DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-027, February 17, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@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/dxldtd3b.html [note change] HTML version of all January issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3a.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html For restrixions and searchable 2002 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid2.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 Next airings of WORLD OF RADIO 1169: RFPI: Tue 1900 Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 15039 and/or 7445 WJIE: M-F 1300 7490... WWCR: Wed 1030 9475 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1169.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1169.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1169h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1169h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1169.html WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 NETS TO YOU! is back!! John Norfolk has a new computer and has decided to resume compilation of his extensively researched listings of amateur radio nets, and in an improved format, exclusively for WORLD OF RADIO. Available from 0330 UT February 18 at http://www.worldofradio.com/nets2you.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Glen[n], WORLD OF RADIO / CONTINENT OF MEDIA are true favorites here. Keep it up! (Squarewave, Y2WTKO) See USA ** ABKHAZIA. Referring Wolfgang Bueschel's item on Abkhaz State Radio, there is some misunderstanding. The main language spoken in Abkhazia is Abkhaz, and hence Abkhaz State Radio broadcasts primarily in Abkhaz with only limited Russian. As for "Adygei Radio" (i.e. GTRK "Adygeya" in Maykop, Respublika Adygeya, Russia), this programme does not come "from Krasnodar" but rather "via Krasnodar": the Radio Rossii transmitter network in the Krasnodar kray (which carries regional programs) traditionally relays some broadcasts of the regional service from Maykop in the Adygei Republic. The Adygei Republic was an autonomous part of the Krasnodar kray until the early 1990s, now it has a separate subject of the Russian Federation. Via the "pirate relays" of R. Rossii and Krasnodar kray regional programs these broadcasts then "end up" in Suxum on 1350 & SW (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. GOVERNMENT NOTES "CONCERN" OVER RADIO ECCLESIA | Text of communiqué issued by the Ministry of Social Communication and publishe by Angolan news agency Angop web site Luanda, 14 February: Taking into consideration the fact that the remarks made by the minister of social communication, [Hendrik Vaal Neto], in the course of the "First Hand" ["Primeira Mão"] programme of the National Radio of Angola, RNA have attracted all types of interpretation that are not in line with the spirit, or the aims of the government. In light of this, the Ministry of Social Communication hereby makes public the following views: 1-It has been with a great deal of concern that this ministry has stayed in touch with the posture adopted by Radio Ecclésia -Catholic Broadcasting Station of Angola. In its programmes, it makes it clear that there is an eventual campaign to turn citizens against the Angolan government, and the ruling party. 2-Ever since the end of the conflict, it has been noticed that the transmissions of Radio Ecclésia reflect a rather unusual but growing persistence in the broadcasting of reports and comments that rather tarnish the government's image. 3-This has happened on a number of occasions, the most recent one being the rather serious insult of comparing the president of the republic with Satan. This happened during the transmission of the morning of Saturday, 1 February 2002 [year as received]. 4-Including in programmes that have the participation of the public by means of a telephone line, there is this rather strange coincidence that by and large all the people who speak show a complete aversion to the government and the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, MPLA party. These people are given air time to blurt out all types of inappropriate and offensive comments about government officials, thereby placing in jeopardy the dignity of these officials, and consequently violating the laws in force in the country at the moment. 5-This tendency, which reflects a real deviation from the station's electoral profile, and from the general purposes that should guide the media as set down by the law, and even the more elementary principles of Christian doctrine, was in evidence yet again with the response to the interview given by the minister of social communication in the "First Hand" programme of RNA. In it, Radio Ecclésia did nothing more than to let the public think that there is a conflict between the government and the Catholic Church in Angola. This is false. 6-In the face of this situation, the Ministry of Social Communication hereby reiterates that there is no conflict at all between the government and the Catholic Church. The latter is an institution of spiritual character that the government respects. The ministry further clarifies that the Catholic Church must not be confused with Radio Ecclesia which, in its normal discharge of duties as a commercial radio broadcasting station must be subjected to the disciplinary norms that govern radio broadcasting, for the management of which the government is ultimately responsible. 7-The Ministry of Social Communication stands for freedom of communication and diversity of opinion, but always showing respect for the Law, and for State institutions. In light of this, the ministry hereby calls on Radio Ecclésia to keep its transmissions within the parameters of its editorial line. Source: Angop news agency web site, Luanda, in Portuguese 14 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Never mentioned in these stories, but RE has been on SW for some time, most recently via South Africa; anyone reconfirm schedule? Geez, why do these backward countries get so upset by criticism of officials? Grow up. Comedy Channel recently did a `That`s My Bush` marathon (gh, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. PLANNING DEBACLE FORCES RADIO TOWERS TO SEEK NEW HOME Date: February 17 2003 By Anne Davies, Urban Affairs Editor Sydney's AM radio stations will be forced to move their transmitting towers from Homebush Bay - at a potential cost of $40 million - because of health and safety risks to residents in a 1200-unit development now being built. The two federal communications watchdogs have warned the NSW Government, which allowed the luxury unit complex in 1998, that electromagnetic radiation from the high-powered transmitters will be unacceptably high in units on the third floor and above. "I am not joking when I say you'd get Alan Jones through your toaster," one broadcasting executive said. When construction began about 14 months ago the broadcasters, concerned about the proximity of the buildings, alerted the Australian Communications Authority. The authority's manager of radio communications standards, Ian McAlister, said: "We alerted the planning authorities that the high-powered electromagnetic field that AM transmitters emit had the potential to adversely affect electrical and electronic products and the potential for possible health exposure issues." At three storeys and above, he said, there was significant risk of interference that could cause electrical equipment to switch on and off. Scientists are still divided over whether electromagnetic radiation causes cancer. The eight-storey Waterside development on Bennelong Road, which is being sold off the plan, is within 200 metres of the tower shared by 2UE and 2SM. It is so close to the tower that one eight-storey building in the complex is within the "drop zone", the area usually kept clear in case a tower falls. Several other buildings have been approved, raising problems for all the broadcasters. There are five towers on the site, and the industry estimates it will cost between $5 million and $8 million to move each of them. The planning debacle could be an expensive embarrassment for the Carr Government. Any loss of audience for radio stations could expose it to damages. A PlanningNSW spokeswoman could not explain how the question of electromagnetic radiation had been overlooked. The broadcasters had put in an objection to the 1998 masterplan, and the issue had been considered during Olympics planning because of the possible impact on timing equipment. PlanningNSW is helping to find an alternative site for the towers, but the broadcasting authority, which licenses the commercial radio stations, warns this will be difficult. Homebush Bay is ideal because it is the geographic centre of Sydney and salt marshes improve the propagation of AM signals. Brian Boyd, the managing director of the site's developer, Payce, said it had stopped selling the affected units - which he said were on the fourth floor and above, not the third - until the matter was resolved. But Mr Boyd said sales of lower-rise units were continuing. Buyers who had bought affected units had not been notified because he expected the problem would be solved by the time they moved in. He suggested the radio stations might have their own agenda. "Maybe they are looking for some assistance with the move. People have been living in the shadows of TV towers for years." But Joan Warner, director of the industry body Commercial Radio Australia, said: "The broadcasters have been at Homebush for over 50 years and were not looking or wanting to move but have been forced to consider this eventuality by the Payce development." Story Picture: http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1045330472410_2003/02/16/nat_tower.jpg (Sydney Morning Herald, via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** CANADA. UNKNOWN - 5900 - D WELLE - 02/14/03 - 0317 English; 22242; Definitely DW; but not listed on their web page; no e-mail response yet to my querie; could be a radio-gremlin on my end? (Konnie Rychalsky, CT, 02/17/03, Cumbre DX via DXLD) That's the usual Sackville Canada relay spurious 49 mband mixture, often reported by Glenn Hauser DXLD / WoR previously. At this time scheduled are both -- 6020 Deutsche Welle, and -- 5960 NHK World Radio Japan, Tokyo. Formula distance 6020 minus 5960 = 60 kHz; 5960 minus 60 kHz = 5900 kHz. Another accompanied spurious signal should be occur on 6080 kHz also. DW 03:00:00-03:45:00 6020 250 kW 277 degr English USA 3R5 / P5 NHK 02:00:00-03:59:00 5960 250 kW 240 degr Japanese USA 3R6 / P6 73 de wb df5sx (Wolfgang Bueschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC BOSS BLASTS PRIVATE NETWORKS --- SCREENING OF PRO-SPORT AT CENTRE OF DISPUTE PANEL DISCUSSES FUTURE OF PUBLIC BROADCASTER GRAHAM FRASER, NATIONAL AFFAIRS WRITER MONTREAL --- CBC President Robert Rabinovitch yesterday snapped back at private broadcasters who have complained about competition from the public broadcaster. He told a panel on the future of public broadcasting yesterday that it served the interests of the country's private broadcasters that the CBC showed professional sports, and accused the networks of dumping U.S. programs on the Canadian market. Private television owners like Israel Asper of CanWest Global and Pierre-Karl Pladeau of Québcor, which owns the French-language network TVA, have long complained it is unfair the CBC broadcasts hockey, which could be very profitable for the private networks. Speaking at the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada conference here, Rabinovitch attacked this as hypocrisy, pointing out that Saturday night is the only night that Global and CTV show Canadian content. "If they bid for Hockey Night in Canada, they'd have to show Canadian programs during the week," he said. "The easiest thing is to let us do Hockey Night in Canada so they can get their Canadian content requirements out of the way." Private networks make their profits by purchasing U.S. programs which are "simulcast" on