On Feb 23, 4:23*am, "Brenda Ann"
wrote:
"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in ...

bpnjensen wrote:
Many people from Asia are very strong in English as a second language
- however, I think actual westerners at Asian and other shortwave
stations are pretty common. *I was just listening to CRI Beijing
yesterday briefly for an ID, and sure enough, a woman with a proper
English accent identifies herself as being an announcer in Beijing for
CRI, and when she says her name (a proper English name) you could have
knocked me over with a feather.

That means very little. She could be Chinese from Hong Kong with a British
father, or someone who changed the pronunciation of their Chinese name to
fit British standards.

I do know that CRI (40dB over S-9 here) has a couple expats as announcers on
their regular China Drive show. One is from the US, the other from, IIRC,
New Zealand. Can't say whether they're there because of their political
beliefs, or just to make a Yuan...

Thanks, Brenda. I guess this gets to my fascination with the
phenomenon. If CRI wants to put its best foot forward, do they have
their own best native-born people do the talking (which of late they
have done pretty effectively IMHO), or do they put forward some
sympathetic Westerners who have the appropriate gift of gab? Of the
announcers' beliefs - I cannot speak for anyone else, but as a person
who does not buy into the Communism "thing" or much else that goes
along with living under such a regime, I'd have a mighty hard time
staying in Beijing if my primary goal was to have a broadcasting
career. Assuming, of course, that they'd allow me to leave... ;-)

FWIW, here in North America west coast, CRI blasts in on several
channels, and its domestic subsidiaries and jammers muddle up quite a
number more. Every other 5 kHz channel has Chinese radio on it - but
you knew that.

Bruce