JOE Men of the Year Awards 2015: Media Personality of the Year

Making their mark in the meeja in 2015.

The Internet has completely changed the way we consume media these days… and boy are we thankful for it. Although everyone is swimming in a far bigger pool, the domestic media is still hugely influential in Irish life and our contenders for JOE Media Personality of the Year have helped to highlight why it remains so relevant. Cast your vote for the JOE Media Personality of the Year at the bottom of the page and vote on all JOE Men of the Year categories here.

Dermot and Dave (Today FM)

Made the transition from 98FM to Today FM look easy when they made the move in the summer of 2014 and have gone from strength to strength since, culminating in a PPI Award for best music programme this year. The chemistry between a pair comfortable in each other’s company transmits clearly across the airwaves, while segments such as ‘Say Stuff that Suits the Music’, ‘Jingly Bits’ and Chug Stenson’s Silly Sports’ provide some genuinely laugh out loud moments on a regular basis.

Joe Brolly (RTE)

Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Brolly is box-office and provides for cracking entertainment. Listen to Brolly carefully enough and you’ll spot some contradictory elements from time to time but it is a testament to his eloquence and persuasiveness that he rarely if ever sounds unconvincing when making an argument. And let’s face it, arguing is something Brolly does better than anyone else on TV in Ireland. Especially when Pat Spillane is on the other end.

Second Captains (The Irish Times and RTÉ)

Their Irish Times podcast regularly sits at the top of the charts on iTunes and their TV shows are as compelling as any other in the world of sports at the moment. On both mediums, Messrs McDevitt, Murphy, Early and company manage to strike the perfect balance between captivating sporting content and light humour and, as was illustrated with Jim McGuinness recently, McDevitt has no peer as an interviewer in sports broadcasting at the moment. None of that is by accident, of course; they never go home, those boys.

Colm Williamson (Waterford Whispers News)

There have been any amount of failed attempts to do satire as admirably and as successfully as The Onion has done, but Waterford Whispers have managed it and taken it to a whole new level as far as Ireland is concerned. As the driving force behind it, Colm Williamson deserves huge kudos for the success of Waterford Whispers News and its ability to reflect the national mood and have us roaring laughing at the same time. Recent headline: ‘Housewives advised to bury life savings after Ireland qualify for Euro 2016.’ Nail on the head. Has taken over the DriveTime slot on 2FM and made it his own and is a very accomplished broadcaster whenever he’s in front of the cameras. Showed with a controversial tweet about RTE’s stance on the Marriage Referendum earlier this year that he’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers either. A man who’s star is certainly on the rise.