Iceland has two* main television stations: The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service [RÚV to us locals] and Channel 2. Both of those have newsrooms, and both have a sort of current affairs programme immediately after the news.
Very recently, one of the main news anchors from Channel 2 was appointed Director of RÚV [a highly coveted position that some say he was granted through the backroom machinations of the oft-mentioned Davíð Oddsson, but I digress…]. Predictably he brought in some changes, one of which was a new and improved current affairs programme, which was to be headed by one of RÚV’s main news anchors. However, a couple of days before the new programme hit the airwaves, that anchorman – in a surprise move – abandoned his post in favour of Channel 2. Then, suddenly, the new Director of RÚV was anchoring the RÚV news, while the former anchor from RÚV was reading the news on Channel 2. So suddenly you were, like, totally confused. Like, totally. Switching on RÚV and suddenly thinking you were watching Channel 2 and vice-versa.
To compound the situation, one of the current affairs presenters from Channel 2 moved over to RÚV to take the position of the anchor that had defected. He brought with him another presenter that one immediately associates with Channel 2. So as if it were not enough that the news anchor immediately had you thinking you were watching Channel 2, the current affairs programme presenters actually confirmed it for you. Meanwhile, one of the Channel 2 current affairs programme presenters is one that used to be at RÚV and happens to be the new wife of the anchor that recently defected, which is a totally irrelevant piece of information but there you go, this is Iceland and everybody knows everybody’s business.
I’m with the columnist in today’s Fréttablaðið, who wrote that he planned to switch off his TV for about a week until he got all the different associations in his head sorted out. Sounds like an excellent plan.
SO I’LL ONLY WATCH THE WEATHER. AND ER.
It’s still bloody cold around here and the wind just hangs around incessantly. Today there was sun, though, but alas it is now so low in the sky [moving into the heart of darkness, natch] that when I went out for a run just before noon it was still behind the condo buildings that line the shore. So there was an annoying long shadow that will now persist until, say, March. Meaning that YT will soon have to choose a different route if she is to get her daily dose of proper daylight. Temps currently 3°C and sunrise was at 08.09, sunset is at 18.18.
* Actually it has four that produce any sort of local content, but there are two main ones with newsrooms and such.