[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”][quote=“wolf_reinhold”]6. An observer stated that ICRT gets NT$72 million a year from some section of the government to operate.[/quote]First I’ve heard of it. Considering that the BBC Asian Network, a national station by and for the Asian communities (and created by the government, the one here couldn’t give a monkeys) has a buget of
[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”][quote=“wolf_reinhold”]6. An observer stated that ICRT gets NT$72 million a year from some section of the government to operate.[/quote]First I’ve heard of it. Considering that the BBC Asian Network, a national station by and for the Asian communities (and created by the government, the one here couldn’t give a monkeys) has a buget of
A crappy English speaking DJ is better than nothing. I used to turn the radio on while my kids were drinking their water and it was cool to see how they recognized some English songs that doesn’t have the word ‘spider’, ‘friend’ or ‘teacher may we eat’ in it.
Bugsy, I would appreciate it if you read the posts more carefully before you label anyone naive.
I am not one of the authors of the petition, just someone that cares about better quality radio programming in Taiwan. And yes, radio is important to me because:
- News
I remember 96FM, and agree that they played some good stuff – some REALLY good stuff. But, he didn’t just “go back to the US.” He was let go because – yep, you guessed it – no-one wanted to listen to his music.
Sad but true.
And I disagree that kicking ICRT off the airwaves is a bad idea. I think it would be a great idea, because then perhaps there would be a chance for someone else to step up and try for some government cash to do something decent. As it stands, no-one will get any money “because there’s already an international radio station.”
Let’s face it, it would be very very difficult to do any worse than ICRT.
If it is any relief, a DJ has written on the ICRT forum (before it was so tersely shut down for ‘inspection’) that the management is planning to play only one mandarin song per hour. :s
Apologies for the strong comment - It was not to pick a fight.
To be frank, I find ICRT’s programming sometimes vacuous and not a little weak at times. I have tried to mention this on their forum - on the R&B forum, for example. And many others have slammed certain hosts for their diction, playlist, etc. The management does not answer any queries or empower their moderators to be spokespeople either (Nor is there any way to address them, as the fora are headed by the respective hosts of the programs.). I think there isn’t any official response to heed to the listeners’ concerns because ICRT has become just another corporation which, to the investors, the bottomline is the true indicator of whether they are sucessful or not. That could be why they are constantly on the rampage for new talent search - To pander to the masses. Perhaps that is why countless good DJs from abroad whose names we are just starting to recognise come and go after a modest stint. And the old guard, needless to say has dwindled slowly but surely to the point of not returning. Rick Monday could still be heard on Room Service on Saturday mornings - Minus the old exuberance and mischief of his previous morning shows, which is much missed. If we think that ICRT is imcompetently managed now, at least we should try to spare a thought for the hosts or staff of the station who might be reading our comments in this forum. Most probably, they would have felt the situation more acutely than any of us but could do little as employees of ICRT.
I hope your petitioning will be successful in making the much needed improvements to the common cause of ICRT, whether one authored it or not.
[quote]Lastly, why on earth do they constantly have to mention they are in love with us? (ICRT in love with you
It
I don’t understand how the business community can stand up (as they have in the guises of AmCham and the ECCT, apparently) and denounce the station.
Hello?
It’s a business decision. They are trying to take a dog company and make it profitable. So what about the fact that the station has the IC (international community) in the call-letters? Ninety-five percent of potential listeners are Taiwanese/Chinese, not English-speaking foreigners.
ICRT management has every right to tell everyone that it is their company and they will run it in the way they see fit to attempt profitability. Catering to 5 percent of the potential market is ludicrous. What real business person would even consider catering/pandering to a fringe group that could never make it profitable?
And don’t tell me that if you make the station “good” for foreign listeners, the Chinese will follow. The market is mature now and having a station “where English is always free” is not the draw it used to be.
Who are we
[quote=“wolf_reinhold”]Who are we
One comment on the FAQ page is meaningless. And its hard to say how long that has been there on the Web site. Could be long before the management changes.
