[quote=“lady_skywalker”]In ICRT’s own words…
Actually, l_s, with a few minor corrections, that mission statement works. To wit:
and…Thank you “Smell the Glove” for fixing those typos…now it makes more sense…謝謝
You’re welcome. I’m always happy to serve the foreign community. 
I think most of the problems International Community Radio Taiwan has wit the international community of Taiwan come from it’s bogus mandate and name. Recent local cultural norms dictate that official fallacies or lies are quite acceptable, but for those of us that do not adhere to Chinese cultural values, ICRT is offensive. It claims to be a community radio station and it is not even close. It does not follow the official mandate or the definition of community radio.
Community radio is intended to be non profit, non government and relies on volunteer broadcasters from the community, sometimes however community radio stations do make a profit because they have the overwhelming support from the community they represent.
International Community Radio Taiwan has little if any support from the community it claims to represents because it does not support the international community.
The Chinese family that owns and operates ICRT would do much better with their money losing radio station if they let it do what it is supposed to do or change the mandate.
[quote=“Eric W. Lier”]I think most of the problems International Community Radio Taiwan has wit the international community of Taiwan come from it bogus mandate and name. Recent local cultural norms dictate that official fallacies or lies are quite acceptable, but for those of us that do not adhere to Chinese cultural values, ICRT is offensive. It claims to be a community radio station and it is not even close. It does not follow the official mandate or the definition of community radio.
Community radio is intended to be non profit, non government and relies on volunteer broadcasters from the community, sometimes however community radio stations do make a profit because they have the overwhelming support from the community they represent.
International Community Radio Taiwan has little if any support from the community it claims to represents because it does not support the international community.
The Chinese family that owns and operates ICRT would do much better with their money losing radio station if they let it do what it is supposed to do or change the mandate.[/quote]
Isn’t the reason why they keep that mandate because they get some sort of tax break or other incentive from the government, which would otherwise be withdrawn?
This morning in the car I heard Metallica and then Carol King.
I was thinking about the people that complain about the music on ICRT. They are probably from a place where there is 10 maybe 20 choices of radio. Even small towns I have lived in had at least 5 all catering to different tastes.
So, imagine if you had ONE radio station, and you had to work out a music mix that would suit most people. What would you play? A bit of everything?
[quote=“Truant”]This morning in the car I heard Metallica and then Carol King.
I was thinking about the people that complain about the music on ICRT. They are probably from a place where there is 10 maybe 20 choices of radio. Even small towns I have lived in had at least 5 all catering to different tastes.
So, imagine if you had ONE radio station, and you had to work out a music mix that would suit most people. What would you play? A bit of everything?[/quote]
If I owned ICRT, we’d play a hell of alot of Kevin “Bloody” Wilson. 24 hours a day. And have lots of beer commercials.
youve seen a cockatoo dr evil?
I heard the Clash on ICRT yesterday. I think that might have been a first.
[quote=“Eric W. Lier”]I think most of the problems International Community Radio Taiwan has wit the international community of Taiwan come from it’s bogus mandate and name. Recent local cultural norms dictate that official fallacies or lies are quite acceptable,[/quote]Well, I also look at it this way. For example if asked, every third person in this country would probably offer up the ‘fact’ that Taiwan Beer is internationally famous, as if it were sold in bars and supermarkets across the globe and where it were not available people there were subconciously pining for it. About 99.9% of foreigners hearing this will recognize it for what it is (misinformation at best, pure bs at worst), smile politely and change the subject. They are hardly likely to call for the destruction of TWTMB’s breweries.
I pretty much view ICRT in the same way. If they want to pretend they are an international radio station then what of it? It doesn’t affect me negatively in any way shape or form, and I can easily smile at the absurdity of the claim and move along.
While I do get upset by lies that endanger myself or others, like the tobacco industry claiming their product won’t harm me, or some cabbie telling me that seatbelts aren’t really necessary, this is one those lies that, while faintly obscene, doesn’t really harm anyone of importance. If some young Taiwanese wants to think more highly of himself because he listens to a supposedly hip international radio station then the only person deluded is himself.
No harm no foul. There are more important things to worry about.
Because if no-one complained, everything on this planet would be a load of shite, that’s why.
I would like to turn on a radio in the morning and tune into a half decent radio station but since being in Taipei, this has been merely a fantasy.
Same song, different hour. Throw in a couple of oldies a day and call it variety. Throw in a couple of English words per day and call it an “International Community radio Station.”
[quote]Because if no-one complained, everything on this planet would be a load of shite, that’s why.
I would like to turn on a radio in the morning and tune into a half decent radio station but since being in Taipei, this has been merely a fantasy.
Same song, different hour. Throw in a couple of oldies a day and call it variety. Throw in a couple of English words per day and call it an “International Community radio Station.”[/quote]
DangerMouse I think this is a very ignorant/arrogant comment. You live in Taiwan. In Taiwan they speak Mandarin not English. The expat community is too small to have the types of English radio stations as back home. There are plenty of quality radio stations in Taiwan but they speak Mandarin. I have no idea what your Chinese language level is but the reply you posted is the same type of things I hear from my friends that lived here for an eternity and have managed not to learn a word of Chinese. “Why can’t the servers speak English in the restaurant” “hey, you guys can only speak English around me” blah blah blah. If they don’t want to learn the language it is their problem* (I don’t care) but you shouldn’t make it into the Taiwanese problem.
