DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-139, September 6, 2002 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted afterwards at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd02.html For restrixions and searchable 2002 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn WORLD OF RADIO 1146: BROADCASTS ON WBCQ: Mon 0415 7415 BROADCASTS ON WWCR: Sat 0500, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 BROADCASTS ON RFPI: Sat 0130, 0730, Sun 0000, 0600 on 7445, 15038.7; webcasts also Sat 1330, 1800, Sun 1200, 1830? BROADCASTS ON WRN: Rest of World Sat 0800; North America Sun 1400 ONDEMAND from Sept 6: http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html (DOWNLOAD) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1146.rm (STREAM) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1146.ram (SUMMARY) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1146.html WORLD OF RADIO ON WBCQ: Getting interference from VOA on 7415 here in the Atlanta area. About a 50/50 mix. 17495 dead (LOU Johnson, KF4EON, Sept 4., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Here we go again; yes, at our new time 2200, Botswana is again a problem on 7415, and likely to increase as our days lengthen. MUF was depressed, and 17495 may not have been propagating; it was confirmed the previous week, and heard well the next mid-day (gh, DXLD) WORLD OF RADIO on WJIE: See below under USA ** AFGHANISTAN. It was reported at the recent EDXC conference that the planned VOA relay in Afghanistan would use 801 kHz (Dave Kenny, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. APn 08/31 1442 AFGHAN-MEDIA BATTLE By TODD PITMAN Associated Press Writer KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan state radio will no longer carry the songs of female singers and government TV in the capital will stop broadcasting Indian movies, at least if the stations' director has his way. For the first time since the Taliban regime was ousted nine months ago, audio and video entertainment deemed offensive to Islam is being taken off the air. The change in policy was apparent to viewers Thursday who were waiting to watch a weekly Indian film that normally follows the evening news. No film was shown; no reason was given. Abdul Hamid Mobarez, deputy minister of information and culture, said state media director Mohammed Esuq had taken a "personal decision" to yank the movie off the air. The move was not state policy and was not sanctioned by the government of President Hamid Karzai, Mobarez said. Esuq was not immediately available for comment. Mobarez said Esuq had also banned female singers from state-run radio waves, but the radio station had not heeded the ban. "We don't agree with what Mr. Esuq has done," said Mobarez, who heads a special 10-man committee appointed last month by Karzai to review state media and examine how to make it more appealing to the capital's audience. "Mr. Karzai gave us the authority to decide what is broadcast and the director of Kabul Radio and TV will have to (obey) our decision." It is unclear how much power the commission has. Until now, it has issued no official decision on the matter. The debate itself, however, reflects how religious conservatives are trying to assert their position despite the end of Taliban rule and a massive influx of new freedoms. Under the hardline Taliban, both television and music were banned as un-Islamic diversions. Even being caught with an audio cassette could mean a trip to jail. All that changed dramatically in November, when the Taliban retreated from Kabul and the Afghan opposition northern alliance seized power with help from an extensive U.S. bombing campaign. Entrepreneurs were quick to stock up their shops with previously banned material. Today, television sets are sold en masse in shops across the city, along with DVD players and VCRs. Indian films featuring fighting and romance are immensely popular and highly prized, and dozens of video stores are packed full of them. A typical film rents for half a dollar. "Of course we'd like to see Indian films for free on TV, but if they don't show them, we can always rent them ourselves and watch them at home," said 19-year-old Mohammed Sharif, who was shopping for a new Indian flick to watch at a store in Kabul on Saturday night. Mobarez said his commission was looking into ways to expand Kabul TV's viewing audience, not decrease it. State TV "has many rivals in this country now. There is internet, there is satellite TV. If we don't have good programming, people will just watch other things." However, few Afghans own satellite dishes and Kabul boasts only one Internet cafe. Government radio and television represent the only media available to most Afghans. By recent Afghan standards, government TV is progressive, with female presenters reading the evening news without the all-encompassing burqa's most women still wear on the street. But for young viewers like Sharif, even that is not enough. "Most of the programs are news and politics. It's about some official who went to this province or that village. We don't care about that," Sharif said. "We want to see movies and they only show one Indian film a week. It's always old, and they always censor the good parts out anyway, like fighting." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Pulecharchi, near Kabul. Re: I don`t find it yet Sept 3, just QSLs (gh, DXLD) Glenn, correct observation, I only added the picture on Sep 4. And its now on http://www.schoechi.de/crw-main.html Sorry for causing trouble, I simply forgot to add the link .. yours (Martin Schoech, Sept 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. ON 5th August R. Tirana in Italian at 1800-1830 was heard on 7640v instead of 7240 (Luca Botto Fiora, Italy, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. http://www.thejakartapost.com September 06, 2002 'RADIO AUSTRALIA' STILL HEARD 60 YEARS ON Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne For Indonesians who were around in the 1950s and 1960s, their first memory of Australia would have to be Radio Australia. Some even learned their first utterances in English from the famous English for You from Radio Australia program. In August this year Radio Australia, the international face of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), has been reaching out to Indonesia, broadcasting in the Indonesian language, for 60 years. And throughout those years, it has had its journalists travel and cover various political events in many parts of Indonesia, the most recent high-profile event, for instance, being in East Timor during the time leading up to the new country's referendum in 1999. While the history of Radio Australia is a highly colorful one, it is interesting to look closely at the development in the last seven years, because it became clear that among the political decision- makers, Indonesia still rates highly. When government funding for ABC was drastically cut in the mid-1990s, belt-tightening became inevitable. The government-commissioned Mansfield Report was published in 1997, recommending cessation of Radio Australia service. After a great deal of lobbying by those who believed that dispensing of Radio Australia would have seriously negative effects on Australia's standing in the region, a compromise was subsequently reached. Radio Australia would retain its English language service, with the closures instead of several foreign language broadcasts and downsizing the existing ones. Among those sacrificed were French, Thai, Japanese and Cantonese broadcasts, while Indonesian, along with Mandarin, Vietnamese, Khmer and Papua New Guinean, were retained, though looking somewhat anemic with a staff of eight, down from the 1970s halcyon days of a staff of 28. At the 60th anniversary celebration in its Melbourne ABC Center, Sue Howard, director of ABC Radio, nonetheless singled out Indonesia as the most vibrant and most challenging target audience country. Donald McDonald, the chairman of the ABC, does not believe that this downsizing reflected a view on the part of the government that Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region in general were no longer important to Australia. "It was more of a somewhat misguided opinion that short-wave transmission belonged to a dying technology, increasingly superseded by the new information technology," McDonald explained, "forgetting that there were places in Indonesia where people could only access short-wave radio. And these were long-time and loyal Radio Australia listeners." Then what McDonald confided to The Jakarta Post may reflect a high degree of determination on his part as well as a strong belief among some political leaders that Radio Australia was serving the nation well, and that Indonesian listeners are too important to be disregarded. When funds from the Department of Communication and the Arts were drying up, MacDonald went to the Department of Immigration and Trade. There he found a sympathetic ear, and came away with A$1.5 million from Alexander Downer, the minister of foreign affairs, and Tim Fisher, the then minister of trade. That encouraged him to seek more funds, and Indonesian broadcast of Radio Australia was retained. "That was unusual, because ABC is actually the responsibility of the Department of Communication and the Arts," McDonald added. And now, the Indonesian broadcast can boast of maintaining second place between BBC World Service and Voice of America in terms of the number of listeners in Indonesia. "The latest audience survey results from Indonesia are particularly promising as they come at a time of intense competition, not only from other international radio networks, but also from the proliferation of domestic stations and other forms of media that are springing up across the archipelago," said Jean-Gabriel Manguy, head of Radio Australia. The credit for the success must also be shared with Nuim Khaiyath, the executive producer of the Indonesian broadcast, and his eight program officers who day-in, day-out produce four and a half hours of news, current affairs and magazine programs. Another of the team's achievements worth mentioning is the partnerships the Indonesian broadcast has set up with 24 local radio stations in Indonesia, which relay Radio Australia's news and current affairs immediately, and the rest of the programs in their own time. It is an arrangement which benefits both parties, with no money changing hands. Radio Australia can be assured that its voice is still reaching a substantial number of local listeners, penetrating areas where very few newspapers are seen in the average household, while the partner local radio stations know they are getting quality products. Radio Australia is only one example of Australia's continuing overtures to Indonesia, low-profile and sans fanfare though it is. (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4926.7, Radio San Miguel, 0943, Sep 3, Good signal with male and female announcers in Spanish. 0955 Announcement and ID (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9675.0, Radio Canção Nova, 0930, Sep 5, "Rede Canção Nova" ID, good signal over weaker Asian station (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Such as PAPUA NEW GUINEA? q.v. ** BURMA [non]. NEW ZEALAND: Democratic Voice of Burma in Burmese cancelled transmission via Rangitaiki 100 kW / 325 deg: 1430-1530 on 9500 / 15620 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 6 via DXLD) ** CANADA. The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS NORTH at http://www.north.