Reporters on the Job  Two Countries, Same Channel: Correspondent
Yigal Schleifer is not a regular viewer of the Turkish version
of "Survivor," which pits a Turk team against a Greek team, but
he hasn't been able to miss its impact with Turks. "It was a
real stroke of genius putting these two together, as it grabbed
people's attention," says Yigal, who lives with his family in
Istanbul. "Initially there was criticism that this was just for
ratings and was irresponsible. But people are watching and
laughing at the stereotypes that are coming out in the show. It
has gone beyond being just a show to something that carries a
message about what the two sides think of each other."  Yigal
says the wider issue of the nexus between pop culture and
diplomacy is intriguing. If anything, he says, the political
tone has worsened in the four years that he has lived in
Istanbul, even as the cultural scene has blossomed.  "It seems
as if something is in the air," he says. He points, among other
things, to another reality TV s