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I'm betting most people in the GTA have absolutely no idea that CINA at 1650 AM even exists. But for the audience it caters to, it's probably a big deal. The station is aimed at the GTA's Indo-Pakistani community and as the only full time India-centric outlet in the city, I can only wonder how they're handling this current diplomatic stand-off between India and Canada over the assassination of a B.C. Sikh activist.
You don't have to be a member of the community or even speak the language to know how serious this international incident is, with India suspending visas for Canadians coming to their country, and with an estimated 220,000+ foreign students here alone.
The station advertises itself as being "More Music, Less Talk," but I don't see how they can possibly ignore what's going on, since it likely affects a lot of their listeners or their families. Do they even have the personnel to cover this?
After being on the air since Dec. 2008, this has to be the biggest story the place has ever faced. I suppose we'll never know, since a lot of what airs on the station is in a language most of us don't speak. (Ironically, all of its website is in English.) But how do you suppose they'll handle it? I can't imagine they'll be able to completely ignore it and just play music all the time. I guess most of us will never really know.
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As part of my International News bundle from Rogers, I receive the English version of Al Jazeera. Their news coverage seems relatively balanced and do air some interesting documentaries. I suspect the Arab version of the channel has a much more pronounced anti Israeli slant in their news programming. Not speaking the language, I will never know. Since 1650's website is in English, does the station post any news stories there?
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None that I've seen. Their only "news" section is called "Bollywood News" and as it says, that's all there is on that page. Not a single mention of the India-Canada tension or how it might affect many of their listeners.
Can't say what they're doing on air, because I don't speak the language. But what a shame this isn't getting more attention on the site of a station that caters specifically to that community.
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"Bollywood News" That sounds like an Indian version of "Entertainment Tonight"