[Swprograms] Philly writer hates BBC Newshour

[Daniel Say <say@xxxxxx>]

----- Forwarded message from Daniel Say <say@xxxxxx> -----
Subject: Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/29/2004 | Unconventional Wisdom | Love the Brits, hate the BBC
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   [spacer.gif] Posted on Sat, May. 29, 2004
   
   
Unconventional Wisdom | Love the Brits, hate the BBC

   By Tanya Barrientos,  Inquirer Columnist
   
   I drive to work at 9 a.m., at the ebb of the morning rush, right after
   Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer call it a day on Good Morning America,
   happily listening to my car radio.
   
   Well, not so happily anymore.
   
   For as long as I can remember, I counted on the repeat of Morning
   Edition on public radio to ease me into the office. A bit of world
   news, a quick national overview, and a taste of arts and culture
   delivered by the melodic voices of current cohosts Steve Inskeep and
   Renée Montagne.
   
   When I gave up coffee a while back, I also gave up shock-jock therapy.
   
   No Howard Stern for me. No Imus in the Morning. I can't stomach their
   peppery opinions before noon. I want my breakfast update served
   without pulp.
   
   So I thought I'd be in heaven when WHYY-FM (90.9) switched its
   schedule in January and began broadcasting the BBC Newshour during my
   commute. British accents! Global viewpoints! Daily gossip about the
   old-school royals, the new-school royals, and the third cousins once
   removed from the royals!
   
   I love Emma Thompson. I read Nick Hornby. I've watched every episode
   of Prime Suspect that's run on public television. I even own the
   entire first season of the vintage Brit TV series Upstairs, Downstairs
   on DVD.
   
   For a Guatemalan-born gal raised in West Texas, I'm a heck of an
   Anglophile. Naturally, I thought an entire hour of the BBC would be my
   cup of tea.
   
   Except, as it turns out, I hate it.
   
   Go ahead, call me stupid. Call me shallow. If you're feeling English,
   call me daft. But I can't bear the program I thought I would adore.
   
   Oh sure, the accents are pretty, and the war coverage is terrific. But
   beyond that, the show is sluggish, pompous and boring.
   
   For six months I've gritted my teeth and continued to listen,
   ingesting the show like medicine. (Mary Poppins, where are you?)
   
   But I've also tried to put my finger on the precise problem I have
   with the program. As a journalist, I thrive on news. I spend my day
   informing myself about happenings around the world. I'm firmly in
   favor of Americans' being more globally aware.
   
   But there is something annoying about the mix of dispatches coming
   from the oh-so-proper BBC correspondents.
   
   Reports from Ireland. India. China. Zambia. Nigeria. Zimbabwe.
   Bulletins from Australia. Uganda. Sri Lanka. Sierra Leone.
   
   Stories from nations that, for the most part, used to belong to the
   British Empire. That's the problem. Under the guise of providing a
   well-rounded report of world events, the British Broadcasting Corp.
   concentrates almost entirely on the places it used to own.
   
   Get over it, mates! The map has been redrawn. If you must feed me
   obscure tidbits from far-flung locales, why not Norway, Peru or
   Venezuela?
   
   I telephoned Christine Dempsey, director of radio programming at WHYY,
   to see what sort of reaction she's received.
   
   "It's very popular," she said. So popular, the ratings shot up about
   20 percent. So popular, "after six weeks we had a 70 percent increase
   in the calls for membership during that hour."
   
   I'm clearly in the minority. So be it.
   
   I'll take my medicine. And when Newshour gets to be too pedantic, I'll
   switch over to Tom Joyner on WDAS-FM (105.3) for a refreshing dose of
   pedestrian American humor.
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Contact columnist Tanya Barrientos at 215-854-5728 or
   [76]tbarrientos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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