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PAT KENNY HAS insisted that his decision to leave RTÉ and join Newstalk is not motivated by money saying that he wanted “fundamental change”.
Kenny has shocked the media world by deciding to leave the State broadcaster and join Newstalk where he will present a mid-morning show from 10am to 12.30pm from 2 September.
Kenny told Newstalk’s Breakfast show presenter Chris O’Donoghue in a video interview this afternoon that he did not want to work with “the same intensity” as he has done on RTÉ, presenting Prime Time on television and Today with Pat Kenny on the radio.
The 65-year-old said that Newstalk has “great ambitions”, saying it is a station that is growing in Ireland.
Comparing his decision to that of his departure from hosting the Late Late Show in 2009, he said:
I think people will be surprised. They would think I’m a lifer in RTÉ, but I mean there’s nothing like surprising people.
He said that he hoped to return to television screens in the future, admitting he did not know what capacity this would be. However, the veteran broadcasteer did say he did not have a “burning desire” to be on television anymore.
Asked about the possibility that he was offered more money by Newstalk than RTÉ, he insisted that money was not the “overriding factor” that made up his mind.
He said: “I had two offers on the table, the money is not the overriding factor at all. RTÉ made me a very generous offer to continue but I weighed it up, I discussed it with the family. They kind of detected the enthusiasm I had for fundamental change.”
He said staying at RTÉ would have been the “easiest thing in the world” but said he is someone who likes “even to surprise myself sometimes”.
Kenny said that he hoped that his listeners on RTÉ would “slide up the dial” to listen to him on Newstalk. ”
There will hopefully the same rigour, the same discipline, the same curiousity,” he said of his hopes for his new programme.
Watch the full interview, via Newstalk:
YouTube: Newstalk106108fm
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Love Tesco – they quietly raise prices on items by a cent or two – leave it for a few weeks, then announce a ‘price drop’! lol classic
One of the last times i was in Tesco you could buy a 2 litre bottle of cola for €1 or a 2 litre twin pack for €2.50…go figure
If Tesco were to hand out a weeks free groceries I would not toutch them . Terrible bad in handleing
Apologies cannot finish this text
Did you need to catch that plane Alan?
Yes OK but Tesco are threatening to cut wages for long term staff . Am I correct ?
Are they back selling horse meat?
@akan scott – Yes they’re cutting the pay for long service staff (following agreement, of course) – An ever popular practice for many Irish Companies – Its called AGEISM.
What about all the cash they built up from yours of dodging paying taxes etc…….oh wait the lads at the top want us all pitying them and tesco, even though they are currently trying to screw over their Irish work force. Ya sorry lads no sympathy here
Every LIDL helps
As they’ve registered loss for a number of years they can weigh that loss against profits for a few years to avoid paying tax, increased profits will then allow them to invest for growth and increased employment will lead to more tax into government coffers.
Or something.
It’s deceptive… None of that loss is from trading and operations. They declared £7 billion in ‘one off losses’ last year. Took a write down on the value of their property portfolio by almost £4 billion and wrote off other losses from closing their USA ‘fresh and easy’ connivence stores as well as online and certain Asian markets.
Investors beware… It actually looks like their profits fell further £600m to £450m if you exclude such exceptional items on the balance sheet.
Hmm…it’s as kosher as Paddy’s pigs.
All their beef is Halal, the Hijrah must be good for business.
That too
Aldi profit in the world wouldn’t make me shop in Tesco.
You need to loosen up a Lidl.
Found a new recipe for cooking the books have they?
Oh, this is sure going to help their position when they sit down with the strikers…
I don’t like Tesco anymore, they’re too inconsistent. You can walk into any Dunnes, or even SuperValu when you want a specific item, but you can’t do the same in Tesco, because all of the stores seem to be different.
I tried to get around this by asking my local Tesco to stock a particular item. After three attempts over several weeks, they finally got the item in stock. When they sold them all, they didn’t bother re-stocking, and they haven’t bothered their arse since. If I drive to another Tesco 20 odd miles away, I find shelves full of what the other store isn’t stocking. Tesco can take a hike and stop pretending that they’re listening to their customers.
Local Tesco is manky. Gone off fruit. Gone off cheese. Rotten dirty shop.
Surprised they turned a profit here as with all the honouring of competitors vouchers from newspapers has to have hurt the bottom line, I must have saved €200 with Aldi and lidl vouchers!
Hate tesco, no price ever the same from month to month. Keep changing them so as we don’t know how much things really are. Rip off
Ah now i see why they want to screw their employees but seeking wage decreases and terms and conditions. They make millions but want more. So buck the workers
Back in profit but trying to cut pay. Typical corporate entity
I used to enjoy shopping at tesco in Dublin but since they put in them awful self payment checkout leading to job loses I don’t shop there and won’t until they remove them.thats why I don’t go into d banks anymore either
Liam they are extra checkouts , nobody lost their jobs over them being installed .
Back in profits and still trying to cut wages. Typical corporate entity
That’s a shame the way they treat there staff
Lowering wages of their staff with these massive profits. Tesco can get fu*ked
F**K Tesco
They still squeezing small businesses out except our family business we will fight them & we are ahead on our quality Irish grown plants not Deutch that Tesco claim are Irish .
As a retailer it makes me happy & sad to see them letting plants drying out then dumping them . Tesco are not a good operator in Irl in comparison to uk . Supervalu are undergoing revamps off most stores & putting the Superquinn touch back to them finally .
Tesco have lowered SOME of their prices since 2012. Big deal.
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