DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-154, August 26, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser 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 later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3h.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn DX LISTENING DIGEST JULY HTML ARCHIVE IS NOW COMPLETE: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3g.html NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1196: RFPI: Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445 [nominal times subject to delay or pre-emption] WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [NO LOW VERSION THIS WEEK; SORRY] [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1196h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1196h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1196.html FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1197: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825, Sat 1030, Sun 0230 on WWCR 5070 Sat 0130, 0800, 2330 on RFPI 7445 Sat 1800+ on WRMI 15725 Sun 0031 on WINB 12160 SOLICITED TESTIMONIAL I hear WOR on WWCR 5070 on Sat evening, 0230 UT Sun. I get COM on RFPI when I can. This past week RFPI was weaker than norm on 7445. Can`t hear on 15039. I'm using terminal at the Mt. Prospect public library (William Hassig, Mt. Prospect, IL, Aug 25) See COSTA RICA ** ANTARCTICA. 15476 kHz, LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, from Base Esperanza, will carry out a very special transmission next Thursday UTC August 28, between *0100-0200v*, this with reason of the 83 Anniversary of the birth of the Argentine broadcasting on August 27 (local time). The activation at this time, have been possible thank to my personal requirement for to give to the DXers & SWL's the opportunity to listen LRA36 in another schedule different to the usual one of 1800-2100. The blocks of the mentioned transmission, have been prepared in collaboration between Arnaldo Slaen and me. A QSL of LRA36 is being printed now, please send your reports directly to LRA36 in Base Esperanza. The outpower will be 3 kW as minimun. Comments also by e-mail to LRA36: lra36@infovia.com.ar (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, via Hans Johnson, Aug 25, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. This week`s Feedback on R. Australia was primarily an interview by Roger Broadbent with John Westland about the programing changes upcoming. A net cut of 2 percent in funding across the board will lead to all these changes, since the only place left to cut is in programming, primarily ``bought-in`` music programs that RA cannot produce itself. This is a pity, since musical relief is needed from the talk-heavy RA. On weekdays, repeated on weekends, have had shows specialising in Aussie pop, folk, blues, indigenous, country, fine music, and jazz. All but one or two of those are external productions. Cancelled: Blacktracker, which is unique to RA amongst the ABC networks; and Fine Music Australia, which was hardly adequate at 25 minutes a week to deal with classical music, but the producer made good use of the time available. Classical music causes the transmitters to work harder [?] so maybe 25 minutes is all they should be subjected to. However, some good replacements are in hand from ABC Classic FM network; but the scheduling will be different. Classic FM already has an internet-only jazz show which RA plans to take on and thus make it available on air as well. Two weekend programs are being cancelled since their funding arrangement is expiring, and one of the producers has already left RA: Australian Express, and Go Zone. Radio National`s weeknight eclectic music program, The Planet, now M-F at 2200-2400 AET (1200-1400 UT) will get a replay early Saturday afternoon, and a new Keys to Music will appear on Sundays. This will be a 1-hour educational show about classical music, with extracts, on how it is constructed, what makes it work, etc. The changes start Sept. 1 and the compulsory ones should be completed by the following weekend Sept. 7. A few more phased changes will go on beyond then, but ASAP in order that RA meet its budget figures by yearend. Having a 24-hour service puts RA in the company of much larger international broadcasters such as BBC and VOA; this has its advantages and disadvantages. When RA was shortwave-only, there was not so much a problem of running the same shows at different times for different targets. Now there is a variety of platforms. 24-hour local FM relays are in places such as Suva, and soon somewhere else. In Honiara, time is shared with SIBC. It`s more difficult to coördinate programming coming from partner nets in ABC, something like 3-D chess. Has to become a `local` radio station. On Wantok FM in Honiara, RA inserts special local announcements (for continuity as it alternates with SIBC programming). Technology makes it easier to have multiple streams, but this takes a lot of technological and human resources, which detract from producing own programs instead of adapting those from elsewhere. Only for WRN does RA re-package programming designed for its particular audience, available via WorldSpace to Asia at: 0000 UT M-F; 1300 and 1930 daily. It is too expensive for RA to have its own fulltime channel on WorldSpace. WRN`s channel ID there is 1302. In response to a would-be listener in Thailand, it was announced that the new evening service in English to that part of the world on SW will be at 1400-1600, including a repeat of the ``PM`` programme. RA now has much more control over its webpage [about time!! gh] and will keep the program info updated. More specific details of the changes, which are being kept to a minimum, will be on the website and on future Feedback programmes. Feedback`s page has been changed somewhat. Now there are transcripts available back thru May, including last week`s show about ARDS, and audio for that show is also available now: http://www.abc.net.au/ra/feedback/default.htm (RA Feedback, 0305 UT Aug 24, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Re DXLD 3-153: R. Tacana is Bolivia, not Peru. Original tip, by Hermod Pedersen does not indicate the country, and station was mentioned as 'Radio Tancana'. (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sigh --- I wish they would not leave out the country (gh) ** BRAZIL. Radio Difusora, Macapá. 8-25-03 4915 kHz 0415-0430 UT; light pop format; ID at 0424. SINPO 44133. Using my aluminum rain gutter as antenna (John Sandin, Merriam, KS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 3235.07, Rádio Clube Marília, Aug 18/19, 2325-0100, announcer with time checks, pop music, ads, jingles and announcements, many mentions of "Marília", tentative ID mentions "1550 khz AM", positive ID 0828 Aug 19. Fair to good signal both days. [what became of Guarujá Paulista?? But see 5054 -- gh] 3365.02, Rádio Cultura, 0840, Campo vocals, announcer with time checks and ID's, phonecalls from listeners. Very good signal. 4874.96 (tentative), Radiodifusora Roraima, Aug 24, 0916-0957, talk, pop vocals (maybe religious), announcements and ads with mentions of "Roraima", 0957 tentative ID, good strong signal but terrible QRN. 5054.00 (presumed), Rádio Guarujá Paulista, Aug 24, 0045-0103, pop music vocals, announcements, ads and jingles, announcer with telephone talk, 0103 sudden splatter from WWRB 5050. Good signal with terrible QRN (all: Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D V-Beam 140m @180 deg. http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CAMBODIA. FM RADIO STATION LAUNCHED IN NORTHWEST PROVINCE Cambodia's national television station carried in its 0500 gmt newscast on 26 August, a report on the inauguration of a radio station in Banteay Meanchey Province, northwest Cambodia, close to the Cambodian-Thai border. The report said that State Secretary Khiev Kanharit and first deputy governor of Banteay Meanchey Province, An Sum, inaugurated the FM 96.5 MHz radio station on 23 August. The construction of the radio station started on 4 July 2002 on a 47 metre by 100 metre plot of land next to Phnum Svay hill in Kou Than village, O Ampil commune, in Sisophon District. The report also says that the one-story masonry building housing the radio station is 16 metres by 20 metres with 11 rooms, including two broadcasting studios. The station is equipped with a 90 metre antenna and a 10 kW transmitter. The radio station is powered by two 100-kW generators. The total cost of the radio station is 210,000 dollars. According to Kung Bun-puoy, director of the radio station, initially the station will air two main programmes: short and major local news; and entertainment, including song requests. He also said, the station plans to extend the broadcast time to 16 hours a day, from 0600 to 2200, and add more programmes, such as education, health, general knowledge, and foreign news. Source: Television Kampuchea, Phnom Penh, in Cambodian 0746 gmt 26 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CANADA. Lots of radio stations streaming special reports on Kelowna forest fire; Standard Radio in B.C. producing 24-hour coverage of forest fires: http://www.thesun.net/kelowna (CKUT International Radio Report Aug 24, notes by Ricky Leong via DXLD) ** CANADA. SPECIAL LABOUR DAY PROGRAMMING ON CBC RADIO This Labour Day, Monday Sept. 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., CBC Radio is setting aside its regular schedule to highlight the best of what the network's all about. The day will overflow with programming highlights from the past few months, along with a variety of new material designed to give listeners a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how radio is made and how CBC connects with Canadians. Radio One programming highlights include a rebroadcast of - and an update on - Karen Levine's award-winning documentary, Hana's Suitcase; a hilarious game show for obsessive radio listeners called The Pronunciation Challenge; a mockumentary on that classic CBC Radio institution, the Time Signal; a recurring segment called Thrills and Spills, in which various CBC Radio employees describe their most memorable moment; Bill Richardson welcoming Shelagh Rogers to Vancouver and this year's CBC True North concert from Ouje-Bougoumou, Que. Your favourite CBC Radio hosts, including Shelagh Rogers, Bill Richardson, Anna Maria Tremonti, Stuart McLean, Mary Hynes and Michael Enright, will meet up with each other throughout the day to guide listeners on a unique tour of the network. RadioTwo highlights include a roundup of award-winning music from the Junos, Grammies and Oscars on Music & Company with Tom Allen. Take Five host Shelley Solmes spins special requests from a number of her fellow CBC radio personalities, and In Performance features the Hannaford Street Silver Band as they celebrate their 20th anniversary with a concert of rousing marches, virtuoso solos, cherished classics and big band jazz. These specials provide a great way to spend the last day of summer - the best way, in fact - with CBC Radio at your side. For a complete listing of the day's events please visit http://www.cbc.ca/radioguide (via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. RFPI reception --- Dear Glenn, I live in Morelos, Mexico and lately (matter of weeks) have great difficulty raising RFPI 7145 kcs -- depending on time of day it is frequently either inaudible or unreadable, due to interference from programs in Chinese language which counterpoint the Costa Rican broadcast. I imagine they have enough problems lately, and your being the most knowledgeable source of DX info available, I wonder if you could cast some light on this situation. The RFPI signal is sometimes also overpowered suddenly by a broadcast in Spanish of unknown origin. Since I can hear you only occasionally on this frequency, I hope I can learn more about it on your World of Radio website? (Ken Tepfer, Aug 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ken, No doubt you meant to say 7445 --- if you had been trying 7145 you certainly would not get RFPI. RFPI has shared 7445 with Taiwan for a long time. There is a clash normally in the morning