Are Singapores News Anchors Dumb?

[AngryAngMo]

Sorry for the rather unglossed topic title but thats what I am wondering at the moment...

I switched on my TV last night to follow the Obama inauguration and being in Singapore i decided that Chanel News Asia would be my TV station of choice, hoping to get some local coverage as well.

However, after about an hour of more listening then watching in fact (reading a book while waiting for the "interesting" part) i finally decided to switch to NBC for a proper documentation of the events.

I am seriously not over exaggerating when I say that the two funny News anchors, were messing up names, words or just get muddled in their sentences about 5 times per minute, or nearly in every third sentence... What the hell???

In the end i wasn't sure if it was some high school presentation of a nervous pupil or a professional News show i was following!? Quite terrifying to witness that...

[blue_thunder]

Sorry for the rather unglossed topic title but thats what I am wondering at the moment...

I switched on my TV last night to follow the Obama inauguration and being in Singapore i decided that Chanel News Asia would be my TV station of choice, hoping to get some local coverage as well.

However, after about an hour of more listening then watching in fact (reading a book while waiting for the "interesting" part) i finally decided to switch to NBC for a proper documentation of the events.

I am seriously not over exaggerating when I say that the two funny News anchors, were messing up names, words or just get muddled in their sentences about 5 times per minute, or nearly in every third sentence... What the hell???

In the end i wasn't sure if it was some high school presentation of a nervous pupil or a professional News show i was following!? Quite terrifying to witness that...

Wel i saw the same until midnight ...not an interesting presentation by the anchors...to be honest..it was a live show, unlike the regular news which requires them to read the news from the screen in front of them...

Cheers.

[smayrhofer]

They don't have much practice with live shows... All the impromptu, think-on-your-feet stuff. Can't really blame them!

Of course, doesn't mean you have to watch them, either. For good live coverage, change the channel.

[EADG]

...have you heard the morning radio shows?

[Vaucluse]

Sorry for the rather unglossed topic title but thats what I am wondering at the moment...

I switched on my TV last night to follow the Obama inauguration and being in Singapore i decided that Chanel News Asia would be my TV station of choice, hoping to get some local coverage as well.

However, after about an hour of more listening then watching in fact (reading a book while waiting for the "interesting" part) i finally decided to switch to NBC for a proper documentation of the events.

I am seriously not over exaggerating when I say that the two funny News anchors, were messing up names, words or just get muddled in their sentences about 5 times per minute, or nearly in every third sentence... What the hell???

In the end i wasn't sure if it was some high school presentation of a nervous pupil or a professional News show i was following!? Quite terrifying to witness that...

I almost wet myself when I was back in Sydney two weeks ago and heard the news anchors there trying to do an interview and pronounce non-Anglo names.

Idiots . . . why can't they just know how to prnounce easy names like Shevardnaze and Rastamingliou.

[Wind In My Hair]

Idiots . . . why can't they just know how to prnounce easy names like Shevardnaze and Rastamingliou.

Ah, now I remember why I like you. Welcome back!

Another example: lots of people who've lived in Singapore for years still cannot pronounce "Changi" (it's CHAR-ngee, not CHAIR-ngee, and don't even get me started on how they can't pronouce "Ng" at all no matter how many times they hear it).

[AngryAngMo]

Some additions...

- I guess the point that they don't really have experience with life shows is quite true and could be awarded in their favor... however, their job is to be exactly that, right? A News Presenter, flexible and professional in doing just that, presenting news, and to me its not an excuse that they have not that much experience with live shows.

If my last presentation is 3 month ago and i totally mess up the one today, the excuse "well, i havent had that much experience in the last months" would, if lucky, get not more then a disbelieving look from my manager then anything else ..

- The Names. Actually I was not talking about them not being able to "pronounce" any western names or similar things at all. I probably should just left it with "words" like inauguration or presidential campaign that they regularly messed up Sorry for being unclear here...

[road.not.taken]

Idiots . . . why can't they just know how to prnounce easy names like Shevardnaze

And why can't you learn how to spell??

Do you think Christiane Amanpour, with her British/Persian background picked up conversational Georgian along the way? No, so she had to learn how to pronounce a potentially awkward name. That is her job. When did our standards get so low that even news announcers aren't expected to understand the news they are presenting? Edward R. Murrow is pinwheeling in his grave for sure.

[ScoobyDoes]

This is generally why "western" news media is still better, from major networks. Anchors are not presenters first and journalists second, they are journos first that have spent years out in the field working their way up the ladder to be then given a comfy chair.

Being out in the field, nationwide or worldwide gives the journo that investicative insight to ask questions that presenters just don't have.

This is what makes the difference during a live show. Okay, so to pad out time they tend to waffle on and like the sound of their own voice over that of silent contemplation but when they come up with a question it's usually a corker.

Having said that i was in Thailand last week watching the Fox News presentation of the downed plane in NY and the blond (of course) commented they should just put a "grill" or something over the engine to stop the birds getting in, like they do on cars

[road.not.taken]

they should just put a "grill" or something over the engine to stop the birds getting in, like they do on cars

Hmmmm.... very much a brunette and wondering why that would be a bad idea?

[earthfriendly]

The grill won't work as the bird disintegrates once it hits the engine and still enters the engine anyway. See, I am not a blonde! However there's a type of engine which can expel the bird before it enters the core. Don't know what it is called? Genx?

As for the news reporting, one needs to be able to think on the feet and be agile-minded. Do you think the SG environment nurture such traits? I remember a forumer who finds SG artwork sterile. Have no worries though, the govt shall come to the rescue to provide more avenues for artist to create.

[road.not.taken]

The grill won't work as the bird disintegrates once it hits the engine and still enters the engine anyway.

Yes, this usually happens, the bird is chopped up in a few thousand harmless pieces... but we know now, not always. Why not just use a grill like a car has? There must be a reason...

[AngryAngMo]

"Yes, this usually happens, the bird is chopped up in a few thousand harmless pieces..."

Whaa...whats happening, ok I hadnt intended this post to go over into a discussion about how birds get chopped up by airplane engines... lol

[road.not.taken]

I hadnt intended this post to go over into a discussion about how birds get chopped up by airplane engines... lol

If I had a dollar for everytime I heard that one

[ScoobyDoes]

The grill won't work as the bird disintegrates once it hits the engine and still enters the engine anyway.

Yes, this usually happens, the bird is chopped up in a few thousand harmless pieces... but we know now, not always. Why not just use a grill like a car has? There must be a reason...

To finish up...... if you put a grill over the engine with a mesh close enough to chop the bird into a few thousand pieces, it will not let through the thousands of litres of air needed to thrust out the rear.

Add to this the grill itself would likely get sucked into the engine even before looking at a bird there is so much "suck" generated from a jet at full throttle.

The car does much slower speeds than a jet but you'll know if you cover the grill at the front then your engine overheats..... we actually cover that grill in cold countries just to keep the engine hot enough to run sometimes.



Let's face it......if it were a good idea, it would have been done already Hence my point about, in this case, a journo that just liked listening to the sound of her own voice and blabbering BS. However this is the downside of trying to make your news network "appealing" in a competitive environment, more looks than brains.