Canadian stations. Rabinovitch said this meets the classic economists' definition of dumping: selling a product for less than the cost of production. "Let's not kid ourselves, it meets all the tests of dumping. The cost of purchasing averages $100,000 per program, while the costs of production is millions of dollars," he said. "Private broadcasters, even with incentives and grants --- and the grants and incentives program is quite rich --- have failed to produce Canadian content, and they will continue to fail to produce Canadian content. It's not in their interest," he said. "Canadian content is the licence fee that allows them to import dumped American content." National Post columnist Andrew Coyne told the conference that viewers would define the future of public broadcasting and, as a result, "the future of public broadcasting will be very slim indeed, if not defunct." He argued the CBC had failed to attract an audience, and didn't deserve to be paid for by people who don't watch it or listen to it. "It can't be all things to all people --- but it can't be all things to no people," he said. Coyne conceded there was a role for public broadcasting when there was a limited number of places on the broadcast spectrum and the market could not serve the audience, but argued this is no longer the case. "Spectrum scarcity and market failure are gone now," he said. He argued the CBC could be broken up into specialty services like Newsworld (artsworld, sportsworld). Noreen Golfman, chair of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, pointed out that regions outside Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal had suffered the burden of the cuts to the CBC made by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. (Toronto Star via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** CANADA. IS ANYBODY LISTENING? Listeners and Corpsters alike are feeling buffeted about as the CBC shakes up the airwaves, MICHAEL POSNER reports. It's hard to argue with the efforts to reflect the nation's ethnic diversity. But are the attempts to attract a younger audience working, or just causing Radio One's loyal baby-boomer demographic to tune out? By MICHAEL POSNER One day last December, a number of people convened in the Glenn Gould Studio at CBC headquarters in Toronto. They were gathered to bid a fond farewell to Alex Frame who, after 36 years at the CBC, was retiring as vice-president of radio. But before he departed, Frame, the man who had largely determined what CBC audiences listened to for decades, left behind a not-so-little reminder of his considerable presence -- a blueprint for radical reform of Radio One. Mornings, evenings, afternoons, weekends -- all would eventually be targeted for change. Now, although CBC executives insist nothing is amiss, the whole exercise seems in jeopardy. Two weeks ago, Shelagh Rogers, host of the flagship morning show Sounds Like Canada, negotiated a medical leave, complaining alternately of stress and high blood pressure. The illness is real enough, but its origins have a lot to do with her dissatisfaction with the show. Ostensibly, she'll be back in the chair in a month or two; in fact, few Corpsters expect her to return at all, at least to Sounds Like Canada. One CBC staffer says the show's problems are beyond fixing: "It's a puppy you have to kill." And the implications are enormous. If they can't manage to get even the first phase right, what confidence will anyone have in their decisions affecting the rest of the schedule? "It's absolutely dumbed down," complains Toronto Life editor John Macfarlane, a strong supporter of public broadcasting. "It's shocking how dumb it has become. I realize I'm suspect because I'm over 50, but it's just embarrassing." Stitched together during a two-year marathon of staff meetings, subcommittees, position papers and interminable focus groups, Frame's grand strategy was based on the assumption that CBC Radio listeners were, broadly speaking, too old (over 50) and too white, and that too many of its programs (and its voices) no longer reflected the country's reality. To continue down the same road without dramatic change was, Frame firmly believed, to invite ratings disaster. And such a disaster, in turn, would lead inevitably to closure of the federal-government funding tap on which the radio service utterly depends. It was Adrian Mills, a former children's TV programmer, who was chosen by Frame to oversee the reform, beginning with the critical morning broadcast. For almost 30 years, under various names (This Country in the Morning, Morningside, This Morning) and various hosts (Peter Gzowksi, the tag- team match of Michael Enright and Avril Benoit, and then Shelagh Rogers), the 9-12 a.m. block had been a heady bouillabaisse of current-affairs discussion, interviews, minidocumentaries, light- hearted service items and even drama. Although relatively few listeners stayed tuned for the entire three hours, the show drew consistently respectable ratings. Indeed, levels of satisfaction were never higher. Today, that formidable three-hour feast of radio roast loin has been carved into smaller -- and, the CBC hopes, more digestible -- meals. Over vociferous, initial objections from regional programming directors, Mills sliced the last 30 minutes (8:30-9 a.m.) off local CBC Radio One shows across the country, to create a 90-minute window called The Current. Pursuing a news-driven agenda of interviews and minidocumentaries, it made its debut last October hosted by Anna Maria Tremonti. That left a two-hour, 10 a.m.-noon enclave for another new show, Sounds Like Canada, hosted by Shelagh Rogers. But rather than make Rogers undisputed duchess of this shrunken domain, Mills and Co. effected further emasculation, chopping SLC into an undistinguished -- and often indistinguishable -- mélange of shows within shows, including C'est la Vie, Conscientious Kitchen, Seven Outfront, Deadly Sins and Real Life Chronicles. More often than not, Rogers seemed (and sounded) like a frustrated master of ceremonies at a 12-ring circus, reduced to introducing other performers. Her own act was a vanishing one. One long-time listener calls it "a parody, the Worst of This Morning." Yet the travails of CBC Radio extend beyond a single show. In the past, explains one CBC journalist, the fear in the building was based on government cuts, an external threat. "Now it's internal, driven by a sense that they don't know what they're doing." Apart from the chaos surrounding the Rogers show, many long-time CBC listeners say the quest for younger, more culturally diverse audiences has seriously eroded the organization's fundamental standards of broadcasting. Suanne Kelman, who teaches radio journalism at Toronto's Ryerson University, said she recently played three noon-hour local newscasts to her class of undergraduates, and "my students looked at me in total confusion." The CBC newscast "did not make sense. It was hard to follow. Sound clips were aired out of place. The sound quality was uneven. The host was poor. It was badly written. They've lost the ability to write a simple newscast." Among the Toronto casualties is Andy Barrie, host of the truncated Metro Morning on Radio One. Once a model of intelligent, news-driven radio, his show has been transformed into a frenetic blizzard of headlines, weather and traffic bulletins, repeated every few minutes, and tuneless garage-band music. The latter, of course, is a critical part of the new ethic -- Metro Morning's attempt to be hip and capture the under-25 crowd. Apparently, CBC managers actually think bleary-eyed audiences -- of any age -- want to hear this at 7:30 in the morning. Barrie is on record as supporting the changes, but it's a colossal waste of his talent. Of course, there was always another motive behind the evisceration of the morning time slot -- the long shadow of the late Peter Gzowski. Fifteen years behind the Morningside microphone, Gzowksi was that rarest of commodities in the CBC universe -- a bona fide star. Though most listeners attach themselves to hosts and not to show titles -- even today, Sounds Like Canada is known informally by what loyal fans remain as The Shelagh Show -- perversely, CBC, in its bones, is antistar. Stars have big egos. Stars become expensive. The new war cry is all power to the producers. Adrian Mills downplays the impact of the changes. "We heard some criticisms at the very beginning," he conceded in a recent interview, "because radio listening is a habit and when people are subject to changes, some find it uncomfortable to begin with. But they invariably become more interested." In fact, he says he personally made a number of calls to listeners and "99 per cent were happy." But the weekly audience reports the CBC assembles from phone calls, letters and e-mails belie that level of confidence. A collection from late January shows a continuing undercurrent of complaint about the morning shows. "Constant cuts in programming for traffic/weather updates are annoying," wrote one listener about Metro Morning. "They interrupt interesting content and ruin skillful journalism." Several callers submitted get-well wishes to Shelagh Rogers; more complained that the show had been dumbed down and that she was being misused. "This is horribly disjointed," one listener wrote. "Please put it back to its old format. I don't recognize anyone." And although CBC management professes itself content with Tremonti at The Current, the same weekly audience report cited just eight positive calls, versus 55 negatives ones. Of course, it's hard to quarrel with the proposition that the public airwaves ought to be more inclusive of Asians, blacks and the myriad ethnic groups that now constitute the Canadian mosaic. And Mills does have his defenders, among them former BBC producer Noah Richler, whose own new Friday-night show, Richler on Radio, has made waves internally by challenging other CBC producers and journalists to account for how they do things. "Mills has given the mornings identity and cut into the great swathes of time CBC morning hosts used to have at their disposal," Richler says. "He's instituted the beginnings -- though the beginnings only -- of a healthy sense of competition among producers. The Current is an achievement. Finally, the CBC has a morning news show that sounds sufficiently brazen and confident to set the day's agenda." But even Richler fears the Corp.'s "mostly city-based mandarins do not appear to understand the appeal and very important role that CBC Radio has in the regions. Shelagh Rogers, and I say this as a listener, hardly appears to have been given the same resources as Anna Maria Tremonti, and it's pretty appalling that a proper vehicle has not been found for her personality and talents." Ira Basen, a former executive producer of This Morning now on leave to write a book, gives the organization points for trying. "They've undertaken a very ambitious project," he says, choosing his words carefully. "And they've done two things are quite revolutionary in CBC terms: With The Current, they're trying to produce smart content that isn't necessarily warm and fuzzy, as it was under Gzowski. And with Sounds Like Canada, they're asking listeners to connect to the content, not the host." But Basen declines to be drawn into any evaluation of whether the mission is working. Even the CBC's own broadcasters, however, say privately they fear that hard-won standards are being slaughtered on the now-sacred road to inclusivity. "Just listen and you'll hear the serious problems," Macfarlane agrees. "There's stuff on the CBC now that's just banal and appalling. I'd be the first person to support turning the airwaves over to new and younger people, but could they please be intelligent people and serious broadcasters?" And there's something troubling as well about the core premise of Frame's reforms -- that the CBC audience is too old. "After all," says one CBC host, "the biggest demographic bulge in the recent history of Western civilization -- the baby