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=se05dawstrans DAWSONITES TO FIGHT TRANSMITTER CLOSING WebPosted Sep 5 2002 11:29 AM CDT Dawson City, Yukon - Some citizens and officials in Dawson are outraged over the disconnection of CBC's AM Radio serv ice. Today is the day CBC shuts down its aging AM transmitter in the northern town. CBC management says the AM towers are too damaged to run, and may even fall over. They say it would cost too much money to fix, and instead plan to just run the station on FM. The FM signal, which carries Radio One, has been available in Dawson since the mid-90's. That's angered some citizens because the FM signal has only scattered coverage outside the city limits. Town Councillor Byrun Shandler is helping push the fight to save the FM transmitter. "It's a national organization, CBC, and it has national priorities," he says. "It should have a national mandate to serve all the people, particularly in the north. We're much more dependent on that than someone living on the 49th parallel, where most of the population is clustered. "CBC is very important. When you're out on the creek, that little CBC radio program is what keeps the cabin fever from the door, and gives you safety in planning your time to travel." Shandler says their tax dollars should be paying to fix the problem, and maintain service. He says the city will go to Ottawa, if that's what it takes to get the AM signal back. One citizen of Dawson has started a petition, and says he's gathered over 300 signatures. Copyright © 2002 CBC All Rights Reserved (via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC Previews include: Friday Sept 6.: RICHLER ON RADIO: Tune in to CBC Radio One tonight for the debut of Richler on Radio. It's Noah Richler's pick of the best from the past week's national and regional programming, embellished by his own critical insight and acerbic wit. That's Richler on Radio, debuting tonight at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. --- WEEKEND HOT SHEET, SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2002 --- THE SUNDAY EDITION: ***concert also heard on OnStage*** This week on The Sunday Edition, hear an hour of "The Guys," Anne Nelson's highly- acclaimed new play about the aftermath of September 11th. Also, host Michael Enright in conversation with Ted Honderich, philosopher and author, about the task of the moral philosopher and how moral philosophy does or doesn't guide us to a true perspective on September 11th and the aftermath. And Songlines, A Musical Reflection on 9/11: a special concert recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio, featuring Joe Sealy, Jackie Richardson and others. That's The Sunday Edition, right after the 9 a.m. news (9:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. (CBC Hotsheets via gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. Hi Glenn, Please find attached a WORD document outlining September 11th programming from CBC Radio available on RCI services. (Steve Lemay, Manager, Presentation, RCI) CBC radio will offer extensive coverage leading up to the September 11th anniversary. The programs listed below can be heard on Radio Canada International at the times indicated. The first section of this document outlines coverage available on The World at Six and The World This Weekend during the coming days. THE WORLD AT SIX on Radio Canada International 2100-2130 UTC Europe - Africa - Mid-East 5850, 7235, 13690, 15325 and 17870 khz 2200-2230 UTC United States - Caribbean - 6175, 9590, 11920, 13670, Latin America 15170, 17695, 17880 THE WORLD THIS WEEKEND on Radio Canada International 2200-2230 UT United States - Caribbean - 6175, 9590, 11920, 13670, Latin America 15170, 17695 and 17880 September 2nd to 10th Beyond Anthrax: is another biological attack just a matter of time? September 3rd to 10th CBC Radio News will present reports on the following themes during this period: Legacy: A Canadian caught up in the 9/11 dragnet. After the round-up: the story of detainees in American jails. The status of ``Foreign Combatants`` at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Following al Qaeda’s money trail. Tolerance: The state of dissent in the US. Vulnerability: Is flying any safer since September 11th? Florida’s flight schools no longer supply the world with pilots. Resilience: What’s happened to the US economy? The orphans of September 11th. The man who trained a hijacker to fly recalls his friend. How bits of DNA are matched to the names of those missing in the attacks. Shanksville, PA guards the site where Flight 93 went down. Relationships: Examining the ‘new’ Canada – US relationship. National Radio News Features September 6th Airport protection measures: on September 11th last year, four jumbo jets were hijacked within the space of an hour. Is security in the sky any better one year later? Brad Clark reports. September 7th Officials still don't have a final total of those killed in the September 11th attacks. The latest figure is 2819. Arriving at that number represents a huge and heroic job by coroners and other forensics experts. Kelly Ryan explains their obsession. September 8th Shutting down the flow of money to al Qaeda has been a major focus for American and other Western governments since the September 11th attacks. Frank Koller examines whether this effort has been successful. September 9th On Thanksgiving last year, the United States began it's retaliatory bombing against the Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. Now, almost a year later, Patrick Brown reports on Afghanistan today. September 11th Full coverage of the day's commemoration ceremonies for the September 11th attacks. Kelly Ryan reports from Somerset County, Pennsylvania where Flight 93 went down. Laura Lynch reports from the Pentagon. Greg Rasmussen, Tom Parry and Michael Colton, three CBC Radio reporters who covered the attack last year, report from New York. OTHER PROGRAM NOTES In this section, you will find a description of the CBC Radio programs available on Radio Canada International and their airtimes during the coming days. AFGHANISTAN: THREADS OF HOPE Afghan culture has been preserved and carried onward by musicians and artists in spite of the country’s turbulent history. Saturday, September 7th 2300-2400 UT United States 6175, 9590, 13670 and 17695 khz THE SUNDAY EDITION: Anne Nelson`s The Guys, arguably the definitive play written about September 11th. Sunday, September 8 1300-1600 UT United States - Caribbean 9515, 13655 and 17800 khz CROSS COUNTRY CHECKUP What has changed for you and the world since the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11th? Sunday, September 8th 2000-2200 UT United States - Caribbean 9800 and 15375 khz THIS MORNING A Town As Hero: the uncanny parallels between the SwissAir crash and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Monday, September 9th 1200-1500 UT United States – Caribbean 9515, 13655 and 17820 khz THIS MORNING A son whose father was blacklisted looks at what it meant to be un-American in 1950. Tuesday, September 10th 1200-1500 UT United States - Caribbean 9515, 13655 and 17820 khz LOSS & LEGACY: REFLECTIONS OF SEPTEMBER 11TH On the first anniversary of September 11th, CBC Radio presents, a nine-and-a-half-hour special designed to help Canadians understand and share the many interpretations of the events of September 11th, and reflect personally on the significance of the day. LOSS & LEGACY will focus on the emotions people have experienced in the past year, from a perspective that is uniquely Canadian. There will be few experts or pundits analyzing the day and the intervening year, telling listeners what to think. Wednesday, September 11th 1230-1500 UT United States - Caribbean 9515, 13655 and 17820 khz This segment will be hosted by Shelagh Rogers in Toronto and Michael Enright in New York the special begins with live coverage of the commemorative events taking place at the World Trade Center, plus reports from Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. DISPATCHES (SPECIAL EDITION) Homeland Insecurity: post September 11th challenges for Muslims who call the United States home. Wednesday, September 11th 2330-0030 UT United States - Caribbean 6175, 9590, 13670 and (extended shortwave coverage) 17695 khz (excerpts concerning SW portions, via DXLD) ** CHINA. CHINA'S FALUN GONG HIJACKS ANOTHER TELEVISION SIGNAL | Text of report in English by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post web site on 6 September Members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement hijacked a television signal and broadcast protest videos on the outskirts of Beijing last month, police and television station employees said yesterday. The footage, showing the sect's leader, Li Hongzhi, was briefly shown on the nights of 23 and 27 August in Baoding, southwest of the capital, a woman who answered the phone at a television station there said. A police official in neighbouring Xushui county said he had heard of the illegal broadcasts, and at least five Falun Gong followers had been arrested. The programming was seen at least 100km away, including the Fangshan district of Beijing, another TV station official in Xushui said. "We were ordered not to disclose the incident," said the man, who would not give his name. There was no immediate explanation of how Falun Gong activists took over the TV signal. Falun Gong supporters have broken into cable television systems in at least four cities this year to show videos protesting against the government's three-year-old crackdown on the group. In June, a state-run satellite television signal was hijacked and briefly displayed messages of support for the group. Xinhua said yesterday the Ministry of Information had ordered a clampdown on satellite TV networks to "curb harmful interference". But it did not mention Falun Gong by name. Beijing has criticized the pirate broadcasts as proof of what it says is Falun Gong's disruptive, anti-social nature. A statement issued by activists abroad said last month's broadcasts showed videos documenting support for the group outside China and condemning the crackdown and alleged police abuses. The group says authorities have killed hundreds of members in detention. Source: South China Morning Post web site, Hong Kong, in English 6 Sep 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CHINA. CHINA TO CRACK DOWN ON ILLEGAL SATELLITE USE | Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Beijing, 5 September: China is going to launch soon a nationwide check on unauthorized use of satellite communication networks and ground relay stations, according to the Ministry of Information Industry (MII). The use of satellite communication services has expanded rapidly in China in recent years, but the illegal building and use of satellite networks and relay stations are common, which disturbs the normal operation of satellite communications and endangers social security, ministry officials said. According to a joint notice issued by the MII and the Ministry of Public Security, licensed satellite communication services and facilities must be registered with the relevant authorities, and illegal use has to be stopped immediately. Violators will be prosecuted and if found guilty punished, and their equipment confiscated, officials said. Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 1116 gmt 5 Sep 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ?? Illegal use of satellite transponders is extremely rare in the West, isn`t it? How come it is so common in China? (gh, DXLD) CHINA SATELLITE CLAMPDOWN AFTER PIRATE BROADCASTS From Reuters 05 September, 2002 21:10 GMT+08:00 By John Ruwitch BEIJING (Reuters) - China has launched a nationwide clampdown on satellite networks in the wake of a string of pirate broadcasts on state television by the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, state media said on Thursday. The campaign, ordered by the Ministry of Information Industry, aimed to curb the illegal use of satellite broadcasting equipment and "harmful interference", the official Xinhua news agency said. Although the report did not mention Falun Gong, the orders come roughly one week after the outlawed group hijacked a network in a city near Beijing and aired 70 minutes of propaganda. "There have been gross instances of setting up and using satellite communications earth stations without authorisation, changing the properties of earth stations and the satellites in use without authorisation, even sending signals to satellites unrelated to their work," Xinhua said. The actions had "severely disrupted the business of legal communications users and orderly communications and affected social stability", it quoted a ministry official as saying. It gave few details of the proposed clean-up plan. Falun Gong's U.S.