DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-139, August 16, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2005 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 NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO Extra 59: Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down] AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1284: Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 Wed 2200 WOR WBCQ 7415 [first airing of each edition except this week] Wed 2300 WOR WBCQ 17495-CLSB Thu 1000 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Thu 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down] Thu 2030 WOR WWCR 15825 Thu 2300 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Thu 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [occasional] Fri 0000 WOR WTND-LP 106.3 Macomb IL Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream [repeated 2-hourly thru 2400] Fri 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down] Fri 2000 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Sat 1600] Fri 2105 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sat 0000 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream Sat 0800 WOR WRN to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar Sat 0855 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1000 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 & WPKM Montauk LINY 88.7 Sat 1730 WOR WRN to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sat 1730 WOR WRMI 7385 [from WRN] Sun 0230 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB [maybe not this week] Sun 0330 WOR WRMI 7385 [cancelled] Sun 0630 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0730 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sun 0830 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 0830 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0830 WOR WXPR Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 Sun 0830 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0830 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1200 WOR WRMI 7385 [cancelled] Sun 1300 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1730 WOR WRMI 7385 [from WRN] Sun 1730 WOR WRN1 to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 1900 WOR RNI Mon 0230 WOR WRMI 7385 [cancelled] Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [NO LONGER week delay] Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually closer to 0418-] Mon 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down] Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1400] Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down] Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually lately] Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down] Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html WORLD OF RADIO 1284 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1284h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1284h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1284 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1284.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1284.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1284.html [from Wed or Thu] WORLD OF RADIO 1284 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3 [projected]: (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_08-17-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_08-17-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1284 downloads in studio-quality mp3: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1284h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1284.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently 1277, Extra 57, 1278, 1279, 1280, Extra 58, 1281, 1282, 1283, Extra 59, 1284) DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg. Here`s where to sign up http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** BRAZIL. Re 5-137: Rádio 8 de Setembro de volta em 2490 kHz --- Samuel, Saudações. Acho que a Rádio Educadora de Limeira é a única emissora brasileira desta faixa que tem uma área mais ampla de cobertura. A Rádio Cacique de Sorocaba é uma emissora extremamente desleixada. Pude perceber isso em uma visita feita no ano passado. Como o Arnaldo Slaen comentou comigo no ano passado, é do tipo de emissora que se afasta dos ouvintes. Pelo que lembro, a 8 de Setembro teve o equipamento lacrado por ter usado ilegalmente um transverter para ondas médias. Alguém tem alguma informação sobre o desenrolar dessa história? Samuel, receba meus parabéns por sempre trazer informações DX de alta qualidade! 73 (Ivan Dias - Sorocaba/SP, Membro do DX Clube do Brasil, Aug 16, radioescutas via DXLD) ** CANADA. RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING CONTINUES DURING DOMESTIC LOCKOUT According to the website of the RCI Action Committee, the programming produced by Radio Canada International will continue "with fewer resources" during the current lockout of more than 5000 production and support staff by parent organization the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The locked out employees are members of the Canadian Media Guild, which is in dispute with CBC management. The employees have been without a contract for more than a year, and the main issue in dispute is that the Corporation wants to use more non-permanent staff. The RCI Action Committee says that almost all RCI employees belong to other unions than the Guild. However, RCI's output will be affected as it also uses material normally produced by colleagues in the domestic services. Domestic CBC radio and television programming across the country is being done by management, diminished or has disappeared. Major newscasts have been replaced by BBC News. # posted by Andy @ 15:00 UT Aug 16 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CANADA [non]. Lyse Doucet knows when to get out of CBC: heard her reporting from Gaza on BBC Radio 2, Aug 16 at 1900 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But the CMG members voted by 87.3% to go out on strike. Now they're complaining about being locked out? (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O Los Alamos, NM, Aug 16, ABDX via DXLD) It appears that your officials may be reflecting the same position that we see here in the states: the best way to contain expenses and hold down costs is to transform the labor force to 3rd world economic levels (Dick W., ibid.) I can see this discussion headed down the slippery slope fast...but I'll just say that the CBC employees are nowhere near, nor will they be near, "3rd world economic levels." They are, for the most part, the best-paid, most pampered, least stressed employees in the Canadian broadcast media. I worked in private radio when one on-air announcer did everything, from talking to music selection to news and sports to filling out the