Of course this would be the first time that any company in the world ever hedged on its advertising, now woudn’t it?
Does anyone honestly believe that they would commit business suicide by following this 5 percent rule?
Wolf, you are absolutely right. I think everyone realizes this, but it is not the gist of the arguement. The challenge is if they get any support from the government (which is unknown), then we, as longtime Taiwan taxpayers and as one of the demographic groups they state they serve, have some say in the matter, even if we are only the margin.
Also, although this is the land of false advertising (ticket prices in all the newspapers for example, magic pills for better luck, etc.), there comes a time when someone has to stand up. If ICRT doesn’t want to be IC, then why not use FA (false advertising) RT. (No truth, no …). I think they have gone overboard this time and I am glad someone is pushing the matter further. I have already given up on ICRT, but if they bring the morning news back, i will be a everyday listener/customer again.
You would think ICRT would strive to find some respect in the community they are suppose to serve (outside of profit, but basically to get more business), but the problem with respect is you have to give it to get it. I suspect International firms and business groups such as AmCam/ECCT/HP will just laugh if asked for ad dollars anymore.
[quote=“wolf_reinhold”]I don’t understand how the business community can stand up (as they have in the guises of AmCham and the ECCT, apparently) and denounce the station.
Hello?
It’s a business decision. They are trying to take a dog company and make it profitable. So what about the fact that the station has the IC (international community) in the call-letters? Ninety-five percent of potential listeners are Taiwanese/Chinese, not English-speaking foreigners.
ICRT management has every right to tell everyone that it is their company and they will run it in the way they see fit to attempt profitability. [/quote]
Thought it was a non-profit organisation?
Why would any Taiwanese person listen to ICRT? The only reason I can think of would be to gain access to authentic English language programming aimed at a broad spectrum of native English speakers. Isn’t there a multi-million US dollar industry already trying to do this in Taiwan? Doesn’t ICRT (or anyone else) want a slice of that?
We are the 5% that give the station its legitimacy which in turn entices the other 95% to listen for the same reason that they might listen to the BBC or other English language radio stations.
4nr wrote:
If only that were true in all cases of tax dollars at work, or not at work as the case may be.
Imagine the list of things you see around this island where your tax dollars are squanderd without regard to public input.
As to non-profit status, I’ve heard that too, so it is curious that they tell Gus that they had to shake the tree to try and make money.
In the Howard Stern Movie “Private Parts” there is a scene where the NBC executives ponder the fact that 1) The average listener listens to Howard for 1.5 hours per day. 2) The listeners who hate Howard listen for 3 hours a day. The logistics of the radio business being what they are this of course translates to increased advertising revenue for NBC (I think it was NBC).
ICRT would “perhaps” be ill advised to go with a shock jock formula but it does appear that the station is in need of some fresh ideas. The station doesn’t seem to have much of a street buzz these days, and that is mainly because the programming is entirely too standard. It sounds sometimes like a North American Station transported to Taiwan and translated partially to Mandarin. Why not acknowledge that a good portion of the audience is made up of both English and Mandarin learners and provide liberal amounts of simulataneous translation during certain segments. The “Teaching English” segments could be expanded and presented in such a way as to be useful to students of Mandarin. And if the station really intends to represent the foriegn community why not include more in the way of Mandarin lessons which could easily be structured in such a way as to be useful to English students.
I suspect that promoters pay to have their client’s songs played and this perhaps constitutes a sizable portion of the station’s revenue, but it must be admitted that the many listeners would appreciate more jazz, blues, classic rock… There is a world of music out there and a sizable portion of the adult community in this country is looking to ICRT for more of an introduction to that variety.
Another area where the station could exploit it’s position better would be with a “call in” segment geared to a providing a bit of support to people dealing with various sorts of crisis. Romantic difficulties may prove to be the most common as well as the most popular with the listening audience. This could also prove to be a good time to insert liberal amounts of simulataneous translation either from English to Mandarin or vice versa.
