CBC is missing from my satellite TV dial
DUSHANBE — When I am in my apartment in Dushanbe, which is admittedly a relatively rare occurrence, I often watch satellite TV. “Often” because, if it is raining or snowing, the satellite dish doesn’t work. I am assuming this is due to a combination of bad connectors and/or a dish full of snow degrading the signal fidelity.
That said, when it is on, I get about 600 TV channels and at least that many, as I just recently discovered, radio channels. About eight of the TV channels are in English. Three of these are born-again Christian channels which I am at a loss to explain. The rest include: Pentagon TV (imagine Staff Sergeant Bill Boring updating us on the latest MP-311-A forms), VH1 (a UK version of M-TV that appears to target 1980’s one-hit-wonder fans), CNN International, BBC World and Al Jazeera International. As you may imagine, I spend most of my time watching news.
There is also a Polish music video channel that plays nothing but hip-hop videos featuring scantily clad young ladies. Apparently, there are only six such videos. I have seen all of them now, dozens of times. But, I digress…
CNN International
I have been familiar with CNN International since my first tour as the Operations Officer for the Canadian Contingent on the Golan Heights — back in 1991. It has improved only a little since then. If you haven’t seen CNN International, imagine CNN without all of the U.S. news.
Now, when you strip all of the U.S. news off of CNN you’re left with… commercials. Americans, at least those who watch CNN it seems, are not that interested in anywhere else. International news on most U.S. TV networks includes war news from Iraq and war news from Afghanistan. Sometimes there is war news from somewhere else the U.S. has troops and sometimes there is news about other countries if the president or a senior member of cabinet happens to be visiting there.
CNN International, therefore, is full of a lot of nothingness. That, and the presidential election which, admittedly, some would argue is more of the same.
All of the anchors on CNN International, save one, have British, Australian or delightful British-Asian hybrid accents. The one without an accent is Canadian. I think there is an American woman who does some of the business or sports news.
BBC World
My British friends will kill me for this, but I have to confess that I often can’t tell the difference between BBC World and CNN International. And that’s only partly because, about a quarter of the time, my satellite service provider overlays the BBC signal on the CNN station. Often, I don’t even notice until I switch the channel and the talking heads remain the same.
Speaking of talking heads, there may be more Americans delivering news on BBC World than on CNN International. I can’t be sure, because every time I start to count them, I forget which channel I’m watching. Certainly the studios and corporate colours are confusingly similar. Also odd is the fact that both networks seem to have switched sides: BBC World inexplicably delivers “sports” news while CNN International delivers “sport news.” It’s like some weird Twilight Zone episode.
Al Jazeera International
Al Jazeera’s English language international news channel is shockingly good. It also may have more big high calibre American and Engish broadcasters on air than both BBC World and CNN International combined. It delivers a broad spectrum of world news, business and sports with an editorial bias that is no more noticeable than that of the BBC or CNN.
Radio Canada International
I had heard from acquaintances here that they could receive Radio Canada International (RCI) — the overseas version of CBC — on their satellite TV dishes. Amazing, I said. Easy, they said. And, they were right.
On close inspection, I was surprised to discover the “radio” button right there on the remote — made all the more easy to find once I removed the ubiquitous plastic wrapping on the remote control. Ubiquitous because it seems all Tajiks (at least those who rent out apartments to foreigners) wrap their remotes in plastic so they will… well, I’m not exactly sure what the advantage is supposed to be. Perhaps, it’s to make them feel more like Italian mothers in law who wrap their sofas the same way?
Push the rado button and there it is: a list of stations. Right there, in the early 500’s are three RCI channels. RCI 1 is English, RCI 2 is French and RCI 3 is none of the above and, it seems, all of the others.
Hurray!
Unfortunately, I am still on the opposite side of the planet, some 10 hours ahead of Toronto time. This means, as I discover, that I can listen to RCI test drive it’s job applicants on air. Whenever I’m listening, it’s the middle of the night in Toronto and RCI is spouting drivel (some women delivering poetry in morse code like a modern day Victor Borgia) or spinning records that “don’t get enough play” on commercial stations — for good reason, as it turns out.
Come to think of it, the people who told me about finding RCI on their satellite TV and loooooooving it are Americans. CNN refugees, no doubt.
The world could use (gasp!) some CBC
I am disappointed that I can’t get CBC Newsworld on my satellite dish. Not only do I miss news from home which, admittedly I get in realtime when I’m online, but I think the world could do with a little dose of the Corpse. I am very interested in what’s going on in the rest of the world, and neither BBC World or CNN International seem to do that particularly well.
CBC Newsworld would provide the world a highly professional English language news perspective that is broadly world-focused and carries with it none of the baggage that do BBC and CNN. As a middle power with neither a colonial past nor imperial ambitions, Canada offers a decidedly moderate voice in the world. I think the CBC would be well received abroad and wonder what could be done to put Newsworld on the dial.
Until then, I continue to try most days to download Global National on iTunes… what happened to Kevin Newman, anyway?