 1. I don't know if I'll bother turning back now. It sounds like a a radio version of a red top.

I like Yates most of the time but I did notice him becoming more controversial for the sake of text responses (filling the coffers with 30c ). And as for Claire "Text in if you like jam sandwiches"* Byrne. I cannot stand her!!!
*This is an actual quote before the 8.30 news one morning.

For the past 2 weeks the question or the topic has been raised in some guise or another almost every morning. The suggestion is that people on tracker mortgages are to blame for people having their variable rates increased and that people on variable rates are subsidising people on tracker mortgages.


So those of you on tracker mortgages shame on you

Thats gas (blaming tracker holders), so I suppose the catastrophic commercial property lending is merely an inconsequential sideshow ..........

Betsy Og said:

Thats gas (blaming tracker holders), so I suppose the catastrophic commercial property lending is merely an inconsequential sideshow ..........

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Don't you know it's our own fault. A bit like the high prices in this country is our own fault for not shopping around and that job losses are our own fault becuase we shop around in the North!!

I have to say I love the Newstalk Breakfast show. I think it balances the 'gloomy' with the light hearted stuff very well. I dont want to wallow in bad news but I dont want to be kept in the dark either.

Yates does some great interviews with politicians, he has the inside track and he knows just how to question them - that said, they rarely answer the Qs but he lets them know very quickly when they are spoofing.

Agree with this 30c text issue on newstalk..
On a show,may have been George Hooks,he was going on about everyone cutting their prices,I asked if Newstalk would cut the cost of their 30c to text..
Surprise,there was no response to that!!