-based information centre said in a statement the group's adherents had hijacked airwaves on August 23 and 27 in the Hebei province city of Baoding. Television station officials and police in Baoding denied the incident had happened. "Such things could never have happened here," one television official said. But a police official in neighbouring Xushui county, some 130 km (80 miles) south of Beijing, said that he had heard of the illegal broadcasts, that at least five Falun Gong followers had been arrested and that security had been heightened in the area. HAPPENED ELSEWHERE The broadcasts, the latest in a string of high-tech stunts in a propaganda blitz by the group, come at a highly sensitive time before a pivotal Communist Party Congress due to start on November 8. But to the embarrassment of the government, Falun Gong members have tapped into cable channels in other Chinese cities several times, and from July 23-30 interrupted satellite transmissions, upping the technological ante in a cat-and-mouse game with the authorities. With the party congress, at which a reshuffle of the top leadership is expected, just two months away, China is tightening its grip on media organisations to ensure the meeting goes off without a hitch. A source at China Central Television told Reuters the state television network had tightened security to prevent similar Falun Gong attacks. "Incidents like programmes being hijacked have happened mostly in remote areas. But there are fears that the same could happen on CCTV," the source said. CCTV had installed steel gates at each of its two entrances to prevent vehicles from forcing their way through and had stepped up checks of people and vehicles entering the grounds, he said. Falun Gong once staged mass demonstrations in China, but a government ban and effective crackdown have led to dwindling protests and more creative ways of spreading their message. Falun Gong says as many as 1,600 followers have been killed in a crackdown since the movement was outlawed in 1999 after thousands of adherents shocked authorities by surrounding the leadership compound in Beijing demanding recognition. The government says only a handful have died, mostly from suicide or natural causes (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. University Network, English and Spanish, 13794.4 at 0038 Aug 4 (Bill Elliott, Lancs., BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Unless a typo or QSY, way off nominal 13750v (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. 3600.01, Radio Rebelde (harmonic 6 x 600) 0930, Sep 3, Weak Spanish talk // 5025 (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 820, Jammer AUG 17 0430 - Grinding away here, strong. Anyone ever determine the target? 1140 remains clear as it has for a few months now (David Crawford, FL, NRC International DX Digest via DXLD) ** DOMINICA, COMMONWEALTH OF. Glenn: I have 4 extra copies of a 2002 calendar from ZGBC Radio (Voice of Life) from Dominica - AM 740 kHz + FM. I'd like to offer this calendar to DXers with special interest in the Caribbean. The colorful three-piece folding calendar (8.5 x 6 inches or 22 x 15 cm) has a VoL logo on it and provides extensive frequency and contact info. There are also several very beautiful pictures from the island and a neat photo of the VoL's staff. I can mail this calendar absolutely free to the US-based DXers. Sorry but the AM-enthusiasts from other countries would need to send me 1 USD for postage. Those interested should contact me at radonezh@yahoo.com (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, Sept 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 9-4 FIRE DESTROYS THE MAIN STUDIO AT SAT-7'S CAIRO MEDIA CENTER | The Spectacular Center Was Major Production Hub For Arabic Christian Broadcasting In The Middle East And North Africa By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries A serious fire has destroyed the main studio at SAT-7's spectacular new media center in Cairo, Egypt, just seven-and-a-half months after the center was opened. The blaze in the new Regional Television Production Studio took place early morning ... http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s02090011.htm (via Bruce Atchison, AB, DXLD) No speculation in this about whether it was an hostile act (gh, DXLD) ** ERITREA. Checked out Voice of the Tigray Revolution on 6350 kHz, which of course is also listed in DSWCI DBS (so move to 6350 is not as recent as I first thought), at 0335 UTC on 4th September. Heard what was presumably the Eritrean opposition programme 'Voice of Peace and Democracy of Eritrea' until 0350, then from 0355 the Interval Signal prior to their own programmes starting at 0400. Reasonable reception at tune-in but deteriorated by 0400. Nothing heard on 5500 kHz (Tony Rogers Birmingham - UK AOR 7030+/LW, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** FAROE ISLANDS. 16 Aug, 531 kHz. One of the few MW channels audible in western Finland during the daylight. Listened on ITT CR91, antenna of KAZ type (10 m high, 40 m long). Oldie songs at 1255, no ID at 1300. Anns at 1302, spoken in a Scandinavian-type language. That overstroke any assumptions of Switzerland and Germany (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia, Signal Sept 4 via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Sadly, YLE have announced they are ceasing external broadcasts in English, French and German (date to be announced, although their English website at http://www.yle.fi/radiofinland will be kept). Transmissions will continue in Finnish, Russian, Swedish and Latin. YLE external broadcasts are mainly financed by Finnish TV viewers – there is no government subsidy for the service. In the afternoon following the 1000 UT special broadcast, we visited the Preivikki transmitter site, near Pori operated by Digita Oy and carrying YLE Radio Finland`s external transmissions. The 600 kW 963 kHz MW transmitter is also based here. Kalevi Vahtera of Digita Oy gave us a very detailed tour of this impressive modern transmitter site. It`s a pity YLE are cutting back on their transmissions from here. The spare transmission capacity may in the future be used by other broadcasters (Alan Pennington and Dave Kenny reporting from EDXC Conference 2002, Sept BDXC Communication via DXLD) ** FRANCE. RFI ANNOUNCES 24-HOUR SPECIAL BROADCAST ON EVE OF 11 SEPTEMBER | Excerpt from report by French news agency AFP Paris, 3 September: Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin is due to take part in a 24-hour special broadcast on Radio France International (RFI) on 10 September which will be devoted to the commemoration of the terrorist attacks in New York a year ago. The programme of this special broadcast from midnight [2200 gmt on 9 September] to midnight [2200 gmt on 10 September], which is organized in cooperation with the Paris institute if Political Sciences, has been announced by RFI and the minister's participation has been confirmed by its press office. Dozens of other participants will speak on the radio that day, including Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, former French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami and Palestinian Representative in France Layla Shahid... Source: AFP news agency, Paris, in French 1520 gmt 3 Sep 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) language(s)? frequencies??? ** GERMANY. RWE drops PLC. According to this piece of news (in German, sorry!) http://de.news.yahoo.com/020904/71/2xytr.html it seems that RWE, one of the German energy providers, dropped the distribution of internet over electric power lines (often feared as a potential QRM generator by OMs and SWLs), because the net modems are too unstable. vy 73 (Vittorio De Tomasi, Italy, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Some DTK changes: Voice of Hope cancelled the following effective from August 1: 0700-0800 English on 5975 via JUL 100 kW / 290 deg to WEu 1530-1630 Farsi on 17550 via JUL 100 kW / 090 deg to ME 1800-1900 Russian on 9495 via BIB 100 kW / 060 deg to EEu IBRA Radio in new language - Somali effective from August 15: 1730-1745 on 15495 (55555) via JUL 100 kW / 130 deg to EAf Radio Huriyo in Somali effective from September 3: 1630-1700 Tue/Fri NF 15580 (55555), ex 15530 to avoid RFE/RL in Farsi FEBC in Tagalog via WER 250 kW / 120 deg effective from September 5: 1800-1830 Thu/Fri on 11895 CANCELLED (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 6 via DXLD) ** GREECE. Frequency change for ERA INTERPROGRAMM/RADIO TELIA in various languages: 1300-1900 NF 666, ex 1386 \\ 792 till 1700, 15650 till 1330, 12105 from 1330 1300-1330 Arabic 1500-1530 Romanian* 1700-1730 Albanian^ 1330-1400 German* 1530-1600 Turkish 1730-1800 French^ 1400-1430 Russian* 1600-1630 Serbian 1800-1830 Polish 1430-1500 Spanish* 1630-1700 Bulgarian 1830-1900 English * strong co-ch BBC in Mandarin Chinese plus Chinese music ^ strong co-ch KNLS in Russian (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 6 via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4780.0, R. Cultural Coatán, 0155-0228 Sep 4, marimba music at tune in then full canned ID at 0158 then back into regional vocal selections with male announcer. Station went off the air at 0228 with no discernible sign-off announcement. Poor signal due to sweeping tone QRN (Brandon Jordan, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 4832, R. Litoral, 0325-0335 Aug 31. Man talking. At 0330 an English segment began, but it was sharply cut off after a sentence or two. Talk by the man in Spanish continued. The station's address in La Ceiba was given at 0331. A moderate signal, but with heavy atmospheric noise and fading. SINPO 34222 (Jim Evans, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INDIA. Dear Glenn, I hope readers can help me with the following questions : Yesterday, I picked up a couple of very weak signals on 4910 and 4920 kHz at 1645 UT. Most probably All India Radio. Though reception was very poor due to high static level, both frequencies seem to carry the same program till 1700; could someone confirm AIR New Delhi and AIR Chennai have // transmissions around 1645 UT? About AIR Port-Blair 4760 kHz : is there any // program just before 1700 UT? Thanks for your help. (Pat - French Alps, Sept 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. NEW BROADCAST BILL KILLS PRESS FREEDOM, JAKARTA SEPT 3 Indonesia's newly won press freedom is now in limbo as the broadcast bill -- nearly at its final reading at the House of Representatives -- will prevent local radio and TV stations from relaying foreign-made news, thus curbing the public's right to information. The provision of the bill turns the clock back nearly 40 years to 1964 when President Sukarno, during the height of Indonesia's confrontation with Malaysia, banned the public from listening to foreign broadcasts. A member of the Indonesian Broadcast Society (MPI) describes the bill as "more fascist than the occupying Japanese military's regulations". Article 27 (2) of the bill states: "The relay of broadcasts which are used as permanent programs, both of domestic origin as well as from abroad, are limited". An explanatory note of the article says: "What is meant by limited in article 27 (2) is that domestic broadcasting institutions may relay programs from foreign countries except news, music programs whose performances are improper and sports programs that display sadism." If the bill is passed with the provisions, it clearly will violate article XIX of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, which guarantees the right of every human being to seek for, to receive and to convey information. It also contradicts Articles 4 and 5 of the Press Law No. 40/1999, since banning private television stations and radio stations from broadcasting news from foreign stations amounts to censorship. Article 4 of the Press Law states that