hours from a few hours before sunrise until a bit afterwards. There should be no problem in the evening (except maybe briefly around sunset in unusual conditions), or in the daytime if you are close enough to get any signal at all from RFPI. Possibly RFPI`s power is lower than usual, which would put them at a disadvantage versus Taiwan. I have no idea about the Spanish interference on 7445. Does it seem to be a broadcast or intermittent two-way communication?? What times do you hear this? I am not sure if you are aware that RFPI is going thru another crisis which could disrupt normal operations: http://www.saverfpi.org and http://www.rfpi.org Regards, (Glenn to Ken, via DXLD) Dear Glenn, Of course 7455 and not 71... Thank you for detecting my mistake. I tend to listen quite early so notice the Taiwanese interference a bit more. Still there is an occasional break-in in Spanish that is not local but broadcast quality, I will try to pay more attention to the content next time and I am aware of RFPI's recent problems but don't see how it relates. I think they've had to abandon their 15040 kc frequency or maybe shut down for maintenance which may have something to do with their problems with the landlord, University for Peace in Costa Rica. As you probably know their 40m operation is 30kw while the 19m only 10 kw, but the latter works fine for me here especially during the day so I hope it can be restored soon. Thanks again for your prompt reply. I'll try to furnish relevant DX news when I can (Ken Tepfer, Morelos, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15 MHz has been off since the beginning of August due to some technical problem, lack of parts, after one day of experimentation on 15115 instead (gh) Glenn, a quick question: Am I crazy, or is RFPI's signal wildly variable? Some nights, it's fine, some nights, it's barely there. I'm aware of the properties of propagation, but even this seems extreme. What's the output at RFPI? Is it only 30 kW? Also, any idea what happened to the scheme they had to rejoin 15 MHz? A funny thing to note: The music you use for WOR is from the same recording session or MIDI file as my son's mid-1990's computer-based game "The Adventures of Curious George". Each time your show opens, I smile a little, as I think of George scurrying around getting into trouble. Thought you might appreciate that trivia. Keep up the good work! (Todd Van Gelder, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, we have been running on very low power the last three days and just got it up to 15kw yesterday. This has been caused by a blocking capacitor failure and the new parts should be here on the 7th. In the mean time the provisional parts will allow us to run half power (James Latham, RFPI, Aug 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks Glenn. Good, comprehensive reporting and follow up as always! (Todd Van Gelder, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. RADIO RELOJ PARA TODOS --- La emisora se ennfocará en la familia y alista una radiioemisora para nicaragüenses Ni ser la primera en deportes ni la primera en noticias. Ahora a Radio Reloj lo único que le interesa es cumplir su nuevo lema: ``La primera en el corazón de la familia costarricense``. La estación asegura estar recuperada de una racha en la que la mala administración y los rumores de cierre le embarrialaron el camino y anuncia que está en planes de expansión y que los miles de nicaragüenses residentes en el país están en la mira. Por eso el Grupo Reloj ya está haciendo las primeras pruebas de 730 AM Una Radio sin Fronteras, estación que se dirigirá a los pinoleros que viven acá. Pero lo anterior no quiere decir que la empresa descuidará a los ticos y por eso radio Reloj terminó de pulir su perfil y eliminó muchas horas de deporte (fútbol) para retomar al público familiar que había sido el fuerte de la estación por décadas. . . (Tetsuya Hirahara, who visited San José 28 July to 2 August, 2003, ``El Tiempo Hechicero`` DX News, Aug, via Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA? Re 3-153 the unID on 6230: Hello Glenn! Our house is up-side-down for the moment and I just can´t find my notes - perhaps I heard REE (España) on 6200.3 kHz (the unID frequency from Roland Åkesson July 24). I did not state for sure "Costa Rica" in the Swedish version of my scan but "Perhaps C.R.". Excuse me for the mess! 73s from (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Re: 1060 Radio 26? OK - Final Judgement, total wisdom. Confirm new 1060 outa the Workers' Paradise as Veinte Seis, R. 26. Announcement on hour and half hour gives freq's as 1220, 1230, 1240. Bearings to 165 - 170 degrees from this QTH, consistent with other R. 26 lines in direction of Matanzas - Cárdenas metro area. Good signal today even with local stink bomb 1070. Best, (Paul Zecchino, 25 2300Z AUG 03, Englewood, FL, Manasota Key via Terry Krueger, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Cool, good work. A week or so ago, an e-mail source in Miami (semi- suspect he's really in Cuber-proper) reported this as a new 26 feed. I began checking and confirmed something from Cuber (is) here but what with the local TIS etc. on the channel -- day and night -- it was too rough for me to ID without spending any great time on it (which I don't seem to have). (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. The latest big radio story from eastern Germany: On Saturday (Aug 23) at 2159 UT, so roughly at midnight CET, the station formerly called Project 89.0 digital was rebranded into 89.0 RTL. At the same time the format was completely changed from New Rock to CHR. The change was revealed to the press only a few days in advance and not at all to the audience. No any announcements were made on the air; the contents on the http://www.fettesradio.de website were simply deleted a few minutes after midnight and replaced by a white, otherwise empty page until a redirect to the new http://www.89.0rtl.de site was established. This unannounced change caused a remarkable uproar of listeners, a bulletin board for radio freaks is literally overflowing from myriads of posts on this matter. Basically the posters emphasize that they are tired of all the uniform music played on all the CHR and AC stations around. The former Project 89.0 digital also had a heavy rotation and was voice-tracked for most of the day, so the only difference was the music format. I think it is notable that already such a difference is sufficient for many people to consider a station as an alternative one. Some background: In 2001 Radio Brocken, a state-wide commercial broadcaster in Sachsen- Anhalt (headquarter at Halle), decided to replace the soft AC format they until then, well, narrowcasted via DAB (Eureka-147) by a New Rock format. As a special coup they applied for and were allowed to transmit this program also on their main FM frequency 89.0, a far- reaching 60 kW outlet from the Brocken mountain. This appears to be strange, but the main program suffered from poor ratings, and it was actually a competitor for another station belonging to the same group, Hit-Radio Antenne from Hannover, broadcasting from the western side of the Harz mountains (Torfhaus site). So Radio Brocken put up with the loss of coverage. The FM split-away was officially justified as DAB promotion measure and limited for the period of one year, but nevertheless the new station was called after the FM frequency Project 89.0 digital, and -- of course! -- Radio Brocken was allowed to continue the Project 89.0 digital FM service beyond the original one year limit. In the meantime major shares on AVE, the company owning Radio Brocken, were sold to RTL, and even internationally reports spread that RTL intended some reorganization. This is now the first obvious result, and it is a banana republic behaviour, the 89.0 frequency was never put on tender as it would be necessary for a reallocation taking a proper course. I think this is basically the result of Radio Brocken being in serious economic trouble. A bankrupt of this state-wide station is something that must be avoided for political reasons, and so the media authority obviously permits almost anything Radio Brocken (with its new backer RTL) applies for, including the establishment of a second FM network without any formal frequency allocation procedure (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. A few days go I took the opportunity of a business trip to visit the Bayerischer Rundfunk mediumwave transmitter at Hof. The station is located in the western outskirts of Hof, on the road leading to the Nürnberg -- Berlin highway, and it is quite a walk from inside the town. The station grounds are also used as meteorological station; I think the transmitter in use today is no longer housed in the original station building but instead in a container next to the building, judging from a noisy fan inside this container. Nevertheless there are two satellite dishes mounted on the old station building, one of them likely being the actual audio source. Furthermore there are also FM antennas aiming at two different sites, certainly the backup for cases of satellite service failures. Years ago the transmitter was described to me as an old tube rig and the STL as a postal office line with 7 kHz audio bandwidth, but both statements could be obsolete by now; from hearsay, Bayerischer Rundfunk feeds the mediumwave transmitters via the Astra ADR output now to get rid of audio delay problems, and the mentioned container looks like the home of a current solid-state transmitter rather than an old beast. The mast is placed outside the old station fencing, fed not directly but through separate wires. This design already led to conclusions that the mast is only a carrier for the actual antenna, but judging from the insulator arrangement indeed the whole mast radiates, especially as the foot of the mast itself is obviously placed on an insulator. Walking back into the town on the main road I passed military barracks, reminding me of pictures showing the demolition of the RIAS transmitter. Indeed the location of the former RIAS site is described as the western outskirts of Hof, but unfortunately time did not permit an archaeological search for remains of this much larger transmitter. (40 kW on 684 7-18 local time only, shut down in September 1994, masts blown up only three months later. Site not identical with FM site Großer Waldstein, also listed as Hof in RIAS times.) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [and non]. THE MEDIA IN IRAQ - UPDATED 26 AUGUST 2003 New publications continue to appear in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Husayn's regime in April 2003. At the time of writing, more than 180 newspapers and other publications are available. Many of the new papers are published by lesser-known organizations. The Iraqi Media Network (IMN), operated by the Coalition Provisional Authority, continues to dominate domestic broadcasting. The role of the IMN in shaping post-war national broadcasting in Iraq, and the extent of its powers, came under the international spotlight at the beginning of August, when senior IMN official Ahmad al-Rikabi, head of US-backed Iraqi TV, resigned. Rikabi complained that inadequate funding prevented the station from competing with rival channels from Iran and the Gulf states. The US authorities have appointed Simon Haselock as media commissioner to govern broadcasters and the press in Iraq, establish training programmes for journalists and plan for the establishment of a state- run radio and TV network, the Washington Post newspaper reported on 19 August. Haselock's last appointment was as spokesman and media supervisor for UN authorities overseeing Kosovo. An FM radio station describing itself as Iraq's first independent music station has been heard in Baghdad. Across Iraq as a whole, however, independent radio and TV stations have been slow to emerge. International broadcasters such as the BBC, Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East and the US-run Radio Sawa are all available on FM in Baghdad and some other Iraqi cities. Internet services are on offer in the capital, and the state internet service provider, Uruklink, is back in operation after several months offline. The Paris-based organization Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) on 23 July published a report on developments in Iraq's media in the previous four months. The full report can be seen on the RSF web site, http://www.rsf.fr The following new Iraqi press and broadcast sources have been traced since the previous 1 August 2003 issue of "The media in post-war Iraq": NEW RADIO BROADCASTS IN IRAQ SINCE 1 AUGUST 2003 IQ4 Radio Iraq -- In Baghdad, a previously unidentified FM radio station on 104.1 MHz playing continuous Arabic and Western pop music was observed on 16 August with the following announcement in English: "This is IQ4 Radio Iraq, Iraq's first independent music station, 104.1 FM". New Iraq Radio -- The previously unidentified radio station broadcasting in Arabic and Kurdish on 657 kHz mediumwave in Baghdad has now been identified as New Iraq Radio, Voice of the Iraqi Media Network. The US surrogate broadcaster Radio Free Iraq has been observed on a new FM frequency in Baghdad, 102.4 MHz, which is listed on their web site as 102 MHz. With the arrival of Polish troops in Iraq as part of the international stabilization force, public Polish Radio is setting up a correspondents' unit in Iraq and plans to start broadcasts for the Polish military contingent in the country, Polish radio reported on 9 August. NEW IRAQI PRESS SINCE 1 AUGUST 2003 . . . [exhaustive section snipped for DXLD) POST-WAR BROADCAST MEDIA --- RADIO FM BAND IN BAGHDAD (MHz) 89.0 - BBC World Service in Arabic 89.9 - Iranian Payam network in Persian 90.1 - Iranian Voice of the Mujahidin in Arabic 92.3 - Continuous US pop music - no identification announcements 93.0 - Iranian Javan (Youth) network in Persian 93.5 - Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East 95.0 - Radio Freedom from Baghdad in Arabic (operated by the PUK) 97.1 - Unidentified Western music 97.4 - Continuous US pop music (as 92.3) 97.7 - Continuous US pop music (as 92.3) 98.1 - BBC World Service in English 98.3 - Baghdad FM Radio 100.4 - US Radio Sawa in Arabic 101.6 - Iranian Javan (Youth) network in Persian 102.4 - Radio Free Iraq (RFE/RL) 104.1 - IQ4 Radio Iraq in English 107.8 - American Forces Network in English AM/MEDIUMWAVE (kHz) 531 - (Iranian) IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 540 - Radio Kuwait Main Programme in Arabic 558 - IRIB Radio Farhang network in Persian 576 - IRIB Arabic Service 585 - (Saudi) BSKSA General Programme in Arabic 612 - IRIB Arabic Service 630 - Radio Kuwait Koran Programme in Arabic 657 - New Iraq Radio, Voice of the Iraqi Media Network in Arabic and Kurdish 666 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 693 - US Information Radio in Arabic 711 - IRIB Ahwaz regional in Arabic 720 - Voice of the Mujahidin in Arabic 756 - Information Radio in Arabic 783 - BSKSA 2nd Programme in Arabic 819 - Syrian Arab Republic Radio Main Programme in Arabic 855 - BSKSA Koran Programme in Arabic 864 - Radio Nejat in Persian 873 - BSKSA Koran Programme in Arabic 900 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 909 - Radio Nahrain 936 - BSKSA Koran Programme in Arabic 954 - Radio Qatar in Arabic 972 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1000 - Voice of the Worker Communist Party of Iraq 1026 - Iraqi Media Network - Radio Baghdad in Arabic 1053 - Republic of Iraq Radio, Voice of the Iraqi People in Arabic 1089 - BSKSA 2nd Programme in Arabic 1134 - Radio Kuwait Main Programme in Arabic 1161 - IRIB Arabic Service 1170 - (US-run) Radio Farda in Persian 1188 - IRIB Radio Payam network in Persian 1224 - IRIB Arabic Service 1242 - Radio Sultanate of Oman 1251 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1269 - Radio Kuwait Modern Arabic Music Service 1278 - IRIB Kermanshah regional in Persian 1296 - Voice of Azerbaijan in Azeri - Radio Liberty relay 1305 - IRIB Bushehr regional in Persian 1314 - (US-run) Radio Free Iraq via Abu Dhabi 1332 - IRIB Tehran regional in Persian 1341 - Radio Kuwait 2nd Programme in Arabic 1395 - Voice of Armenia in Armenian 1422 - BSKSA Foreign Language Programme in French 1440 - BSKSA General Programme in Arabic 1449 - IRIB World Service in Russian 1467 - BSKSA General Programme in Arabic 1476 - Emirates Radio, UAE, in Arabic 1485 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1503 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1521 - IRIB Radio Farhang network in Persian 1530 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1539 - (US-run) Radio Farda in Persian 1548 - (US-run) Radio Sawa in Arabic 1566 - Radio of the Land of the Two Rivers in Arabic 1575 - Radio Al-Mustaqbal 1575 - Radio Asia, UAE, in Urdu 1593 - VoA English/Kurdish/Persian + Radio Free Iraq Iraqi Media Network, Voice of New Iraq - operated by the Coalition Provisional Authority. Has also identified as Republic of Iraq Radio from Baghdad and Voice of Free Iraq (Sawt al-Iraq al-Hurr). Broadcasts on 98.3 MHz FM in Baghdad. On 27 May 2003 the station was observed on 1026 kHz announcing as Iraqi Media Network-Radio Baghdad. Shamin Rassam, an Iraqi-American, directs IMN's FM radio outlet as well as news bulletins on the mediumwave station, according to the Washington Post. IQ4 Radio Iraq In Baghdad, a previously unidentified FM radio station on 104.1 MHz playing continuous Arabic and Western pop music was observed on 16 August with the following announcement in English: "This is IQ4 Radio Iraq, Iraq's first independent music station, 104.1 FM". Radio Nahrain -- Since the end of March 2003, Radio Nahrain, also known as Twin Rivers Radio, has been transmitting on FM on 100.4 and 94.6 MHz from a location south of Basra. It has also been monitored on 96.0 MHz and 909 kHz mediumwave. The station is operated by British forces, but was due to be taken over at some stage by the Coalition Provisional Authority. With the arrival of Polish troops in Iraq as part of the international stabilization force, public Polish Radio is setting up a correspondents' unit in Iraq and plans to start broadcasts for the Polish military contingent in the country, Polish radio reported on 9 August. Voice of Freedom, Voice of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan radio in Arabic and Kurdish is operated by the PUK. It broadcasts daily from 1000-1900 gmt on 95.0 MHz. The station identifies on air as "Radio Freedom". Turkomaneli TV and radio was launched in Kirkuk in April 2003 and broadcasts on behalf of the Iraqi Turkoman Front. Turkomaneli Radio opened radio stations in Talla'far and Mosul on 6 and 8 May respectively, the Iraqi Turkoman Front newspaper Turkomaneli reported on 11 May. Dangi Komal-Kirkuk radio broadcasts on 1341 kHz in Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish to Kirkuk on behalf of the Kurdistan Islamic Group. The Worker-Communist Party of Iraq's "Radio Bopeshawa" is reportedly back on the air. The internet site of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq http://www.wpiraq.org reports that Ila al-Amam (Forward) Radio [usually rendered as Radio Bopeshawa, meaning "Forward"], voice of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq, broadcasts for one hour a day on shortwave from 1100 gmt (half an hour in Arabic and half an hour in Kurdish), to the areas of Arbil, Kirkuk and Mosul. The same programme is repeated between 0500-0600 gmt the next day. Identifies on air as "Voice of the Worker Communist Party of Iraq". The following are among stations in operation before April 2003 that continue to be heard inside Iraq: Voice of the People of Kurdistan, operated by the PUK Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan, operated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Radio Azadi, Voice of the Communist Party of Iraqi Kurdistan Ashur Radio - The station reportedly began operation in April 2000 and is operated by the Assyrian Democratic Movement, an opposition organization in northern Iraq. It broadcasts in Assyrian and Arabic on shortwave, reportedly from a transmitter in Azerbaijan. Voice of the Iraqi People, Voice of the Iraqi Communist Party - The station broadcasts from northern Iraq, possibly using Kurdish facilities. Voice of the Mojahed, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization's radio, may still be located in Iraq. This radio broadcasts via shortwave, satellite and with archive audio files on the Internet. Following the fall of Saddam Husayn, the station was observed to have ceased broadcasting for a few days in April. The station is currently heard on various shortwave frequencies and on the Telstar 12 satellite at 15 degrees west, on frequency 12588 vertical, in parallel with the terrestrial frequencies. The web site of the radio station is at: http://www.iran.mojahedin.org Al-Mustaqbal [The Future] radio is operated by the Iraqi National Accord. TELEVISION The Iraqi Media Network launched on 13 May. The Washington Post reported on 11 May that the US planned a nationwide Iraqi TV network to succeed the airborne Towards Freedom TV. The programme, initially for two hours but projected as a 24-hour full-service network, includes 30 minutes of news each night, including a local news segment, the report said. The station began broadcasts amid squabbling between its US and Canadian advisers, and complaints from its Iraqi journalists about "American censorship", international agencies reported. Since around 20 June the Iraqi Media Network TV has broadcast to Iraq from Eutelsat W1, located at 10 degrees east. The role of the IMN in shaping post-war national broadcasting in Iraq, and the extent of its powers, came under the international spotlight at the beginning of August, when senior IMN official Ahmad al-Rikabi, head of US-backed Iraqi TV, resigned. Rikabi complained that inadequate funding prevented the station from competing with rival channels from Iran and the Gulf states. The IMN's director, George Mansur, said in an interview with the French news agency AFP on 22 August that the network had received new equipment and would broadcast 24 hours a day "within a few weeks". "The move is hoped to end weeks of squabbles at the channel, seen by many as nothing more than a mouthpiece of the coalition authorities in Iraq," the AFP report added. According to the Washington Post, the IMN's television network is capable of reaching about two-thirds of Iraqi homes. Karbala - a local TV channel was launched on 16 April, according to United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi TV on 6 May. Similar small-scale local channels are reported to be operating in Najaf and Kut, according to BBC News Online reporter Tarik Kafala, who visited the stations in June 2003. Ninawa TV was launched in mid-July 2003. The Baghdad newspaper Al-Ittihad reported on 14 July that an independent radio station called Ninawa Radio also operates in the city. Freedom TV [Al-Hurriyah TV] is a PUK-sponsored television station that began test transmissions from Baghdad on 30 April. A PUK statement said viewers can access Freedom TV on UHF channel 38 from 1700-2200 gmt. Mosul TV was the "first station" to resume transmission in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Husayn, Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya TV reported on 10 May. Kirkuk TV channel started broadcasts on 23 April "under the supervision of the coalition forces", according to a report by the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) newspaper Brayati on 25 April. Turkomaneli TV and radio was launched in Kirkuk in April 2003 and broadcasts on behalf of the Iraqi Turkoman Front. Turkomaneli Radio opened radio stations in Talla'far and Mosul on 6 and 8 May respectively, the Iraqi Turkoman Front newspaper Turkomaneli reported on 11 May. The Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization's (MKO) "Vision of Resistance TV" (Sima-ye Moqavemat) which was relayed by the former Republic of Iraq Television before and after normal broadcasting hours has not been reported on the air recently. Reportedly the studios were in Ashraf, north of Baghdad in Central Iraq. The only MKO TV programmes being traced at present are