boomers -- is now entering exactly the age group that has demonstrated the most fidelity to the CBC. At exactly this moment, it's choosing to abandon them -- in favour of 18- year-olds. But 18-year-olds don't listen to the CBC." Other observers are wondering how long the money will last. Ottawa gave the CBC a one-time dispensation of $60-million last year, of which the radio service received $6-million. It's been a long time since people can remember when money seemed so readily at hand. But will it be there again next year? Part of the answer may be determined by the next major audience measurement survey, which begins this week -- the results are due later this spring. This will be the CBC's first chance to seriously gauge what impact the new morning schedule is having, if any. And there are other questions still be answered. How will programming change now that TV supremo Tony Burman has assumed command of news programming for both radio and television? Already, there have been more frequent interruptions of regular programming to broadcast live events, à la Newsworld. And what direction will Jane Chalmers, the new vice-president of radio -- Mills's boss and Frame's successor -- want to take? She declined a request for an interview. In the meantime, the looming war in Iraq is apt to bring further surgery to the morning schedule -- the de facto scrapping of Sounds Like Canada, by blending it into an extended three-hour edition of The Current, captained by Tremonti. In other words, welcome back Morningside (Globe & Mail Feb 15 via Ricky Leong, Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. Hi, Glenn. I wanted to let you know that the 2-meter net that I have been running in Montreal for almost 10 years, the Montreal DX Listeners' Net, Sunday evenings on the repeater of the West Island Amateur Radio Club repeater, 146.910 MHz, ended last Sunday evening. I began the net back in 1993 when I first became a licensed ham operator, callsign VE2SHW. I modelled the net after the defunct Anarc SWL Net. Over its almost 10 years, the net attracted over 500 amateur radio check-ins, plus countless shortwave and scanner listeners who accessed the net through telephone and e-mail gateways. As you know, I am involved in many different volunteer activities in radio here in Montreal, and elsewhere, and the time being spent, and the constant pressures of weekly and monthly deadlines, finally caught up to me. But, hey, you know more than anyone does about deadlines! Anyway, we wrapped up the last official edition of the net last Sunday, February 9, with close to 40 check-ins. I am pleased to say that last evening, the frequency was not quiet. It seems that a few members of the old net are going to try to organize a net based somewhat on the Montreal DX Listeners' Net; the same, but different, you might say. Last night was basically a round-table discussion looking at what the future holds and gathering up ideas from people as to what they might be looking for in a new weekly net dedicated to the subject of radio. I will advise you of further developments in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, I would like to thank everyone who helped to make the Sunday night Montreal DX Listeners' Net a success, with particular thanks to the West Island Amateur Radio Club for allowing our group to make use of their repeater each week for the last 10 years to host the net. If nothing else came from this exercise, the fact that the 2-meter band had activity each and every Sunday night, with genuine information being circulated, all with the goal of increasing the awareness of the medium of radio and all its different aspects (Sheldon Harvey, QC, Feb 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHECHNYA. INFORMATION WAR RAGES IN CHECHNYA By Valentinas Mite On 2 February, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov appeared on pirate Chechen television to say militants are prepared to launch a new drive against Russian troops ahead of a scheduled 23 March constitutional referendum. The broadcast underscored questions about how opposition information is disseminated to the Chechen public as the war grinds on in its fourth year. An information war is raging alongside the military campaign in Chechnya. The pro-Russian Chechen administration controls all the official media in the republic. This includes the Chechen-language newspaper "Daimohk" and the Russian-language paper "Vesti Groznogo," both of which are circulated throughout Chechnya. The administration also controls the republic's local papers, as well as all legal radio and television broadcasts. As a result, there is no easy way for Chechen separatists to get their message to the public. But they still manage. Maskhadov recently used a pirate television broadcast to denounce next month's scheduled constitutional referendum and to warn that rebels are ready to launch a new drive against Russian troops in the republic. The broadcast was seen in districts on Chechnya's western border with Ingushetia, the Russian region that has housed hundreds of thousands of displaced Chechens. A subsequent broadcast featured footage of Chechen fighters training for battle. Musa Khasanov, a journalist with RFE/RL's Russian Service who lives and works in the Chechen capital Grozny, says that in addition to Chechen- and Russian-language newspapers, the pro-Russian administration has control of the republic's radio and television programs, which he characterizes as short on hard news and long on Kremlin ideology. RFE/RL attempted on numerous occasions to reach Beslan Chaladov, the head of Chechen State Radio and Television, but with no success. Khasanov said that the public in Grozny is relatively well informed about the attitudes and actions of the separatist government, largely due to the underground newspaper "Ichkeria." "For instance, recently it has become almost routine that in the morning, as you leave your home, you find a bunch of 'Ichkeria' newspapers placed at the front door. The latest issue was about [the former prime minister of Chechnya's pro-Russian government] Mikhail Babich, and devoted not to the nicest aspects of his biography, but to some of his [alleged] criminal activities." The source of the newspaper is unclear. Khasanov says people believe "Ichkeria" is printed outside Chechnya and smuggled across the border for photocopying and distribution. He says even bribes as small as $2 are usually enough to get the newspapers past the Russian checkpoints along the republic's border. Television is a more complicated matter. During the first Chechen war (1994-96), Khasanov says, separatists could seize broadcast frequencies for short periods, and announcements by former Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudaev were inserted into soap operas and other programming. The current situation is more complicated. Now, Khasanov says, Chechen militants are believed to have set up a mobile broadcasting unit in the mountains, and surfing television frequencies has become standard practice for many Chechens hoping to catch one of TV-Ichkeria's irregular 30-minute broadcasts. Khasanov described Maskhadov's 2 February address: "The last program was clearly seen and heard in Chechnya's Achkhoi-Martan and Shunzhevskii raions. It was a one-hour program in which Aslan Maskhadov spoke about the readiness of Chechen resistance forces and the situation within the armed resistance. [He] said that now, on his orders, large detachments of Chechen fighters have split into small groups and are waiting for the end of the winter and that with spring big operations against the Russian forces in Chechnya are planned." Khasanov says that rebels have their own Radio Ichkeria as well. The programs are thought to be produced by the rebels and then transmitted through a system created by so-called "radio hooligans," who use homemade broadcasting equipment to transmit the newscasts as far as 200 kilometers away. He said the start-up network of amateur broadcasters also keep one another informed when Russian interceptors are in the area. In short, Khasanov says, the separatists' system works -- but imperfectly: "You can listen to the radio and watch television in Grozny, but there are some regions where the signal is of bad quality -- in places where Russian troops are deployed, near the buildings of the [pro-Russian] administration. The signal is bad there." Ruslan Badalov is the chairman of the Committee of National Salvation, a nongovernmental organization working to support Chechen displaced persons in neighboring Ingushetia. He says displaced persons from Chechnya bring copies of "Ichkeria" as well as videos and audiotapes produced by the separatists. "['Ichkeria'] writes about the crimes of Russian forces in Chechnya," Badalov said. "Some analytical articles are published on relations between Russia and Chechnya. Some translated texts from the foreign press are presented. It depends on the events. Let's say a session of [the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe], its resolution [on Chechnya], or an appeal by President Maskhadov were covered." Badalov says the Russian authorities are very angry about the circulation of so-called "bandit" newspapers among the displaced persons. In the camps, most Chechens get their information about the war by word-of-mouth. "People often try to predict their future based on rumors," Badalov says. All the same, both he and Khasanov say the pro-Russian administration is losing -- and the separatists are winning -- the information war in Chechnya (RFE/RL Media Matters Feb 17 via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Hola Glenn, el pasado 15/02 fue captada de nuevo Radio Melodía, exactamente a las 2035 UT. La frecuencia: 6139.82 kHz. Transmitía boleros, merengue, cumbia y son cubano, en el marco del espacio "El concierto musical de Melodía 730". Fuera del aire a las 2054 y de regreso a las 2105. SINPO 44333. Algunas identificaciones oídas: "Ésta es la potente Melodía, líder en sintonía"; "En la tarde Melodía, una gran compañía". Avance de "Últimas noticias Melodía" a las 2127. Por lo visto, aún son inconstantes las emisiones de Melodía (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. I plan on starting up my short program, Interactive Radio this week (James Latham, RFPI, Feb 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Presumably at 0345 UT weeknights (gh) ** CUBA. Radio Rebelde de nuevo en 9600, el pasado 15/02 a las 1742, con el programa musical consagrado al danzón, "Felicidades". Señal bastante débil. 73's y buen DX... (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. Norm Pattiz, BBG, interviewed on KCRW`s Politics of Culture Jan 28, which I have just got around to listening to ondemand, claimed that R. Sawa has high-power AM transmitters in various places including Djibouti. He did not say `will have`, so does he think it is on the air already, or is trying to fool listeners into thinking it is? Just rechecked current IBB schedule, and no sign of Djibouti yet. He hardly concealed his contempt for traditional forms of broadcasting: formatting, yes! Programming, no! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 4960+, R. Villa/Cima Cien, 0315-0413+. Fair copy. QRM from VOA fading in and out on 4960, but R. Villa could be heard clearly moving slightly up to 4962. Pop music, "popular" program style (co-broadcast of FM feed?). "Radio Villa" heard at 0413 Feb 16 (Heller, Jeffrey S., Katy TX, Drake R8-B, Sloper style elec. loaded 67' wire., Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. CLANDESTINE: 7560, Voice of Ethiopia (presumed), via TDP, 2040-2055 February 16. Commentary read by female. Very short music. Other commentary. At 2048, very nice song. After, announcement by male and commentary. It`s very difficult understand the words. 