there should be no censorship, closing down or banning of broadcasts from the national press. Article 5 (1) stipulates: "The national press is obliged to report news and opinions respecting religious norms and the public's sense of moral values and the presumption of innocence." Since Article 27 of the broadcast bill violates Article XIX of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, it is only fair for all democracy-loving nations of the world to exert some kind of pressure on the Indonesian government to immediately back off from such repressive laws. Indonesian donor countries in particular should review their positions as far as providing economic and military assistance to the government if the bill is passed. If the Indonesian media -- both print and electronic -- fail to unite now, and right now, and show their solidarity against the provision of Article 27 of the bill, they will soon be witnessing the process of the large scale deception of the people. In addition, the Indonesian press will never become the fourth estate in this country because they will be a party to the deception process. Point 2 of Article 27 of the bill was added at the Working Committee (Panja) meeting on August 24, amending the result of the Panja the day before. Panja comprises House members, representatives of the government, radio and television station associations, broadcasting societies and NGO's. At the August 23, Panja meeting, a certain participant accused some local radio stations of becoming "the kiosks" of foreign broadcasting organizations. He did not name the stations but a number of private local radio stations relay or rebroadcast news and music programs from abroad through their networks across the nation. They mostly rebroadcast news from the British Broadcasting Corporations (BBC), The Voice of America (VOA), and ABC/Radio Australia. The same three stations were among the foreign broadcasting institutions that Indonesians were banned from listening to under Sukarno, President Megawati's father. Apart from state-owned radio stations RRI there are now more than 1,100 privately-owned radio stations in the country, a jump from 740 in 1997 at the end of Soeharto's 32-year rule. Between then and now the number of privately-owned television stations also increased to 10 from five, besides state-owned TVRI. Privately-owned provincial TV stations, which were undreamed of during the Soeharto era, now total 15 and the numbers are increasing following the enactment of regional autonomy. The bill is now in the hands of the formulating team (Timus) who will present their work to the special committee (Pansus) before parliament puts its final stamp on it during a plenary session on September 29. The existing formal organizational and regulatory structure of the Indonesian bureaucracy has already make it hard enough for the media to report and broadcast the news without the presence of Article 27. There are at least 35 articles in the Penal Code, including draconian articles 154, 155, 156 and 157 that can be used against the media and journalists. The last four articles, a.k.a. hartzaai-artikelen (spreading hatred), were introduced by the Dutch colonialists in 1915 to stop the press from promoting any ideas of a free and independent Indonesia. The articles, however, were found nowhere in the Dutch Penal Code despite the fact that the Indonesian Penal Code was copied from the Dutch. The Press Council says other laws they consider hamper press freedom in Indonesian, include the laws on companies, the protection of consumers, antimonopoly, bankruptcy, archives, copyright and the forthcoming state emergency law and the law on state secrets. Copyright 2002 JAKARTA POST all rights reserved as distributed by WorldSources, Inc. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) See also AUSTRALIA ** ISRAEL. As the Jewish New Year is Friday evening through Sunday evening, expect related programming on Israel Radio. Have a healthy, happy, and peaceful new year! (Daniel Rosenzweig, NY, Sept 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. TYPHOON RUSA DAMAGES FAR EAST BROADCASTING COMPANY KOREA STATIONS By Dan Wooding Founder of ASSIST Ministries Thursday, September 5, 2002 LA MIRADA, CA (ANS) -- Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) Korea reports that the devastating Typhoon Rusa damaged two of their stations, forcing the stations to temporarily shut down. A spokesperson for FEBC, based in La Mirada, California, said, "HLAZ, the FEBC station on Cheju Island, was able to broadcast via a generator after electricity went out. But when the water rose in the generator building, the station went off the air for approximately 12 hours. "Another FEBC Korea station, HLDY on the northeast coast of Yeongdong, was the hardest hit as the station was off the air for 36 hours. The FEBC-Yeongdong vehicle and the cars of two staff members were submerged in water. In addition, the station's storeroom flooded and an estimated $5,000 worth of CD's, books and supplies were ruined." Typhoon Rusa is the most devastating typhoon in Korea in approximately 40 years. Its path of destruction has left 25,000 people homeless and killed nearly 150 people, while many are still missing. Roads and bridges were destroyed, as well as tens of thousands of acres of farmland were reportedly ruined (ASSIST via Bruce Atchison, AB, DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 1548, R. Sawa, Kuwait City SEP 3 2302-2359 - Good in long peaks with male DJ in Arabic and variety of music including up-tempo Middle Eastern, Arabic pop, US pop, US R&B, and US dance. English IDs, "This is Radio Sawa," at 2315 and 2359 {Marc DeLorenzo, MA, NRC International DX Digest via DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. Libyan R. via Issoudun, France, 21675 Aug 23 at 1452, talk in Arabic, Arabic music \\ 15435; off at 1500 and then on 17695; SIO 343. Also Aug 23 at 1455 on 21810, but did not seem to be parallel 15435 and 21675 before 1500, but definitely parallel 15435 and 17695 ater 1500; SIO 232; 343 on 17695 (Tony Rogers, England, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** MEXICO. "Hoy por hoy" y "Al instante" la radio noticiosa ¿cambia? Milenio Diario, México D.F. 21 de agosto del 2002. Muy juvenil, narrativo, explícito y serio es el formato de ``Hoy por hoy``, noticiario matutino de W Radio en el 900 de AM. Aunque también muy reiterativo, esquemático y hasta ramplón resulta la novedad informativa de la catedral de la radio. Los noticiarios en la radio habían sido de esos géneros que hace meses no cambiaban en el dial. Sin embargo, hace cosa de dos semanas, la emisora piloto de Televisa Radio ha transferido a la radio uno de sus formatos televisivos más interesantes: ``Hoy por hoy``, con Julio César González. Asunto que se antojaba muy sabroso, pues esta oferta en Canal 5 había sido de lo más fresca, juvenil y ligera. En el caso de Televisa Radio el resultado sonoro no ha cambiado del todo, sin embargo, tal vez sea porque las imágenes de pronto sí dicen más que mil palabras. ``Hoy por hoy`` versión radio suena tan esquemático, que es como si estuviéramos escuchando un noticiario dentro de la clase de radio de cualquier universidad donde se imparte la carrera de ciencias de la comunicación. Pero bueno, no hay que minimizar lo que el joven equipo de Televisa Radio realiza de lunes a viernes de 6:00 a 10:00 horas, pues hay que reconocer que algo que tienen muy a su favor estos jóvenes noticieros de la W, es la capacidad técnica para realizar un noticiario bien nutrido en información y en recursos de producción. Por cierto, y hablando de las capacidades de Televisa Radio en versión informativa, no me quiero quedar con las ganas de celebrar por la muy atinada mesa de debate que realizó Mara Patricia Castañeda el jueves 15 de agosto pasado, cuando reunió a Jorge Serrano Limón de la asociación Provida con Carlos Carrera, director de la cinta ``El crimen del padre Amaro``, en un debate que resultó, sin lugar a dudas, un campanazo radiofónico y una antesala insuperable para la cinta que se estrenara un día después del encontronazo en ``Espectáculos W``. Así, los aciertos en los cambios de Televisa Radio son diversos, aunque, como ya lo he mencionado antes, estos cambios de programación en la hoy W Radio han significado desplazamiento de personas claves para la emisora comercial más antigua de México, como son la salida de ``El Gallo`` Calderón y el final de ``Viva la tarde``, de López Córdoba Rubén. Un cambio que ha surgido también a raíz del nacimiento de ``Hoy por hoy`` en Televisa Radio será que ya existía en el cuadrante otro programa con el mismo nombre, y lo más importante, un noticiario también. Me refiero a la serie vespertina que encabeza desde hace años Manuel Mejido en ABC Radio. Pero, bueno, en esto de repetir nombres a los programas de radio, a las emisoras y hasta a los conductores ya estamos todos tan acostumbrados que no nos debiera caer de sorpresa. Si somos justos con la revolución radiofónica, hay que decir que entre ``Hoy por hoy`` de Manuel Mejido y ``Hoy por hoy`` de Julio César González sí hay diferencias abismales. Una, la más importante, es que mientras el mañanero de la W es más de corte informativo y esquemático, Manuel Mejido ha ido siempre hacia el programa de información reflexiva, en donde no se manejan más de tres o cuatro notas por día, y el camino es el análisis por vía de diversas estrellas de la información. ``AL INSTANTE``... TE ENTERASTE Decía yo que hace años que no cambiaban las series informativas en el dial nacional, y por ello quiero mencionar que ha llegado a la capital mexicana uno más de los pocos, poquísimos programas fuereños para ser transmitidos en el ombligo del mundo; me refiero al noticiario ``Al instante``, con Guillermo Garduño, que se transmite también desde la semana pasada a través del 830 de AM Radio Capital. Sí, sí, ya sé que yo aquí he dicho hasta el cansancio que no entiendo o no entendía el nacimiento de Radio Capital, antes frecuencia donde se transmitía Estadio W de índole deportiva, pero, bueno, ya he ido entendiendo un poco más de por qué una emisora musical se atreve a decirse: ``Radio Capital, el hogar de la verdad``... Y ¿sabe por qué es? Pues porque esta emisora, cuyo origen de señal viene de Toluca, del 1040 de AM, es parte del grupo radiofónico MAC. ¡Pero qué es eso de Grupo MAC! Sencillo: es un grupo de emisoras de la ciudad capital del estado de México que pertenece al señor Luis Maccise Uribe, socio reciente de la familia Ibarra de Grupo ACIR, pero que ha ido trabajando mucho en la fortificación del sistema mexiquense de noticias. ¿Cómo les quedó el ojo? Es decir, cómo nos quedó la oreja ahora que es más claro quién se quedó con la bolita del 830 de AM, que si bien no volverá a ser la XELA buena música, ni volverá a ser administrada por la familia Fernández de Grupo Imagen, sí está transformándose en una emisora que inserta preventivos para hablar del abuso, de la violencia intrasocial y hasta acerca de la inseguridad pública. ¡Ya contamos con un grupo radiofónico más en el defectuoso! ¡Grupo MAC! ¡Interesante propuesta! ¡A escucharla! csegura@milenio.com Claudia Segura (via Héctor Garcia B., Sept 5., DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. See BURMA non ** NIGERIA [non]. After the transmission on 22nd July, Jakada Radio International has been noted inactive (Luca Botto Fiora, Italy, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Frequency change for Radio Pakistan: 1245-1315 Turki and 1315-1400 Russian NF 9396v,ex 9500v. No signal on \\ 7355!!! (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 6 via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. INSTALLATION OF SW RADIO TRANSMITTER 5 Sept 2002 The Frontier Post, Peshawar Skardu (PPI): Deputy Chief Exective Northern Areas Haji Fida Muhammad Khan has appreciated the installation of a new powerful short-wave transmitter at Radio Pakistan Skardu. Talking to PPI here Wednesday he said the information technology has brought a revolution and world has turned into a global village. He said Radio Pakistan