Friday, September 08, 2006

In the Loop - at an ABC Radio Australia studio


from Wendy

In the Loop

On Thursday Peceli and I were privileged to be invited to a discussion live on air at the ABC Southbank, Melbourne. The program ‘In the Loop’ is part of Radio Australia’s outreach to the Pacific. We had a discussion with Heather Jarvis, as well as Jeremy, who was linked up from the USP broadcast studio. Other staff at ‘In the Loop’ are Isobelle Genoux and Clement Paligaru, the latter who comes from Fiji.

The program went live to air into the Pacific so I don’t know how many of you guys in Fiji actually listened in! The topic of discussion was our blog site babasiga and we fielded questions without prior preparation so I hope we said the right things! It’s a bit different speaking into microphones and thinking on your feet to writing a piece for a blog posting, which can easily be deleted!

Twenty minutes before commencement I had one of my loopy moments of claustrophobia. Though the ABC building is modern and spacious in the large entry hall, the passages and broadcast studios are dark, small, and like caves, so I was startled and panicked a bit, and had to sit outside and look at the sky through the wall to wall windows for a few minutes... and actually watch the glass-walled lifts go up and down!

Anyway, the interview was fine, with the door open, and it was an enjoyable experience, Peceli and I taking turns with questions, and I was too far away from him to kick him under the table if he said something inappropriate. One question came from left field from Jeremy – What do you think of the Qoliqoli Bill? Well, we hadn’t really thought of that one. I’m glad they didn’t ask me what I thought of certain political matters in Fiji, or in Australia!

Anyway Heather was great, easy-going, and made us feel comfortable.

The program went for about half an hour and then the ABC news rolled in. It was interesting to be in a place where the ABC come from, as I am an avid fan of several of their programs, even late at night.

We had only been to the building once before to a Radio Australia celebration near the Iwaki Auditorium where some Cook Islanders danced and we represented the Fiji-Melbourne community.

Another program that comes from Radio Australia is Pacific Beat.
Today’s Pacific Beat includes audios of latest Pacific news such as the visit of Fiji’s Prime Minister Qarase to Australia.

6 comments:

nzm said...

Excellent!

Did the number of visitors to your blog increase after the show?

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Nope, I don't think so - perhaps even less! I think that internet is so costly in Fiji that not too many have time and money to spend more than a few minutes on the internet.
One thing that Peceli did at the end of the program - Heather had asked, 'Anything to want to add before we finish up?' and Peceli gave a greeting in Fijian which was of course nice.
W.

laminar_flow said...

Good job.

laminar_flow said...

Anyone have the link to actual IN THE LOOP podcast featuring Babasiga?dfbpg

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

The website - http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/intheloop/ can be found easily then go to their podcasting link, but they don't podcast all their interviews, only the ones they consider of primary interest. Maybe our interview isn't there! An interesting one is about the nose-flute which used to be played in Tonga to gently awaken the king. I doubt if the new king requires this. He's probably a techno man.
W.

Unknown said...

Hello, everyone we offers international loans. With the capital used for long-term loans etc, also we give out loans at 2% interest rate so if yes you are really serious in need of a loan to pay off your bills or settle your debt please contact us at our company email address: johnleoloancompany@gmail.com or whatsApp number: +1(571)-489-7172