via satellite on the station "Simaye Azaidi Iran National TV" (Vision of Freedom National Iran TV), which is not located in Iraq but which the sat-address.com web site gives UK-based contact details. The web site is http://www.iranntv.com and satellites are the trans-Atlantic Telstar 12 at 15 degrees west (12588 MHz vertical), beamed to Europe and the Middle East. KurdSat, the television station of the PUK, has expanded its broadcasts to Kirkuk and Khanaqin. The KDP's television station Kurdistan TV now beams its programmes to Kirkuk and Mosul. The Iraqi newpaper Al-Qabas reported on 3 June that eight million satellite dishes would be imported from the United States, Japan, Korea and China. TV BAND IN BAGHDAD (sound frequencies in MHz ) VHF 194.75 - Iraqi Media Network Television 222.75 - Iranian Television First Channel UHF 484.75 - Iraqi Media Network Television 508.75 - Iranian Television First Channel 532.75 - Iranian Television Regional Service 604.75 - Iraqi Media Network Television 644.75 - Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Radio (in parallel with radio transmission on 4025 kHz) IRANIAN BROADCAST MEDIA ACCESSIBLE IN IRAQ -- TELEVISION The Iran-based Al-Alam TV channel in Arabic and English is a 24-hour news channel transmitted on four satellites (Arabsat, Asiasat, Telstar and Hot Bird satellites) and can be received in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and America. Al-Alam broadcasts into Baghdad from a powerful transmitter about 150 km away, just over the Iran-Iraq border. It is the only foreign channel that can be viewed by Iraqis without a satellite dish. That has sent its viewership soaring among Iraqis, who cannot afford a satellite dish and receiver. The Arabic channel began broadcasting in February 2003. English content currently is limited to horizontal news subtitles or news tickers. The station has a web site at http://www.alalamnews.com Sahar Universal Network 1 and 2 television, Iran's external satellite TV service on the Hot Bird 1-6 satellites, is viewable across Iraq and includes Arabic programming. It broadcasts on the 13 degrees East Hot Bird 1-6 satellite daily from 0500-2300 gmt. Its web site is located at http://www.sahartv.com. Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran television in Arabic is based in Tehran and sponsored by the state-run Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It broadcasts daily to Iraq on the satellite parameter 11172 MHz V (6.8 MHz) 62 degrees East Intelsat 902. Al-Thaqalayn TV --- This channel, affiliated to an Iranian cultural institute of the same name, is targeted at viewers in Iraq and broadcasts religious programmes, the Tehran Times newspaper reported on 14 July. People in Iran's Ilam Province can watch the programmes as well, the report noted. Resistance Channel - this TV channel is called "Al-Estiqamah TV" in Arabic; in April 2003 it was reported to be using the facilities of Iranian radio and TV, including the aerial of Iran's Education Channel, to broadcast to Iraq. The station was inaugurated in early April 2003 by Ayatollah Baqr al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq [SCIRI], according to the Tehran- based Baztab web site. The channel was untraced when checked from 5-7 July 2003, and may no longer be operational. A search of internet sites on 6 July revealed that the channel has left Intelsat 902, Hot Bird and Arabsat. RADIO Voice of the Mujahidin --- First observed on 17 April and broadcasting in Arabic, the station's content suggests that it is operated by the Iranian-backed Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). In addition, the station is transmitting on one of several frequencies used by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting for its external transmissions. Has been heard on 90.1 MHz FM, in parallel with 720 kHz. The content generally parallels that of the main SCIRI web site located at http://www.majlesaala.com Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran (VIRI) external service in Arabic can be heard on mediumwave and shortwave inside Iraq as well as via the Internet at http://www.irib.com Voice of Rebellious Iraq - broadcasts in Arabic and supports the Iranian-sponsored Shi'i group, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI); believed to transmit from Iran. The station was untraced when checked from 5-7 July 2003. INTERNATIONAL MEDIA Major international radio and television stations, such as pan-Arab satellite television stations, the BBC Arabic and World service radio, the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East, US Radio Sawa and US- sponsored Radio Free Iraq are available in Iraq. BBC World Service is now 24 hours a day in Arabic on FM in Baghdad and Basra. The FM frequencies are 89.0 MHz in Baghdad and 90.0 MHz in Basra in Arabic. In Basra, the World Service can also be heard in English on FM on 88.0 MHz and 98.1 MHz. Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East is now on FM on 93.5 MHz in Baghdad for 24 hours a day. Radio Sawa is on FM in Baghdad (100.4 MHz), Arbil (100.5 MHz) and Sulaymaniyah (88.0 MHz), as well as on 1548 MW. Since mid-May 2003, Libya has been broadcasting specifically to Iraq in Arabic. The shortwave broadcasts carrry the following announcement: "This is the general centre for broadcasts beamed from the Great Jamahiriyah: A message to the people of the two rivers [Iraq]." Libya broadcasts to Iraq daily on 17600 kHz from 1200-1300 and on 7245, 9605, and 11660 kHz from 1800-1900 gmt. Syrian Arab Republic Radio is the Syrian state-owned radio's external service. It broadcasts on shortwave on 12085 and 13610 kHz. It has also been heard in Iraq on the MW frequency of 819 kHz between 1100 and 1145 gmt. Its satellite parameters are 11572 MHz H (7.2 MHz) on 16 degrees East Eutelsat W2, and 3803 MHz LCHP 40.50 W NSS 806. Its broadcast times are from 1100-1145, 1350-1450, 1830-1915 and 2215-2315 gmt. Radio Kuwait is the state-owned Kuwaiti radio. It can be received in Iraq on the MW frequency of 540 kHz 24 hours. Voice of Israel is Israel's state-owned radio. It broadcasts daily in Arabic on shortwave from 0300-2115 gmt on 5915 kHz and 12150 kHz. Access to all broadcast media is limited by the availability of electricity, radio and TV sets and the satellite equipment. INTERNET Uruklink, the Iraqi state internet service provider, was observed back in operation on 12 July after several months offline. The web site at http://www.uruklink.net includes links to live audio streams from the BBC Arabic Service, Radio Sawa and Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East. The US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that is administering postwar Iraq has a web site http://www.cpa-iraq.org The web site carries transcripts of speeches by CPA administrator L. Paul Bremer and other officials, fact sheets on Iraqi ministries, public service announcements, press releases and official documents such as regulations and orders issued by the CPA. An official source at the Ministry of Transport and Communications announced at the end of June 2003 that internet services to private subscribers in Baghdad would be resumed soon, and would be "free of charge", Al-Shira newspaper reported. Source: BBC Monitoring research 26 Aug 03 (via DXLD) ** IRELAND. RTÉ TO LAUNCH LONGWAVE SERVICE ON 1ST OCTOBER Lennie Kaye, Technical Operations Manager (Radio) at Irish public broadcaster RTÉ, has told Media Network that the official launch of the longwave service of RTÉ Radio 1 on 252 kHz is planned for 1 October 2003. The transmitter has been testing in recent days, leading to a spate of E-mails to Media Network and other media sites. RTÉ acquired the transmitter from its previous commercial owners, TEAMtalk, when that station closed on 31 July last year. The longwave service is intended primarily for Irish expatriates living in the UK. At the same time, RTÉ has expanded its radio services on the Sky Digital platform by adding the stereo version of RTÉ Radio 1 on the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) at 910. The existing Radio 1 service on EPG 892 has been re-named "RTE Europe" as it's carried on the Astra 2B satellite which has a wider footprint than the new stereo service on Astra 2D that covers mainly Ireland and the UK. The RTÉ Europe service carries the same alternative programming at certain times as the mediumwave transmitter in Ireland on 567 kHz (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 26 August 2003 via DXLD) RTE are testing 252 again today from 10am UTC, probably for most of this week if it's anything like last. They are putting out RTE Radio 1 as on their internet feed at http://www.rte.ie (Posted by Paul Strickland on August 26, 2003 at 06:34:39, LW Messageboard via DXLD) RTE is back on longwave 252 kHz again this morning (Tuesday), heard from tune-in at 1030 UT with a relay of RTE Radio 1. It seems stronger today than during the tests last week. 73s (Dave Kenny, UK, Aug 26, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** IRELAND [non]. RTÉ ALL IRELAND HURLING AND FOOTBALL FINALS 2003 ON SHORTWAVE Irish public broadcaster RTÉ has announced the shortwave frequencies for coverage of this year's All Ireland Hurling and Football Finals. The broadcasts will take place at 1425-1625 UTC on Sunday 14th and Sunday 28th September 2003 as follows: to North America on 13785 kHz to Central & South America on 15275 kHz to West Africa on 17860 kHz to Northeast Africa & the Middle East on 21590 kHz to the Far East & SE Asia on 7485 kHz (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 25 August 2003 via DXLD) ** ITALY. EUROPEAN MUSIC RADIO 49 METRES 5775 KHZ SUNDAY NIGHTS Dear EMR listener, It is time now for EMR to hit the air waves once again, this time we are via the Italian Radio Relay Service on 5775 kHz just outside the 49 metre band. The first transmission date is the 31st of August 2003 at 2000 to 2130 BST with hit music and IDs to Europe. All transmissions will be repeated within 7 days of the Main broadcast. EMR will be on the air every 3rd Sunday night of the month until April 2004 on the same channel from the 21st of September 2003. Starting in September 2003 EMR will be introducing a new jingle Package and programme schedule. All correct reports via E-mail will be verified with a free QSL card via post. EMR E-mail Address - emr@blueyonder.co.uk THESE ARE THE ON AIR DATES FOR EMR ALL TRANSMISSIONS ARE ON 5775 KHZ AT 2000 TO 2130 BRITISH STANDARD TIME. [1900-2030 UT until Nov, then 2000-2130 UT] 2003 DATES 31st AUGUST 2003 - Repeated 6th of September 21st SEPTEMBER 2003 - Repeat - (to be confirmed) 19th OCTOBER 2003 16th NOVEMBER 2003 21st DECEMBER 2003 2004 DATES 18th JANUARY 2004 16th FEBRUARY 2004 15th MARCH 2004 19th APRIL 2004 [1900-2030 again] There maybe some transmissions on 13840 kHz sometime before April 2004. GOOD LISTENING AND GOOD RECEPTION 73s (TOM, EMR, Aug 24, BCLnews.it via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. ACTIVISTS THWARTED IN N. KOREA RADIO BALLOON BID SEOUL, Aug 22 (Reuters) - South Korean police on Friday thwarted a group of activists trying to launch balloons carrying transistor radios into North Korea in a bid to undermine the communist government, an activist said. Speaking by telephone from near the border between the two countries, activist Rev Douglas Shin said Norbert Vollertsen, who works on behalf of North Korean refugees, was slightly hurt in a scuffle with police, who said the demonstrators did not have a permit for a balloon launch rally. "We were told this morning that the government would not interfere, but in Cholwon we were told there was a change of orders," said Shin, a Korean-American human rights campaigner. He said Vollertsen had injured his knee in the scuffle. Local police could not immediately be reached for comment. The group of mainly South Korean activists had gathered at Cholwon, a town 80 km (48 miles) northeast of the South Korean capital, to try to fly more than 20 balloons, each six metres (18 ft) tall and carrying about 30 small radios, into North Korea. The "Give the Ear to a North Korean" campaign was aimed at overcoming North Korea's