Basically I think that ICRt occupies a unique position between two communities. More effort needs to be made in terms of 1) Helping both communities to learn the language of the other. 2) Helping to introduce the Taiwanese community to something other than pop favorites of twenty years ago.
And we have to face one dynamic…
ICRT now has to compete not only with
- other stations and
- CDs
but also - Internet Radio…
as well as computer games, movies, cable TV, etc…
Many of these didn’t even exist in the 80’s when ICRT first made their name. And each of these media takes a slice of time away from other options…
Personally, I never listen to radio these days, except what I can find on the Internet, because there just aren’t any good options for radio in Taiwan, in English…
[I can’t wait until Internet becomes truly roaming, when you can tune in in your car…! Bye bye, ICRT.]
Given the dramatically increasing number of options and sources for music, the only value ICRT really ads to the mix is
- relevance to the Taiwanese audience
- DJ’s with personality/knowledge/etc.
They’ve tried both of these routes, but whither the foreign audience? Mmm… And that’s what we all are complaining about, I guess.
Let’s be realistic here.
Kenneht
Most of the DJs they had earlier this year had no personality, just fakery and “WOOO LOOK HOW COOL I AM I AM A DJ WOOOO” bullshit. And most they had last time I looked barely had a coherent grasp on speech, let along personality. I actually think that if the DJs weren’t such a bunch of worthless shiteaters I might actually tune in again.
ICRT could appeal more to the expat population here by 1) Playing a wider range of music. 2) Hiring DJs who speak English as a first language and are less bubble gum in their delivery. 3) Providing more and better Mandarin classes which could be structured to in such a way as to be useful to English learners at the same time 4) Having more call in shows.
It might be worth while to consider the possibility that a lot of the things that appeal to a western audience might also appeal to the locals. I don’t think that this is neccesarily an either/or situation as the discussion so far seems to presume. Many adult Taiwanese complain about the same things that westerners do. The song list is too standard and too predictable and there isn’t enough sober commentary. They simply add to this the further complaint that the DJs speak too fast.
I may be something of an exception here in that I kind of enjoy ICRT on the odd occassion that I hear it. I even (or perhaps especially) quite like a lot of Mondo Pop. By incorporating some of the changes suggested here, however, it is certain that ICRT could expand it’s listener base.
well if nobody listens to it and everyone thinks it crap, and people have other sources for news …then why bother with a petition?
“Our primary mandate is to serve the expatriate community in Taiwan, which constitutes about 5% of our audience…”
how many statements or goal from companies are crap like this… this one obviuosly is more blatantly crap… but ICRT is a business and the guy running ICRT wants to make money
“serve” define serve… well they give the news traffic reports etc.
if there is a market there for a english speaking radio station then someone should go up against ICRT, and take whatever special grant or tax rebate they get for claiming to be an english radio station
ICRT is a student radio station with its target audience being keen people wanting to speak English, and any company that may advertsie percieve that the listernship of ICRT is higher if it is more directed to the domestic audience (more Chinese)
This is like the petition for bring back Star World. Do you think Star World Asia or Newscorp will dip their hand in their pocket or a local provider to cater for a small percentage of the overall subscription
Actually, he doesn’t. According to Nelson CHang, the head of the group that owns ICRT, all they want to do is meet their budget. Their budget is just over $70 million a year. Formosa TV gets $80 million from the government just for an English news show.
We’re not being unreasonable here.
TNT wrote:
Excellent point. In all these years, there has been no restriction on any other station as to whether or not to include more or all English content. Not a single station even put their foot in the water. Just not economically feasible.
Maoman wrote:
You make it sound like this is a doss. Putting together a show (one hour) as they do every day against a deadline cannot be easy. Who is involved? Translators, reporters, editors, camera dudes, talking heads, accountants and other pencil pushers (producers) and so on. They have to think on their feet.
A radio station just plays music. Sure, the news department has to do something more than pick what songs to play – they read CNA and the local papers and put together a report (two minutes an hour now – backbreaking!). But radio is a static operation (pardon the pun;))
Could you make a go of it with 70 mil?
What in the ICRT equation is soaking up so much money? Rent?