Saturday, November 05, 2005

Man (and woman) over-bored

The New Zealand radio ratings (conducted by Research International) were released yesterday and are available on the web today.

There isn't a great deal of information available to the public other than overall rankings of stations, so it's difficult to say how the Diva's show is doing in comparison to other hosts on Radio Lifeless.

But it is possible to get an idea of how the NZ listening public has taken to the home of the Diva's morning rants by looking at the audience share the station has accomplished in major markets (not including Wanganui, alas - time to deluge the Research International folks with emails, Watchers!). We've included the figures for it's main rival, Newstalk ZB, in brackets for comparison purposes:

  • Auckland 2.1% (15.9%)
  • Waikato 1.0% (8.4%)
  • Tauranga 3.8% (11.9%)
  • Rotorua 3.6% (4.2%)
  • Taranaki 2.4% (12.1%)
  • Hawkes Bay 2.6% (13.1%)
  • Manawatu 2.1% (9.4%)
  • Wellington 2.3% (14.0%)
  • Nelson 3.6% (10.4%)
  • Christchurch 2.8% (16.4%)
  • Dunedin 2.0% (11.8%)
  • Southland 3.9% (9.0%)
Seems the Thoughts of Chairman Michael are boring to all but 2.68 percent (on average) of the population. In other words, three times more NZers have a regular pedicure than listen to the Diva. More people in Wanganui speak two languages fluently than listen to the Diva... (Watchers are invited to find other statistics and contribute to this mantra :-)

The NZ Herald reports that Newstalk ZB has not only held it's number one place nationally but actually increased it against competiton from Radio Lifeless - up to 13.6 percent from 11.7 per cent in the last survey in April. The other newcomer to the Auckland market, a station called Viva FM, scored more than double the ratings of Radio Lifeless, making its ratings debut with 4.8 percent.

Meanwhile the staff are anything but lifeless, it seems, upsetting their neighbours in the ritzy Auckland suburb of Freeman's Bay by speeding down the street, littering the area with cigarette butts (where is the Diva when you need him?!), skateboarding at 1am, and with taxis and courier vans calling at all hours of the day and night.

Comments on this post are now closed.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

If this is dismal, I can't wait to see the first ratings for Holmes v Hoskins + Laws on Pathetic Prime .

Anonymous said...

The first media poll that the mayor had done in Wanganui came up with bad ratings for his programme. 25 out of 500 admitted to listening to him .. if I remember rightly.

Anonymous said...

Careful what you wish for Watchers, he might have to stick around another term.

Anonymous said...

Good Morning Wanganui, I see your Mad Mayor is at it again. The country laughs ....

Anonymous said...

The country knows who Michael is and where Wanganui is. No-one laughs at him nearly as much as they laugh at the biggest clown on earth, Tim Shadbolt. He's a real clown. But everyone knows where Invercargill is. At least Michael is intelligent and he is putting Wanganui on the map big time.

Anonymous said...

Just read your mayor's column, what a nasty little man you have on your hands Wanganui. I feel sorry for such a lovely town.

Anonymous said...

At least Michael is intelligent and he is putting Wanganui on the map big time.

7:46 AM, November 06, 2005

Sadly for all the wrong reasons.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see the letter from the Fire-fighter, yet another sector of society he has pissed off.

Anonymous said...

Anon said;
I can't wait to see the first ratings for Holmes v Hoskins + Laws on Pathetic Prime .

LAWS is a 'bit player' in that programme ... he can hardly carry the can for the ratings.

Anonymous said...

Tim Shadbolt. He's a real clown. But everyone knows......

Tim might be a clown but at least he's never negative about his city, unlike your mayor. He's always moaning about something or someone.

Anonymous said...

How come every criticism of Laws gets answered by specious bullshit about someone else anyway? Perhaps it's because the criticisms are entirely justified.

Anonymous said...

"LAWS is a 'bit player' in that programme ... he can hardly carry the can for the ratings. "

But he certainly milked his involvement for all it was worth (and still does) in terms of what the previous commenter has described as "specious bullshit" and idiots like Dotty swallow it all hook line and sinker.

She can't resist referring to him as the "celebrity mayor", note, as if she believes that gives her and Vision some sort of credibility.

The point really is that Michael will jump on board any "celebrity" ship, no matter how unseaworthy, to a. boost is income and b. boost the prospects for his future income.

And while he's at it, wears Vision and mayoral events tee-shirts and claims that's somehow good for Whanganui.

Who apart from Dotty and the Dwarves falls for this hoax?

Anonymous said...

Michael Brian Laws said:

"I admit, I can be a bit anal at times"

Only a little bit, Michael? Most of us think of you as a complete asshole.

Anonymous said...

Greens co-leader Rod Donald dies
Posted at 2:56pm on 6 Nov 2005

The Green Party co-leader Rod Donald has died suddenly of a suspected heart attack.