Skardu has been playing an important role while serving the people of this farflung part of the country by transmitting standard programs. It will help the transmissions to reach the remote areas. and would counter the poisonous propaganda of the Indian Radio stations. He said the General public in the both district of Baltistan Changehe Siachan and Kargil has admired the decision of Information Minister to install powerful short-wave transmitter at Radio Pakistan Skardo. Haji Fida said the inhabitants have termed it as a great gift of the General Pervaz Musharraf and the Minister for Information Mr. Nisar Menon for the people of Baltistan. He also hailed the restoration of PID office at Sakardo, establishment of PTV bureau office in N. As and establishment of APP offices in all districts of N. As would be help to highlight the developmental activities and to publicize the govt. policies © Copyright 2000 The Frontier Post (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 9675, 0958-1400* Sept. 1. NBC Port Moresby. Amazing signal level for this time of the year. In English with full ID a number of times. News at top of hour and then to religious program at 1010. China started to come up 1020 with PNG at 10/s9 Level. Still listenable past bottom of hour. Several announcements about up coming elections as they want no corruption and offered phone numbers to call in and report any. Good past 1130. Noted no 4890 heard this a.m. (Bob Montgomery, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 9675 has not been reported in ages (gh, DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. R. Nacional del Paraguay, 9737.5v is inactive (Luca Botto Fiora, Italy, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** PERU. After a tip from Arnaldo Slaen I tuned to 13565.5 to get the second harmonic of Radio Ondas del Pacífico, which I received on 6782.7 yesterday. I am lucky and got the station ID twice within two songs of tuning in. Thanks Arnaldo! 13565.5, R. Ondas del Pacifico, 0117 UT Sept 5. Latin / Andean music with a male announcer. Some interference by SITOR-like chirp in USB, but a listenable signal in LSB. At 0121 a station ID by the announcer, SIO 132. All receptions done in Curitiba, Brazil, using an Icom R75 and a homebrew T2FD antenna of 15 meters in length and a random wire of about 20 meters length. Full or partial reproduction of these logs is allowed. Kind regards, (Rik van Riel, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** PERU. 5699.90, R. Frecuencia San Ignacio, 0045 Aug 31. Very weak audio under buzzsaw like noise. Tweaking the 535D I was able to finally get some better audio by 0050. Too weak to get an ID but can hear SS announcer and some rather nice mx being played by this 100 watt micro Peruvian station. I have tried for this one a number of times in the past and finally managed some audio. This noise has always been there making it very difficult to hear. Noted station drifting a bit. At 0050 it was at .91 and dropped to .86 by 0053. Best in USB (Bob Montgomery, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PERU. 4974.97 (presumed), Radio del Pacífico, 0815-1002, Sep 3 & 5, // HCJB 6080 and 3220 with religious programs and IDs, but no local IDs. Nothing heard on 9675. Good signal Sep 3, only fair Sep 5. 5879.16, Radio Imperio, 0946, Sep 5, Announcer in Spanish with religious talk, // 4388.91. Poor signal. Product AM 1490 + SW 4389. (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA/C I S. Some new stations via unidentified transmitters: Radio DAT/Free Radio for free Kazakhstan in Russian and Kazakh: 0100-0200 on 9775 1500-1600 on 9775(54444) over CNR-1 in Mandarin Chinese Voice of Homeland in Arabic - new anti Syrian station: 0330-0400 on 9950(45433) 1500-1530 on 12085(55555) 12115(55555) Bible Voice Broadcasting Network (BVBN): 7425 1800-1900 Sat/Sun in Russian to EaEu 7430 1700-1800 Mon only in Amharic to ME/EaAf 1800-1815 Mon only in English to ME/EaAf 1700-1715 Tue only in Russian to ME/EaAf 1715-1815 Tue only in English to ME/EaAf 1700-1815 Wed-Sat in English to ME/EaAf 1700-2000 Sun only in English to ME/EaAf 9610 0200-0230 Daily in Hindi to SoAs 9855 0030-0100 Daily in Bengali to SoAs 11645 2000-2115 Sat/Sun in English to WeEu 15615 0030-0130 Sat/Sun in English to SoAs Test transmissions for RTV Mezopotamia!?! in Kurdish via SAM 250 kW / 188 deg: 1700-1800Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun on 12115 (55555) (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 6 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. RUSSIA SET TO COMPLETE SWITCH TO DIGITAL TV BROADCASTING IN 2005 | Text of report in English by Russian news agency Prime-TASS Moscow, 4 September: Russia's federal TV broadcasting system is expected to be fully digitized in 2005 at the earliest, when the government completes its 850m-dollar programme of upgrading the national satellite constellation [as received], Aleksandr Duka, acting CEO of Russia's state satellite operator Kosmicheskaya Svyaz (Space Communications) said on Wednesday [4 September]. As part of the project, six state-of-the-art Ekspress-AM satellites will be launched into geostationary orbits on top of the existing 10 satellites, five of which have already ended their service life. Duka noted that five satellites are enough to completely cover Russian territory with digital TV broadcasts instead of the 10 currently required for transponding analogue signals. Digital technologies are expected to boost satellites' transponding capacity by 300-500 per cent, he said. Apart from the space segment of the digitization project carried out by Kosmicheskaya Svyaz, the ground segment will require 42m dollars, according to the Russian Communications and Information Technology Ministry. The project, implemented by the Communications Ministry together with the Press [TV and Radio Broadcasting and Mass Communications] Ministry and Foreign Ministry, envisages gradual phasing in of digital technologies across the federal, land-line, broadcasting grid. The operator of the ground segment is state company Russian Broadcasting Network (RTRS). The Foreign Ministry is commissioning the upgrade of broadcasting networks for Russian embassies and diplomatic representations globally. The project's worth, however, could be revised after pilot digital broadcasting zones are tested, Valeriy Timofeyev, deputy communications and IT minister, told Prime-TASS on Wednesday. The pilot digital broadcasts zones, compliant with the European DVB-T standard, have already been built in Moscow, St Petersburg and Nizhniy Novgorod, and feature a full range of digital TV broadcasting equipment - from a TV transmitter to a household receiver and decoder. Source: Prime-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1838 gmt 4 Sep 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ST. KITTS & NEVIS. 894.99, Voice of Nevis, Bath Village AUG 14 0159 - Good signal with sign off anthem in English, then off the air. + AUG 15 0158 - Again at sign off, "This ends another broadcast day of VON... 10000 watts," fading in/out (Erik Stromsted, W1ZBT, Pepperell MA; Yaesu 1000MP, terminated NE long wire and unterminated N/S long wire, NRC International DX Digest via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 1521, BSKSA Duba AUG 8 2250 - Good; Middle Eastern vocal parallel 9555 and 9870, off at 2303. Shortwaves signed off at 2300 exactly (Bruce Conti, ME, NRC International DX Digest via DXLD) SEP 2 2255-2302 - Loud with a man in Arabic and brief bridges of Middle Eastern music parallel to 9555 and 9870; six time pips at 2300, long announcement by man in Arabic to 2302 sign off. Steady signal with no fading {Marc DeLorenzo, MA, NRC International DX Digest via DXLD) ** TURKEY. Announced at the Broadcasters panel at the EDXC Conference: Osman Erkan from Voice of Turkey said they may reduce output; possible cuts include the closure of their Kazakh service and merging of Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian broadcasts (Alan Pennington & Dave Kenny, Finland, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** U A E. UAE Radio, Dubai, heard in English 22 Aug 1330 on 21605.25 but on 23 Aug at 1400 on 21597.58, both days parallel to 13765, 15395 (Tony Rogers, UK, BDXC Communication via DXLD) ** U K. I`m following the progress of DRM with great interest. However, has anyone considered using it on the lower shortwave bands for DOMESTIC broadcasting? A station in the Midlands on, say, the 60 or 90 metre tropical bands, with an antenna arranged for ``straight- up, straight-down`` propagation, could easily cover the British Isles for a fraction of the cost of a MW, FM or DAB network. Obviously, there would need to be negotiations with the ITU, but these frequencies are little used these days, and some broadcast channels could easily be fitted in (Mark Palmer, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** U K [non]. [Russian sites are involved on] 7425 / 7430 / 11645 for Bible Voice Broadcasting Network / High Adventure Gospel Canada. http://www.glenlowance.com/ [site at Harlingen, TX --- gh] Middle East [Armavir/Krasnodar site 100 kW 190 degrees] 100 kW 7430 Monday-Friday 1700-1815 UT Amharic/English/Russian 100 kW 7430 Sat/Sun 1700-1800 UT 250 kW 7430 Sat 1800-1900 UT [not on air Sat Aug 31, wb] 250 kW 7430 Sunday 1800-2000 UT India 250 kW 9855 Monday-Sunday Bengali 250 kW 9610 Monday-Sunday Hindi 250 kW 15615 0030-0130 Sat/Sun English/Hindi East Europe [Moscow Taldom 250 kW site presumed, wb] 250 kW 7425 Sat/Sunday 1800-1900 UT Polish/English/Slavic/Russian West Europe [Moscow transmitter] 250 kW 11645 Sat/Sunday 2000-2115 UT English (Harjot Singh Brar, India, for GRDXC Aug 27 with annotations by Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Sept 4 via DXLD) I heard 7430 s-on with the 'high' tones again today. After an English ID the language sounded very much like Russian, but spoken by a non- Russian. I'm not sure what the language is at 1730 - it sounds a mixture of Russian and Turkish! At 1746 the language changed to another unknown - this also seems to have some Turkish like words, but I cannot be sure it is Turkish proper. Some talk and Gospel music. The signal is peaking to 9 but spoiled by static bursts (not from anywhere in the UK) and a TV buzz on high side - using LSB only clears that nuisance. Time of Deliverance from Philadelphia at 1800 in English. (Noel R. Green, UK, Aug 26, BC-DX Sept 4 via DXLD) 7425 / 11645 Bible Voice Bcing Network / High Adventure Gospel Canada. 7425 Sat/Sunday 1800-1900 UTC Polish/English/Slavic/Russian. Signal suffering, like an Armavir Krasnodar usual Arabic downwards 190/185 degree signal (winter on 5935, summer 7425?), of estimated 100 kW. Other usual Russian outlets were much, much stronger at same time: 7300, 7330, 7370, 7400, and 7440. When English closed at 1815 on 7430 an address in Leeds-UK was given and an e-mail address mail@biblevoice.org (wb, Aug 28) 7425, I heard a strong station of Bible Voice, most likely in Polish language on Sat Aug 31, 1800-1830 UT, transmitter Moscow Taldom, 250 kW, signed on at 1742, tone pips procedure 1747-1756 UT. At 1754 UT break occurred, and supposedly pips tone generator of 845 Hertz tone switched from local transmitter site source to the MCB Moscow control room [?] generator, and measured near 825 Hertz then. 7425 station was much stronger than 7430 [latter which closed at 1800 UT!], which is presumed via Armavir-Krasnodar, Russia relay site southwards to the Middle East. 7425 is - probably - targeted to E Europe at about 250 degrees azimuth from Taldom. Signal level is equal of 7300, 7330, 7390, 7400, and 7440 kHz outlets, all Russian powerhouse transmissions at same time span. Program started with an announcement in Russian as "Radiostantzia Golos Biblii", the Leeds address was given then, followed by an address in Russia [translated by Bernd and Dmitri, thanks, wb]. RUSSIAN: "Golos Biblii". P.O.Box 2512, 426067 Izhevsk, Russia. Additional info. This is the Izhevsk production studio of FEBC Russia. e-mail: izhevsk@febc.org (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX Sep 1) Today's broadcast was 50% English - 50% Russian, no other language segments. I need to listen to the recordings once more (Dmitry Mezin, Russia, Sep 1) Polish service recording from 1802 UT onwards, suffered from a lot of unwanted noise of a nearby 'building site', strokes of hammer and a drilling machine could be noted. Had a piece of music till around 1827 UT, and a final announcement by presenter Waldemar Kasperczak, who also announced the local Warsaw Poland contact address. Krzysztof Rybus in Poland and Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania did identify the address: Glos Ewangelii, skrytka pocztowa 484, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland. Meaning in English: Voice of Gospel, P.O. BOX 484, 00-950 Warsaw, Poland (Krzysztof Rybus, Poland, BC-DX Sep 1) POLISH: "Glos Ewangelii", P.O.Box 484, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland. Additional info. - Street address: ul.Zagorna 10, 00-441 Warszawa, Poland. URL: http://www.gospel.pl e-mail: gospel@gospel.pl (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX Sep 1) At 1830-1845 UT Christian program in an unID language was noted. Not Slavic, most likely in a Caucasian language, with some Turk accent, but definitely not Turkish, Armenian, Georgian, but could be rather Azerbaidjan [see Ossetian assumption item BELOW]. 1843 UT ID and address in Unknown lang. I guess I heard the word "Georgia" two times!? 1845:39 UT fanfares, ID in Russian, sermon. At 1858:37 UT an US address was given by female, followed by schedule announcement and Leeds England address, given both by male voice announcer. I guess Merlin control room forgot to cut off the feeder line at 1900 UT even. Then satellite feed switched to another service in Turk [Azeri/Uzbek of BBC or IBB] language at 1900 for five seconds only, then followed by VOA English news reading till 1901:15 UT. 11645 transmitter signed on at 1955 UT, and started tone procedure at about 1955:30 to 1958:50 UT. Adjacent channels had powerhouse broadcast of Urumqi, China, 500 kW on 11650 SINPO 55555, and V. of Vietnam on 11640 43443, co-channel AWR Meyerton weak S=2 level. 10 seconds before the hour a Russian announcement of R Rossii and five time pips could be noted underneath before Bible Voice Broadcasting started. Bible Voice Broadcasting started 1959:58 UT with a station jingle. The transmission was totally in English by various Baptist churches of Canada and USA. At 2101 and 2113 UT the ID and address of Christ Gospel Church International was given twice in English: Christ Gospel Broadcast P. O. Box 786 Jeffersonville, Indiana 47131, USA URL: http://www.christgospelbc.org followed by an ID + Leeds England address, given in Hindi language. The language at the last is nothing but Hindi (Swopan Chakroborty, India, and Ashok Kumar Bose, Canada, Sept 1-2, BC-DX Sept 4 via DXLD) Bible Voice Broadcasting Network. P. O. Box 220, Leeds, LS26 0WW in the United Kingdom. biblevoice@sympatico.ca http://www.missionsenfete.qc.ca/eng_agencies.html http://www.highadventure.org/# We transmit via SW from several strategic locations around the world. Our studio in Jerusalem sends its signal via satellite to a transmission facility in Germany that broadcasts back into the ME. From the transmission site in Germany we also reach W Europe, E Europe/Russia, China, Vietnam, India and parts of N Africa. We also have a SW facility just north of Los Angeles, CA that covers Mexico and many areas in Latin America and the Caribbean. We have just recently dedicated our new FM station in Liberia, Africa, which reaches the nearly 1 million population of the capital city of Monrovia. We are currently building a new transmission site in Northern Nigeria where we will broadcast FM, AM and SW, eventually reaching most of the continent of Africa. Our satellite coverage is expanding to the point where broadcasts originating in Jerusalem will be heard throughout the entire network. http://www.glenlowance.com/ http://www.biblevoice.com http://katalog.wp.pl/DMOZ/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Christiani ty/Chats_and_Forums/ Need HELP: for identifying the Georgia? - address, which is given on 7425 kHz in the 1830-1845 UT transmission: Sats at 1843 UT. The Leeds England address see ABOVE (wb df5sx BC-DX Aug 31) [Most probably] Ossetian language from Georgia ? 7425 at 1830-1845 UT Saturdays. [wb] I tried to listen to your recording again and again, but no success in language ID. Let's wait till Saturday, when we'll have another chance to listen on the air. Address was P. O. Box 400, Sarasota, FL, 34230, USA. By the way, Internet search of "Box 2512, Izhevsk, 426067" revealed two interesting facts: 1 It's the address (former or current???) of FEBC office in Izhevsk. FEBC history page mentions local broadcasts from that city but says nothing about the schedule. 2 It's the address (former or current???) of radio channel 'Svobodnaya Volna', license No. 2245, issued on 12 Nov 1996. Station based in Izhevsk, but surprisingly declares Russian and Ossetian (?!?!) as the broadcast languages. If Bible Voice has any connection with Svobodnaya Volna, then maybe the Caucasian language used on Saturday was Ossetian? It's my pure speculation, but who knows... (found at http://www.tvradio.ru/fs/reestr/22.html) (Dmitry Mezin, Russia, BC-DX Sep 3) many thanks to Dmitry, wb. According to a message from Don McLaughlin the broadcasts by Biblevoice to the ME on 7430 kHz (Mon-Fri 1700-1815 UTC/100 kW - Sat 1700-1800 UTC/100 kW - 1800-1900 UTC/250 kW - Sun 1700-1800 UTC/100 kW - 1800-2000 UTC 250 kW) are from Krasnodar, while the broadcasts to Europe on 11645 kHz (Sat and Sun 2000-2100 UTC/250 kW) are from Moscow. No details were given, however, for 7425 kHz (to E Europe Sat and Sun 1800-1900 UTC). (Thomas Drescher, Germany, BC-DX Sep 3) 11645, Bible Voice Broadcasting Network, very good right now, 2045 Sep 1, English religious programming from Ohio and Saskatchewan. Opened 2000 after CIS-style tone runup. There was a transmitter break at 2051, and when they came back on they had lost about 20% of their signal. Maybe an antenna change? They started another religious program at 2100 (from Georgia, US). Transmitter break again at 2101-2103, closed 2115* after Bible Voice Broadcasting Network postal address, cut off in the middle of their E- mail address. Signal at 2115 was just a shadow of what it was at 2000 UT (Jerry Berg, MA, DXplorer Sep 1; ALL: BC-DX Sept 4 via DXLD) I`m flabbergasted by the amount of effort these gentlemen put into tracking and researching what is really just another unneeded gospel huxter; but repro it here in case anyone run across it, for the record. Have been filing it under UK non, due to the previously reported address, but it appears to be quite multinational, more likely USA [non] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K / U S A. U.S. PUBLIC RADIO AND BBC WORLD SERVICE LET ORDINARY PEOPLE SPEAK ON IMPACT OF 9/11 - Live Global Call-in and National Town Hall Set for Broadcast Sept. 7 & 8, Part of Weeklong Special Coverage, 'Understanding America After 9/11' - WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Amidst the wave of 9/11 anniversary shows, two will be unscripted. Public radio stations across the country, along with the BBC World Service, will broadcast two special events that invite citizens here and abroad to discuss how 9/11 has changed their lives, the image of the US, and America's role in the world. On Sept. 7, Americans will have the opportunity to speak their minds and hear the views of people around the globe during the special live, public radio call-in program, "Living with Terror: The World Speaks a Year After 9/11," a co-production by WAMU in Washington, D.C. and the BBC World Service. The two-hour program, hosted by award-winning journalists Deborah Amos of ABC News and Robin Lustig of the BBC World Service, will address such topics as whether the U.S. is to blame for rising terrorism; whether the war on terrorism can truly be won; and what living with terrorism has meant for people from Ireland to Israel. Listeners can participate by phone (800-450-8850) or Internet http://www.wamu.org "Living with Terror: America Speaks a Year After 9/11," a collaboration between three U.S. public radio stations and the BBC World Service, is the first opportunity for those around the world to hear a diverse group of Americans across the country compare experiences and feelings on life after 9/11.Town hall audiences in Boston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis-St. Paul will discuss issues like whether life in the U.S. has really changed, how 9/11 has affected children, whether Americans are trading off their ideals of liberty for security, and much more. Andy Kohut, of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, will discuss his organization's new poll results on American attitudes post-9/11. The show will be hosted by Ray Suárez of PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" and formerly host of NPR's Talk of the Nation, and Stephen Sackur, European correspondent for the BBC World Service. Baronness Shirley Williams, a British MP, will offer a European perspective in the conversation, along with other invited guests. The special will be taped Sept. 7 for air Sept. 8. "Living with Terror: The World Speaks A Year After 9/11" will be broadcast live on Sept. 7 from 1 - 3 p.m. Eastern Time on public radio stations nationwide, as well as the BBC World Service, Armed Forces Radio and NPR Worldwide. "Living with Terror: America Speaks A Year After 9/11" will air Sept. 8 on public radio stations nationwide and the BBC World Service. Listeners should check their local public radio station's website for times. 1607 09/03/2002 05:20 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com Copyright © 2002 PR Newswire (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Rather than mushy sentimentality about victims, blatantly obvious platitudes from our Great Leaders about their heroic efforts against Evil, and vitriol that the War Against Terrorism must continue, news organizations would serve the public well by ensuring that their coverage respects the privacy of families who want privacy, does not provide platforms for politicians wanting to use the occasion to wrap themselves in the flag and utter the obvious in order to shore up support for fall elections. Stories? Here are a few ideas: People are afraid to fly that day, or to travel to the US that day. Investigative reporters at a Canadian newspaper (Globe and Mail) recently uncovered evidence that organized crime controls many Canadian ports, and that inspectors and other officials are being 'discouraged' from checking inside shipping containers arriving here. There is also substantial coverage in non-mainstream media of western government support for foreign regimes and rebel groups with strong ties to terrorist groups (i.e., the US supplying Saddam Hussein with chemical weapons, Canada and other countries allowing arms transfers to known violators of human rights, etc...). Think Enron was worth reporting? What about western-based oil and mining giants with close, active ties to armed rebels and other thugs, exploiting civil unrest and truly nasty and undemocratic regimes in order to maximize yields and profits. News organizations that purport to serve the public interest need to look into this sort of stuff, separate fact from fiction (there is plenty of both), and inform citizens about what is truly happening. Instead, I anticipate reports about 9/11 that will be as informative and useful as news reports about a celebrity's messy divorce, If news organizations truly care about the people who died and the rescue crews who suffered on the front lines, then the answer is to report in a professional manner. For one day, if not for 365 days a year, news will NOT be confused with entertainment, and journalists will not allow their work to be manipulated by those seeking to expand their personal wealth or power base (Saul Chernos, Ontario, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. VOA DIRECTOR WAS UNDERMINED BY DOUBTS David R. Sands, THE WASHINGTON TIMES Doubts from above about his managerial skills and suspicions from below about his conservative political leanings torpedoed Voice of America Director Robert Reilly, who resigned abruptly last week after 11 months on the job, insiders at the U.S. broadcasting service said yesterday. Mr. Reilly, hailed by VOA critics as a "principled conservative" who would provide a more muscular pro-American tone to the 60-year-old broadcasting service, would be succeeded by veteran Time magazine correspondent David Jackson, VOA's Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) revealed late last week. "He never had much backing on the newsroom floor. When his own bosses turned on him, he had no support to fall back on," said one VOA employee, who declined to be named for this article. BBG Chairman Ken Tomlinson, at one time a strong backer of Mr. Reilly, said in an interview yesterday that ideology had not been a factor in Mr. Reilly's departure. He declined to discuss the factors behind Mr. Reilly's resignation, but noted that Mr. Jackson was a "proven manager at a time when we are facing some big-time management challenges." "Bob," said Mr. Tomlinson, "is a great guy who will be better off doing creative work." Mr. Reilly's decision to resign also came quickly. He was called out of a staff gathering to honor a retiring VOA veteran to meet with board members Thursday and emerged later that day to inform division directors at a previously scheduled staff meeting that he was leaving. A former Reagan administration official, Mr. Reilly wrote editorials and hosted a foreign-policy talk show at VOA for more than a decade before assuming the director's post in October. In a statement released by the BBG, he said he was leaving "to seek opportunities in which I can more directly employ my talents in helping [President Bush] and the administration in the war against international terrorism." Mr. Reilly's short tenure was marked by major organizational changes and simmering internal disputes over the mission of VOA. The service broadcasts news, educational and cultural programming, as well as statements of official U.S. government policy, to radio and television audiences in 53 languages. Mr. Reilly took the top VOA slot on the heels of an interview with former Afghanistan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. VOA aired excerpts of the interview just weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks despite State Department complaints. Mr. Reilly said he would not have aired Mullah Omar's comments and later called the fighting in Afghanistan a "war of ideas," with the VOA "on one side in that war." VOA reporters and editors said Mr. Reilly and the tight-knit group of deputies he recruited had not tried to put an ideological slant on day-to-day reporting, but that the wariness on the newsroom floor never eased. Mr. Reilly's fatal mistake might have been to upset the oversight board last month with a proposal to close five overseas bureaus, including a major news center in Hong Kong, to help finance a planned new Farsi radio service targeting Iran. Mr. Tomlinson said yesterday that "no final decisions" had been made on any closings, but added, "To me, it's unthinkable that the Hong Kong office would close." Mr. Tomlinson and BBG member Norman Pattiz, an executive of the giant Westwood One Inc. radio network, have pushed a new, music-heavy service known as the Middle East Radio Network to replace VOA's more sober shortwave broadcasting in the region. VOA employees said Mr. Reilly also had caused friction with the board by his management style, which included a heavy reliance on consultants and staffing a high number of positions with loyalists. Kevin McNamara, a former newsman and adjunct scholar at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, called the resignation a "shame," saying Mr. Reilly had been administering a badly needed shake-up to VOA. "He was that rarest of commodities — a principled conservative in government — and the great hope was [that] he would know how to maneuver in that environment to change things," Mr. McNamara said. "He understood the VOA was about getting America's message across in the world, not augmenting journalism jobs in Washington." ----------------------------------------------------------- This article was mailed from The Washington Times http://www.washtimes.com/world/20020905-2456065.htm Copyright (c) 2002 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. (Washington Times [Moony], via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW U.S. PROPAGANDA TOOL: MUSIC To counteract anti-American hatred, there’s a new weapon in the propaganda wars. It’s a mix of American hip hop and Arabic ballads, with a strong dose of news in between. Replacing the voice of America in the Middle East is Radio Sawa, Arabic for ``together.`` ... http://www.msnbc.com/news/803582.asp [includes button to Play Video] (Andrea Mitchell, NBC News via Tom McNiff, VA, Sept 5, DXLD) ** U S A. Labor Day turned out not to be a holiday at WWCR. Monday afternoon, a small grass fire broke out in the antenna field. Fortunately, alert staff quickly controlled what could have been a potentially disastrous situation. All four transmitters had to be shut down for about two hours. Evidently, this was caused by a switching relay for a shorting stub in the #1 antenna, used to match impedances. A solenoid apparently shorted; the relay is supposed to depower after activating, but kept going with 220 volts, setting on fire the board it was mounted on, and then the grass. The fire department came out and hosed it down. Meanwhile a spare stub is being used, but switching must be done manually with a bolt. I have been coming in early to make the frequency changes at the appropriate times (Adam Lock, WWCR, WORLD OF RADIO 1146, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 26470, WJFP [Ft Pierce FL] tells me that this relay is down. Left several messages for someone who would know more but never got a call back (Hans Johnson, WY, Sep 5, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. Here`s the latest about KTOT, the new 100 kW public radio station going up 25 mi SSW of Perryton TX, relaying KANZ-91.1 Garden City KS; earlier goal of on the air by this summer seems unlikely. They don`t mention the frequency, but coverage map shows it will be 89.5, reaching up to the Kansas border (gh, DXLD) TOP O' TEXAS PUBLIC RADIO PROJECT As promised last month, lots of things are happening with the project. The power lines leading onto the tower site have been completed by North Plains Electric Co-op of Perryton. Tower sections began arriving to the site on August 9th with the construction crew beginning on Monday the 12th. Although much of the equipment will be stored on- site, some pieces need to be stored and Chief Engineer Chuck Springer is busy making preparations to take delivery. Thanks go to Jim Hudson, Editor of the Perryton Herald, for donating the use of storage space. An official ground-breaking ceremony took place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 17 with lots of support from many of you. The Perryton Partners were there along with members of the media and staff of High Plains Public Radio. We`d like to thank all the KTOT capital campaign supporters for coming out to the site and joining us for the ground breaking activity and photos. And we’d like to thank Dana Burnett and the Perryton Chamber of Commerce for their involvement, as well. And while I’m on the subject of thanks, I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the Texas panhandle residents who have supported this project. During the past 18 months I’ve met lots of wonderful people, and formed many personal friendships. Although I`ll still be in the area in the future, it will be in the role of Regional Programming Development Director. I’ll be visiting all the KTOT communities and gathering the histories and stories that make each town and county special. Deb Stout, High Plains Public Radio Promotions Director, will be taking over correspondence and reports on the KTOT project, as well as planning an on-air celebration. Skip Mancini (from http://www.hppr.org/TOT_Press.htm Sept 3 via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WJIE was back up to par Sept 5 at 1200 on 7490, with WORLD OF RADIO 1145, good modulation but with constant undercurrent in Japanese for the USB DVR co-channel. Maybe they will have 1146 on by Friday? No, checked around 1220 no modulation could be detected tho the carrier against DVR seemed fairly strong (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi Glenn Hauser! Thought you might be interested in reading this web page: http://wcpe.org/bbc2.shtml WCPE is a great classical station you can listen to online! Regards, (Alan Knapp, DX LISTENING DIGEST) viz: August 30, 2002 Dear WCPE Listeners, In July of 1978, WCPE Radio pioneered the broadcasting of the BBC World Service News in the United States. "Auntie" was part of this station from day one. In those early days, WCPE received the BBC via shortwave radio, and WCPE became one of BBC's official relay partners. I can still rattle off the list of frequencies to which we tuned our R-390 shortwave receivers. Of course, WCPE had a written agreement with the BBC to allow these unique rebroadcasts. We became friends with many of the BBC staff, and several times, announcers from the BBC visited WCPE and even recorded announcements and promos for WCPE. The BBC news was read live, and mistakes that happen on live radio can't be covered up: A news reader once said "It is a minor injury, though; the bullet is in her yet." Another announcer, fighting incipient laryngitis that you could hear getting worse by the minute, finally fell silent and could not voice the word "news" as he heroically attempted to conclude the newscast with "That's the end of the world news." Despite the rare tongue-twister and sometimes unreliable shortwave reception, the BBC World Service News became a valued part of this station. So valued, in fact, that other stations across the nation began to consider the BBC news for themselves. When a high-quality feed became available to the US about ten years ago, our shortwave problems ended, and taking our lead, other public stations decided they wanted the BBC, too. Several years ago, the BBC became partners with a radio programming distributor here in the United States. We understand that their new agreement gave the distributor sole rights to the BBC in the United States, and no new US service could add the BBC without making arrangements with this distributor. It is important at this point to review how WCPE operates: WCPE plays all of our music programming here at our studios directly from compact discs, and live announcers host our programming and run the station around the clock. Today, this is unique in radio. Call almost any station after weekday business hours; you'll likely get an answering machine. Because we don't believe in having a computer host your music, and because we do all of our own work, we have no reason to pay a public radio network to do for us what we do better ourselves. As more people discover WCPE, we prove to be a fresh voice to them. Would it benefit anyone if we were just an echo of the same radio programming that you can hear everywhere else? We share WCPE over the Internet, with home satellite listeners, and with cable listeners. We even share WCPE with other community and non- profit organizations by allowing them to rebroadcast our station without charge or obligation. We don't really know how many people listen to WCPE on these new outlets, but anywhere in the USA, WCPE is available one way or another. This growing national listenership of WCPE has made it necessary to defend the validity of the near-thirty year old BBC rebroadcast agreement several times during the past few years. Even though the BBC News is a part of WCPE's programming, and even though all who carry WCPE retransmit us identically as one hears us on 89.7 FM in North Carolina (they hear the exact same WCPE as everyone here in Raleigh does) it has become increasingly difficult for WCPE to defend our old agreement with the BBC. The old friends we had at the BBC are gone; one of our greatest proponents on the staff of the BBC died earlier this year. We've given much effort to finding a solution to this problem but our best offer was just declined. We have too many new listeners on cable systems and radio stations across the USA and in the Caribbean and that seems not to please some people. Now that WCPE is the most-listened-to internet public radio station in the world (according to MeasureCast) we worried that it was only a matter of time before someone would upset the apple cart and our old one-page agreement would have its "notice of revocation" clause activated. I really started worrying when the BBC dropped shortwave service to the United States a year ago. Whether that is related or not is speculation. Regardless, in a few days, the BBC News will no longer be heard on WCPE. The notice of revocation of permission to rebroadcast BBC as we have been was given to me on August 13th; it takes effect at the end of September, 2002. I suppose some good will come of this: We'll be able to bring you an extra hour of Great Classical Music every day in place of the news summaries; and we won't have to worry about the length of a symphony as we cross the top of the hour, and we can devote all of our efforts and talents to bringing you Great Classical Music 24 hours a day where ever you may live or travel. But it will be hard to say goodbye to an old friend when I hear the last time on WCPE -- "That's the end of the world news". Sincerely, Deborah S. Proctor, General Manager Read a detailed statement from Dick Storck, WCPE's Program Director BBC World Service News Dear WCPE listener, Sadly, the information you have heard is indeed true. After September 30, 2002, WCPE will no longer have permission to broadcast BBC World Service News. In 1978, we initiated the concept of re-broadcasting BBC newscasts in the United States. You may recall in the early years that the newscasts were rebroadcast from the BBC's short wave transmissions with variable audio quality. Later, WCPE was granted exceptional permission to rebroadcast BBC newscasts without cost from a special satellite. Our 25 year association with BBC has been rewarding to our listeners and we regret that it must come to an end. This change is not by our choice. The BBC's mission and their programming delivery systems began to change when they stopped their short wave service to the Americas entirely and offered news streaming on the internet. These newscasts are now available in online audio streams at this web address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/default.stm In the past several years, BBC has been gravitating toward granting exclusive United States rebroadcast rights to Public Radio International. We don't want to spend huge amounts of listener donations each year to pay PRI for network affiliation and programming. We'd rather spend that money on making the classical music programming even better. WCPE is has a growing number of radio station affiliates around the nation which relay all of our programming, especially at night. PRI has no provision to allow re-broadcasting from WCPE to other stations, thus they and the BBC in London told us we must stop at the end of September. We have no other choice but to do as they say. Entire BBC news hours are now heard on other Public Radio Stations, including our friends at WUNC, 91.5-FM, Chapel Hill. They broadcast BBC from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM weekdays, and every night between Midnight and 5:00 AM. BBC policy has changed. Radio is changing toward more channels available and more specialization in formats. WCPE has chosen to specialize in what we do best: Great Classical Music. WCPE will soon able to present an additional hour of music every day because we'll no longer interrupt programming ten times a daily for a six minute newscast. The BBC news you desire is still available to you from several other sources including direct XM Satellite. I hope you'll locate the other sources I suggested to satisfy your needs for the unique perspective of BBC reporting. I trust that when you require Great Classical Music, you'll continue to tune to WCPE for our outstanding specialty. Sincerely, Dick Storck, WCPE Program Director programs@wcpe.org Through the end of September WCPE will continue to offer, live from London, BBC News 10 times a day. The BBC, known world-wide for its exellence in objective reporting, has been aired on WCPE since our inception in 1978. Listen to 5 minutes of BBC World Service News on WCPE at these times: midnight, 3am, 6am, 7am, 8am, noon, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 10pm (Eastern). (WCPE website via DXLD) ** U S A. It's sold and Eugene V. Debs is rolling in his grave I don't see this on the Forward or WEVD websites but according to the dead tree English weekly edition of the Forward dated tommorrow, the Forward Association has reached a deal to sell WEVD to da mouse for 78 mil. Beginning last September, WEVD was leased to Disney as an ESPN station. AFAIK the New York Times still owns and leases WQEW to Disney Kids. One thing about WEVD is that even though the station is 50 kW the frequency of 1050 kHz is utterly dominated (under the 1941 AM band treaty) in the northeast outside the NYC area by CHUM, Toronto (which IIRC just dropped all sports). (Joel Rubin, Queens, Sept 5, swprograms via DXLD) FYI: 1050 out of NYC is heard very well here in Clifton Park, NY about 165 miles north of NYC and 270 miles east of Toronto. CHUM hardly ever trumps WEVD here (John Figliozzi, ibid.) ** U S A. TELEVISION TOWER SEEKS N.J. HOME Thursday, September 05, 2002 By BRIAN KLADKO Staff Writer Television broadcast companies, stymied in their quest to build the world's tallest free-standing structure for an antenna in New York City, are now looking to build in New Jersey - most likely in Hudson County. A 2,000-foot-tall tower, to be built by the broadcasters, would replace the antenna that sat atop One World Trade Center. Jersey City, eager to have bragging rights to one of the world's superlatives, is the only municipality to take public action so far. It has rezoned one parcel and is planning to rezone another to accommodate a tower of unlimited height. But the Metropolitan TV Alliance, representing all 10 New York stations, has discussed the tower's construction with officials in several other New Jersey towns, too, said Edward Grebow, the group's president.... http://www.NorthJersey.com/page.php?level_3_id=1&page=4870798 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. MAYS MAKES HIMSELF CLEAR --- THE HEAD OF THE BIGGEST U.S. RADIO GROUP RESPONDS TO THE COMPANY'S CRITICS By Staff, Broadcasting & Cable, 9.2.2002 When the government removed limits on station ownership six years ago, San Antonio-based Clear Channel began staking a Texas-size claim on radio real estate. Today, the company is the country's largest radio group and among the top five entertainment companies. It owns 1,240 radio stations, operates another 75 through LMAs, and syndicates programming to half the commercial stations in the country. It even has a stake in a potential competitor: satellite radio. Clear Channel also owns 36 TV stations, the country's largest billboard inventory and the biggest concert-promotion business. All that and aggressive cross-promotion have led media-consolidation critics to label Clear Channel "Exhibit A" in their fight for tougher ownership limits. The company has been beaten up in the press and Congress and faces lawsuits and FCC hearings. In the meantime, its stock has taken a beating from investors questioning its multiplatform strategy and financial health. Company President Mark Mays sat down with BROADCASTING & CABLE 's Bill McConnell to answer some of the company's critics.... http://www.tvinsite.com/broadcastingcable/index.asp?layout=story_stocks&articleid=CA241737&doc_id=100473&pubdate=09/02/2002 (Broadcasting & Cable via DXLD) ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL'S RADIO PACTS IRK LABELS Music: The chain's lucrative deals with independent promoters have resulted in massive playlist price hikes. By CHUCK PHILIPS, TIMES STAFF WRITER Radio conglomerate Clear Channel Communications Inc. is pushing the envelope in the murky world of record promotion--and upsetting music executives in the process... http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-clear5sep05.story (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. National Radio of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic on 7460 is inactive (Luca Botto Fiora, Italy, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Ashura R (Assyrian R), 9154.95, 1825 4 August, 1825 tune-in to talk in presuemd Assyrian, ME type music, ID ``...al- Ashura``, into program in Arabic at 1835; anthem and off at 1857 (Tony Rogers, UK, BDXC Communication via DXLD) I`m trying to recall whether we ever pinned this one down; the most recent reference I can find is in DXLD 2-062 from last April (gh): ``UNIDENTIFIED. Does anyone know what is the broadcast on 9155 between 1655-1900? It is mostly in Arabic, but also other languages are used. They speak about Syria and Iraq but they seem to avoid identifying themselves. Has Azerbaidjan sold airtime to some other organisation? 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, April 14, hard-core-dx via DXLD)`` ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ Glenn, I stopped by a RadioShack store in my area and learned they no longer issue free annual printed catalogs, so if you want to see what's new in store you have to look up http://www.radioshack.com to see the latest electronics, radios, etc. As for shortwave receivers, from looking at the items available online it appears as if RS has ceased making their own brands of portable receivers, including the DX-398, but they have two Grundig SW portables available for purchase online or in the stores, the YB-400 selling at $149.95 (same price as at Universal Radio), and the G2000A Porsche-designed receiver (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, Sept 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2002 Sep 03 2212 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/weekly.html # Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 04 - 30 September 2002 Solar activity is expected to be low to moderate. Activity is expected to be low early in the period, 04-08 September. With the return of old Region 69 (S08, L=299, class/area Ekc/1990, on 19 August) on 07 September and Region 95 on 23 September, low to moderate levels are expected for the remainder of the period. No proton events are expected early in the period. A proton event is possible on 07-22 September. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geo-synchronous orbit may reach event threshold on 08-09 September due to a recurring coronal hole. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels for most of the period. Active conditions are possible on 06-07 September due to a recurring coronal hole. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2002 Sep 03 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2002 Sep 03 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2002 Sep 04 170 10 3 2002 Sep 05 165 12 3 2002 Sep 06 170 12 3 2002 Sep 07 190 10 3 2002 Sep 08 200 10 3 2002 Sep 09 205 10 3 2002 Sep 10 210 10 3 2002 Sep 11 215 10 3 2002 Sep 12 220 10 3 2002 Sep 13 220 10 3 2002 Sep 14 220 10 3 2002 Sep 15 215 10 3 2002 Sep 16 215 10 3 2002 Sep 17 210 10 3 2002 Sep 18 205 12 3 2002 Sep 19 195 12 3 2002 Sep 20 185 12 3 2002 Sep 21 180 10 3 2002 Sep 22 170 10 3 2002 Sep 23 165 8 3 2002 Sep 24 165 8 3 2002 Sep 25 170 10 3 2002 Sep 26 170 10 3 2002 Sep 27 170 10 3 2002 Sep 28 170 8 3 2002 Sep 29 170 10 3 2002 Sep 30 170 12 3 (from http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio Sept 3 via WORLD OF RADIO 1146, DXLD) ###