Topic: BBC Radio Listening Question

[Bogey]

From 9 PM to 4 AM, our local public radio station carries the BBC World Service here in Colorado.  My question is does the World Service branch of the radio carry a lot of topics based from the United States?  Not sure how they determine their programming, but this seems to be the case.  Which branch carries more stories from other parts of the world in English? 

[knight]

I am not sure about there being branches as such. During the nighttime hours, BBC radio 4 broadcasts the World Service, but in English. There are lots of broadcasts in local languages. Recently when I have caught it, it has been entirely current affairs, but I have appreciated the programmes as they certainly cover topics that the main BBC news ignores.

years ago I was a fairly regular listener to the World Service, then it seemed to have more variety of programmes, including quizzes that had been broadcast on Radio 4.

Here is a link to the site.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/

Over the years a lot of people have learned English from listening to this station.

Mike

[Bogey]

Which station seems to carry more local stories from the UK, Mike?

[knight]

As an aside, most of the world service broadcasts come out of Bush House on the Strand in London. As well as the BBC that building also houses some of the staff in the Gov Dept I work in, so I pop in and out of there. It is an art deco building, but in our part, it was gutted years ago and is a blank, bland office space now. The other side of the building, there is the Indian High Commission where winter and summer there was always an astonishing snake of people queuing for an appointment to then come back to obtain a visa to visit India. Although it can now be done on-line, those queues seem to be mush as before.

The entrance I use is on the left, the grand entrance, partly behind the bus...that is the BBC entrance.



Mike

[knight]

Which station seems to carry more local stories from the UK, Mike?

I am probably being thick here. I am not sure whether you mean regional stories, in which case that would be local radio stations in the UK, some of which are BBC stations. But if you mean 'local' as in UK stories, then Radio 4, which is the national station for the UK would have a mix of UK and international stories. They don't really have a local bias as such....if there is war or an earthquake somewhere abroad, that will get preference to whatever is going on in the UK.

I don't know the availability of the BBC abroad via its radio station. You can try listening live via the web from the site I linked you to. But I think the iPlayer with past programmes only operates in the UK.

The World Service is much more about what is happening in the area where the broadcasts are being directed. Some see it as propaganda. I suspect there will be broadcasts to Iran in the appropriate language and the BBC would claim that what they broadcast is neutral and is to inform the locals of the truth. For many in the past this service, and there is an equivalent USA service, may be the only remotely impartial news the population may receive.

Additionally, due to the Commonwealth links, a lot of the broadcasting is also directed to the interests of the member countries.

A lot of the news output I hear ignores the UK.

Mike

[Bogey]

A lot of the news output I hear ignores the UK.

Mike

That seems to be the case with what I get, Mike.  It would be interesting to tune into another part of the world without it being the same stuff/angle dribbled out here.