Throw Me a Snappy Answer Department

This morning's Radio National news reporter who asked the Indonesian earthquake survivor how he felt about this tragedy happening so soon after the tsunami, was good. But so was Fran Kelly a few minutes later.

Ms Kelly (Breakfast, ABC RN, today), to Morris West's biographer:

"Morris West grew up in a large and relatively poor family. Did that help mould him?"

Possible answers:

1) "No, Fran, and it was precisely because of West that the Nature Vs Nurture debate was discarded by science more than 60 years ago."
2) "Not at all. Such was the tragedy of young Morris's profound autism."
3) "No, it seeems not. Naturally, scholars are still divided as to what might have happened in those formative first 18 years."
4) "No. Records show that his parents were too poor to spare any influence."
5) "Yes, and that's just one baffling thing of many about the life of this enigmatic author."

Good Friday? Bloody great!

This being Good Friday, ABC RN has had a lot of Christian broadcasting, something one can forgive, though it would be easier to do so if other religions got such treatment on their sacred days.

Some of the programming, however, has been not one jot nor tittle, nay, not so muche as an mustard-seede, shorte of magnificent. This morning's Breakfast interview with Irish-based Australian Catholic peace activist, Ciaron O'Reilly, facing jail for attacking a US bomber prior to the invasion of Iraq, is a must-not-miss(e).

And Phillip Adams's interview (repeated) with Sister Helen Prejean (author of Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents), the anti-capital punishment activist from the US, was just superb. I recommend a listen to both interviews for a double dose of inspiration.

Oh yeah, doods

Before I forget (and I know that after what I just wrote in my last post, the sisters will really get me, but ...), could someone please tell the woman doing the News at 6pm today on RN that we say "advert'isement" in Australia, not "advertise'ment"? Hey doods.

And whoever wrote the news item at 7pm: people don't collaborate evidence, they corroborate it.

Interviewers Who Don't Kill

Fran Kelly's just been put on the Breakfast show on Radio National, and has mentioned that the hours aren't so good on that shift. I hate early mornings too, unless I'm getting them from the perspective of going to bed late, rather than waking up early, so I can dig it.

We hope she is getting enough caffeine. Her interview ('Mothers Who Kill'; Breakfast, RN, Tuesday, March 22, 2005) with Dr Lynne Eccleston, a forensic psychologist in the Department of Criminology at Melbourne University, was very droopy.

It's worth listening to ... what a shame there's no transcript, and what a shame you can only listen to ABC RN in Real Media, which is really an unfortunate commercial choice of audio (why not Windows Media which most people already have and won't take over their computers?).

If you're able to cop a listen to Ms Kelly, note that Dr Eccleston does an Olympics-class backflip in mid-interview from asserting that when children are killed by a parent, it is very rarely the mother, to a new assertion that it is approximately 50-50 between fathers and mothers, then back to a position that women hardly ever do it. And when women do do it, there are heaps of mitigating circumstances, such as "depression", and "anger" ... which apparently are gender-specific because such mitigation wasn't mentioned for the male of the species.

One would have thought that such extremes of assertion -- from A to Not A and back to A -- would be just the sort of pounceable material a good interviewer only gets in their dreams. Of course, like I said, it is a very early shift.

Oh dear, now the dames will tell me and their friends I'm picking on the dames. Three stories already with the faces of female ABC stars. Honest, I'm not. Watch out, blokes and hermaphroblokes, one day, when you least expect it, a turtle will come up to you and say ... "Smile!" ...

Political politeness

Sandy McCutcheon is a pretty good bloke, and his Australia Talks Back is a pretty good show.

It must be said, though, that the edition this week that investigated why Princess Mary of Denmark is so popular in Australia, really pussyfooted around, perhaps for reasons of political correctness.

To avoid the fact that Mary and other royals, such as Princess Diana and (formerly) Queen Elizabeth, enjoy a great popularity with women, and thus to avoid a possible important topic of discussion, is like having an edition on Mel Gibson and failing to mention movies. It's amazing how PC can spoil a good show, not to mention put blinkers on intelligent and purposeful enquiry.

Got but not forgotten

Kath Albury (Deep End, today) ... please, will you please say "got" and not "gotten"? "Gotten" is one of those antique English inflections that just doesn't work outside the USA.

Doing one's bit for poverty

Julie McCrossin (Life Matters, ABC RN, today) interviewed Prof. Jeffrey D Sachs from the Earth Institute at Columbia University, who was speaking from Senegal.

Prof. Sachs handled the interview well as he passionately advocated the rich nations helping the abjectly poor people of the world. This was quite a feat, as McCrossin gave him the third degree with the usual canards about aid agencies being inept and donors never knowing where the money goes. In short, the interview was an embarrassment.

McCrossin, by the way, is the same presenter who within the past few months broadcast the fact that she had never seen an Afghan woman who wasn't wearing a burqua.

One would think that Auntie ABC should realise which of their presenters are out of their depth with such pressing global issues. Prof. Sachs's work is all about trying to prevent millions of unnecessary deaths, and he deserves to be interviewed not only with great respect, but with a sympathetic and well-researched attitude, not with the sort of aid-bashing questions one hears in the worst pubs.

I listen irregardless

Despite hearing ABC journalists say things like "irregardless", which I used to think only Lil Abner said, or people being funny, I listen to Radio National. Yes, a foreign correspondent really and truly said "irregardless" a few weeks ago, and it wasn't a joke. Still, I keep listening.

And even when ABC RN keeps running an ad for ABC 2, which promises "alternate" programs, I listen. Because commercial radio in the country is even worse.

This one is also a favourite of ABC radio journalists and presenters. Is there anyone working at the ABC who knows the completely different meanings of 'alternate' and 'alternative'? Apparently not. I know, the two words look alike, like 'illegitimate' and 'illiterate', so it's pretty tough.