strict ban on its people receiving outside broadcasts. North Korean radios and televisions are built so they can only tune in to government channels, which run mostly martial music or praise of reclusive leader Kim Jong-il. The Voice of America and South Korea's KBS -- both government-run broadcasters -- air programmes aimed at North Korea, but face jamming. Vollertsen is a German doctor once decorated by North Korea for humanitarian work there, but was expelled in 2000 after condemning the communist state's human rights record. He has since campaigned to help North Koreans refugees in China secure asylum in South Korea and other countries, and helped plan a spate of incursions by North Korean refugees into foreign diplomatic missions in Beijing last year. Friday's incident came as the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia prepared to meet in Beijing next week in an attempt to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis. REUTERS (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. PRIVATE RADIO BREAKS STATE RADIO MONOPOLY OF NATIONAL COVERAGE | Excerpt from report by Malagasy independent newspaper L'Express de Madagascar web site on 25 August A [private] Malagasy radio station is now relayed on satellite. This is the good news offered by MBS [Madagascar Broadcasting System, owned by President Marc Ravalomanana and managed by his daughter, Sarah Ravalomanana] to radio listeners in Fianarantsoa [southcentral town]. This is an unexpected development. Indeed during a seminar on media legislation which we attended in Antananarivo in the year 2000, the manager of a private station had asked whether he could resort to satellites to relay his broadcasts to all corners of Madagascar. [Passage omitted] His request obviously was turned down by [Ratsiraka regime] officials who attended the seminar, and who clearly were eager to leave the venue of the debate without having to give an answer inappropriate to the prevailing situation [pluralism of information]. However, satellites may now be used to compete with the national radio station [broadcasting in short wave and therefore audible countrywide]. [Passage omitted] The [national radio station's] monopoly of national news coverage is now a thing of the past. Several parts of the national territory will now be covered by two stations: RNM [Malagasy National Radio] and Radio MBS which broadcasts simultaneously to Mahajanga [northwestern port], Toliara [southwestern port], Tolagnaro [southeastern port], Fianarantsoa [southcentral town] and, of course, to SAVA [Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar, Andapa: vanilla-producing region on northeastern coast]. [Passage omitted] Regarding the radio's programmes, a MBS official said 60 per cent of them would be those of the MBS HQ in Anosipatrana [Antananarivo neighbourhood]. Live news bulletins [broadcast by MBS HQ in capital] are broadcast at 1230 [0930 gmt] and 1830 [1530 gmt] and the evening news will be rebroadcast the following day at 0615 [0315 gmt]. The official also said "the news bulletins in French will be broadcast from today (21 August)". He said the first trial on satellite took place on Friday 8 August, adding that the radio transmits daily [on satellite] from 0500 [0200 gmt] to 2300 [2000 gmt]. Source: L'Express de Madagascar web site, Antananarivo, in French 25 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MEXICO. DX PROGRAMS (in Spanish) [primary surnames --- primer apellido --- are in caps to avoid confusion by non-Mexicans] DX 21 c/o Radio Mexico International Calle Real de Mayorazgo #83 Colonia Xoco, Del. Benito Juárez 03330 México, D.F., MEXICO Telephone: +52-5-628-1731, 628-1730 Fax: +52-5-604-6753 Contact persons: Alejandro JOSEPH, Juan José MIROZ E-mails: rmi@eudoramail.com, rmi@imer.com.mx Websites: http://www.imer.gob.mx http://www.imer.gob.mx/cartas/rmi/pdf Airtimes: Tuesday and Friday 2030-2045 UT on 9705 and 11770 kHz (subject to change) Note: This is the DX program of station XERMX, Radio Mexico International -- the Mexican government`s international shortwave station. We have been told that "DX 21" is more of an amateur radio program produced by members of the Radio Experimenters Federation and intended to introduce listeners to the world of amateur radio. In the past, Radio Mexico International has had other DX programs of more interest to shortwave listeners (including in English). At press time, the station was going through some major budget cuts which were causing changes in personnel and programming, so perhaps there will be changes in its DX program(s) in the near future. Encuentro DX c/o XEOI Radio Mil Onda Corta Apartado Postal 21-1000 04021 México, D.F., MEXICO Contact persons: Dr. Julián SANTIAGO Díez de Bonilla, Héctor GARCIA Bojorge E-mails: jusadiez@hotmail.com bojorge@servidor.unam.mx Website: http://www.nrm.com.mx/estaciones/radiomil/DX.html Airtimes (Central Mexican Time): Friday 1725; Saturday 0830 and 1930; Sunday 0900, 1725 (or 1825) and 2305 hours on 6010 kHz. Add five hours for UT in summer; add six hours for UT in winter. [see previous issue for schedule in UT, apparently rounded off times. Jeff White`s interview on Radio Enlace mentioned that gh`s Spanish DX report was also heard within this program, news to me --- gh] Note: Encuentro DX is actually a group of shortwave listeners in the Mexico City area. They produce a weekly DX program with the same name for the shortwave frequency (6010 kHz) of the popular commercial AM station Radio Mil in Mexico City. Dr. Julián Santiago speaks excellent English, has lived in the United States, and used to produce a regular DX program in English (which unfortunately no longer exists) for the government-owned Radio Mexico International. At press time, Radio Mil was about to move its studios to a new location on the outskirts of Mexico City, and it was unknown if Encuentro DX would be able to continue producing a weekly DX program for the station. In any case, the group will continue to exist as a local DX club. Sintonía Libre c/o Radio Educación (XEPPM) Angel Urraza 622, Colonia del Valle 03100 México, D.F., MEXICO Alternate address: Apartado Postal 21-465, CP 04021 México, D.F., MEXICO Main telephone: +52-5-1500-1050 (direct number to Shortwave Department +52-5-1500-1073) Studio telephone: +52-5-1500-1060 Other telephone numbers: +52-5-559-6944, +52-5-559-8075 Director General: Ms. Lidia CAMACHO Camacho (telephone +52-5-1500- 1051) Assistant Director for Production and Programming: Ms. Perla Olivia RODRIGUEZ Reséndiz (telephone +52-5-1500-1063) General e-mail addresses: radioeducación@yahoo.com informes@radioeducacion.edu.mx E-mail for Director General: direccion@radioeducacion.edu.mx E-mail for Asst. Director for Production and Programming: polivia@radioeducacion.edu.mx Website: http://www.radioeducacion.edu.mx Broadcast schedule for shortwave frequency (6185 kHz): 1800-0600 Mexico City time daily (add five hours for UT in summer; add six hours for UT in winter) Broadcast schedule for "Sintonía Libre:" Monday 1830-1900; Tuesday 2030-2100; Wednesday 2230-2300; Friday 1830-1900; Saturday 2030-2100; Sunday 2230-2300. These are local days and times. Add five hours for UT in summer; add six hours for UT in winter. Note that "Sintonía Libre" is actually a weekly program. The new program is first broadcast on Wednesday; the other days and times are repeats. Note: The Mexican government operates two shortwave stations. Radio Mexico International is the main international broadcasting station, although its technical facilities and signal are variable from fair to poor at press time. Radio Educación (i.e. Radio Education) is operated by the Ministry of Education, and its shortwave facilities are in very good shape with a good to excellent signal at local nighttimes when there is no co-channel interference. The station is quite committed to DXers and provides excellent coverage of Mexican DX events such as the Annual National Meeting of DXers and Radio Listeners. The station is quite popular among shortwave listeners in Mexico. (It was tied for sixth place in the NASB listener survey.) The station broadcasts in Spanish, with some English and French (Jeff White, 9th Mexican DX Encuentro report in Sept NASB Newsletter via DXLD) ** NICARAGUA [non]. See COSTA RICA, R. Reloj ** NIGERIA. NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMMISSION SHUTS ITV/RADIO, BENIN This Day (Lagos) August 23, 2003 Posted to the web August 25, 2003 http://allafrica.com/stories/200308250220.html Lagos --- National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has suspended the operations of the Independent Radio and Television, Benin. The chief public affairs officer of the commission, Mr. Ahmed Abdulkadir, in a statement said the suspension is due to the unprofessional conduct of both stations which relayed martial music on the radio and television stations following the death of a staff of the communications outfit on Thursday, August 21. "A lengthy broadcast of Martial Music, without accompanying educational or entertainment information, usually signifies a threat to political/ administrative situation in Nigeria, and should not be indulged in by a station for any reason whatsoever." The offence contravenes the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which states that no station should, "broadcast information immediately leading, or likely to lead to a breakdown of law and order." The station's act, according to the statement, did cause panic in Edo and threatened to lead to a breakdown of law and order in the state and beyond, as its signals cover Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states. [sic -- something missing] w being investigated by the commission, the law-enforcement and security agencies (via allafrica.com via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) This Benin is a part of Nigeria, not the separate country formerly known as Dahomey (gh, DXLD) ** PERU. R. Victoria, Lima, 6020: in addition to the religious program La Voz de la Liberación, theyhave original info programs as follows: ``Radioperiódico Nuevo Mundo`` at 1200-1300 and 0000-0100 and ``Revista del Mediodia`` at 1730-1830, both M-F. Time may vary by dayf rom 5 to 15 minutes. In ``Radioperiódico Nuevo Mundo`` we can hear a sole ad for ``Producciones Monte Sinaí``. According to the telephone book, the station has two addresses: one is Arica 248, which corresponds to the national headquarters of Iglesia Pentecostal Dios es Amor, and the other is Reynal 320,as announced on the news. R. Nacional del Perú, Lima, 850 and 103.9: According to the ``Indicadores de Desempeño del Plan Estratégico Institucional 2002-2006, al Cuarto Trimestre 2002`` dated 05/02/2003 prepared by Oficina General de Planificación y Desarrollo, Instituto Nacional de Radio y Televisión del Perú at http://www.irtp.com.pe/irtp/archivos/05-02-2003/IDPEI_02-06_CT2002_Pl.pdf ``Radio Nacional AM went off the air from June 10 (2002) due to inundation at the transmitter site. So it was necessary to move the transmitter to transmitter site of Radio la Crónica. Due to the lack of budget for acquisition of three-phase power supply, it is not possible to put into operation. . .`` As reported in the last THDXN, Radio Nacional-AM was back on the air in late April 2003 [on 850 or 1320?? -gh] R. Unión, Lima, 880 and 6115: According to visit, I was told that their office\studios had moved from San Isidro to Miraflores. New QTH is José Pardo 138, Edificio Neptuno, Piso 16, Miraflores, Lima. Phone numbers, e-mail address, websie appeared in 2003 yellow pare are no longer in use. I wonder if this unavailability is related to this move? Librería Nuevo Mundo: ``Los tres temas menos conocidos de la Radiodifusión Mundial``, by Enrique Ramírez Cortez, published by Universidad de Piura in 2000. ISBN: 9972-48-034-8. 