Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

Village magazine has ceased publication after its editor Vincent Browne blamed falling advertising revenue and the loss of other publishing contracts for its demise (via RTE.) The magazine has struggled for some time now, having changed format from a weekly to monthly publication and loss of key contributors such as Justine McCarthy.

Its demise is another sign of a struggling magazine sector in Ireland, with music magazine State expected to make an announcement on its future this week. After much speculation, State’s publishers posted an informal statement addressing its future. Everyone’s ears will be perked to hear what they have to say later this week.

Despite this, “Michael O’Doherty, publisher of magazines TV Now and VIP, will launch a women’s lifestyle and fashion magazine on 15 October…The magazine will seek to pinch market share from Irish Tatler and Image. Stellar, aimed at women aged 18 to 34, is the latest brainchild of O’Doherty, who also publishes Kiss” according to the Sunday Tribune.

TV3 has announced its new autumn lineup. I was at the launch party in The Button Factory on Thursday where the TV station was keen to emphasis its new homegrown content. The Irish Independent outlines what viewers can expect.

There has been big changes to NewsTalk’s schedule with Orla Barry and Brenda Power making way for Tom Dunne, who raised a lot of eyebrows when he switched from rivals Today FM. Dunne won’t have far to travel though as he will literally be switching studios now that Today FM and NewsTalk are sharing the same building.

Sticking with radio, the latest JNLR/TNS MRBI survey show no majors changes in radio listenership figures among the national stations. The Irish Times reports that “RTÉ continues to dominate daytime radio, with nine out of the top 10 most listened-to shows and increases in audience for many of its main presenters, according to the latest radio listenership figures.”

However, the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) figures show that the circulation for most daily newspapers fell for the first half of the year. RTE lists all the movers and shakers.

Moving from radio and print to the Internet, Silicon Republic reports that RTE’s online streaming service reached a new peak during the Olympics, with more web surfers that ever tuning in online.

Over the last fortnight there has been a lot of speculation about the future of Pat Kenny as host of RTE’s ‘Late, Late Show’, with numerous media reports that both sides have yet to reach an agreement on a new contract. The Irish Independent has more on the story.