24432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentine, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Supposed to be in English New station, 7560, V. of Ethiopia. No programming at 2000 but instead only 4 tones could be heard on a signal of S9+10db. At new tune in at 2055 there was programming in English. Man talking about education policy telling about a short music gap. Program signed off abruptly at 2100. Signal level is S3-5 with 12 m dipole (giving better S/N than the 16m antennas) (Zacharias Liangas, 16 Feb, Thessaloniki Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA-BISSAU. Re RTP resuming operation in Guiné, the piece of news mixes two things: RTP & RDP. While the former was banned for a certain period but resumed operation, it's the latter as a radio station that uses 88.4 MHz 25 kW at Nhacra. RDP & RTP are both state owned companies but are fully independent from each other (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Feb 7, BC-DX Feb 13 via DXLD) GUINÉ-BISSAU --- Notícia veiculada pela RDP África em http://www.rdp.pt/africa/index.htm --- Guiné-Bissau (13-02-03, 16h): GOVERNO ENCERRA RÁDIO BOMBOLOM O secretário de Estado da Informação da Guiné-Bissau ordenou a suspensão da licença de emissão da Rádio Bombolom FM, alegando a "prática reiterada de actos delituosos, potencialmente geradores de danos irreparáveis e atentado, até, contra a independência da nação, a unidade nacional e paz social".(...) - Permitam-me agora acrescentar o seguinte: A Rádio Bombolom é uma emissora privada operando na cidade de Bissau, a capital do país. Além da sua própria programação, a Rádio Bombolom retransmitia as emissões em português, destinadas a África, da BBC, Voz da América, etc. Bombolom é o nome dado na Guiné-Bissau ao tambor tradicionalmente usado em África para transmitir mensagens à distância (Fernando de Sousa Ribeiro, Porto, Portugal, Radioescutas 13 de Fevereiro de 2003, via @tividade DX Feb 16 via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 5010, R. Misiones Int`l, 1200-1212 UT. Fair signal. s/on with classical music, then talk. Mention of "Tegucigalpa" and "Centro América", but better ID not clearly heard. Feb 15 (Heller, Jeffrey S., Katy TX, Drake R8-B, Sloper style elec. loaded 67' wire., Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** INDIA. INTELLIGENCE AGENCY TAKES OVER MEDIA MONITORING FROM ALL INDIA RADIO | Text of report by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency Islamabad, 17 February: The Indian Information and Broadcasting (I and B) Ministry will place the Central Monitoring Services (CMS) of All India Radio (AIR) under a newly constituted cell working directly under RAW [Research and Analysis Wing - Indian intelligence] with effect from 1 April. According to sources the decision has been taken to make the Indian media set-up more responsive to the requirements of Indian intelligence agencies. The propaganda cell, responsible to coordinate psychological warfare operations by all organs of Indian print and electronic media, will be located within the Ministry of I and B. To support the new set-up the mandate of CMS is being rewritten to accommodate the requirements of the new masters. The real task of the CMS will be overshadowed by the new arrangement which will give priority to intelligence gathering and analysis. The restructuring follows a series of meetings during which home ministry, intelligence and RAW officials were asked to spell out their requirements. A suggestion to include intelligence agents in the monitoring process of the CMS was approved. A legacy of the colonial times, the CMS was set up by the British in Simla to monitor German propaganda during the World War II. Since independence Indian government has constantly reviewed and expanded its mandate which now includes monitoring of the entire range of electronic media and formulating and executing a response. Source: Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, Islamabad, in English 1437 gmt 17 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAN. TEHRAN TAKES STEPS TO COUNTER 'U.S. PROPAGANDA.' The Iranian legislature on 5 February approved a 12.5 billion rial (about $1.6 million) budget to counter alleged U.S. plots, Iranian state television reported the same day. The money will support Iranian lawsuits against the U.S. in international courts and "enlighten public opinion" inside and outside the country about America's "cultural onslaught." This has become a regular part of the budgetary process in Iran. The legislature also allocated 20 billion rials for the Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 4 February met with officials from the official Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and told them that the IRIB must counter the propaganda of Western countries that were harmed by Iran's Islamic revolution, IRNA, "Iran Daily," and the "Tehran Times" reported the next day. Khamenei said the Islamic revolution ended the dependence of Iranian governments on foreign powers and provided the people with political freedom and that this is another reason why Iran is a target. The IRIB should "expose the enemy's plots and revive hope about the future," he said. Khamenei added that historically all youth have the same qualities -- dynamism, energy, and idealism -- and the third postrevolutionary generation in Iran is no different. He also called on the IRIB to improve the quality of its radio and television programs. ("RFE/RL Iran Report," 10 February via RFE/RL Media Matters Feb 17 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. IFJ PROTESTS EXPULSION OF 69 FOREIGN JOURNALISTS The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on 12 February "strongly condemned" a decision by Iraqi authorities to expel 69 foreign journalists. A reporter for the Norwegian public broadcasting company NRK, Knut Magnus Berge, reported that on 10 February he saw a list posted at the Foreign Ministry declaring that he and 68 colleagues were no longer welcome in the country. The journalists were given 40 hours to leave Iraq and were given no explanation for the expulsions. According to the IFJ, the Iraqi authorities limit the number of foreign journalists present in the country, since they are not allowed to work and travel on their own. Before new reporters are allowed into the country, other journalists are sent home, regardless of their visa arrangements. The IFJ called on Iraq to allow journalists to travel and work in Iraq without supervision and to revoke the decision to expel the foreign journalists (International Federation of Journalists, 12 February, via RFE/RL Media Matters Feb 17 via DXLD) And we expelled one ** IRAQ [non]. This item referenced in previous issue http://www.afsoc.af.mil/panews/psychologicaloperations_escalate.htm goes into considerable detail into US-sponsored clandestine broadcasting, going rather candidly into which stations are involved, from where. Since it is on an official military site, we can only assume it is unclassified, and accurate ---- unless disinformation applies... Tsk, tsk, the VOA is involved with the CIA! Pertinent excerpts: Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily, February 7, 2003 US PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS ESCALATE AGAINST IRAQ Analysis. By Michael Knights, GIS (Global Information System). Alongside the escalation of no-fly zone enforcement and the build-up of US forces in the Gulf, the US Government has slowly escalated its program of psychological operations (PSYOP) in the region. The objectives sought by US PSYOP are more ambitious than ever before, including "transformation of the psychological environment" of the Iraqi security state, according to one Pentagon source, as well as a broader campaign to reduce antipathy to Washington`s Iraq policy in the Arab world and international community... Although new money could help to rejuvenate the State Department`s US Information Agency (USIA) — historically a key PSYOP conduit for the US — the majority of PSYOP radio broadcasts entering Iraq are run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and its counterparts in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Of the 27 major stations broadcasting into Iraq, USIA only produces Radio Free Iraq (using part of the $97-million allotted to "government change" by the Iraq Liberation Act) and Radio Sawa, a Jordanian-based Arabic service of the Voice of America which recently received new State Department funding amounting to $35- million. As part of its institutional effort to restrict the rôle of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), the State Department in May 2002 blocked funding which would have allowed the relaunch of the INC`s Radio Hurriah (Freedom). The CIA continues to operate a number of stations aligned with its favored opposition grouping, the Iraqi National Accord (INA). These operate primarily from the 50kw Voice of America transmitter in Kuwait. The main CIA-run stations, al-Mustaqbal and Voice of the Brave Armed Forces, primarily broadcast to the Iraqi military, inciting officers to launch coup attempts. The latter station is part-run by Jordanian intelligence. Saudi intelligence, meanwhile, has run the Jeddah-based Voice of the Iraqi People since 1991. Though USIA-run Voice of America Arabic language stations have increased their output dramatically, they are not believed to attract wide audiences amongst key constituencies such as youth or the armed forces. Although these opposition and Western-run radio stations continue to broadcast from Kuwait, Iraqi Kurdistan, Saudi, and Jordan, the US DoD has now added its airborne transmitters to the spectrum. Lockheed Martin EC-130E Commando Solo aircraft of the 193rd Special Operations Wing began radio transmissions into southern Iraq on December 12, 2002, broadcasting to the "soldiers of Iraq" with news of the US build-up and encouragement to overthrow the Government, and to the "people of Iraq", with information about the effects of Ba`athist policies on their standard of living as well as focus on the unanimous invocation of UN resolution 1441. Leaflet drops in early January 2003 pointed Iraqis to the frequencies used by the Commando Solo aircraft. In the past, Commando Solo aircraft have broadcast Iraqi opposition radio stations, increasing their propagation range through the aircraft`s altitude. Though Commando Solo has broadcast INA stations such as al-Mustaqbal in the past, it was likely that since the DoD picked up the funding of the INC, its aircraft would also provide a new conduit for INC material. This would lighten the programming load on the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg. Opposition figures were also likely to assist with the heavy task of generating television programming, which Commando Solo can also broadcast. US military PSYOP are likely to set up television stations after a new military operation, using the same Special Operation Media Systems modules that were deployed to condition the Bosnian population to a prolonged US military presence. The PSYOP effort recently added e-mail dissemination to its quiver of arrows. The messages, sent to senior Iraqi decision-makers, offered clemency after any future fall of the Iraqi Government in return for assistance in finding WMD and resistance concerning any order to use them during a conflict. Recipients were asked to use light signals at night to signal the position of WMD, cueing UN weapons inspectors onto the position. Iraqi commanders were warned that use of WMD would make them "war criminals". Though traditional PSYOP methods (such as 12 rounds of PSYOP leaflet drops in the no-fly zones) were also executed, the multi-media, multi- agency effort underway was allowing the US to undertake a highly complex and ambitious PSYOP campaign. At the strategic level, the US was attempting to reduce international antipathy to its unpopular Iraq policy. At the operational level, the US can use its radio and television conduits to get a range of complex messages across to its targets. The Iraqi people are first being conditioned to accept the US military and disregard Ba`athist orders to mount general resistance to an invasion; later, during military operations, they would be ordered to remain at home and avoid Iraqi and US forces for their own safety. Different parts of the Iraqi military, meanwhile, were being targeted according to their rôle. Air defense operators and general military units were being advised to abandon their equipment, and desist from repairing damaged installations. Weapons of mass destruction operators were being offered the opportunity to redeem themselves in a post- Ba`athist reckoning by ignoring orders to fire and identifying weapons locations. Senior officers were being encouraged to prepare to seize control of the State. Perhaps due to this multi-faceted effort, President Saddam Hussein stated in December 2002 that hostile propaganda was "a bigger threat than bombs". [Italics:] A Note on Radio Hurriah: Radio Hurriah, which broadcast between 1992-97, was established by the Rendon Group, a consultancy run by former CIA official John Rendon, as part of a new "strategic communications" effort against the Ba`athist Government of Iraq. The INC-aligned station operated as part of the Iraq Broadcasting Company (IBC), using facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan as well as piggybacking on Voice of America facilities in Kuwait, courtesy of the CIA. Shortly after celebrating its greatest success – purportedly causing the Iraqi flag bearer to defect at the 1996 Olympic games – the IBC organization suffered a reversal of fortunes. During the September 1996 Iraqi Government incursion into Kurdistan, almost all of the 100-strong Kurdish-based staff were captured and executed. In January 1997, the CIA refused to continue transmission of Radio Hurriah from Kuwait (via gh, DXLD) ** ITALY. USA (at sure) 5780 , unlisted in WRTH or PWR 2003 religious station. 