144 pages in total. Price 25 Nuevos Soles (= US$7.2) --- This is an introductory book of a wonderful world of DXing by a Peruvian DXer. The prologue is written by Gabriel Iván Barrera. Theme 1 ``Historia de la radio``, Theme 2 ``Diexismo``, Theme 3 ``El lado oculto de la radio, la radiodifusión ilegal`` -- Interesting (Tetsuya Hirahara, who visited Lima 19 June to 28 July, 2003, ``El Tiempo Hechicero`` DX News, Aug, via Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** PERU. R. Reina de la Selva, Chachapoyas; QSL card, personal letter, program table and photo in 52 days. The photo was ruin of pre-Inca in Chachapoyas. V/s José David Reina Noriega (Yukiharu Uemura, Kanagawa, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo Aug 12 via DXLD) Note Reina spelling ** PERU. A couple more Visitation Certificates collected by Takayuki Inoue Nozaki on his travels around Peru are reproduced in Radio Nuevo Mundo; compare to DXLD 3-130 for Nor Andina, with quite similar wording, sic with mistakes, minus the strikeovers I can`t reproduce: RADIO FRECUENCIA - VH - 4ta D.C. / ``La Voz de Celendín`` / Jr. José Gálvez 710 --- Celendín [letterhead] ``C O N S T A N C I A D E V I S I T A Hacemos constar que en la fecha 05 de Enero del año 1995 fuimos horadios con la presencia de nuestro distinguido amigo TAKAYUKI INOUE NOZAKI, quien en forma heroica y pacentera viene recorriendo muchos lugares de nuestro País el Perú, visitando especialmente diferentes medios de comunicación de las cuales una es Radio Frecuencia VH. ``LA VOZ DE CELENDIN``. Como muestra de gran reconocimiento y agradecimiento a la vez me permito elogiar la labor especial de nuestro distinguido vicitante y a nombre de todo el personal que laboramos en dicho medio de comunicación quiero desearle mucha suerte en esta magna tarea de difundir a todo el mundo las noricias que el aspecto comunicativo sigue extendiendose cada dia más y en diferentes categorías. Desde la Provincia de Celendín Región Nor Oriental del Marañon Republica del Perú Transmitimos el presente como un recuerdo para nuestro amigo aquien siempre lo recordaremos y le invitamos a que siempre nos escuhe en su Peis el JAPON. Celendín, 05 de Enero de 1,995.`` [Station circular rubber stamp, signed by Fernando Vázquez Castro, Director-Gerente] By 2001, a new letterhead had a new logo, a large V, perhaps of solar panels, overlain by two identical striped cylinders, presumably communications satellites which presumably Radio Frecuencia VH does not directly employ. The address, now moved to the bottom of the page, had changed to: Jr. José Gálvez No. 1030; tel (044) 855149. This time the message is a bit more succinct, apparently on the same typewriter, but better typist with no strikeovers: ``Por la presente hacemos constar que el sr. TAKAYUKI INOVE, nos visitó a nuesro pueblo Celendino en la fecha del Mes de Octubre, un día Sábado 06 de Octubre del 2001. Fue grato el momento que pasamos juntos relatando bonitas experiencias tanto de su Pais como el nuestro, nos sentimos muy emosionados y al mismo tiempo que le agradecemos muchisimo por sus gratas noticias de que en varios Paices del mundo hacen lo posible de escucharnos demostrando así su jovi. Como muestra de nuestro gran agradecimiento le extendemos la presente para los fines que crea conveniente. Celendín, 06 de octubre del 2001 [same stamp seal and signature]`` A third letter is reproduced, apparently a partial data QSL form, which reads in part [sic]: ``Anuestros Distinguidos Oyentes del Extranjero: Muy señroes Mios: Es grato el momento de saludarlos muy cordialmente y hacer amplia nuestras felicitaciones a cada uno de Uds. Por tener la amabilidad de captar nuestras ondas de RADIO FRECUENCIA V.H. ``La voz de Celendín`` en la frecuencia de los 4485 KHZ. OC. En forma sucinta comparto nuestra reseña histórica: Surgimos con un pequeño oscilador de apenas cinco vatios de potencia, artefacto que empesamos hacerlo funsionar con acumuladores de energía razón que no existia fluido eléctrico en nuestro medio, posteriormente adquirimos un trasmisor de 150 vatios de potencia en OC. El cual funsionaba solamente en horario nocturno. Hace aproximadamente 6 años que nuestra provincia cuenta con fluido eléctrico en las 24 horas del día servicio indispensable que nos sirvio para instalar nuestro equipo trasmisor de 500 vatios de potencia en la A.M. con la que funsionamos desde las 5.00 de la mañana hasta las 6.00 P.M. y desde las 18 horas nos proyectamos al eter en la frecuencia internacional de los 4485 KHZ.OC. hasta las 22 horas en hora peruana. En la mayoria de nuestras programaciones y/o en los diferentes horarios es nuestra caracteristica presentar la música Nacional de nuestro País (Folklore Bernacular Peruano). Con la inmensa alegria que nos causa el saber que nos escuchan en diversos paises del extranjero les escribimos estas breves notas dando muestra de nuestra amistad con uno de nuestrso amigos Q.S.L. Esperamos siempre tener noticias, nos suscribimos a cada undo de Uds. Atentamente.`` (From an exhaustive report in English on Radio Frecuencia VH, resulting from TIN`s visits, ``Por las Rutas del Perú (47)`` in Relámpago DX No. 139, March 2003, via Radio Nuevo Mundo, Aug 12, retyped by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Re 3-153, R. Los Andes, 5030: One syllable seems to be missing from Thomas Nilsson's translation. It should read, "From a couple of our members,..." [not coup!] (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also BOLIVIA ** RWANDA. Special broadcast last night of R Rwanda on 6055 on occasion of the national presidential elections. 6055 R Rwanda, 26th of August, 0005-0100, national language, election results (as far as I could understand), nice African music, ID, some QRM by RAI on 6060, blocked by REE at 0100; SINPO 43423. Audio clip with a nice piece of music and ID (122 KB) on my homepage. vy 73 (Michael Schnitzer. Homepage: http://home.arcor.de/mschnitzer/ Location: Hassfurt, Germany, dxing.info via DXLD) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO. MIOMIR GRUJIC by Matthew Collin, Sunday August 24 2003, The Observer [unaccented and untransliterated Serbian names sic] The Serbian radio disc jockey Miomir Grujic, better known as Fleka, who has died aged 49, was one of the pivotal figures in Belgrade's avant-garde art scene and counterculture. In western Europe, he was best known for his vocal performance on a recording by the electronic rock band The KLF - The Magnificent, which appeared on the War Child charity album, Help (1995). But in Serbia, Grujic was renowned for his involvement in a huge variety of art, music and media projects dating back to 1980 and the communist regime of Tito. His late-night radio broadcasts on the independent station Radio B92, which was shut down four times in the 1990s by Slobodan Milosevic's government, were both radical and bizarre. Radio Bat, as his show was called, began in 1989 and mixed Grujic's surreal monologues with garage-punk, electronic music and psychedelic rock. Keen to awaken his listeners' unconscious and to hold a mirror up to what he called the "ugly face" of Belgrade in the Milosevic era, Grujic invited heroin addicts, criminals and people with AIDS to phone in and participate in long philosophical discussions. His aim was to discover truth and a sense of freedom amid the repression, militarism and isolation his country was enduring. "I want to be some kind of transformer, some kind of idiot, some kind of madman," he said. "I want to provoke people and make them react." His final broadcast, in 1999, came one day before the Nato bombing of the city began. Grujic was the central character in Marc J Hawker's 1995 documentary for Channel 4, Zombie Town. He resembled a veteran rock 'n' roll star as he growled his satirical pieces to camera, gold teeth flashing, eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. Although blind as the result of a long-term debilitating illness, Grujic was a charismatic presence. Bill Drummond of The KLF describes him in his book, 45, as having a captivating, guttural tone "like a Slavic Howlin' Wolf", adding, "Some voices, whatever words they are saying, have that instant sound of authority, of being the real thing. Fleka had it." Grujic was asked to contribute a voiceover to The Magnificent, The KLF's drum-and-bass cover version of the theme from the film The Magnificent Seven as a replacement for Robbie Williams, who had turned down the offer to participate. The song later became a protest anthem during the mass demonstrations against the Milosevic government in 1996. Before Radio Bat started, Grujic had already established himself on the art and music scene in Belgrade. From 1983 until 1990, he worked as the programming director of the student nightclub Akademija. Like his radio show, Akademija was chaotic, innovative and unique in Belgrade. The music was inspired by the clubs Grujic had visited during a year spent in London in 1979 and the decor took its influence from American graffiti artists such as Keith Haring and Futura 2000. Born in Sabac, west of Belgrade, Grujic studied law and painting, and graduated from the Belgrade Fine Arts Academy in 1985. He approached all his enterprises as art projects, particularly Urbazona, a series of literary and artistic events that ran from 1993 until his death. He also edited an art magazine, 4F; founded a not-for-profit record label, Trotorock; exhibited his own artworks in Belgrade galleries; wrote for the theatre and television; and produced illustrations for the Serbian daily newspaper Danas. He is survived by his ex-wife, Jovana, and his son. Miomir Grujic, broadcaster and artist, born June 1 1954; died July 11 2003 Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. 17660, Sudan Radio Service, sent letter verie on Education Development Center, Inc. letterhead, in 6 days for E-mail report to jgroce@edc.org which I also sent by postal mail with CD and in which I requested postal reply; also small EDC sticker. V/S Jeremy Groce, Radio Programming Advisor. Good verie statement, tho no details. Indicated questions should be sent via leteter or to srs@edc.org Tnx Scott Barbour for address, which is: 1000 Potomac Street, NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC 20007 (Jerry Berg, MA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. ELECTION SPECIAL ON R. SWEDEN It was announced on Radio Sweden last Sunday that there will be a special program on Sunday, September 14 dealing with the national referendum (that takes place that day) on joining the European Community's single currency (ie: the "euro"). It will air in place of "Sounds Nordic", a youth culture and music show that goes out each Sunday except for the first Sunday of the month, which is reserved for the listener contact program "In Touch with Stockholm". Broadcast times and frequencies from http://www.sr.se/rs/ (John Figliozzi, Aug 26, swprograms via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. George Poppin reports that he could hear no trace of RUI on 12040, in the 0000-0300+ UT period on Aug 21 and 22, and asked Alexander Yegorov: Alexander, Do we need new frequencies? (George J. Poppin San Francisco) Dear George, thank you for the report. Propagation has become bad on 12040, so from 1 September we will pass to 9810 kHz. Please, keep on the monitoring, and indicate QRMs on this frequency (Alexander Yegorov, RUI, via Poppin, DXLD) Glenn, Following info about RUI received from Alexander Yegorov on August 26, 2003. "Due to bad propagation for last period on 12040, RUI will change it to 9810 from 1 September." 