Circuit of love

It would seem that the Station of the Nation has found the ideal way to stop people complaining about its service. I'd complained that there were no reviews of Maltese newspapers on Euronews because no one had bothered to see to it - so Euronews broadcasts were stopped; I complained that people were being lured into gambling - so there will be no more broadcasts of Maltco lotteries; I complained about the quality of the bulletin sent to Australia - and then, twice, there was nothing to complain about, at all.

Talk about Rivers of Moses. Or the "sigra (sic) tal-budebbus".

It has become a habit with Radju Malta to pick a golden oldie and use it throughout the day - if not the week - as incidental music, or to fill in what would otherwise be dead air. Who cares Who Shot Liberty Valance (Senator Ranse Stoddard, since you ask). This couldn't have been in honour of Gene Pitney, since he only died last Wednesday. Who cares whether there are No More I Love You's (only Annie Lennox, probably)?

These days, it is altogether easy to get free music off the internet - and if it helps someone become an 'overnight success', so much the better. Look at - listen to, actually - Sandi Thom, the 24-year old who has now been signed up by RCA/SonyBMG... after broadcasting from her living room to an audience of more than 100,000 people (at the proverbial click of their mouse) across the globe.

Now that we will be discovering who Il-Hajbu is, I wonder whether other characters from the same corner of the country - such as Iz-Zlikk and l-Inkobbu, will be making an appearance in Ghada Jisbah Ukoll...

As if there were not enough 'reality shows' polluting the airwaves, Country Music Television has decided to copy an idea from Maltese television. There are no fewer than seven episodes of Finding Miss America envisaged. The network and the Miss America Organisation issued a joint statement saying that each episode will focus on a group of contestants as they live together and compete in preliminaries. There will be sections devoted to evening wear, swimwear, talent and the interviews with judges.

However, although there will be the notorious televoting method of selection, there will also be the facility to vote via the Internet, something which may or may not entail jams in Malta if it is tried out.

Critics have panned this as a voyeuristic attempt to revive a flagging 85-year-old tradition (in fact the show had been dropped by ABC in 2004 owing to low ratings).

People who have never had - or wanted - a cellular telephone (the buzzword is "third screen") may find themselves reconsidering their decision if they are eventually also able to watch television on the go, if only so that they can say that 'there was nothing on'... or to watch what they otherwise cannot obtain on their home television sets, as well as to listen to music, take digital photos, send instant text messages, check e-mail, or phone-bank.

One of the best interviews broadcast this week was by Lynn Fauré (Education 22) interviewing Rose Sammut, about the need for voluntary work. Several people are bored to the back teeth because - apart from, as has been commented above, there being "nothing on television" and the devil trying to find work for idle hands, "they have nothing to do".

A quick look around will point out several areas where one may be "of use", or "of help".

A House Mother will always appreciate help with the children - the ironing and mending will always be conspiring to pile up behind the Sister's back - the invalid residents will always appreciate visits, or someone to run errands for them - and being read to is one of the best treats in life. There will always be a child who is desperately waiting for the individual attention it may not be possible to give him. A few hours a week spent on behalf of someone else compare favourably with selfish gossiping, café-crawling, or window-shopping.

Another interesting conversation, of which I heard only parts, was that between Gorg Peresso and his guests Therese and Martin Gauci. At one time, they used to present the Maltese version of Midnight Caller on the gone-but-not-forgotten Radju Bronja. Alas, when radio stations start repeating programmes that would have been heard during the daytime, the chances are that the audience will consist mostly of those who work during the night, insomniacs, or those who set their alarm clocks to wake them up in time for a programme they would have missed.

Programmes where the presenters do take calls indicate that many feel the need to talk to anyone who will listen (and haven't we all met those people on the bus or in diverse waiting rooms?).

What are the chances that a nationwide petition will redesign 10/66, or to give it its official designation, 106.6 FM, into a station where the aforementioned programme may return?

At one point, Mr Gauci commented about the nasty habit of presenters who think they can talk over anything by Ennio Morricone (since it's "only" music) or practise their (inexistent) karaoke skills on the assumption that people tune in to them, rather to their programme as a package deal, complete with the bilge they sometimes dish out.

Presenters whose training was not merely a correspondence course of a short induction sessions (or being a friend-of-a-friend of the boss) know full well what he means - and yet this broadcasting peccadillo remains, even on the Station of the Nation.

What does it take to make people in Customer Care to realise that il-komplejn (sic) does not exist as a noun in the vernacular? This apart from the arrogance and sarcasm inherent in the replies that they, as guests on magazine programmes, give callers. And when will presenters - especially those on Education 22 - realise that each city, town and village in Malta has its own vernacular placename?

This week's word is: Afrospanicindioasianisation, broadly and sarcastically suggesting 'homogenising' as used in an American programme about bigotry and illegal immigration.