There was a time when Radju Malta cut off the early morning BBC link in mid-sentence, just because it was time for the Breakfast Show to begin. Now that this is starting earlier, one would have thought the practice could be swept under the carpet, once and for all. However, it is still happening, on and off.
Last Wednesday was a case in point. After some incidental music had been played to fill in what would have been dead air, the informative EU-centred programme was aborted just so that the next item, scheduled to commence at 1 p.m., could begin on time.
It goes without saying that the obituary notices, platter chatter, record requests and news bulletins are still splattered with the bugbear familjari.
And, to boot, the PBS newsroom did not even remind us last Thursday that it was the fourth Data Protection Day; considering that we pride ourselves on being at the vanguard of internet technology, it was quite a disappointment.
And speaking of technology, I cannot imagine why the problem persists of whole sentences being repeated on Radju Malta, especially when people call in to magazine programmes or music programmes. Listeners have been calling in to complain about this for a long time.
• I asked some of my acquaintances in the media whether they would be sending their work in for the Vodafone Malta Television Awards - and I got the overall impression that the administrations of the stations for which they worked had specifically asked them to do so.
I notice from the press pack that One Productions has made the highest number of submissions this year - and there is also some healthy competition from Favourite Channel.
The 'Technical and Creative' submissions total is down from the 2008 amount; however, the 'Performance' and 'Programming' categories have seen a healthy increase.
Noelene Miggiani, director of D J Burgess Ltd, the company that organises the awards, said that the number of submissions has increased, and some individuals and companies had asked for deadline extensions so that they could turn in a better product. She said: "We altered the title of the 'Educational/Health' category to 'Educational/Informative' in order to broaden the category for programmes specialising in one topic, since at this moment there are no plans to introduce additional categories for awards.
"As from this year, nominees who do not win an award will have the facility to read the judges' comments.
The next event in connection with the awards is the Nominations Night, on February 12, at Heat bar and diner at the Valletta Waterfront. The Awards Night will be on February 27 at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre, Ta' Qali, and will be screened live on all local television stations. Visit www.themaltatelevisionawards.com for more information.
The competition is already heating up - I have lost count of the SMS, e-mail and Facebook messages I have received asking me to vote for this presenter or that programme.
• This week, in Naqra, Nitfa, Tikka, Ġorġ Peresso interviewed Miriam Cassar, the indefatigable person behind Vers Agħtini, the NGO that is trying to keep alive the vernacular in its many nuances, not least the difficult dialects spoken in different towns and villages. Further to this interview, Ms Cassar said there will be interactive storytelling sessions in Maltese, every Sunday at 3.30 p.m. at the Vers Agħtini premises in Munxar Street, St Thomas Bay, Marsascala.
These gatherings are meant to give children language skills and the confidence to use them, while at the same time making available authors' works that may not be available in the mainstream media. For more information e-mail marla@onvol.net.
This evening, Ms Cassar will be a guest on Tango (One Television).
• Carlo Borg Bonaci will be back on Net Television with the popular Kontra l-Ħin on February 22. One hopes this time around, the pace of the programme will be eponymous with its title.
• And so, Jacob has packed his bags and left Iż-Żona (TVM) for his adventures in the 'Great Outside'. This young man, whom we have seen acquire television presence before our eyes in the two years he has been on the programme, will no doubt be sorely missed by his mates in the studio and the great number of viewers who considered him their friend. I wish him well.
No doubt the producers and writers of the programme wanted to make the transition as light as possible so as not to create a negative feeling in the minds of young viewers. But since, as they say, parting is such a sweet sorrow, they sought to provide some kind of distraction to the actual goodbyes.
This they did by the inclusion of music usually associated with the merry-go-round at the fairground. I found it utterly distracting and out of place - the script, and then ad-libbing, were strong enough to stand on their own.
Incidentally, I also find music played during radio and television interviews off-putting. It's the same as when they say 'music during dinner is an insult to both the cook and the musician'!
• Celebrity Sundays (One Television) has thankfully veered away from the repetitive 'talent show' format by introducing an interview slot with personalities who are somewhat less guarded than they are on their usual platforms. So far, I have watched interviews on Youtube of Angela Coleiro, Julia Farrugia and Ignatius Farrugia.
Next in line is J Anvil.
television@timesofmalta.com