This week Feedback takes its cue from a listener and highlights your comments, complaints and questions on topics including: our Olympics' coverage, a skater's disqualification, 'Aboriginal Answers' and where have the podcasts gone?

First was this cryptic message, entitled “communicate and listen”, from Harlen King:

“Get in touch with the world.”

We certainly try to do all three (communicate, listen and get in touch) to the best of our ability. Indeed, we are proud of our journalistic standards. Yet, there are times when listeners have critical comments.

Winter Olympics
According to the Newsline feature entitled Worst Olympics ever? by Dan Karpenchuk, our Toronto correspondent:

“Entering day seven of the 2010 Winter Olympics, many athletes have been successful - but the Games themselves have been marred by a string of mishaps.”

James D wrote to us from Vancouver, objecting to the news analysis format of the feature [edited for space, full text on website]:

“This sums up what is wrong with your report "Worst Olympics Ever" it is the this ‘Dan Karpenchuk reports from Toronto’. Is that the best you can do?

… Everyone knows that many of the Dutch speak English and you have lots of press here to cover your athletes’ events. Would it really be that hard to have one of them go around and talk to athletes here and get the true impressions instead of second hand reports from the British tabloid press? Some athletes have raved about their accommodations, again maybe ask your own athletes here for their opinion.

We also get a rehash of David Letterman's opinion related by Dan like the host city has something to do with this. News flash Dan! The host city does not have a final say on safety in the sliding centre or get to have an opinion the tragic accident. It is the IOC from Switzerland and the luge overseeing body out of I believe France...

I am a big follower of Radio Netherlands, listen to their podcasts everyday, they have a pretty good non-biased perspective usually but this makes me question it now."

James, we are sorry if our news analysis format, something we specialise in, has disappointed you. Perhaps you were expecting more of what is known as “rolling news”, which focuses on events as they happen. Of course our Newsline team and RNW Newsdesk do both.

Disqualification
Often we highlight events that particularly touches the Netherlands, like the story Netherlands grieves with skater Sven Kramer by Klaas den Tek. The article asks:

“It was seen as a certainty in the Netherlands that the all-round ice athlete would win Olympic gold on Tuesday, but a totally incorrect instruction from his own coach sent him into the wrong lane and on to... his disqualification instead of victory. The media are falling over one another to comment on the affair, Dutch web forums have been swamped with reactions: dramatic, shocking, horrible. How could this have happened?”

Our own discussion forum has, so far, over 30 respondents debating every aspect, including journalists asking for names and titles and questions such as:Journalistic basics or ignorance? Should Sven have gotten the medal anyway? Should his coach be fired or was he just too arrogant anyway?

Unfortunately, there is also quite a bit of personal mud-slinging between our respondents. For the full range of responses, check out the webpage.

While we may not have communicated in the way James would have liked, the following letter and feature shows we do listen.

Income management
Last October, The State We’re In, featured a special programme on indigenous rights to mark Columbus Day in the US. Included in that programme was the feature Free to spend:

“In 2007, the Australian government introduced the ‘income management’ system for aboriginals in the Northern Territories. Welfare recipients have to use a special card in designated shops to pay for the ‘necessities of life’. Two aboriginal women discuss the impact the ‘basics card’ has had on their lives.”

The last edition of TSWI Taking back jihad, followed up that story with a feature entitled Aboriginal answers:

“Last October, we aired a controversial segment about how Aboriginal people in Australia were offended by a government-issued card which limits how they can spend their money. Many listeners, mostly in Australia, were angered by that segment. We revisit the issue through two Aboriginal women who support using the card.”

Cass Phoenix wrote:

“I have just listened to your segment 'Aboriginal Answers' in Melbourne on our national news radio and wish to congratulate you for following up on your original story so that a more balanced view was provided. The plight of our fellow (First) Australians is the greatest sorrow for so many of us and Australia's biggest shame; now progress is actually being made it is reprehensible that the media constantly makes negative reports for sensationalist programming - these reports entrench continued resistance amongst those the Intervention seeks to help and is handicapping it. The world needs to hear this.
Please keep this episode in mind when you prepare future reports - now that you know you need to be balanced, just seeking sensationalist bad news is morally unacceptable.
Finally, this is the first time I've heard any report about progress of the Intervention...media in Australia seem unable to bring us such programs. I will endeavour to change this.”

TSWI producer, Greg Kelly, responds:

“Thank you very much for this response. In fact, we had tried hard to find such voices in our original programme back in November and it turned out to be a long haul to find people who were willing to say they support the intervention AND who were in a position logistically for us to record. Finally, it happened.
It seems to us that there's still much to be said on various sides of the issue, so if we ever revisit it, we'll be sure to keep an ear for such voices.”

The following listener just wanted to – listen. John Nash wrote:

“I used to very much enjoy 'The State Were In' as a download to my mp3 player. Has this service been suspended?”

Another TWSI producer, Jonathan Groubert, responds:

“The podcast has certainly not been suspended.
Here's the info: http://download.omroep.nl/rnw/smac/podcast/xml/en_the_state_were_in.xml
Alternatively you can just go to iTunes.
Click here: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-state-were-in/id259724704

Look forward to reading your comments about the show on our website or facebook page once you've restored your mp3 feed.”

So there you have it, we do listen, and we enjoy hearing from you.