Oh, you mean that channel that’s being provided by digital subscriber service by the cable companies, along with BBC World, ABC Asia-Pacific, DW, and others? Yeah, looks like people petitioning for the return of Star World failed spectacularly in that.
Oh, you mean that channel that’s being provided by digital subscriber service by the cable companies, along with BBC World, ABC Asia-Pacific, DW, and others? Yeah, looks like people petitioning for the return of Star World failed spectacularly in that.[/quote]
So did the petition succeed??
And that is why they moved it onto Digital. They knew it would be a carrot for foreginers to get digital TV and no loss to the local population.
Is it a loss to the local population that ICRT is more mandarin? By their understanding probably not, so to ICRT why fix something that isn’t broken and loose revenue on ads and listenership
The boss of ICRT may be asking
How much is it to run ICRT per year?
What percentage of this comes from ad revenue?
How do you increase ad revenue? by getting more listeners… how do you get more listeners? by making it more attractive to listeners Out of the potential market what people have the biggest base? Mandarin speaking
What percentage of this comes from the government? Not enough to cover that new BMW i wanted
Oh, you mean that channel that’s being provided by digital subscriber service by the cable companies, along with BBC World, ABC Asia-Pacific, DW, and others? Yeah, looks like people petitioning for the return of Star World failed spectacularly in that.[/quote]
So did the petition succeed?? [/quote]
Did Star World return to TV screens in Taiwan?
Oh, you mean that channel that’s being provided by digital subscriber service by the cable companies, along with BBC World, ABC Asia-Pacific, DW, and others? Yeah, looks like people petitioning for the return of Star World failed spectacularly in that.[/quote]
So did the petition succeed?? [/quote]
Did Star World return to TV screens in Taiwan?[/quote]
Not on analog cable TV anyway
Who said anything about that? If people hadn’t petitioned and made them realize there was a market for it, do you think they’d have bothered offering it at all?
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.[/quote]
Like ICRT is going to tell what they make a year. Can you do the same for Forumosa?
They are a private company and not listed so they do not need to say.
Whatever about their claim to be there to serve the foreign public, ICRT is a business, and I think it would difficult to convince a business man to take money out of his pocket to be reasonable with a listener base that is not a source of income for him or represents potentially a tiny % of the income
I would be the same
I think they pulled and put it on digital prior to the petition… this was to do with a digital switchover not a petition
By lying in its mandate, ICRT is trying to make out that foreigners listen to ICRT, which in turn pulls in their audience – young Taiwanese who think it’s foreign, so it must be cool.
Change that, and their audience would disappear. How many young Taiwanese are likely to say “I listen to ICRT because it is so pathetic and the English is so fucked-up that most foreigners won’t even tune in.”?
So yeah, ICRT is using foreigners as a drawcard while emphatically NOT making even a tiny effort to accede to even the slightest demands.
So fuck that and fuck them. I don’t expect ICRT to do anything at all about this – after all, it’s Taiwanese management – but I can certainly complain if the demographic both I and ICRT claim to represent is being cynically used as a free advertising tool. Well, not entirely free, I suppose, since they’ve earned the contempt of those they claim to be trying to serve, but shit, as they say, that’s only 5% of their market – and they’re ignorant barbarian bignoses, in any case, so it DEFINITELY doesn’t count.
I don’t give a toss whether ICRT lives or dies, as it’s not even a blip on my radar, but I’d like them to stop hoodwinking gullible students into thinking that ICRT in any way whatsoever represents “international community” radio.
So then I guess it has nothing to do with changing ICRT… it has to do with getting them to stop using foreigners as a marketing tool or a draw for the Taiwanese
Why not change the petition to say that?
On a slightly different note why does Forumosa not set up a radio station?
Why not use a petition to get a license from the government
My friends had a pirate radio station in the back of a van that they used to drive around the city… maybe you could use the existing antennae in place and broadcast all over Taiwan
You could do the mornng show with two characters from Forumosa that are always at each other’s throats
Formosa aka Lane 119 could do the “I see into the future show” and give us his outragous predictions and conclusions based on scant evidence for such things as SARS etc
Fred and Tiger could do the “Republican Show” which obviuosly would garner alot of listnership
The you could have music shows etc
You could do the news… interviews… weather reports… traffic
All people in this would have a share in the Radio Station
[quote]On a slightly different note why does Forumosa not set up a radio station?
Why not use a petition to get a license from the government
[/quote]
That would be fun, but I think ICRT would have to die before the government would even give it a passing thought.
I think they pulled and put it on digital prior to the petition… this was to do with a digital switchover not a petition[/quote]
IIRC the petition was first. Digital only started a few months into my stay here, Star World was gone before I arrived.
[quote=“TNT”]So then I guess it has nothing to do with changing ICRT… it has to do with getting them to stop using foreigners as a marketing tool or a draw for the Taiwanese
Why not change the petition to say that?[/quote]
Because by aiming to improve it, they may still fail but at least get them to change the mandate, and that would be seen as a compromise and minimize potential loss of face. And there’s still the chance the may succeed and end up with a better radio station. By saying “change the mandate” the best you’ll get is the change of mandate, which probably wouldn’t happen because of the loss of face in bowing to a bunch of foreigners, and you’ve got no chance of seeing the station improve. In fact, you’d basically be condoning its continued downward slide.
[quote=“TNT”]So then I guess it has nothing to do with changing ICRT… it has to do with getting them to stop using foreigners as a marketing tool or a draw for the Taiwanese
Why not change the petition to say that?[/quote]That’s an idea, but it would be pretty easy to round up 10 foreigners, 8 of whom think ICRT is doing a splendid job… How are you going to prove they’re not, without getting every foreigner (including the migrant workers) on the island to sign?
It might be fun to try and take them to court for fraudulent advertising 
The free market rule puts foreigners of Taiwan far beyond behind of their needs. English isn
[quote=“melindaming”]The free market rule puts foreigners of Taiwan far beyond behind of their needs. English isn
[quote=“melindaming”]The free market rule puts foreigners of Taiwan far beyond behind of their needs. English isn
I feel served.
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.[/quote]
Do you ever get the feeling that you could do a better job on half the money?
Sorry, but after 4 months, there is no reason for it to STILL be that bad!!!
Could someone please let J. Mindich know that he doens’t have to do his smug little smile after each and every story?!? Especially ones on death and destruction… 
[quote=“Ironman”][quote="Bugsy The newcasters and DJs all try their best to enunciate slowly and clearly as best as they can because they want to be understood by English learners. Native speakers can still hear, without much problem, what is being announced
I was critical in an earlier post of the horrible enunciation. This post reminded me of the 95% of ICRT listeners who need clear slow English.
But, bloody hell its irritating… Could that news guy at least try and make it less stomach churning.
He seems to making use of the 4 tones. Maybe if he went nice and slow in the first tone only it would be okay.[/quote]
I am just back and ICRT is okay right now. Music is improved and the announcers are not using 2nd tone for each word.
Have you guys made a difference?
Now if ICRT took away the Asian hotties and replaced them with hairy fat chicks with attitudes I would be pissed. If ICRT took away my paycheck and had it replaced with Chinese herbal medicine, I would be really pissed. If ICRT took away my return flight to the United States and replaced it with an ROC passport, I would be $#@%! pissed!
but…
All ICRT did was replace crappy Western music with crappy Tawianese music. ICRT is serving… serving the needs of those who like crap. Are you old farts missing the days of endless Celine Dion and Eagles loops? What’s sad is that its not the local Taiwanese who have the bad taste. They don’t know any better. But you should.