2125 Feb 16 Man with religious talks, mentions of Jesus etc. Unclear ID before the S/off at 2130 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surely IRRS, as discussed recently in DXLD (gh) ** PAKISTAN. RADIO PAKISTAN PLUGS OVERNIGHT GAP The majority of listeners say that they no longer turn to foreign stations late at night because Radio Pakistan now broadcasts through the night, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported on 16 February. The Director-General of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), Tarique Imam, was reported to have said that purpose of the overnight transmissions was to plug the gap between 11 pm and 5 am, so people are kept fully abreast with national and international developments and entertained. Imam added that the PBC remained the common man's preferred source of information, education and entertainment, as well as coverage of the government's developmental activities, APP reported Source: Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, Islamabad, in English 1007 gmt 16 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) You know what I am going to ask: Does this apply to shortwave? (gh, DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. THE HISTORY OF SPRINGBOK RADIO http://pumamouse.com/springbokradio.html This is an interesting site dedicated to the first commercial radio station in South Africa which went on the air in May 1950. You`ll find historical information and links to many of the people who made the station famous (via Sheldon Harvey, Greenfield Park, Quebec, Feb Radio HF Internet Newsletter via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. I'm curious if anybody else here enjoys listening to Radio Taipei International's program "Groove Zone". For those who don`t listen, it's a rather chatty program in which the presenters (Andrew Ryan and Ellen Chiu) discuss one or another topic of life in Taiwan, along with letters and emails from listeners about their perspectives on the subject. This is interspersed with some in-studio guests, and music currently popular in Taiwan. At least, this is supposed to be the format. We're just as likely to hear about some aspect of Andrew or Ellen's personal life, like Andrew's poor haggling skills or Ellen's recent marriage. And it all sounds much fresher than, say, BBC's "Outlook" or RCI's "The Current". "Groove Zone" can be heard in the US at 0215 UT Saturday on 5950 and 9680, as well as 2215 Saturday on 9355, although the 2215 broadcast is beamed from the WYFR transmitter in Okeechobee, FL, to Europe (Ted Schuerzinger, Feb 16, swprograms via DXLD) Who can stand Androo Ryan (as he signs the web page). A whiny-voiced Syracuse U. Drama grad who just complains about his stomach and excuses the corrupt politics of Taiwan. I do miss Sherren Wang, the spritely Texan amazon whose Kung-Fu moves were a wonder on the radio. Natalie Tso can be interesting and is a phenomena in the Chinese culture of young Taiwan. Actually I find the French (15130 at 20 UT, and 9355 at 7 UT) service a better set of voices and programming, not to mention the German service also from WYFR relays (Daniel Say, BC, ibid.) ** UKRAINE. Hi Glenn, Oops, sorry. News about the Ukrainian DX program remained without indication of the contributor -- it's my fault. News came from Alexander Yegorov, Kyiv, Ukraine [who also does RUI`s DX program in English]. Will be corrected in the next edition. Thank you for the attention! I'm not Ukrainian, but I understand 95% of it. Languages are quite similar, they have strong common roots. Many official Ukrainian words were used in Russian ages ago, or even are still used unofficially, in regional dialects of Russian (Dmitry Mezin, Russia, Feb 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. ADIE QUITS BBC -- By Anita Singh, Media Correspondent, PA News Veteran war correspondent Kate Adie is quitting her job with the BBC after 35 years, it was announced today. The decision comes as news organisations are gearing up to send reporters to the Gulf for the anticipated war in Iraq. She is quitting her role as chief news correspondent, a title she has held since 1989. Adie, 57, is one of the BBC's best-known reporters but in recent years she has made fewer appearances on TV screens. She has attacked the glamorisation of TV news and accused bosses of hiring journalists with "cute faces and cute bottoms and nothing else in between". She also said female journalists were judged on their looks far more than men - describing herself as a "terribly old- fashioned old trout". A BBC spokeswoman denied that Adie had been sidelined because of her outspoken views and said the decision for her to quit was "mutual". "Kate Adie is moving on from frontline reporting as the BBC's chief news correspondent to be a freelance presenter," she said. She will continue to do some work for BBC World and the Radio 4 programme From Our Own Correspondent. Two months ago, Adie had not ruled out a trip to Iraq to cover the anticipated conflict. Asked if the BBC planned to send her to the Gulf, she told an interviewer: "I haven't got a ticket yet, but you know as well as I do that it's not up to me." During her BBC career, Adie has reported from troublespots including Kosovo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and the Middle East. She won awards for her coverage of the Tiananmen Square uprising and the American bombing of Tripoli. Adie, born in Sunderland, joined the BBC in 1968 as a studio technician on a local radio show in Durham. he joined BBC TV News in 1979 and made her name a year later when she covered the Iranian embassy siege in London. The BBC's director of news Richard Sambrook paid tribute to Adie and said he was happy she would continue to work for the corporation. "Kate Adie is one of the greatest correspondents of our time," he said. "During the course of the last year she and I have been in discussions as to how she might work on a wider range of BBC programmes and agreed that moving to freelance status would allow her this flexibility. "I am delighted that she will continue to appear regularly on the BBC." (PA news via Mike Cooper, Feb 17, DXLD) Here`s her BBC bio, with a small portrait. Unlooks troutish to me: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/news/kateadie.shtml (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. BFBS has been found per last tips (Glenn Hauser) in all these news for the 1500-1900 time slot 5945 is with S9+20 db right now at 1723 with 12040 at S9+30db. 15530 has been till 1700, with RDP? followed then after 1700. Signal about S9+20. Please notice that the program is a radio relay of sub-channels RAF and channel 2 of BFBS satellite channel transmitting via Eutelsat W3 at 7E, 11324 MHz and PCR 462 same audio PCR. 15530 is about 0.1 sec delay while 5945 with a little less than 1 sec [Later:] BFBS context corrections: 1500-1700 5945 S9+10 db max in parallel ( not synchro) to 15530. Possibly RDP after 1700, 1700-1900. 5945 S9+20 dB max in parallel (not synchro) to 12040 S9+30 Vacant afterwards * antenna 16m horizontal I checked my satellite system and found that the virtual channels called `Radio 2` as well as `RAF` transmitted by the BFBS MPEG2 `packet` are in parallel with the above frequencies. 12040 has a 0.1 sec delay over the sat feed while 5945 about 1 sec. The funniest I heard: ``the next transmission of BFBS starts in ... secs`` covered by background music (Zacharias Liangas, Retziki, Thessaloniki GREECE, Feb 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) They seem to have started doing this on all their frequencies. 12040 ran it for 50 seconds up to 1700, 15530 for just 30 seconds. They are running quite a lot of dedications to people serving in the Gulf on their afternoon show, but seem unwilling or unable to announce their shortwave frequencies. I presume these are communicated to individuals via official channels (Andy Sennitt, hard-core-dx via DXLD) BFBS. On 15530 at 1500 UT Monday Feb.17 preceded by "The next transmission of BFBS will start in 10 seconds." Then announced "Radio 2, it's 3 o'clock UK time". Into news and pop music and BFBS Radio 2 mentioned a number of times. At 1559 "The next transmission of BFBS will start in 50..40..30..20..10 seconds". Excellent signal, S9 or 10 at times but with a strong echo for most of the first hour. Off at 1700 preceded by the usual....10 seconds... announcement under the RFI interval signal (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I was listening and heard the same opening at 1500 (gh, OK, DXLD) Checked the BFBS test outlet of 15530 kHz twice on this afternoon. Signal characteristic seemingly same like BBC Rampisham 15180 and 15565 kHz at same time. A little bit fluttery, only S=8 strength. All transmissions from Iberia, Greece, Libya, Mediterranean and NE/ME area were much stronger, steady like S=9 +30-60 dB. 73 de (Wolfgang df5sx Bueschel, Feb 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BFBS heard Feb 17: 15530 from 1500, BFBS Radio2, relaying BBC domestic service, time signal, news, ID, 1504 E-mail address, pop music, SIO 555, likely UK site. Also 12040, BFBS-2 carrying BBCR4 at 1754 E-mail address, science news, weather for bases such as Gibraltar, Falklands, SIO 454, also UK site? (Joe Hanlon, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: by ``UK`` are you identifying site on these? Could well be (gh) Nope, just the (presumed) studio (Dan Ferguson, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So far I have heard BFBS Radio 1 on the following five frequencies:- 5945 1600 15/02 BFBS Radio 1, CIS Transmitter Site? TC, NX BX & 'BFBS' Jingle. EE 6025 0200 17/02 BFBS Radio 1, Unid TX. S/on with News, Jingle ID & Pop Music. EE 343 17/02 GP 6135 0300 17/02 BFBS Radio 1, Unid TX. S/on with News, Jingle ID & Pop Music. EE 343 17/02 GP 12040 1710 16/02 BFBS Radio 1, Unid TX. Live Fa Cup football Stoke v Chelsea. EE 343 16/02 GP (Relay of BBC Radio Five Live) // 5945 kHz. 15530 1630 16/02 BFBS Radio 1, Unid TX. Live Fa Cup football Stoke v Chelsea. EE 444 16/02 GP (Relay of BBC Radio Five Live) // 5945 kHz. S/off at 1700 UTC (Graham Powell, Editor - Online DX Logbook http://www.shortwave.org.uk Feb 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, sometimes it`s BFBS Radio 2 (gh) ** U K [non]. PIRATE: Laser radio 5935: 1500-2100, This transmission could not be heard here. Very strong signal from VOR S9+20 9335: 2000- 0000. Signal actually measured on 9334.97 At 2019 (Program of England`s England) talks by man and woman. 