A party spokesman says Mr Donald, who was 48, died in his Christchurch home overnight.

Mr Donald entered parliament as a Green MP in 1996, after joining the party in 1994 when it was still part of the Alliance, led by Jim Anderton. He became co-leader, with Jeanette Fitzsimons, in 1995.

A life-long environmental activist, Mr Donald started an ecology action group at his Christchurch school at the age of 15.

By 16, he had set his sights on a seat in central government, joining the Values Party - the forerunner of today's Green Party - and later becoming a Labour Party member.

He also worked in a whole series of initiatives, such as Trade Aid, the Tenants Protection Association, Volunteer Service Abroad and at the Canterbury Environment Centre.

Mr Donald campaigned vigorously for electoral reform, which culminated in the adoption of MMP in time for the 1996 election. He was also strongly involved in protest actions against the Springbok Tour in 1981.

He is survived by his partner and three daughters.

Copyright © 2005 Radio New Zealand

Anonymous said...

I guess that brings Nandor back.

Anonymous said...

Susan Woods is a good honest presenter, a bigger person than M Laws will ever be. Your mayor 'sucks'.. small town in the North Island.

Photography said...

nice blog. thanks

Anonymous said...

Just back in town and catching up on yesterday's paper.

How come Dave Laurence managed to write all that stuff about Colin Whitlock's retirement without mentioning "the book" and more importantly, without asking what sort of deal the mayor has offered him (without asking the council) to bugger off from Guyton St.

It's starting to look like the Chronicle files are kept under lock and key in the editor's suite and that there is a policy of never mentioning, let alone questioning, any mayoral pronouncements that might prove embarrassing to the said pronouncer.

Anonymous said...

Be patient, anonymouse. In the due course of time the Spin Fairy will reveal all and the Chron will publish it, word for word, and that will be that.

Anonymous said...

Sorry but have I missed something? What book??

Anonymous said...

Rod Donald gave us a fine and rare example of a straight, honest, principled politician.
A huge loss.

Anonymous said...

This from Wikipedia, since Mickey has seen fit to bring it up again:

"A person characterized as anal retentive is perceived as worrying excessively about "passing feces": little details of fecal consistancy, color and aroma; or as otherwise being overly uptight or distressed over ordinarily normal evacuation." (my emphasis)

The essay on Ecuador confirms this: The mayor is obsessed with his own shit. His aversion is identical to fascination, and while he has nightmares of being covered in it, he cannot leave the stuff alone.

Mad indeed.

Anonymous said...

"A deal to bugger off from Guyton Street" ? For goodness sake, the man is retiring. Simple as that.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Lawswatch could ask the old CEO about the book deal ? When does Miss Lush's book come out anyway ? Or has that been thrown out the window too?

Anonymous said...

Just reading the Chron's letters today ... warning ...warning... incoming propaganda Vision machine in full swing. They must be preparing for the by - election no one wants to mention.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know how the Splash Centre's big day out went? Was our Mickey- Man there to support the fund-raising ( I'm sure he was) but has anyone got a report?

Anonymous said...

"For goodness sake, the man is retiring. Simple as that."

Well, not really. For the benefit of last night's inquirer, back in about February it was announced by the mayor that the CEO would be gone by the end of the year and amid the fulsome praise for a man he had been furiously white-anting for the past year was the revelation that the mayor had asked Colin to write a book on the history of the WDC.

I think it was mentioned again last week in the Chron story about the function at the council.

It would be "simple" if the council had discussed this and passed an appropriate resolution and ascertained how this book project was to be funded, who was to publish it etc.

That hasn't happened yet.

Anonymous said...

It's so sad to lose Rod Donald. It was a measure of the man that he handled the Greens' shafting by the bauble-chasers Peters and Dunne with a minimum of bitterness, and quickly started enthusing about the positives for the Greens.

Anonymous said...

At least Michael is intelligent and he is putting Wanganui on the map big time...

These unsupported assertions get repeated with nauseating regularity, perhaps it's time to challenge them.

On the subject of Mickey's "intelligence", even the most jaundiced of watchers cannot but allow that Michael is clever, but intelligent? Intelligent people do not give offense as readily or as often.

On the map? Yes, as a litter-infesting gang-ridden place, where the citizens don't wash their hands, with a crap art gallery, up to its eyes in debt, and it doesn't even have a film festival.

Still, what do you expect when you elect a coprophile.

Anonymous said...

I agree, the man is so negative, he just can't help himself.

Anonymous said...

I agree, the man is so negative, he just can't help himself.

Anonymous said...

Sorry.... Sorry....

Anonymous said...

The negativity of his press releases, just means more publicity for a minor celebrity + more money for the Diva. But will Wanganui wake up to this fact? We will see in the by - election.