- I also know a lot of people that don’t speak the language but don’t make it an issue
How many foreigners are currently living and working in Taiwan? Got any figures? Perhaps you’re thinking just about the visible WHITE expat community while ignoring the less visible NON-WHITE expat community.
Anyway, I’ll make it easy for you. According to the National Police Agency, as of June, 2006 there are 432,732. Of course not ALL of these people speak English…but a hell of alot of them do.
[quote]DangerMouse I think this is a very ignorant/arrogant comment. You live in Taiwan. In Taiwan they speak Mandarin not English. The expat community is too small to have the types of English radio stations as back home. There are plenty of quality radio stations in Taiwan but they speak Mandarin. I have no idea what your Chinese language level is but the reply you posted is the same type of things I hear from my friends that lived here for an eternity and have managed not to learn a word of Chinese. “Why can’t the servers speak English in the restaurant” “hey, you guys can only speak English around me” blah blah blah. If they don’t want to learn the language it is their problem* (I don’t care) but you shouldn’t make it into the Taiwanese problem.
- I also know a lot of people that don’t speak the language but don’t make it an issue[/quote]
Not at all Ralphy - I think you are missing the point somewhat here. My complaint is that ICRT markets itself as a radio station of which it’s primary role is to serve the foreign community. This is something which it clearly does not do.
If ICRT didn’t lay claim to this then I wouldn’t have any problem with the station accept for the fact that it sounds unprofessional and crap - but I can say the same about the quality of some of the radio stations back home.
I sometimes listen to other radio stations in Taiwan where the language spoken is Chinese - there are no bogus claims that the stations are here to serve an expat community and the overall “put together” of the stations is far more professional sounding than ICRT.
It’s like buying a book where the title cover is English but the content is Chinese - false advertising by any standards.
So should Chinese be offended when they go to an “Authentic” Chinese Restaurant in the U.K. or U.S. and they’re treated to a deep fried buffet and fortune cookies?
I beg to differ.
The expatriate community has been growing by leaps and bounds, over a half million by current estimates. Expats from more developed countries have been decreasing in Taiwan.
ICRT would be back in the black if it represented the interest of the international community. The problem is that the international community is now of primarily of Asian decent and one of the most oppressed and abused ethnic communities on the island.
Much of that oppression and abuse can be directly attributed to the Chinese family that currently controls ICRT.
The fact that ICRT claims to represent the international community prohibits the international community from creating their own, true community radio station.
I know plenty of Pilipino’s & Indonesians that enjoy listening to ICRT. Are they considered part of the international community? Japanese? I believe they make up the largest contingent of white collared expats on the island. I really don’t think their English radio taste and what a lot of people on this forums tastes would ever be gel on one station. And like what you said most foreigners on this island are of Asian decent.
You can only please half the people all the time and all the people have the time.
[quote=“Dangermouse”]Because if no-one complained, everything on this planet would be a load of shite, that’s why.[/quote]Almost there, but not quite. Most of the ‘everything’ that you’re referring is affected by market forces, which means if people don’t like it they don’t buy it… and the crap disappears. Radio OTOH is not subject to this in such a direct way. Go ahead, don’t listen to ICRT and see what happens. No one will notice that you aren’t listening anymore because there’s no market research on this segment of the audience, ICRT will continue to pretend that you are listening (and loving it) and the locals will believe the lie. The advertisers that provide all of ICRT’s revenue won’t miss you either since their ads aren’t aimed at you in the first place. Sorry DM but I don’t see that you complaining is going to make any difference. The station, 99.99% of the audience and (most importantly) the advertisers all like it how it is. Hell, it could easily be the advertisers themselves that are steering the programming in the direction it’s going, and why not? It’s a business after all so why not give the paying customers what they want.
[quote=“Dangermouse”]
I would like to turn on a radio in the morning and tune into a half decent radio station but since being in Taipei, this has been merely a fantasy.[/quote]Even if you could get every foreigner in Taiwan to sign a petition to demand they change it would change nothing since that would still represent a tiny percentage of the total market, and the very part the advertisers care least about. I used to listen to ICRT news in the morning on my way to work, and then they moved the time, or cancelled the morning news or something like that. Now I get my news via the internet with my morning coffee and listen to my own choice of music on the way there. I don’t miss ICRT at all and if you guys hadn’t started complaining about it I would have assumed it had gone belly up years ago.
[quote=“Doctor Evil”]According to the National Police Agency, as of June, 2006 there are 432,732. Of course not ALL of these people speak English…but a hell of alot of them do.[/quote]ICRT is well aware of this and used to run shows featuring Thai, Filipino and Indonesian pop music on weekends just for them. I’m sure the advertisers care even less about them than they do about whitey.
I don’t know about the domestics but the Thai and Filipino workers in our factory all speak far better English than their local co-workers.
ok well flame me if you want but I like ICRT. I used to go to the ICRT chat room all the time about a year or so ago and the DJs were all really nice. I talked to Joe the most and he was always really pleasant to talk to and would play any song I requested no matter how ridiculous. Ron I didn’t especially get along with but everyone else was really nice. I even talked to the one DJ a few times before he died (sorry I can’t remember his name I think it was David). Before everyone goes around bitching that they don’t play music you like you might consider trying to request something…that’s my 2 cents.
I request that they serve the foreign community.