NewsFan

Consistent autofocus

The Australian ABC net generously churns out audio live streams and videos on demand in any area you fancy watching on its Web site.  Thus, beside the news bulletin and the news brief, you can get 24h news on a continuum of snapshots, which is updated three times a day.
Today, on December 14th, 2006, the first story announces the take over of the national airline, Qantas, by the group Airline Partners Australia. The deal may be worth 11.1 billion but some faces are pulled.
The next topic has to do with the death of an aboriginal citizen in custody, which has stirred anger and use of the word racism among the native community.
The wildfires in Tasmania and Eastern Victoria keep the country on alert, although no sign of panic is shown. That is the fourth story among those leading the gallery of thumbnails displayed below in this news and current affairs page.

The other short videos briefly cover the Safety Bureau investigation on a train derailment in Darwin, the nation’s desire for the return of an Australian detainee in Guantanamo Bay, the fear of ecological extinction of the Reef sharks, and calls for the international community to investigate allegations of torture that took place after recent riots in Tonga.
Basically, the rest of the world seems to be mentioned only with the story of the hunt for a serial killer in the UK. I am intrigued.
Could it be that the size of the Continent enhances its distance from other global areas? Or is it a natural disposition of an island culture?  I am now compelled to check against other more or less homogeneous entities.
How much do the United  States and Latin America TV news on line, for instance, show interest in what happens outside their borders?

Among the selected

And, across the Equator, down there and around another Ocean, what news are they focused on when they watch TV online?
In Singapore they are offered selected videos on Channelnewsasia.comm, usually three a day, which may seem brittle. But they are also usually uplifting.
Yesterday on the 12th of December for instance, they were presented with the $200m worth of projects that the group Resorts World intends to implement at Sentosa. These are intended to boost small and midsize businesses.  The initiative would attract 15m visitors from India, China and other Asian countries and create 22,000 jobs. Wow!
Another video enhances the proactive Singapore policy against the spread of AIDS in promoting an opt-out test. One of the professors from the Communicable Diseases Centre explains how useful and beneficial it is for the individual and for the society to take this test, because it is mundane, it gives the patient a check on some of his organs and functions and it helps to consider AIDS like any other disease.
The third topic briefs the viewers on the still confusing security rules in various airports worldwide on which liquids are allowed or not on board. Mind you, no bitter criticism or alarm, here. Indeed a hint of optimism is reflected in the smiling representative of the International Civil Aviation organization who claims that things are under review and that Singapore, in particular, plays a significant part in setting up consistent international rules. Hooray for Singapore!
After having watched a number of these 3 news videos a day, I feel like turning into a supporting fan of Singapore, clapping at this positive and dynamic news, without having any particular reason to do so. 

Yet, I notice that each of these bits of news is built on the same pattern: an introduction of the theme by a journalist voice-over, some views of a place and generally a conference - possibly an international one – from which a high representative would be extracted and surrounded by a herd of journalists. At last, the channel‘s reporter will be seen and his/her identity disclosed in the display of name and email address.
I have the impression that the gestures of their hands and the general body stillness are inspired by the BBC journalists’ style. Not that the reporters have such a gamut of postures available, yet there is that je ne sais quoi of a firm self-control that commands attention.
And all videos are strictly in English.