大象传媒

PLEASE LEAVE NEWSHOUR ALONE. I (in USA) started listening to the 大象传媒 World Service precisely BECAUSE even our NPR started getting sloppy about news and let it become infotainment, including the very Scott Simon and Liane Hansen glorified by the English gentleman asking 大象传媒 to be more like NPR. Newshour and The World Today may be the only places left in the English speaking world where real news is still delivered, although it seems the presenters are being pushed to soften the content more every day.
As for having the presenters reflect the world's diversity: doesn't 大象传媒 have dozens of stations to serve diverse persons in their own languages? Must they also take over the English news channel, too?

Race is of no importance- good diction and pronounciation definitely are.
Can the word "impact" remain a noun.
Can"core" refer to the inside of an apple / the earth and not replace "basic" or "fundamental"?

Please keep the 大象传媒 the bastion of good english and leave the americanisms across the pond where I hope they wither and perish.

cheers

Ozfrog

I totally and absolutely agree with the two comments above (by ghopes and Lance Dixon. Remember the old saying: If something works don't re-fix it....World Service works and works marvellously. The presenters are the very, very best on the radio or television. It is a British Service - don't change it - people listen to it because it is British with a reputation for unbiased and fair reporting. Applaud it.

I would like to start by saying that I find the world today the most enjoyable news programme provided by any outlet from the 大象传媒. It gives more depth to items that any other news programme, tends to have slightly different items to the standard news programmes and yes the presenters do have personalities which makes the programme so much more enjoyable.
I live and work in Crete (Greece) along side a large diversity of nationalities, Greek, Russians, Albanians, Syrians, Dutch, Germans, French, Turks, Algerians to name a few. It is fantastic meeting people from different cultures, please please do not feel the need to change your team on 鈥渢he world today鈥� because you get one person with a politically correct agenda. Political correctness appears to be the excuse to be able to complain about so many things and everyone feels they have to change. The lady who you interviewed already suggested the line up would be changing in the next few month. You already have many other outlets for diversity and languages.
I really do not mind what nationalities the presenter are as long as 鈥� they have the ability to speak clear and understandable English, remember 鈥渢he world today鈥� is an English speaking programme, using presenters because the do not sound white and English will turn the programme in to some politically correct experiment and stop it being the best news programme from the 大象传媒. Remember also people listen to the 大象传媒 for whom English could well be their second or third language, using presenters with other national accents could well be a disaster

I also live in the USA. I find it a huge plus that most of the World Service programs are not personality-driven. The "news" that's given on radio and television here is always treated as a star vehicle for the presenter, who is basically a newsreader masquerading as a journalist.

As for diversity...well, I never gave too much thought to it, since this is the 大象传媒 I'm listening to. I'm not sure it's worth even starting that discussion. Accusations of "political correctness" are almost always thrown around by people who don't have to deal with any discrimination themselves. And nothing ever gets resolved.

Anyway, I've always liked listening to the World Service, including the Newshour, and I think it's a necessary part of my "news diet". Keep up the good work.

I agree entirely with the previous contributors who express the wish to stay with native English speakers. It is not a question of being out of date and conservative, but simply a matter of clear communication. Please don麓t get me wrong - listening to a non-native English speaker in other circumstances is both a pleasant and enriching experience, but in the case of a current affairs programme surely comprehending the content is of paramount importance, without the effort of interpreting an unfamiliar accent.
Would an African listener really prefer, say, an Indian presenter, and vice-versa?

First, I'm not sure that ethnicity has to do with native language. Those seem to be used interchangeably in the message(s) above.

Secondly, while grammar is fantastic, the point of news is elsewhere. Yes, it's important to have well-spoken individuals representing the station, but more importantly, to have critical thinkers with diverse viewpoints and strong integrity.

Thirdly, does it necessarily mean that one program displaces another or one presenter displaces another? I don't think so. Communication is evolving at a staggering rate. It's no longer two-dimensional. We've only begun to touch the surface of what's possible now, not to mention what will be possible in the coming years. As news becomes more interactive, it will become necessary to have more people interfacing with the public.
A much less threatening way of addressing the issue is perhaps by working more collaboratively...mingling various programs. With its somewhat 'segmented diversity' (intentional oxymoron), perhaps 大象传媒 is a microcosm of the world. As Gandhi said, "become the change you wish to see in the world". I think 大象传媒 has been doing well here, but the process never ends.

I think 大象传媒 is quite a bit ahead of the curve in many ways, in great part due to exactly this ... self-reflection.

This effort yields both limitless challenge and limitless potential.

I love 大象传媒 radio station because of most of its excellent and vibrant staff, reporters and presenters. Some programs have been hosted and conducted by non-British native speakers like on "Asian Business report" and "Indian business report" and I think these already a big strive and effort from the 大象传媒 organizer. However 大象传媒 main programs like World news or world business report should be handled by native British speakers because this is the face of the channel. Every time when I turn on the TV I can see that "wow I'm listening to the British media channel not American one". Standard British is also very important to any one who wish to learn and perhaps get to know to the British ascent.

first you have to understand why it is call bbc...personality i listen to bbc for unbiased,unedited and nothing but the true bbc dont take side nor are they afriad to go beyond boarder...the presenters read the news like they got it in the back of their head...i think bbc is diverse enough please dont go down the race or colour road because it wont lead to any good and it wont stop there next it will be RELIGION

As someone you doesn麓t speak English as a mother language, it麓s easier for me to hear native English speakers that don麓t have an accent. Not only for that practical reason I am in favour of this solution. Just because it麓s a world service doesn麓t mean that the English has to reflect this. It does make things more difficult than necessary.