73, (Kraig Krist, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. THE SMUG, UNRESPONSIVE BBC Thank you for publishing Barbara Captijn's letter ("The BBC Has Much to Answer For," Aug. 19), in which she bemoans the BBC's failure to respond to her complaints about anti-American reporting. This has been my experience as well. BBC Radio 4, the station to which I listen in the morning, is certainly self-satisfied: It often bills itself as objective and, according to presenter John Humphries, "civilizing." I have, however, been struck by the pervasive anti-American (and, incidentally, anti-business) views in much of its reporting. This seems to be the case regardless of whether stories are economic reviews of the U.S., reports on Iraq, or even the "thought for the day." Frequently, U.S. policy will be slated without U.S. officials giving any reply or mention being made that officials declined to comment. An example of this, in my experience, is the issue of prisoners being held in Guantanamo Bay. Perhaps the U.S. is indeed doing the wrong thing here, but it would be nice if U.S. representatives were given the opportunity to defend their country's position. I have also noticed that on cultural programs, which are otherwise pretty good on the BBC, Americans who are invited to speak are often clearly ambivalent about the United States. There is, of course, no problem giving airtime to critics of the U.S., but it gets a bit much when nearly all the commentary is one-way traffic. I have e-mailed the BBC a couple of times and have received no acknowledgment. Even some of my geeky friends have complained about the difficulty of e-mailing the BBC, and so I thought that perhaps my e-mails went astray. However, following Ms. Captijn's letter, I suspect the BBC may have some policy of not responding to or acknowledging the receipt of e-mails. But even if there is such a policy -- and even if there are good reasons for it -- the BBC displays a smugness that could only come from an enterprise with guaranteed access to taxpayer funds. Michael Schewitz, London, Updated August 26, 2003 (Letter to the editor of Wall Street Journal, via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. Why would the Conservatives want to close the BBC website? 73- Bill Westenhaver TORIES WOULD CLOSE BBC WEBSITE Tom Happold, Tuesday August 26 2003, The Guardian The Conservative party would switch off a swath of the BBC's digital services, including its website and the youth channel BBC3, if it won the next general election. The party's culture spokesman, John Whittingdale, told Guardian Unlimited Politics he was "not persuaded" of the case for a public service website and that he was "not convinced the BBC needs to do all the things it is doing at the present", including providing "more and more channels". "As a free-market Conservative, I will only support a nationalised industry if I'm persuaded that that is the only way to do it and if it were not nationalised it would not happen." Mr Whittingdale's comments will be seen within the BBC as a glimpse of what it can expect from the Tories' review of the corporation. The party launched the review, chaired by the outspoken former chief executive of Channel Five, David Elstein, earlier this year. "The BBC cannot continue doing what it's always done when everything around it in the broadcasting world has ultimately changed. "So you need to review what the BBC is there for, what is it providing that the market will not provide," he said. "Now I think there are certain functions that a public service broadcaster still needs to fulfil and that wouldn't be provided otherwise be done by the marketplace - it is public service broadcasting. "But I am not persuaded that there is necessarily a case for a public service website. I'm not persuaded that anything on the BBC site could not be provided elsewhere, [for instance] the newspapers are mostly providing sites, which provide news and comment. "They [the newspaper sites] are essentially trying to provide for the same market and therefore you can argue why does the licence fee payers need to be financing the BBC to do it when there are other commercial organisations who are doing the same thing." "The BBC site is fantastic but that's because it's had a lot of money thrown at it." Of the BBC's other digital services, Mr Whittingdale said: "I don't accept that the BBC should go on providing more and more channels. "I'm certainly not convinced that the BBC needs to do all the things it is doing at the present nor am I convinced it needs to £2.7bn of licence fee payers money to do it." "I watch BBC3 occasionally and it does not look particularly distinctive, and it looks pretty downmarket, to me - a pale shadow of E4. Mr Whittingdale also renewed his call for the BBC to come under Ofcom, the independent broadcasting regulator, claiming the "Kelly episode is a ghastly illustration" of the continuing problem of the corporation regulating itself. "Ofcom should have always been given the power to regulate the BBC, and had they done so then any complaints about bias or content would have ultimately gone to a body who are seen as separate from the BBC," he said. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U K. 'ROGUE RADIO WAVES' LOCK OUT DRIVERS ISABEL COCKAYNE July 29, 2003 19:36 http://tinyurl.com/l2ic Dozens of shoppers were stranded in Thetford today after their cars locked them out. Immobilisers and electric locking systems shut down, locking several people out of their cars parked at the Forest Retail Park. The mystery mass lock-out has been blamed on rogue radio waves. Although it is unclear where the radio waves were transmitted from, the incident is to be investigated by the Radio Broadcasting Commission. Sainsbury's staff provided cups of tea and help for stranded families, who had to wait for mechanics to fix the problems (EDP24 News via Jilly Dybka KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** U S A. ENGINEER GARLINGER HONORED BY SOCIETY OF BROADCAST ENGINEERS (This article was posted August 8, 2003 on RW Online, and is reprinted here by permission. Doug is a former vice-president of the NASB.) Douglas Garlinger is SBE's Broadcast Engineer of the Year. He will be honored during the society's national meeting on Oct. 15 in Madison, Wis. Garlinger, CPBE, CBNT has been employed by LeSea Broadcasting Corp. as director of engineering since 1980. LeSea operates the World Harvest Television Network, eight full-power TV stations, four LPTVs, two FM stations and three international shortwave stations. It also has two satellite uplink networks overseas. Garlinger wrote SBE's "Introduction to DTV-RF" and co-wrote its "Television Operator's Certification Handbook." He was SBE Educator of the Year in 1994 (Sept NASB Newsletter via DXLD) If Garlinger is such a hot engineer, we wonder why WHRI audio has been perpetually muddy, and a lot of downtime lately. Perhaps he is preoccupied with (D)TV (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. LIBERAL RADIO CHAT MOVING AHEAD A fledgling liberal talk-radio network launched by a Chicago venture capitalist hoping to counter the genre's rightward tilt is close to agreements that will put it on the air in at least seven cities, including Chicago. AnShell Media LLC, named for financier Sheldon Drobny and his wife, Anita, is wrapping up affiliation deals with stations here and in New York; Los Angeles; Boston; San Francisco; Boise, Idaho, and Albuquerque, NM. AnShell CEO Jon Sinton wouldn't identify the stations, but said he expects to announce the deals this week. Posted on 08/24/2003 - (A Web-only article from ChicagoBusiness.com via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW BUILDING BRINGS PUBLIC RADIO TOGETHER BIGGER FACILITY MEANS KPR STAFF CAN WORK AT COMMON LOCATION By Terry Rombeck, Journal-World, Tuesday, August 26, 2003 [KANU, 91.5, Lawrence KS] [illustrated] When you have a CD collection that includes 30,000 discs, moving and organizing it is no small task. That's one of the challenges facing workers at Kansas Public Radio this week as they complete their move from Broadcasting Hall on campus to a new building northwest of Memorial Stadium. . . http://www.ljworld.com/section/citynews/story/143395 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) + previous story: http://www.ljworld.com/section/citynews/story/126867 (via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. POWELL'S LEADERSHIP HAS FCC BUFFETED ON ALL SIDES By MARILYN GEEWAX, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Aspen, Colo. -- As one of his first acts in office, President Bush picked Michael K. Powell to head the Federal Communications Commission, the agency that regulates phone service and broadcasting. The choice was popular. Many predicted that the bright, politically well-connected son of Secretary of State Colin Powell was on a career track that would lead to a Cabinet post, then the governorship of Virginia, and then perhaps higher office. Now the honeymoon is over. And consumer advocates are calling for his resignation. Powerful members of Congress, including many of his fellow Republicans, are pushing legislation that would undercut a key FCC decision that eases decades-old restrictions on media ownership. The FCC's decades-long tradition of unanimous rulings on major issues is in tatters following 3-2 votes on the media rules and on local telephone deregulation -- all in an atmosphere of partisan sniping among commission members. As the aftershocks of those votes continued to rumble last week, so did questions about Powell's leadership and the FCC's ability to set clear policies for communications. On Thursday, the FCC issued final rules implementing a February decision on how much regional telephone companies must share their networks with competitors. It was widely expected that some companies will fight the rules in court. A day earlier, Powell launched a counteroffensive against criticism of the media ownership rules, saying the FCC would take steps this fall to increase local programming and ensure minority voices were heard. But that move only seemed to fuel the firestorm around Powell. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat who opposed easing media ownership rules, issued a statement mocking Powell's localism initiative, saying it was "a day late and a dollar short." Consumer advocates were equally dismissive. "I have to say, my mind boggles" at the thought that Powell believes the localism effort could muffle opposition to his stance on media ownership, said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a media watchdog group. "I think Powell is desperately trying to salvage his political career, and his ego, by trying to prove that media concentration isn't really a problem," Chester said. No consensus-building His admirers urge him to stay on the job but shake their heads at his tactical missteps. They say Powell, though brilliant in many ways, has been slow to figure out how to build political support before making controversial decisions. "He can only do so much on his own," said William Daley, president of SBC Communications Inc. and former secretary of commerce under President Clinton. "To be very frank, he needs stronger allies in the administration and stronger allies on the Hill." Last month, the House voted 400-21 for a bill restoring a 35 percent cap on national broadcast audience, which the FCC had voted to raise to 45 percent. In the Senate, a bipartisan group is pushing legislation to erase all of the FCC's media ownership rule changes. The votes followed criticism from lawmakers that Powell had given little regard to public opinion before the FCC approved the media rules. "A bare, three-member majority of FCC commissioners has employed a 'damn-the-torpedoes, full-speed-ahead' strategy to hammer through one of the most far-reaching policy decisions in the history of media," said Sen. Fritz Hollings of South Carolina, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee. Speaking last week at the Aspen Summit, an annual technology conference, Powell repeatedly expressed dismay that lawmakers and other officials make decisions based on "emotional preferences" for government protections. "It's amazing," he said, that many Americans want a heavier government hand "despite how compelling the case is that capitalism and free markets around the world have provided greater prosperity." Despite the controversy, Powell's allies say he should stay the course. "When you are making big changes, there are going to be rough spots," said Tom Tauke, senior vice president for public policy at regional phone company Verizon Communications. "But if you're going to succeed, you can't just walk away. You have to instead redouble the efforts. And I think that's what he is doing right now." In the trenches Powell himself shrugs off speculation that he would resign, which first surged last February when some political pundits suggested that President Bush had urged fellow Republican Commissioner Kevin Martin to provide the deciding vote against him on