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On one hand we have a talk show hosted by a Government Senator on a radio station owned by a Government MP and officially sanctioned by the Premier himself. On the other hand we have an Opposition Senator who has been prevented from providing off-the-air guidance to students at the Bermuda College for their radio programme by the College’s Board — led by yet another PLP MP.

One is obviously biased political programming, but since the Broadcasting Commission is awash in PLP bigwigs and supporters it’s unlikely they will correctly identify which one.

By his own admission the Premier is more interested in getting back at the UBP and their supporters for making his life difficult thirty years ago than he is in actually making progress towards a better Bermuda. As my mother used to say — ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’.

The PLP is just too busy enjoying being in power and getting their own back. If they could manage to rise above petty party politics and actually do the right thing, it would go along way to earning them some of the respect that they so frequently and so loudly demand.

The new Government Information Television Station is an interesting notion (at least a lot more interesting than the broadcasts are likely to be) and the acronym just couldn’t be any better. Unedited news conferences and debate coverage will definitely improve the accuracy of the public’s perception of Government’s competence and abilities…if anybody ever watches them.

However, even the interminable budget debates are insufficient to fill all the broadcast time available. So, to increase programming and offset the inherent unwatchability of the existing line up I have some suggestions. The programmes are collectively referred to as ‘Must be PLP TV’.

The Department of Immigration will present a weekly program focusing on the issue of work permits. The mysteries surrounding who gets them and why will be explored in ‘The X-pat Files’.

The Ministry of Works, Engineering and Housing presents a light-hearted look at what can go wrong when a well intentioned but accident prone Government tries to provide affordable housing. Catch all the fun on ‘Home Improvement’.

The Ministry of Telecommunications presents ‘The Colonel’ — a programme showing the behind the scenes high jinks at a local radio station. The acerbic lead character is hired to host a radio call in-show, a sort of ‘Frasier’ meets ‘George Jefferson’ and hilarity ensues.

The Department of Social Services will present a programme following a group of single parent families all living under one roof. Cameras follow the single mothers as they juggle a full time job with raising a family while frantically searching for a home of their own. You won’t want to miss a single episode of ‘Desperate Housewives’.

How to get to Parliament Street

And I haven’t forgotten the kids. From the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs there is an animated programme designed to foster Bermudian Culture — ‘Sponge Bob Bermuda Short Pants’. There will also be a show that will use puppets to explain Government policy to preschoolers called ‘Parliament Street’.

There will be two shows providing insight into the internal workings of the PLP.

‘Who wants to be a Cabinet Minister?’ has backbenchers using up their lifelines as they compete for promotion to the ‘inner circle’ while ‘Dog Eat Dog’ shows the cutthroat competition for Party Leadership. In the interest of fairness there will be a duplicate programme for the UBP.

Finally, there will be an unscripted show where the general public fights to be heard by the Government in a series of public meetings. We cannot afford to lose ‘Whose Country Is It Anyway?’[[In-content Ad]]

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