2020 a rock song. Chris referred his name and giving a thank you to any listener, 2026 with ‘born to be wild’. A little later with an interesting discussion about the enthusiasm a pirate has and a projection /future for free radio in UK (at least I can say). Carrier + USB Signal level 2-3 with 16m hor, 4-5 with 16m vertical or 24443. 16 Feb (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not pirate: 5935 is via Latvia, 9335 is WBCQ, as discussed recently in DXLD (gh, DXLD) I checked 5935 kHz again after 1600 UT Sun Feb 16 and heard the beginning of the interview with Phil Troll before going out around 1630. Reception was quite good using my Sony SW55 with its own whip and on batteries. Reception had been quite good during the previous hour when the German programme was on, and I am somewhat surprised that CRH got no reception in Southampton using the exact same model as I had been (PAUL DAVID, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FIVE DAYS OVER SEATTLE AN AUDIO DOCUMENT OF FREE RADIO STATION Y2WTKO "Under incredibly rough conditions up high in a tree, Y2WTKO/Free Radio Cascadia kept a signal of resistance up throughout the Battle of Seattle '99. These tracks were recorded off the air or from the raw program material itself. The broadcast is alternately hilarious and anguished; thoughtful and frustrated; low-tech and high art. Microradio is a truly powerful tool for tactical communication - nobody's used it better than Y2WTKO." -DIYmedia.net In late November of 1999, as tens of thousands converged on the city of Seattle for what would turn out to be a watershed week of civic confrontation of corporate power, a small group of activists were busy hoisting batteries, electronic gear, and everything they would need for up to a month of survival 70 feet up a tree high in the Olympic national forest. Their purpose? To serve the community arrayed below with an independent broadcast channel the authorities would find difficult to shut down. They occupied otherwise empty FM radio channels for five days with a mix of eclectic music, news (both independent and appropriated), live commentary, rants, poetry and technical glitches, beaming signals heard miles around Seattle, and got away clean. This CD is an audio document of free radio station Y2WTKO. Most of this material is presented "as heard" recorded off air in Seattle. If not, it is directly off the media that were in the tree. Do not expect slick produced audio quality. This document includes the flaws, glitches, overmodulation products and signal fading to be expected in a low power, low tech field operation. While jump cuts abound to fit 5 days into 80 minutes, no mixing was done in the edit; all multiple source tracks are presented just as they occurred... [more, and ordering info:] http://www.tree-sit.org/~y2wtko/ (via Squarewave and Miskreant, DXLD) ** U S A. LIBERAL RADIO IS PLANNED BY RICH GROUP OF DEMOCRATS February 17, 2003 By JIM RUTENBERG A group of wealthy Democratic donors is planning to start a liberal radio network to counterbalance the conservative tenor of radio programs like "The Rush Limbaugh Show." The group, led by Sheldon and Anita Drobny, venture capitalists from Chicago who have been major campaign donors for Bill Clinton and Al Gore, is in talks with Al Franken, the comedian and author of "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot." It hopes to enlist other well-known entertainers with a liberal point of view for a 14-hour, daily slate of commercial programs that would heavily rely on comedy and political satire. The plan faces several business and content challenges, from finding a network of radio stations to buy the program to overcoming the poor track record of liberal radio shows. But it is the most ambitious undertaking yet to come from liberal Democrats who believe they are overshadowed in the political propaganda wars by conservative radio and television personalities. The concern has been around for years: Hillary Rodham Clinton first mentioned a "vast, right-wing conspiracy" in 1998. But the sentiment has taken on new urgency with the rise to the top of the cable news ratings of the Fox News Channel, considered by many to have a conservative slant, and the Republicans' gaining control of the Senate in November. Such events have spurred many wealthy Democrats to explore investments in possible, liberal-skewing media ventures. New campaign finance rules that restrict giving opportunities also gave them further incentive. The new liberal radio network is initially being financed by the Paradigm Group, of which the Drobnys are the principal partners. Ms. Drobny is the chairwoman of the venture, which is being called AnShell Media L.L.C. Jon Sinton, a longtime, Atlanta-based radio executive, will be its chief executive. He helped start the nationally syndicated radio program of Jim Hightower, the former Texas agriculture commissioner. Liberals had hoped that would be their answer to Mr. Limbaugh, but it was canceled shortly after its start in the mid- 1990's. The failure of Mr. Hightower's show supported the notion of many in radio that liberal hosts do not have what it takes to become successful and entertaining hosts: the fire-and-brimstone manner and a ready-made audience alienated by the mainstream news media it perceives to be full of liberal bias. Mr. Sinton said the new venture would seek to disprove not only those who doubt liberal hosts can make it in radio, but also those who believe that success in radio depends on an alliance with one of the handful of major distributors or station groups. The group said it was prepared to go it alone, selling its programming to the individual radio stations rather than go through a middleman. It has an initial investment of $10 million, which radio analysts said was enough to start up. Ms. Drobny said the cash would be placed in a fund that she hopes to grow to at least $200 million within the next year, which she hopes to use to finance other media ventures like the acquisition of radio stations and television production. "The object of the programming is to be progressive and make a statement that counters this din from the right," Mr. Sinton said. "But we have a solid business plan that shows a hole in the market." Many conservatives who assert the news media in general is infused with liberal bias say the premise of a liberal radio network is silly to begin with. But liberal Democrats say even if a liberal bias does exist, the mainstream news media strives for balance and fair play. They say their concern is that there are far fewer successful, outright partisan voices on the left than there are on the right. "I feel like there's a monologue out there," Ms. Drobny said. "I just had this tremendous feeling with great passion that we had to make sure we're heard and make sure having a dialogue in this country of ours." The list of successful conservative radio hosts is, in fact, fairly long Rush Limbaugh; Sean Hannity; Michael Savage; Michael Reagan. And there is no equivalent list of liberals. Past attempts, such as the programs of Mr. Hightower and Mario Cuomo, have failed. Some radio executives said they simply did not believe liberal radio could become good business. Among them was Kraig T. Kitchen, chief executive of Premiere Radio Networks, one of the nation's largest radio syndication arms with the programs of Mr. Limbaugh, Mr. Reagan and Dr. Laura Schlessinger, among others. Though Mr. Kitchin said he was a conservative, he also said he would have pursued liberal programs had he thought there was money in them. He ascribes to the popular view in the industry that liberal hosts present issues in too much complexity to be very entertaining - while addressing a diffuse audience that has varying views. "Individuals who are liberal in their viewpoints can be all- encompassing," he said. "It's very hard to define liberalism, unlike how easy it is to define conservatism. So, as a result, it doesn't evoke the same kind of passion as conservative ideologies do." Mr. Sinton said he thought past attempts failed because they were not properly executed. He said he believed a big problem for Mr. Hightower was that his program was sandwiched into a schedule crammed with conservatives. "It is very hard to succeed when you throw liberal programming between bookends of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity," he said. "That violates expectations of the listener." This is why he said he was proposing a full slate of liberally skewing programming with morning, afternoon and early evening shows featuring hosts with as many big names in entertainment as possible. "This side has failed by going at Rush, and trying to be Rush - you're not going to beat him at his game," Mr. Sinton said. "What really makes this work is tapping into Hollywood and New York and having a huge entertainment component, where political sarcasm is every bit as effective as Rush Limbaugh is at bashing you over the head." Mr. Sinton acknowledged that his biggest challenge was in getting national distribution for the network. He said he would seek to strike deals with underperforming radio stations in major markets. Analysts said that while the plan might seem difficult to achieve, it is not impossible. "It is going to be trickier in the top-10 markets, easier in the middle markets, but it will be possible," said Jonathan Jacoby, a radio industry analyst for SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. "There is a case that if they have the right product, they will be able to find distribution." Talent, of course, will be key, Mr. Sinton acknowledged. A deal with Mr. Franken, the comedian, would help greatly in luring other big names, as well as in gaining distribution. He said he envisioned a daily program featuring Mr. Franken perhaps in the early afternoons (around the same time as "The Rush Limbaugh Show"). A representative for Mr. Franken, Henry Reisch of the William Morris Agency, said Mr. Franken was seriously considering the offer, and was mostly focusing on whether he could handle the commitment of a daily radio program. Judging from his comments as a guest last month on Phil Donahue's program on MSNBC, Mr. Franken would probably take a far different approach from that of Mr. Limbaugh. "I think the audience isn't there for a liberal Rush," he said. "Because I think liberals don't want to hear that kind of demagoguery." http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/business/media/17DEM.html?ex=1046458001&ei=1&en=3983d8521c5a8036 (via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** U S A. IRCA's Soft DX Monitor today brings the sad and unwelcome news that long-time DX'er and NRC'er Roy H. Millar died last September in Maryville, Washington. Roy introduced me to the NRC back in February of 1956 after he had sent a taped reception report for KCOV-1240, Corvallis, Oregon, where I was working at the time. I confirmed the report, wrote that I was a DX'er myself, and Roy followed up by arranging a DX Test from our station. It was back in the days when 1240 was relatively clear on Monday mornings -- the closest all-nighter was in Chicago -- and I got two solid reception reports from New Zealand, a good one from Buddy Giles in Oklahoma City, and several from California including as far south as Jim Critchett in San Diego. Roy was my first NRC contact and remained a good friend through the years. He was very supportive when I went into the Army in the summer of 1956, and when I was stationed in Germany, I was able to pick up for him a beautiful, table model Grundig Majestic radio, one of the early radios to use a small ferrite loopstick, and it was for a time Roy's main rig. I visited Roy in the summer of 1958 as part of a West Coast bus trip I took from the Panhandle of Texas to