the telephone deregulation decision. To fight for deregulation, "I think you better be prepared to be a really muddy infantry soldier," said Powell, a former Army platoon leader whose military career was cut short by serious injuries suffered in a training accident. He said he knows he must "take three steps forward, get shot back two, but keep going forward." FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, who also spoke in Aspen, said she believes Powell will continue serving and that the commission will be able to work well under his guidance in coming months. "I think he's a strong leader," she said. The current controversies "will settle down" before long and the commissioners will be able to put aside partisan disputes, she predicted. "We're all mature adults," she said. "We'll go forward and do our jobs." (c) 2003 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Aug 24 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. A co-worker at WSM sent this --- he also did a lot of TV. This says a lot about the state of local television newscasts. in fact it could easily be expanded to include the garbage now being passed off as news on CNN and most of the rest of the so-called network news sources (Tom Bryant) ANOTHER VIEW: Ted Mandell --- The ten little secrets of local TV news From Indianapolis Star Op-Ed page: Aug 12 Dear Paula Anchorwoman, attractive, upbeat reader of our nightly local TV news: The charade is over. It's time for your viewers to let you and your happy-face sidekicks in on a little secret. We're not the naive, non-thinking couch potatoes you think we are. While you smile and tell us about the dangers of eating peanuts for men with oversized prostates, let me give you a history lesson in local news. After growing for 40 years and then rotting for the next 20, local TV news coverage has fueled this fear-stricken, head-buried-in-the-sod society of ours for long enough. It's time for an overhaul. Local news coverage was established to inform the public as part of a Federal Communications Commission license to broadcast. It was not intended to be a sea of teasers, shameless self-promotion and smarmy personalities. Let me whisper a few other secrets into your earpiece: * Delivering a sentence with dramatic pauses and roller-coaster nuances does not make the story important. Just read the script and quit auditioning for the next local production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." * The word "live" is a TV term from the 1970s and has no meaning in today's televised world. Neither does "exclusive." We also don't care if you "brought it to us first." No one is interested in hearing, "As we reported to you first last week." Quit bragging like an 8-year old boy. * No matter how many double dopplers, future tracks and weather guarantees, the meteorologist is only correct about half the time. And zero-percent accountable. Those aren't weather labs. They are pre-fabricated weather models sent from a consulting company. The weather reporter can stare at the Vegas-sized bank of video monitors all day long, but that won't make him capable of predicting Mother Nature with the pinpoint accuracy you claim. This just in, sky-view cameras don't show us anything at night except street lights. * Speaking of accountability, teasing a story with a question -- Could your garage door kill you? Do you know what's in your sink drain? Is your child safe playing in your front lawn? -- is blatantly irresponsible and unnecessarily provokes fear in the viewer, at least until after the commercial when we find out there's really nothing to fear. Stop asking me questions. I'm tired of screaming the answers back at you. * My city is not as dangerous as you make it out to be. The insistence in putting a beat reporter on the steps of the courthouse gives the daily impression that my neighborhood is full of rapists, thieves and arsonists. We're tired of seeing the same slow-motion footage of a low-life leaving the courthouse elevator every night. Ninety-nine percent of the people in my hometown are law-abiding citizens. Quit magnifying the few criminals. * There is no such thing as an anniversary of a murder. Move on and throw the old footage away. We don't want to see it. * Every story in the world is not logically linked to another. These waves of child abductions, plagues of Internet predators and flocks of armed schoolchildren are nothing more than an ocean of local muck- diggers desperately seeking some connection of every horrific event to their own hometowns. * Being "live on location" does not mean you have information to provide to the public. It means you have a satellite truck. Schools are closed at night. So are city halls and churches. What are you doing standing out in the dark? Hey, Belinda Standup, get out of the cold and back in the studio. * The newsroom isn't live, either. The cat's out of the bag. You're not answering impromptu, probing questions from your anchor. You're just reading a teleprompter of prepared text -- usually written at a third-grade level. * It's time to fire the pricey news consultant who has turned your 30-minute show into a clone of the other 150 newscasts he services around the country. Inventor of the insipid three-day special investigative report every sweeps period, his idea of creative marketing is slapping a cheesy slogan on your news team. "Taking Action For You," "We're There for You," "Together Making a Difference" -- Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll go it alone. * * * * * Mandell teaches in the Department of Film, Television and Theater at the University of Notre Dame (via Tom Bryant, TN, Aug 24, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) ** U S A. About the blackout and radio --- Just think, for over 24 hours over 50 million folks were without power. It was stated over and over again that radio came to the rescue. Not local radio like it should have been except in a few instances, but the super big name Class A stations that gave us information. TV was almost worthless to those in the affected area because not too many people had battery operated TV, but if you own a car, you own a battery operated radio. Stations like WINS, WCBS, WJR, WTAM among others were able to put out information that was needed and used FAR BEYOND their normal primary service area. A case in point was that all the Toledo OH news talk stations were dark and the only real information filtering in was from WJR in Detroit. Toledo is not in their primary service area. Same for areas in upstate New York and most other affected areas. Let's fast forward a few years and say IBOC has been adopted by most stations. How would the folks in Toledo been able to listen to WJR if WSB in Atlanta was blasting it's IBOC sidebands as interference. Or how about WABC? What if both of them were on IBOC. WJR would be pretty much worthless to the folks that wanted and needed that information. I have written a letter to my US representative Katherine Harris (yup, that one) Asking that IBOC be looked at again in light of the fact that AM radio was about the only place people turned to during the blackout. Maybe all of us can do the same (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Located in Sunny Sarasota Florida, http://www.amtower.com NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. A HELPFUL TOOL FOR IDING PBS STATIONS While trying to ID WCTE-22 this AM I got forwarded to the PBS page. Note in the URL the calls and date. I found out that if I switched just the calls I could get another station's schedule right away for the same day (since I didn't change that part of the URL). While I've found some stations don't register (e.g., KXNE) you can try the network's flagship station and usually do fine. Some of the listings even have logos for the network or station! You might find this useful IDing which PBS station is which during skip or trops. Here's the link for WCTE's schedule within pbs.org; try changing calls and see! http://www.pbs.org/whatson/stations/daily.html?station=WCTE&date=2003-08-25 (Matthew C. Sittel, Bellevue, NE, Aug 25, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Out on Long Island, we're told Best Broadcasting's W208AU (89.5 Massapequa) has signed on, and it's not simulcasting WCNJ (89.3 Hazlet NJ), the station it applied to relay. Would you be surprised if we told you it was bringing in religious programming by satellite? We're not; the primary station there is WWBM (89.7 Yates GA), which itself has just signed on the air. Wonder if this will be the next big satellator primary? Up in VERMONT, Radio Free Brattleboro isn't staying silent --- and they want to make sure everyone knows about it. Forced off the air earlier this summer by FCC inspectors, the community station put out the word last week that it would sign back on Friday afternoon at 5 on a new frequency, 107.9, and that's just what they did, with a burst of media attention that landed them in every trade publication and even the Boston Globe. The RFB folks are making the case that, having been shut down for lack of "authority to broadcast," they've now obtained that authority - not through FCC channels but through a petition that they say has been signed by 2,000 people (in a town of barely twice that population) and through support from the local government and even the local paper. They also say - apparently with a straight face - that they have no idea whether or not the FCC will notice that they're back on, or care. Soapbox time: We've got to wonder at this point whether the RFB gang is more interested in broadcasting or in protesting. They must surely realize that all the publicity they've generated for their relaunch will draw an FCC van just as fast as it can get up the road from Quincy, and if they believe their lawyers that the "community authorization" defense will carry any weight in court, they need better lawyers. What's more, Brattleboro is one area where legal LPFM stands an excellent chance of finding available frequencies - and with 100 watts, a legal RFB could have covered the area much better than its 10-watt pirate signal ever did. (Even part 15 AM broadcasting has some potential in compact Brattleboro, yet RFB apparently rejected that idea with barely any consideration.) So we're left to conclude that RFB would rather make a big noise than seriously contemplate a future as a legal broadcaster, which is a shame after five years of what was reportedly some decent programming for an area without a huge amount of local broadcasting. By contrast, over in NEW HAMPSHIRE a new LPFM is about to launch under the aegis of some people much more interested in broadcasting than in fighting. WCNH-LP (94.7 Concord) is licensed to "Highland Community Broadcasting," which turns out to be a project involving Harry Kozlowski, PD of Concord's WJYY/WNHI, his wife Ginger, composer Patrick Lee Herbert and his wife Caroline, and Manchester musician Chris Lonsberry. Highland has struck a deal with New Hampshire Public Radio to provide access to NHPR's music library and other forms of support to the station, which will broadcast a 24-hour classical format to Concord and vicinity when it signs on, perhaps as early as October. That's what LPFM is supposed to be all about, we say (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch Aug 25 via DXLD) Sources? ** URUGUAY? PIRATE (South America). 11420.3, R. Piranha Internacional, full-data B&W card with "QSL" letters over Piranha on front, in 17 months after an E-mail verie at time of reception saying to send no postal mail. V/S Jorge R. García also enclosed 2-page personal letter with blue piranha logo, and CD of show aired in 1994 from Europe. Letter dated Mar 13, 2003 but hand carried to Europe and mailed from Sweden. From the letter: "We can't tell much about our exact QTH from where our operation are made, but I can tell you it is from the Rio de la Plata region, but not from Argentina! Also it's true when we say that we transmit from the jungle! We have also in several periods been the only short-wave broadcaster in the country!" (John Sgrulletta, NY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ###