It is a running joke that some airlines and railway stations keep time-tables so they would have something upon which to base delays.
The same appears to be true of Radju Malta. Listeners write to me using the famous phrase 'tell them', and so, I do. Sometimes, my suggestions are taken up - yet more often than not, they are not. I never fail to tell anyone who writes to me to take the bull by the horns - and this, sometimes, obtains better results (for which I am glad).
Such an instance concerns Gordon Caruana's programme Tifkiriet, which has now acquired three shows a week - and three repeats. What is weird about all this is that the repeats go out within 12 hours, and on the same day as the original broadcast.
Then there are those occasions when repeats are promoted during the day they are supposed to be broadcast - and then, when the time comes for them to air, we get a selection of music that has nothing to do with the genre that is usually played on a specific programme. To add insult to injury, no apologies are made to listeners - perhaps because these days there are no duty announcers and PBS clerks get to read the obituaries, programme promos and advertisements, and they would have gone home long before an explanation, at least, would have been necessary.
In ancient times - when reel tapes were characteristically used for recordings - we were told they had warped, or been otherwise damaged. However, even then, it was not unusual for presenters and disc jockeys to be called to the studios to present their programme live, if they were available. That is one reason why there was a list of names, and corresponding telephone numbers, hanging on the wall beside the duty announcer's desk.
This is not much ado about nothing - it is simply a matter of courtesy that listeners loyal to particular station deserve.
• The Malta International TV Short Film Festival is very popular with viewers for several reasons. It showcases local and foreign talent that is not available on other local stations or mainstream media. By virtue of the way it is constructed, it means one doesn't have to commit oneself to setting aside the same time each week in order not to miss an episode, as would have been the case had this been a serial.
TVM is doing a great service to viewers by airing this series. Different films go out each Tuesday at 10 p.m. Moreover, there is a repeat on Thursdays after the 11 p.m. news bulletin.
It is important to note that the films are all subtitled, and therefore, can easily be followed by anyone. Much work has obviously gone into this project.
• At 50, I am much older than the children at whom the Manon series of animated cartoons (TVM) is aimed, the suggested age-group being 2-6. Manon originally appeared in the French children's magazine .
The books upon which the series is based are written by Gerard Moncomble and Nadine Rouviere.
The simple, delightful illustrations describe the whimsical life of a child dubbed The Little Queen of Animals. She lives alone with only her talking, sentient animals for company, among whom Bingo the dog, Melba the cat, Baz the donkey, on her farm. I suppose that young children will take this type of fantasy in their stride, as they learn about friendship and teamwork, the seasons, nature, and animals.
It might not even occur to them to be jealous of her - yet - or find her lifestyle slightly quirky.
• Wonders will never cease. Al Pacino has finally joined the celebrities who star in advertisements, endorsing the Australian coffee brand Vittoria. Two versions of the advert, directed by Oscar-winning Barry Levinson, were shot last May in New York's West Village.
This was a scoop for the family-owned enterprise. Rolando Schirato, who heads the marketing department, of the family-owned company of which his father Les is CEO, was instrumental in signing up the celebrity for his first ever television promotional campaign - something many other firms had tried, and failed to do.
In the first promotion, he says: "I drink coffee all the time, so I think that should qualify me as someone who knows about coffee.
In the second bumph, he tells how his grandfather made coffee, in the South Bronx: "I guess I've been drinking coffee since I was five, six maybe. Those cold mornings in the South Bronx, granddad would go into the kitchen, heat up some coffee and there I was, little Al, and he would just give me a little sip."
My contacts in Australia tell me that the adverts were first broadcast on July 12, during Masterchef, which is the most-watched TV show in Australia.
• A feature on Asiaone picked up the theme that 'Video Killed The Radio Star' (actually it didn't), and interpreted it differently from how I did these past two weeks. It reminded us that when television was first introduced in the 1920s, many people feared its moving pictures would mark the death of sound-only radio.
This being an Asian publication, we are told that when after World War II, television reached Japan, silver-screen actors began fretting about their future as the small-screen craze gripped households.
People began adding television sets to their bucket lists - and yet, despite everything, radio survived and stations proliferated. The article said that although mobile television is now available, people on the move continue to listen to radio - but, again, this is Asia, not Europe.
The feature tells us that video - television - is actually killing something else, not radio. The advent of huge plasma screens is killing the cinema.
television@timesofmalta.com