celebrate my discharge from the Army. Roy's hospitality was much appreciated. Roy was a pioneer in the use of preset tape recorders for DX purposes, primarily because his wife put her foot down in no uncertain terms on his getting up in the early morning hours to tune the radio. Back before cassette recorders, he connected as many as three reel-to-reel units on three different radios with Torque industrial timers to record DX on as many as three different frequencies. Roy and Ted Vasilopolous, who considered himself a DX purist, locked horns over the new technique, in a sometimes rancorous Musings debate. Vasilopolous referred to Millar as "The Sleeping DX'er of Issaquah." In the early to mid '60s, when I was recording a five-minute weekly segment on BCB DX for Errol Urbelis' DX program on WNYW, the old Radio New York Worldwide on shortwave, Roy was one of my regular reporters. One gorgeous tape he sent was for reception he'd recorded in Washington State of Tallinn, Estonia, on 1034 khz. Aussies, Zedders and Japanese were commonplace for Roy, without benefit of split frequencies or a DXpedition site. But with the benefit of a much more vacant dial than we have today. Roy also got involved in SWBC DX briefly in the late '50s, when I edited a Universal Radio DX Club shortwave column, and I introduced him to that club. I checked the Social Security Death Index for specific dates and found Roy was born May 21, 1923, and died September 21, 2002. I trust Roy today is where no domestic broadcasts between midnight and 6 a.m., where all the foreign stations are on split frequencies, where sunrise and sunset sign-ons and sign-offs abound, and where his loved ones allow him to DX live and thus not be limited to three frequencies a morning (John Callarman, Krum TX, NRC-AM via DXLD) Mr. Millar holds many GYDXA records in the pre-1960 category on every frequency. The lists are available on-line at: http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/phantom2/index.html for those who are not aware of them. Call up any of the Pre-1960 lists for his records. 73, (Bill in Fort Worth Hale, ibid.) ** U S A. THE WPTR TRIBUTE SITE http://www.fifteenforty.com/ Anyone who remembers WPTR-1540, Albany NY in their days as a great rock station in the 60's and 70's should check out the unofficial tribute site. There is plenty of interesting memorabilia, including some old QSL cards (via Morris Sorensen, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Feb Radio HF Internet Newsletter via DXLD) ** U S A. Been noticing some strange CCI on WPVI-6 at times and was assuming it was just some more cable leakage compliments of Comcast. However, it's actually a Spanish FM pirate operating at about 87.5 MHz, just below the WPVI audio. I assume it's out of Plainfield which has a large Central/South American population which would put it anywhere from 3 to 8 miles away. Not too strong, And, yes, Bruce, it is in stereo (Joe Fela/South Plainfield, N.J. Feb 15, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Tom Ray of WOR has said repeatedly that his $35,000 recently calibrated HP Spectrum Analyzer (not to be confused with a $3,000 toy) clearly shows that the IBOC sidebands are held to plus/minus 10 kHz of 710....even when they were running full IBOC power on the night time tests and I was hearing the sidebands approximately plus/minus 35 kHz. A recent check showed them at about plus/minus 25 kHz with added noises in the IBOC hash --- don't know if they increased the IBOC power from minus 6 db of full strength or if this was a different computer program controlling the IBOC transmissions. But the point here is, they are transmitting one thing and publicly saying something else, which is why I have such a low regard for the whole bunch of them (Joe Fela, NJ, WTFDA via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ SHORTWAVE WORLDWIDE Hi Glenn, I came across this site while searching for something else: http://www.davidrsullivan.com/radio/main.html "I would like to personally welcome you to Shortwave Worldwide!! The "official- unofficial" website for shortwave and ham radio. As a person learning about what shortwave and Ham radio has to offer, I decided to set up this webcast for others to enjoy. For now, until I obtain my ham-radio licence, I will be periodically streaming LIVE shortwave broadcasts in the English language from all over the world directly from the basement at my home in New Hampshire." 73, (Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MUSEA +++++ THE WESTERN HISTORIC RADIO MUSEUM http://www.radioblvd.com/ This is a great collection of vintage radio equipment and memorabilia covering 1910 through the 1950s. The museum is based in Virginia City, Nevada (via Sheldon Harvey, Feb Radio HF Internet Newsletter via DXLD) BROADCASTING HISTORY Here is a link to an excellent site on the history of broadcasting, including detailed information on channel one! http://members.aol.com/jeff560/jeff.html (John Broomall, WTFDA via DXLD) HOW LOW POWER STARTED, by Robert B. Cooper, Jr. With the "interest" in low power FCC (TV & FM) here, perhaps some would be interested to know how it all began. From "Greymarket mentality," a techno-autobiography these excerpts: ... Another important announcement in the June (1978) CATJ. Religious telecaster Trinity, operating TV station KTBN in Fontana, California, was added to the satellite-available roster. KTBN, unlike PTL (People That Love) and CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network), was a "normal terrestrial TV station" (PTL and CBN were satellite-only packaging of programming not seen via terrestrial TV). What this meant was an entirely new class of terrestrial rebroadcasting station was about to burst onto the American TV dials. Trinity had been lobbying the FCC and Congress to gain a new ruling to permit TV stations such as itself to link via satellite to low power rebroadcasting stations scattered nationwide. Trinity saw this as an excellent, low-cost way of spreading its limited southern California reach into a national network. I am partially to blame for this as TBN had "picked my mind" incessantly throughout 1978 gleaning important insight into how their ultimate system might one day work. Not everyone saw this one coming; almost nobody saw it for what it would ultimately become. Trinity's unique brand of religious programming featured Jan and Paul Crouch with the skills to turn normally conservative religious families into activist messengers for TBN. Somebody at TBN, perhaps Crouch himself, had the "vision" that by encouraging local groups in Tulsa, Poughkeepsie, Sneedville and Spokane to raise local money, they could turn into "TBN affiliate stations." The concept they preached was simple enough - raise $50,000 to $100,000 locally, let TBN guide them through the FCC licensing process, and wham-bang-thank you m'am a new TV station would come on the air (in Tulsa, etc.) carrying the Crouch-version of the word-of- God. Thousands would ultimately do so making TBN the largest single "network" in the world and by 2000 TBN would be global into such far flung locations as (the) Tonga Islands, India and Africa. ... Which was later more extensively explained as follows: ... The religious folks were even more "serious" about their TV. And the hucksters began to crawl out from beneath their pulpits. The two "cable-exclusive" programmers PTL and CBN were doing well (CBN was the second most frequently cited "target source" cited in cable system FCC applications) and KTBN, the Fontana (California) religious broadcaster was off on its own tactical foray. KTBN recognized that if cable systems carried their service, there was an "FCC penalty." KTBN, like WTCG, was a broadcast TV station and rules limited the number of such "broadcast" services that could be carried without the cable system incurring exorbitant copyright fees. Almost no cable system was willing to trade the "general entertainment/sports" fare of a WTCG service for the full-time revival religious fervor of KTBN. It simply made no business sense. So KTBN planned to utilize their satellite transponder to link or feed their programming to other, affiliated stations. A recent change in FCC rules allowed this to happen, lumping satellite relay into a technical category called "FM Microwave." But not everyone in the religious community thought KTBN's "brand" of religion was the best one for their community. Enter a group based in California known as the Full Gospel's Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI, or, simply Full Gospel). Cattle rancher Demos Shakarian created the weekly meeting group (sort of a Rotary for right-wing religious folks) in 1953 and by 1978, it boasted 600,000 members worldwide. In early July, Full Gospel held their 25th annual international meeting and 15,000 folks turned out to Anaheim's Convention Center. Right there, center stage as you went into the hall, was a 6 meter (USTC brand) satellite terminal and along side, a Scientific Atlanta 4.5 meter dish. My good friend Stormy Weathers from USTC had urged me to attend and so I cut two days out of my pre-CCOS schedule and did so. All I had to do was listen and I doubt anyone noticed me, recognized me, and most certainly did not know a blabbermouth journalist was in the audience. Shakarian caught my attention with his grand opening remarks: "We are in our last days on earth and now due in large part to the sudden development and use of a whole new technology, we have at our disposal the tools to create one last, great revival." Stormy echoed "A-Men" and I slid my hand into a coat pocket to confirm my Radio Shack cassette recorder was humming away. Shakarian continued with his prophesy that "within four years" some cataclysmic event was going to overtake mankind on earth. He skillfully wove this message of urgency into a gameplan to utilize satellite television delivery to bind together "as many Christians as possible" into one "wholesome family prepared to meet their fate." I recall squirming in my seat, checking to see how many people I would have to say, "excuse me!" to, when I decided my choices including throwing up in the crowd or vacating the auditorium. Stormy was issuing "A-Mens" on cue along with the other 14,999 folks and Shakarian had their rapt attention. Now, I would later work out Full Gospel had 10,000 chapter offices worldwide, or an average of 60 members per chapter. Stormy had alerted me in advance that a "satellite TV distribution plan" was to be announced and that had been the bait that got me to accompany him to Anaheim during a period when the last thing I needed to do was be absent from CATA and CATJ's [Community Antenna Television Journal] Oklahoma City office (CCOS 78 was less than 10 days away). On instructions from Shakarian, 15,000 people opened their meeting notebooks and turned to a specially marked segment containing a prepared booklet which described how each membership chapter would have the "opportunity" to raise $60,000 which in turn would acquire for them a satellite receiving terminal and a 100 watt UHF (TV channel) translator; installed. Stormy, a manufacturer of 6 meter satellite reception dishes and a would be manufacturer of satellite receivers seemed to have an inside track on all of this as a prominent member and self-described "satellite professional." At the end of this particular session of Full Gospel a table in the foyer was ready and waiting to take member's signatures on quite unwieldy contracts sitting by the box full to be signed. Two hours later the announcement - "the first 335 chapters have signed contracts for these satellite Gospel systems." CATJ for June had reported $37,942 as the "average cost" of a cable TV terminal during the month of May. But in fairness, the cable terminals were reception only - the cable system would be "the transmitter" - whereas Full Gospel was including a 100 watt UHF transmitter as well. On the surface, $60,000 did not seem out of line. I searched in vain for some signs of a satellite industry supplier or person in the crowds surrounding Stormy's 6 meter or Scientific Atlanta's 4.5 meter dishes. None to be seen. "Curious," thought I. Here are 335 systems already to spend $60,000 each - more than $20 million, and not a single salesman around. And Shakarian was openly predicting, "1,200 terminals within a year." In a second session I listened to their plan for using the terminals. They had some pretty impressive "experts" on the stage; George Metcalf, a 15 year veteran of NASA who was then-responsible for NASA's globe circling satellite communications network; Patrick Fisher, a highly skilled satellite engineer deeply involved in the LANDSAT or early terrain mapping network, and, some folks who claimed to be affiliated with such diverse organisations as GE and RCA. A layman, sitting in the audience, pumped up by Shakarian's "promise" that within four years they would all be toast, had to see what was being outlined as some last, final opportunity to "get right with God." However one spelt G O D. Mid-way through the "expert panel" it occurred to me there were some very significant legal problems in all of this. I thought about doing something very foolish - standing during a question and answer time and raising my questions. Then I remembered my promise to Stormy to "be good, be quiet, be invisible" and decided that was better than being stoned by 15,000 people who might see me as not only a non- invited member of the press but a party-pooper for destroying their rhetorical highs. Problem one. Shakarian's prepared booklet said, "while no final decision has been made, Full Gospel believes it will be taking the programming of PTL for distribution." Here was oil and water not mixing. PTL was not a broadcast TV service. The satellite feed featuring Jim Bakker was only for cable and FCC rules prohibited a licensed TV station (translator) rebroadcasting programming originating from any source other than a TV station. This was the KTBN problem in reverse. KTBN could be carried by satellite to other TV stations (translators) with no changes in the rules. But KTBN incurred copyright problems for cable systems. PTL had no copyright legacy but they could not be used directly for TV broadcast. Problem two: KTBN. For five days KTBN provided live and tape delayed satellite coverage of many hours of Full Gospel meetings including the headliner appearance of Oral Roberts. Pointedly missing, any Full Gospel sessions dealing with their "Gospel Satellite" project. During the course of the Anaheim meeting coverage, KTBN's Paul Crouch brought into his live studio Washington attorney Jim Gammon and they talked "around" but never specifically about the Full Gospel project. Then with some fanfare (minus only a drum roll from the band), Crouch and Gammon "signed off" on four "Trinity baby sister station" applications which Gammon would hand carry to the FCC; the first four of ultimately thousands. Following the precise rules of the Commission, Trinity was making formal application for UHF translators to relay the KTBN signal carried on satellite to homes in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Denver and Houston. The puzzle here was this. Crouch had the necessary TV broadcast station to "feed" translators, and seemingly the smarts to do it within the existing law. Full Gospel was not belligerent towards Trinity, but they were ignoring them - as if they did not exist. And Full Gospel, with or without legal advice, was openly promising to deliver PTL to their 335 / 1,200 chapter affiliates; something the law clearly did not support. Had I stood up to ask my questions, they would have centered around this conflict. And I probably would have been "stoned" by the crowd for suggesting that Shakarian could not deliver what he was promising. Problem three: Cost. One of my oldest friends from the days at DXing and TV Horizons (1961) was Byron St Clair, or "Doc" as he was more commonly known. I spotted him at Anaheim and he told me that his UHF translator manufacturing company EMCEE hoped to do business with this group. We talked at length about my fears for use of PTL, he said if "certain problems are worked out" they would switch to KTBN and this would be a non-problem. Then we talked about the pricing on his 100 watt UHF translators, complete with a tower to hold the transmitting antenna and the antenna and parts. Like so many friends in the industry, we had shared many days together at various venues (including the 1961 Western Translator Conference in Salt Lake City) and he had been an overnight house guest on more than one occasion. So when we talked, it was openly, without any fear on his part that "blabbermouth Cooper" would ever write something that would hurt his business. He also knew from nearly 20 years of being associated with me that "I gave as good as I took," meaning that if anybody in the world knew the exact nature of what the latest insider information was, it was I. He confided, "The pricing is not right." I asked, "how much not right?" "About $15,000 and it concerns me." Doc was a mathematician originally (and thus the Doctor's degree) and he carried around a tiny notebook filled with equations that only made sense to his analytical mind. He once challenged me to work out even what the designators stood for (C=v/f x pg/jj). I failed. "Add up the parts. Here's my list price schedule and you know the bulk pricing on satellite terminals better than anyone else in the world at this point in time. See what you get." I did. It came to $42,000 less only freight to Devil's Knob, ND or wherever the system might go. "So what's $60,000?" I asked. He smiled. "Silly boy. Profit for Full Gospel although it is probably closer to $15,000 than $18,000." An entirely new element was entering the equation; "p" for Full Gospel. Make that "P." OK - so Shakarian was not altogether wrapped up in "one great last revival." He was also looking at slicing Doc's $15,000 per terminal off of the top. The nearly fifty page contracts the first 335 chapters signed clearly read that the full sum was going to Full Gospel, under the guise they would "act as a buying cooperative" for the systems from "established vendors." The PTL versus KTBN debate. PTL stood for People That Love. Jim and Tammy Bakker began their short life as religious celebrities with Paul Crouch as a major viewer draw on their packaged service. The name of Paul's program was "Praise The Lord." Crouch would make some revealing, probably heartfelt, statement or admission about his own "weaknesses" and then raise his hands and shout "Praise The Lord." In religious families, "Praise The Lord" was as well known as "And ... here's Johnny!" to late night NBC viewers. But Crouch and Bakker parted and Crouch took his "Praise The Lord" program name with him west to establish KTBN. That left Bakker in a quandary. He felt "PTL" originated within his service, that he should not simply give it up. So when the cable network was put into operation, they called the service "PTL" which now supposedly stood for "People That Love." Bakker, before his cable start-up, was also distributing "The PTL Club" through approximately 150 terrestrial TV stations. The PTL Club purchased time at bargain rates in off hour periods on less than major TV stations and had an audience reach of millions. PTL in 1978 was spending in excess of $3,000,000 per month to create their terrestrial and satellite services. All of the funds to "crack this nut" had to come from donations; people who felt motivated by Jim, Tammy and the crew to agree to send in money to keep the service on the air. In 1978, and for many years thereafter until Bakker was ultimately arrested and found guilty of various tax evasion and management mis- judgments, Bakker was always "a day late and a dollar short." In fact, he had been scheduled to appear at the Full Gospel conclave in Anaheim but a financial crisis forced him to stay in his Charlotte headquarters. Then as a backup he was going to appear on a satellite feed to address the 15,000 attendees but even that failed because of some never explained financial problem. Thus Bakker and Crouch were at best compatriots but seldom if ever "sung from the same song book." Shakarian was the odd man out, promising to help Bakker out of his financial difficulties by expanding his direct-reach universe with a thousand or more new UHF low power (translator) TV stations. Shakarian and Bakker somehow believed that if they were "God's messengers" that any (FCC) rules or regulations that stood in their way would "magically melt." Over the last four months of 1978, "messengers" from Full Gospel would frequently visit the FCC, and the offices of Senators and Congressmen to "preach" their gospel of "deliverance." I revealed all of this and much more in the September issue of CATJ. Demos' son Steve Shakarian found my report "insulting" and promptly made Stormy Weathers a scapegoat. A new $90,000 per year "administrator" for the Gospel Satellite project equally promptly threw out Stormy's "bid" for complete terminals ($39,000 each although the Chapter price continued to be $21,000 more) and called for a new round of bidding. Salesmen. It was an eye opener to me that although KTBN had provided live or tape delayed coverage of the Full Gospel meeting, that SA and USTC had dishes set up there, not one single satellite terminal salesman had even a hint of what was happening until they opened and read with rapt fascination CATJ's 6 page report. Imagine that - up to 1,200 new satellite terminals and not one peddler had called on Full Gospel to that point. Of course, clutching CATJ in their grubby hands, dozens promptly descended on the offices of Full Gospel. One group was especially irate about the $60,000. Pete Warren and Alex Blomerth were two guys from El Paso with a religious mission statement of their own creation. I was indebted to these two guys operating as "International Christian Television" (ICT) because they had volunteered to haul their 40 foot production van to CCOS 78 to serve as our "network control center on wheels" during the infamous 20 hour uplink telecast. ICT held an FCC license for UHF channel 14 in El Paso, and slowly they were putting together the jigsaw puzzle pieces that would allow them to become operational with a combination secular and religious 24 hour per day television format. They had plans to take their channel live to satellite as well, hoping that by mixing religion with Popeye and Leave it to Beaver they could out-Pat Mr Robertson of CBN. Pete and Alex were in Anaheim and we lost no time comparing notes. I had Doc St Clair's figures on a note pad and when I showed them to Alex he promptly produced his own, almost identical, set of calculations. Pete Warren. "I showed these numbers to Sharkarian's son and he told me '$15,000 is a engineering and administrative cost' for turning each application into a licensed translator station." He was only warming up. "If somebody really wanted to avoid spending money unnecessarily, they would find a transmitter location with existing (unused) tower space available and existing indoor room for a new 100 watt transmitter. Where does it say you have to buy land, build a building, erect a tower to become a TV station operator? Look here" he directed to a new page on his sketch pad. "Using that type of approach, I could put these in all day long for $22,000 with a 100 watt translator and a 4.57 meter receiving dish." Putting their mouth where their feelings were, when I last saw Blomerth and Warren in Anaheim they were preparing to run off 15,000 letters to distribute to the attendees advising them that $60,000 was "too much money" for the proposed stations. G O D often works in mysterious ways. For whatever reason, while Full Gospel ultimately failed in their grand scheme, Paul Crouch at Trinity prevailed. But through the balance of 1978 and well into 1979, the FCC, Congress and the satellite industry had no way of forecasting how and where all of this would end up (Bob Cooper, NZ, Feb 14, WTFDA via DXLD) ###