paper log to filling out the Pro/CAPAC (our old "ASCAP") surveys to even changing the logging tapes every 24 hours. At the CBC, it would take 10 people, at union rate and with union protection, to do the same amount of work. I've seen it. None of the existing full-time CBC staff is being impacted by the changes wanted by management. In my opinion, as a Canadian who helps fund the CBC and as a Canadian who works a little for the CBC Radio One on contract myself, this is mainly about the union seeing its future membership prospects dimming, and not about the individual, existing, unionized, members' future working conditions or pay. Anyhow, I'm sure I have done nothing to put any worms back in the can --- but I needed to air my feelings about the strike, just this once. I'm a big fan of CBC Radio, particularly Radio One, and a slightly cooler fan of CBC Television, but I am not blind to the fact that the national broadcaster is very expensive, suffering under the weight of its own bureaucracy, and not producing the quality or amount of content that it is costing us to maintain it. The way to save the best of what CBC has to offer is to come out of the 1970s and into the 21st Century - open up work for contact employees as old codgers retire - and maybe rig it so that some contract employees of the CBC, like me, will not have to continue to pay union dues without getting any representation for it (Brent Taylor, VE1JH, Doaktown, NB, ibid.) It is very true that private broadcast employees have to work a lot harder than their CBC counterparts. I still remember my brother Paul racing from newsroom to MCR to Production, doing an on-air show [no operator assist], reading news, carting news clips from reporters in the field, taking sports scores for all kinds of local sports, taking advisories from the RCMP [the only station in the region not on the hard drive at night] etc. Every time the news phone rang, a strobe light went off. Essentially, the phone rang the whole time and callers were irate he couldn't answer the phone when the headphones were on and he was ready to roll up the mic pot! That was a union shop too, by the way! For the most part, there is no such thing as a "producer" in Canadian private radio, not so for CBC. I have a love hate relationship with the CBC. They do have some very good programming, but I still cannot forgive them for the way they treated their affiliates in the old days. Fortunately, they put in FM transmitters everywhere for Radio One, with a lot of coverage overlap, at taxpayers` expense and the affiliates [radio] were finally able to be set free. Unfortunately my Dad did not live to see that day and the burden of complaints about graphic spoken word programming on "Anthology" and other such late night programs that the station was forced to carry. However, CBC does a good job on news and comedy. And, a very good job at tooting its own horn, too! My in-laws and many of my co-workers are CBC radio One addicts and they will miss it. I'll be listening to CINW, WINS and various shortwave outlets when I need a radio news fix. And piecing together items from the MBS and Newcap PEI stations, combined with nearby off island stations owned by Hector Broadcasting and Atlantic Broadcasters. CBC likes to spend money on gear too. Put a big tower on a small hill, rather than a small tower on a big hill!!! And, never seems to use radomes either, even though they protect against wind, ice etc. Always microphones that private broadcasters dream of. And lots of vans! (Phil Rafuse, PEI Canada, ibid.) ** CANADA. CBC RUNNING ON AUTOPILOT --- By JOHN MCKAY Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Updated at 6:59 PM EDT Canadian Press http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050816.wceeb0816/EmailBNStory/Entertainment/ Toronto — Two days into its controversial lockout of 5,500 unionized employees, the CBC has been operating on autopilot with plenty of reruns and pared-down programs. But the most noticeable change has been the absence of any apparent effort to mount a management-produced television newscast, relying in prime time and over the supper hour on imported feeds of the BBC World News service. Newsworld has been limited to one-minute roundups of Canadian news read by managers before handing things off to the BBC. ``That`s certainly the plan right now,`` Jason MacDonald, the CBC`s official spokesman, said Tuesday of the news programming from the public broadcaster, although another publicist suggested it wasn`t the network`s original plan. ``The BBC as lockout-breaker. It`s a very interesting model,`` said Ian Morrison, spokesman for the independent media watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. Bob Hurst, president of CTV News, declined to speculate on the chances of the private network incurring a ratings windfall from the lack of domestic news by its public rival. But he was willing to deliver a plug for CTV`s 11 p.m. news with Lloyd Robertson, noting that the live Atlantic version is available at 10 p.m. in Ontario and Quebec on CTV Newsnet. ``So there is an option for Canadians who don`t want to stay up till 11,`` Mr. Hurst said. ``Perhaps this is an opportunity for Canadians who have long been CBC traditionalists to find out that there is another very credible newscast, which is Canada`s most-watched newscast.`` Media observers said Tuesday they`re stunned the CBC hasn`t tried to provide any kind of news package from non-union staff or from all the incoming feeds that are available in any broadcast newsroom. Patricia Bell, head of the school of journalism at the University of Regina, said the situation is even worse for radio, especially in places like Saskatchewan, where there are few alternatives to CBC Radio. She adds that managers have been shipped to Toronto to keep the central operation going. ``Who are they going to send (to cover news)?`` Ms. Bell asks. ``I just don`t think they planned.`` Ms. Bell noted that David Kyle, one of her school`s graduates and a Regina-based CBC manager, was reading national radio news from Toronto on Monday night. And because the current lockout, unlike labour disruptions in the past, involves one union that now comprises both journalists and technicians, Ms. Bell said the situation confirms who really brings programming to air. ``We have graduates from here who have been working, especially in radio, for four, five years, doing very solid work and they`re still not even on contract. They`re casual. And you don`t build a strong ongoing presence if you don`t nurture people and let them grow.`` Normally a strong booster of the CBC, Mr. Morrison said he finds fault with both sides. He said both union and management went to the industrial relations board a couple of years ago and supported amalgamation of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (technicians) and Canadian Media Guild (journalists) into a single bargaining unit, a move that has resulted in the significant impact the current lockout has generated. After 15 months of negotiations, the CBC locked out the bulk of its unionized employees at 12:01 a.m. Monday. At issue is the broadcaster`s wish for more flexibility to hire contract and part-time employees, something the CMG says is a danger to job security for full-time staff. In other lockout developments Tuesday: — Security officials at the Ontario legislature have changed the locks on the doors of the CBC media offices there at the request of CBC management. Reporters have not been in their Queen`s Park offices all week anyway but are now officially locked out. — NDP leader Jack Layton is urging Heritage Minister Liza Frulla to protect Canadian programming by ending years of neglect of the public broadcaster. The New Democrats say the current lockout is the direct result of a lack of commitment from the Liberal government to protect and promote public broadcasting. — CBC management paid for a second full-page newspaper ad outlining their position. It again expresses regret that the lockout became a necessity to break the deadlock with the union. It says only 5 per cent of CBC employees are on contract, including some of its most respected on-air personalities, and that they are represented by the CMG and are well compensated. — A prolonged dispute could be particularly damaging to CBC Radio. In recent years, the radio networks have enjoyed a new ratings high, according to recent results compiled by the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement. In the Toronto market, Metro Morning, for example, has sustained a two point jump in market share to 12.6 per cent with an audience increase of 22 per cent (Globe & Mail Aug 16 via Bill Westenhaver, Doug Copeland, Mike Terry, DXLD) ** CANADA. PUBLIC BROADCASTING'S FUTURE AT STAKE IN LOCKOUT AT CBC Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 Morley Walker THE current lockout at the CBC is a disaster for anyone who believes in public broadcasting in this country. A prolonged work stoppage will further erode the Mother Corp.'s audience base. This could be fatal in the ultra-competitive climate of the 500-channel universe. It will cheer the enemies of the CBC, who are, alas, large in number, and it will encourage politicians to see the institution as congenitally dysfunctional. The most worrisome part is management wouldn't have undertaken such drastic action if it didn't feel it had support of its Liberal masters in Ottawa. The 15-month-long contract negotiations boiled over yesterday at midnight when CBC brass chose to lock the studio doors, in both television and radio, to its 5,500-member countrywide workforce. The sticking point, as has been well publicized by both sides, is the issue of contracting out. Management feels it needs the ability to hire new people for short periods of time for specific projects. Labour feels that this will lead to the expulsion of veteran employees and to an enlargement of the two-tier workforce steeped in resentment and insecurity. The standoff has started, and it has all the earmarks of being a long one. Surely CBC president Robert Rabinovitch would not give the assent to such a course of action without testing the water in Ottawa. It always takes two to tango, of course, in any labour-management dispute. Compared to its competitors in the private sector, the People's Network is well-larded with staff. Some of those are lifers who last had an ambitious thought around the time Pierre Trudeau took his walk in the woods. On the other hand, anyone who works in Canadian media knows that the CBC houses a good percentage of the country's most talented and creative broadcasters. It is management, of course, who hired them all, the great ones and the not so great ones, and it is management that fundamentally must take the blame for whatever hardening of the arteries exists in its workforce. Lise Lareau, president of the National Media Guild, which now represents all [sic] of CBC's unionized employees, posted an open letter on the guild's website yesterday. She notes that there have been five work stoppages at the CBC in the last seven years. She blames this latest "aggressive move" on a small group of senior managers, led by vice-president of human resources George Smith. "During most of that time, Robert Rabinovitch has been president," she writes. "This is a legacy that we hope will not go unnoticed in Ottawa." The discouraging part is that Ottawa, at least in some key circles, is probably cheering. Canada would not come apart at the seams if the CBC were to collapse in disarray. Nobody is saying that it will, except for the most self- satisfied of the corporation's representatives. All of us, too, can find examples of wrongheadedness, either on the air or in the backrooms, which have afflicted CBC programming. But there is no question that the CBC has made a huge contribution to the national conversation -- in some ways it starts the national conversation day in and day out -- and to see it diminished is to see ourselves diminished. © 2005 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved. (via Doug Copeland, DXLD) ** CHINA. RADIO INTERNACIONAL DE CHINA CONVOCATORIA DEL CONCURSO SOBRE LA ISLA DE TAIWÁN Estimados oyentes: la isla de Taiwán es una parte inalienable de China. Sin embargo, a raíz de la guerra civil de la década de 1940, las relaciones entre esta isla y la parte continental de China se han caracterizado desde entonces por una cierta hostilidad, hecho que ha dado origen al supuesto ``problema de Taiwán``. Pero, ¿cómo es la isla? ¿Por qué se afirma que ``Taiwán es una parte inalienable de China``? ¿Cuál es la postura fundamental del gobierno chino con respecto a la resolución de dicho ``problema``? ¿Qué esfuerzos ha realizado para impulsar la reunificación pacífica del país? ¿Cuál es la situación actual de los intercambios comerciales y económicos entre la isla y la parte continental? ¿Qué lazos tradicionales y culturales unen a los habitantes de una y otra orilla del estrecho de Taiwán? A fin de que nuestros oyentes comprendan los puntos básicos relacionados con estas preguntas, a partir del 20 de agosto Radio Internacional de China emitirá por onda corta e Internet la serie La isla de Taiwán: un tesoro de China. Al final de cada uno de los cuatro programas que componen dicha serie, les formularemos un par de preguntas. Quienes nos envíen las respuestas correctas optarán a cuatro categorías de premios: el tercer premio, el segundo premio, el primer premio y un premio especial. Este último consistirá en realizar un viaje gratuito por la parte continental de China en el 2006. El concurso se cerrará el 20 de diciembre de este año. Participarán en el concurso todas aquellas respuestas enviadas por correo cuyo matasellos no sea posterior a esa fecha. Las respuestas también podrán enviarse hasta antes del 21 de diciembre a las siguientes direcciones de correo electrónico: spa@cri.cn y crispa@cri.cn Les animamos a ustedes y a sus familiares y amigos a participar eneste concurso. ¡Buena suerte! (Via Dino Bloise, Florida, EEUU, dxldyg via DXLD) Some contest. Better be damn sure your participation is Politically Correct. China won`t let up on the Taiwan issue and this is just another way to promote the Commie party line. Ask any inhabitant of Taiwan whether they`d rather be ruled from Beijing. Since the ``correct answers`` are in the referenced program, what they really want is to increase listenership and regurgitation, not any original thought, and certainly not dissent. This tactic has been employed for sesquidecades by Commie broadcasters, and some that are not. However, if you tell them what they want to hear, you might win that trip, if your conscience would allow (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. THIEF TAKES SHORTWAVE BROADCASTS OFF THE AIR Havana, Cuba, August 12, Richard Roselló Shortwave radio broadcasts to Venezuela and Central America were interrupted for two days this week when someone stole aluminum insulators from transmission towers. A source at the towers, located in San Felipe, south of Havana, said the thief slipped through state security and obviously stole the insulators to sell them for the aluminum content. The towers also carry a signal which interrupts reception of the U.S. government's Radio Martí and TV Martí signals from Florida. "The interruption occurred on Monday and Tuesday," said the source. http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y05/ago05/15e2.htm (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) WTFK??? Links to original Spanish version, but it is no less uninformative (gh, DXLD) ** DENMARK. DANES CAN WATCH PUBLIC TV VIA COMPUTER WITHOUT A LICENCE Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio is concerned about a loophole in the law which allows Danes to watch TV on their PC without paying a TV licence fee. The Elgiganten chain of shops is planning to promote the sale of computers with TV access by telling customers that they will no longer have to pay the fee, which costs 2,100 kroner (just under US$350) a year. It is estimated that some 10,000 Danes are already doing so, but so far lawmakers have said that they will not change current regulations. (Source: Danmarks Radio) # posted by Andy @ 14:04 Aug 16 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** GERMANY. La Rosa de Tokyo, el programa de comunicaciones de LS11 Radio Provincia de La Plata en el cual colabora el GRA-Grupo Radioescucha Argentino, se irradia en el horario habitual de las 13 a 14 LU de los domingos (1600-1700 UT). La emisión correspondiente al domingo 21 de Agosto de La Rosa de Tokyo estará dedicada a revisar la historia y el presente de la onda corta en Alemania. Colaboraciones especiales de Rubén Guillermo Margenet y Arnaldo Slaen. No se lo pierdan!!!!!!!! El programa se irradiará en su horario habitual de las 1300 a 1400 hora local (1600 a 1700 UT) y podrá escucharse en los 1270 kHz de amplitud modulada, con 56 kws y en Internet, haciendo "click" en http://www.radioprovincia.gba.gov.ar (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Aug 15, condiglist via DXLD) ** INDIA. Dear Friends, AIR FM Gold programs is noted on 9425 kHz from around 0130 today which is a new schedule. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, Aug 17, dx_india yg via DXLD) See also KASHMIR ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. New Sirius channel #144: Radio Korea Interesting -- it does not appear to be associated with Radio Korea International or its parent, the Korean Broadcasting System. The company behind the channel appears to run AM 1230 in Los Angeles as a for-profit venture. Hopefully we'll see some English-language services such as ABC's Radio Australia or Radio National soon. John Figliozzi has mentioned here already that CBC Radio One will liekly be on board as of October (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) However, that last point [referring to what exactly?] is speculation on my part. In response to a direct question to Sirius yesterday, their answer was that they were continuing to study the conditions of the CRTC license. Period. As to RA, I've sent inquiries/suggestions to both RA and Sirius about this in the last few months. Sirius' answer --- in effect --- was that they look at all of these requests seriously (no pun intended), but that they need to be careful about overfilling their line-up with offshore content. They went on to say that they are very pleased with WRN (stream 115) for this purpose and that RA programming is available there; but --- again --- are always re-evaluating ways of improving their service to their subscribers. I suppose the proof of this --- and perhaps something to give some hope to us who want more --- is that Sirius just added BBC Radio 1 at stream 97 last week. My response from RA was that the suggestion would be passed up the line, but that there are significant copyright issues with respect to music and sport (John Figliozzi, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. USA: PANAMSAT LAUNCHES GALAXY 14 SATELLITE | Text of press release by Connecticut based PanAmSat on 13 August Wilton, Connecticut, 13 August: PanAmSat announced today that its new Galaxy 14 satellite successfully soared into space at 9:08 p.m. ET. [Eastern Time]Launched into orbit by a Soyuz-Fregat rocket, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Galaxy 14 is the 24th satellite in PanAmSat's fleet. The satellite, to be co-located with Galaxy 12 at 125 degrees west longitude, will enable PanAmSat to have two in-orbit spares for its US fleet, allowing the company to continue to provide the highest fleet redundancy and reliability in the FSS industry. Although designated a back-up satellite, the powerful all C-band spacecraft is designed to deliver digital video programming, high- definition television (HDTV), VOD and IPTV service throughout the continental US. "Today's successful launch of Galaxy 14 expands PanAmSat's position as the leader in US programming delivery. It gives PanAmSat's customers another powerful satellite capable of supporting such advanced services as HDTV, VOD and IPTV," said Joe Wright, chief executive officer of PanAmSat. "While we are constantly identifying growth opportunities such as providing additional satellite capacity over the US through the Horizons-2 agreement with JSAT and last month's entry into Europe with the acquisition of Europe*Star, we feel it is of equal importance to back-up our state-of-the-art fleet. Galaxy 14 is a dynamic, next-generation spacecraft designed to meet the needs of tomorrow." Located at 125 degrees west longitude in the US cable arc, Galaxy 14 joins the first and largest cable neighbourhood of satellites in the United States. PanAmSat supports the industry's leading high- definition neighbourhood - Galaxy HD - from these satellites. PanAmSat is committed to maintaining its leadership position in the transmission of HD programming. Galaxy 14 will also be an additional satellite supporting PanAmSat's "Power of Five" antenna programme, which provides qualified cable operators with simultaneous access to five Galaxy neighbourhood satellites. Built and custom-designed for PanAmSat by Orbital Sciences Corporation, Galaxy 14 is a 1790-kilogram Star 2 Bus model satellite with 24, 36-MHz C-band transponders. It is the second in a series of three C-band satellites being constructed by Orbital Sciences for PanAmSat. The satellite will put out more than double the power of its predecessors, ready to play a pivotal role in the complete digital delivery of programming in the US that is mandated by the FCC. [Federal Communications Commission] Among Galaxy 14's highlights are: PanAmSat's 14th satellite for the United States, the 24th in its fleet. Additional satellite in the Galaxy fleet, giving PanAmSat the most redundancy of any FSS [Fixed Service Satellite] operator. Part of PanAmSat's coveted US Galaxy cable neighbourhoods. Available coverage from any slot in the domestic arc from 74 degrees west longitude to 133 degrees west longitude, including Hawaii and Alaska as the slots move further west. Advanced bus architecture with flight-proven hardware that offers increased downlink power at the edge of the coverage pattern. PanAmSat's 13th consecutive successful launch The Arianespace launch was an international effort using the Russian man-rated Soyuz rocket. This is the 14th mission for Starsem which has been responsible for Soyuz marketing and operation since its inception in 1996. Starsem's shareholders are Arianespace, EADS, the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and the Samara Space Centre. About PanAmSat: Through its owned and operated fleet of 24 satellites, PanAmSat is a leading global provider of video, broadcasting and network distribution and delivery services. It transmits 1,991 television channels worldwide and, as such, is the leading carrier of standard and high-definition signals. In total, the company's in-orbit fleet is capable of reaching over 98 per cent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, internet service providers and telecommunications companies. In addition, PanAmSat supports the largest concentration of satellite-based business networks in the US, as well as specialized communications services in remote areas throughout the world. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.panamsat.com Source: PanAmSat press release, Wilton, Connecticut, in English 13 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** JAPAN. Thought I would get a horsemouth report on the quake in Japan, so tuned in the only possible English frequency from NHK Warido August 16 at 1400, 11730, and it was inaudible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non]. Radio Azad Kashmir (probably) on 6780 at 1350 UT with Urdu-like language with words such as Azad Kashmir, Pakistan Jammu & Kashmir. At 1400 changes to Radio Pakistan on the same frequency in Urdu (Manikant Lodaya, vu2jro, south India, Aug 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1284, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non non]. Listening to 1284, the mention of Radio Kashmir reminded me of my visit to the station in 1989. I was in Srinagar for a month and frequently walked by the Radio Kashmir building. One day I decided to be bold and request a tour PLUS a meeting with the station director. I stopped at the front entrance and explained to the guard that I would like to meet and interview the director. After a few minutes, he came back and asked if I had business card. I did not, but I produced my amateur radio license. He took that inside, apparently it was good enough since he escorted me to the director's office who was sitting behind the desk holding my license. We chatted about the station and such things as QSL procedures at the station. I was also bold enough to ask a few questions about the political situation in the region. He gave me a lecture about how the local people accepted Indian rule despite my mentioning that most locals I had met favored either Independence, or affiliation with Pakistan (the next day small riots broke out, the start of major unrest that would impact the country for the next decade). I took notes and also tape recorded the interview. One of these days I will have to dig out the boxes from my basement and see if I can find the information. I had intentions of writing an article for a short- wave magazine but, if my memory is correct, I never got around to it - -- mostly due to the fact that I did not get back to the USA until a year later. I took photographs of the station too, no easy task since there were signs in front of the building stating that photography was prohibited. I stood in the street pretending to be carefully composing pictures of the ornate gardens nearby and covertly took a few snaps of the station! (Andy O`Brien, NY, Aug 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KYRGYZSTAN. The Kyrgyz government decided to move the standard time in the country to UT +6h. This corresponds to the current local time during the summer months; there will be no shift back one hour in autumn. Formerly, Kyrgyzstan was in the UT +5h zone, with DST shift to UTC +6h during the summer (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Italian DX'er Dario Monferini is in México this month and has been filing daily e-mail diaries on his trip. Glenn Hauser has provided a link to Monferini's material. http://www.playdx.com/html/messico2005/messico2005.htm Meanwhile, I am in the process of correlating all of the material I have on hand from various Mexican sources to update the list I produced last year. There have been many changes, involving almost every station in México (some correcting typos, but most new information) and several program sources in the capital are rapidly lining up stations in the estados to carry various networks, programs or formats. The XEW/XEQ/XEX bunch, for example, is lining up "W Radio," "Ke Buena," "Estadio W," "Los 40 Principales" and even "Bésame" nets, and there are affiliates in several Central American countries, Colombia, Chile and Spain for some of this programming. Radio Capital, XEITE-830, is rapidly expanding its operations. Radio ABC, XEABC-760 is building a network. And now that XEVOZ-1590 has switched from "Bonita," the old-style ranchera music, to "Radio Reloj," time pips every minute, the IMER website indicates that XEQK-1350, planned to revert (effective Monday) to the old "La Hora Exacta" format it carried for years. Lots of exciting changes to keep up with South of the Border, down México way. Ay, ay, ay, ay! (John Callarman, Krum TX, Aug 16, Corazón DX topica group via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Graveyard Achievements of NRC members for 1400 stations: KWON, Bartlesville Olle Alm, Abisko, Sweden 4454 statute miles KWON, Bartlesville Shawn Axelrod, Winnipeg, MB 895 KTMC, McAlester John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, CO 613 KNOR, Norman Olle Alm, Karesuando, Sweden 4464 KNOR, Norman Shawn Axelrod, Winnipeg MB 1000 (measured by Bill Hale, NRC DX News July 11, 2005 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. OETA has a weeknightly half-hour newscast at 2330 UT, rightly billed as the only statewide TV newscast, since the commercial stations only cover parts of the state. Most of it is made up of the `best` of news from the commercial stations, however, including a regular on-the-road feature from KFOR by Gaylon Culver, which no doubt take a lot of time and production, but are far too short, a minute or two at most. His catch-phrase sign off is ``Is this a great state, or what?`` (which is debatable; some of us do not think it is even OK) but OETA always cuts it off. I wonder if that is trademarked by the New York Times Company, or OETA just finds it too hokey, or should I say, Okie (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. This afternoon, August 16, Radio Sultanate of Oman is again heard well in English 14-15 UT on 15140 kHz. 15375 kHz seems off at this time. 73, (Erik Køie, Denmark, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1284, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Got this too late to check here, but believe I did tune past 15140 during that hour and did not notice it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. EX BBC JOURNALIST NAMED HEAD OF ROMANIA'S STATE TV BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- Rodica Culcer, one of a few senior journalists to criticize the former government at a time of dwindling press freedoms, has been named head of Romania's state television news. Culcer, 53, beat out seven other candidates in the final stages of a contest for the post organized Friday. She said she would implement rules to guarantee impartiality. Culcer worked for the British Broadcasting Corp.'s Romanian service in London for nine years after communism ended in 1989. She returned to Romania, where she was named news director of Europa FM, a nationwide private radio network. Culcer angered the previous leftist government with critical reports and she quit the radio station in 2003. She said she and two subordinates had been told they had to support the government to protect the economic interests of their French owners, the Lagardere Group. Culcer was then named head of another private radio station, Radio Total, which was one of the only media outlets to criticize the former government that was defeated in December elections. The European Union and United States criticized the previous government for interfering in press freedom (APws 08/13 0713 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. SAUDI TV DEBATE CONDEMNS ROMANTIC MESSAGES ON MUSIC TV CHANNELS Love messages sent by Saudi youths to Arabic music video channels are the subject of a discussion on Saudi TV at 1100 gmt on 15 August. This is one of a number of issues discussed in an episode of the daily "Welcome" [Ya hala] programme, an entertainment programme which is believed to have replaced the other programme with the same English title [Hayyakum]. The programme is presented by Sa'id al-Yami and this episode carries reports on archaeological and tourist sites in Saudi Arabia as well as Saudi songs. It also carries a report on the supposedly large number of Saudi youths who send cell phone text messages to Arabic music video channels, expressing their love for someone they admire. Reporter Talal al-Shihri interviews several youths on the phenomenon. All but one say they despise this phenomenon, adding that boredom, the abundance of money and the widespread use of cell phones are the causes behind this trend. They all maintain that Saudi Arabia is being targeted and that this phenomenon does not agree with Islam and Saudi traditions. One of the older youths, blames the Western media and the widespread use of cell phones among teenagers and children for this phenomenon. Only one of the youths expresses the need to join the modern era and sees no harm in this service provided by the music videos channels. The programme's moderator, however, expresses his disapproval. The reporter says the SMS service have become a costly catastrophe for many families. The programme then interviews several youths in the studio who include university students and a government employee. One of the youths says Saudi youths are not really targeted, adding that the music videos television channels are commercial stations that want to make money. He however expresses his disapproval of the low-morals that some of the messages contain in addition to the financial cost of such a service. Another youth says that most of those who use this service are teenagers who have money and are neglected by their parents. People, male and female, phone in expressing their disapproval of this trend, adding that youths should do something better with their time, like taking up sports or expanding their cultural activities. Female journalist Munirah al-Mushkhis, who is a contributor to Riyadh- based Al-Jazeera newspaper, phones in blaming the Saudi telephone company for supplying specific numbers so people can reach these channels. She adds that the lack of venues for youths to spend their time is the main cause of this trend. The moderator asks the youths whether this trend is a sort of freedom, they say that is wrong and that when the teenagers or youths grow up, they will realize that. Another female who contacted the programme said that the cost of these SMS messages is huge and is supposedly borne by the parents. The moderator ends the programme by saying that youths should be protected against wasting their time and money by making them aware of the harms of this habit. Source: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia TV1, Riyadh, in Arabic 1100 gmt 15 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. NEW TV STATION INAUGURATED IN NORTHEASTERN SOMALIA TOWN OF BOOSAASO | Text of report by Somali pro-Puntland website AllPuntland.com on 15 August Reports from Boosaaso town, the headquarters of the Eastern Region [of Somalia] say that the first television station in Puntland regional administration was today inaugurated in the town of Boosaaso. The TV station, which was named Eastern Television Network (ETN), was today opened by the vice-president of the Puntland regional administration, Hon Hasan Dahir, alias Af Qura. The opening ceremony was held at the TV station's conference hall in Boosaaso and was attended by various officials including ministers, assistant ministers, administrative officials of Boosaaso town and other dignitaries. In his lengthy speech during the opening ceremony, the vice-president of Puntland said it was a happy moment for the people of Puntland to have the first TV station of its kind in their region. The president also praised the [Puntland] youths who made the effort of setting up the TV station, and said their efforts were worth emulating. Speaking to Allpuntland [website], the head of the ETN TV, Abdirahman Shaykh Hasan said that the station has ,for the first time, broadcast one and half hours of the inauguration programmes, which included the speech of the vice-president, which was 20 minutes long. Mr Hasan further said that the people of Puntland have overwhelmingly congratulated the station after they watched its programmes today. Members of the Eastern Television Network have been tirelessly working for several months in various towns of Puntland to set up the station. During that period, at least two journalists were recruited from each town based on their education and experience. Source: AllPuntland.com website in Somali 15 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SPAIN. Spain severely maladjusted now --- If you get this in time, check 17600 and vicinity before 1500 UT August 16. Since 1400 I have been hearing a terrible noise, a high-pitched roar ranging from 17598 to 17609, with a bit of audio mixed in, // 15585. Is nobody noticing at Noblejas? (Glenn Hauser, OK, 1350 UT Aug 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Just came on frequency before they signed off at 1455 UT with Spanish ID. Heard the 'noise' which I would have thought of being QRM from my PC. Still some noise after their sign/off 17600/17605 and a strong UN- ID station on 17595. 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, ibid.) More details: It`s Tuesday after 1400, so I went looking for one of my favorite REE shows, La Bañera de Ulises, when 17595 is normally the best if not only frequency audible here. But at 1410 found instead an extremely distorted high-pitched roar centered around 17602 but audible from 17598 to 17610. At first I wondered it were a new DRM transmission, hybrid perhaps since there was a bit of analog modulation audible underneath! No detectable carrier as I tuned up and down with the BFO on. S9 + 10 but I could see the FRG-7 meter flickering. Since there was no sign of Spain on 17595 I checked the only likely parallel, 15585, and after a few minutes confirmed the audio was //, altho this was difficult; the talk and music segments matched. At 1420 the center of this mess abruptly shifted up to about 17609. Once this was accomplished, I saved myself from listening to this horrible transmission any longer, but at 1445 recheck it was still the same (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. Sudan Radio Service --- Dopo la morte del neo vice presidente sudandese John Garang, è a rischio la faticosa pacificazione raggiunta tra nord e sud del paese anche senza una stabilità di tutta l'area orientale dell'Africa, non è pensabile una pace per un singolo stato. Il vicepresidente del Sudan, John Garang, morto in un incidente d'elicottero, sarà sepolto a Juba, la città che da leader dei ribelli del Movimento di liberazione popolare del Sudan (Spla) aveva eletto a capitale del futuro Stato autonomo del sud. L'elicottero su cui viaggiava Garang sarebbe precipitato a causa del maltempo, ma non si esclude l'ipotesi dell'attentato. L'ex guerrigliero si era insediato alla vicepresidenza del Sudan il 9 luglio, nel quadro degli accordi di pace che hanno messo fine al conflitto ventennale tra il governo arabo musulmano e i ribelli animisti cristiani del Sud. Il movimento ha già nominato il suo successore: Salva Kiir Mayardit. La notizia della morte di Garang ha provocato una rivolta a Khartum, che ha fatto 42 morti. In seguito a questo avvenimento Sudan Radio Service, emittente di propaganda con studi a Nairobi e messa in onda attraverso trasmettitori presi a noleggio dalla VT Communications, ha aggiunto un'ora di trasmissione supplementare fino al 9 settembre. La stazione è quindi adesso in aria dalle 1400 alle 1800 UTC, dal lunedì al venerdì, sulla consueta frequenza di 17660 Khz. Schedule immutate, invece, per le altre due trasmissioni dalle 0300 alle 0500 UTC su 11665 Khz e dalle 0500 alle 0600 UTC su 15325 Khz, sempre dal lunedì al venerdì (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, bclnews.it via DXLD) This is apparently a summary of previous news about this in English here or elsewhere (gh, DXLD) ** SYRIA [non]. Re 5-137: The website of Reform Party of Syria, http://reformsyria.org gives this new address for the party's HQ: 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20004. 73s, Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. ANALYSIS: THAILAND VIEWS SPORT ON TV AS ANSWER TO UNREST IN SOUTH | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 16 August The authorities in Thailand are to provide free cable television in the Muslim south of the country in the hope that sports coverage, including English Premiership football, will reduce violence in the region. "Interior Minister Khongsak Wanthana has said he is ready to provide television sets and install UBC [cable TV] within one month as a method to solve the problem of unrest in the three southern border provinces," Radio Thailand reported on 16 August. United Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) is a private cable television operator. In a move intended to attract youths to devote more time to sports and recreation, the interior minister has instructed authorities in the region to look for interesting programmes and venues to install the television sets, "in accordance with Her Majesty the Queen's advice to put an emphasis on sports," the report said. Initially, between 500 and 1,000 TV sets will be installed within a month in village tea shops and community centres, so that those who cannot afford cable TV at home can watch their favourite sports together. "Programming at first will be limited to sports and news, but officials will survey what kinds of programmes southerners prefer and this should add more colour to their lives... Televisions and sports will help liven up the region," international news agencies quoted Khongsak as saying. The interior minister added that he was confident that providing free sports programmes on TV would not lead to an increase in football gambling, "because preventive measures in this regard have been planned". UBC presently has no programming in Yawi or Malayu, the Malay dialects commonly spoken in much of the ethnic-Malay Muslim south, but Khongsak said the broadcasts would be dubbed into local languages with Thai subtitles. More than 800 people have been killed in unrest fuelled by the separatist insurgency in the three Muslim-majority provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat in southern Thailand since January 2004. Source: BBC Monitoring research 16 Aug 05 (via DXLD) THAILAND TO INSTALL TVS IN RESTIVE SOUTH Thai authorities today announced their latest plan to stem rampaging violence in three Muslim southern provinces: get residents hooked on cable TV. The government's latest southern scheme, a cooperation with private cable television operator United Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), would see TVs set up in community centres and shops across Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces hit by violence that has left 850 people dead since early 2004. "Initially some 500 to 1,000 television sets will be installed at places such as local tea shops," Interior Minister Kongsak Vantana told reporters. "Programming at first will be limited to sports and news, but officials will survey what kinds of programmes (southerners) prefer and this should add more colour to their lives," he said. Kongsak said the tactic could encourage local teenagers to become interested in sports and exercise rather than become obsessed with fomenting unrest, and brushed off suggestions it would encourage youths to gamble on football matches. "I am convinced that there will be no gambling because they do not even have money to buy television sets," he said. UBC presently has no programming in Yawi or Malayu, the Malay dialects commonly spoken in much of the ethnic-Malay Muslim south, but Kongsak said the broadcasts would be dubbed into local languages with Thai subtitles. The language issue in the south flared at the weekend when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra reportedly urged southern Muslims to speak and study Thai, prompting critical reaction from religious leaders. Sawadi Sukumalayasak, Thailand's top Muslim leader known as the Chularatchamontri, said embracing Yawi does not make southern Muslims less Thai. "Southerners speak Yawi and are not considered Thai, but as second-class people. This is not fair," he said in the Bangkok Post. # posted by Andy @ 13:31 UT Aug 16 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** UGANDA. SUSPENDED UGANDAN RADIO TO RE-OPEN SOON | Text of report by Charles M. Mwanguhya entitled "KFM may re-open this week" published by Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor website on 16 August The Broadcasting Council has said KFM, which was shut down last Thursday [11 August], will be re-opened this week. Monitor Publications managing director Conrad Nkutu said yesterday the council had said "it should be possible to re-open the station in the next couple of days." Mr Nkutu and four board members of the Nation Media Group, which owns Monitor Publications Ltd, met the chairman of the Broadcasting Council, Mr Mutabaazi, and his legal and operations team yesterday. It was the third meeting between Monitor management and the Broadcasting Council in four days. Nkutu said the council had said "the communication we have given them is considered satisfactory for the re-opening." He said they were still awaiting a memorandum to reflect what had been agreed on with the council. "If the document contains no unreasonable clauses, we would like to move forward quickly and get back on air," Nkutu said. He said there was a lot of pressure on management from advertisers and listeners. "This is a very popular station and we would not like to disappoint our listeners and advertisers," Nkutu said. He added, however, that despite the desire to re-open KFM quickly, his team would not sign "anything unreasonable". Meanwhile, Monitor lawyer James Nangwala dismissed media reports that Mwenda had apologized to the government for the statements he aired on KFM. Source: Daily Monitor website, Kampala, in English 16 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K. The Lamacq Documentary: Radio Anyone --- This documentary will be broadcast on Monday 22nd August from 21:00 BST (20.00 UTC) for 4 hours. [2000-2400 UT] This from http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/tvandradio/monday22.shtml : "9.00pm - 1.00am The Lamacq Documentary: Radio Anyone BBC Radio 1 From CB radio to pirate radio and now the internet, supergeeks and superfreaks will find any means possible to get themselves heard over the airwaves. Radio Anyone looks at the ways people exploit technology to broadcast their voices to the world. From the illegal hijacking of the airwaves in a tower-block in East London, to the latest digital technology - podcasting, this programme reveals that most basic of instincts - the need to communicate. Whether anyone's actually listening is another question..." It should also be available on Listen Again at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1 (Mike Terry, Aug 16, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Updated summer A-05 schedule for Voice of America: AFAN/OROMO 1600-1630 11705 11790 15205 Mon-Fri ALBANIAN 0500-0530 1215 11805 11825 13615 1600-1630 9575 13740 17725 1830-1900 1458 9840 15145 AMHARIC 1800-1830 11895 13670 13835 Mon-Fri 1800-1900 11895 13670 13835 Sat/Sun ARABIC# 0400-0800 990 1260 1548 0800-1500 990 1548 1500-1600 990 1260 1548 1600-0400 990 1260 1431 1548 AZERI 1730-1800 9740 11670 15245 BANGLA 0130-0200 11735 15165 17780 1600-1700 1575 7430 9740 11835 BOSNIAN 2130-2200 792 Mon-Fri BURMESE 1130-1200 1575 9720 11850 15225 1430-1500 1575 5955 7155 9720 2330-2400 6185 9505 11840 15220 CANTONESE 1300-1500 1170 7115 9355 11865 CHINESE 0000-0100 7190 9545 11830 11925 15150 15385 17765 0100-0200 9545 11830 11925 15150 15385 17765 0200-0300 9545 11830 11925 15385 17765 0700-0900 12010 13610 13720 13740 15160 15250 17855 21540 21705 0900-1000 11825 11895 12010 13610 13720 13740 15160 15250 15665 17855 1000-1100 9575 11825 11895 12010 13610 13740 15160 15230 15250 15665 17855 1100-1200 1170 6110 9575 11785 11825 11965 11990 12040 15250 1200-1230 6110 9845 11785 11825 11965 11990 12040 15250 1230-1300 6110 9845 11785 11805 11825 11965 12040 15250 1300-1330 6110 9845 11785 11805 11965 11990 12040 1330-1400 6110 9845 11785 11805 11825 11965 11990 12040 1400-1500 6110 9770 9845 11805 11965 11990 12040 2200-2300 7150 7190 7200 9510 9545 11925 13775 CREOLE 1130-1200 11890 11925 15360 Mon-Fri 1630-1700 15390 17565 21555 2100-2130 11895 13725 21555 CROATIAN 0430-0500 756 792 1458 5965 11855 1830-1900 7175 15170 DARI& 0130-0230 972 1296 11995 12140 1500-1530 972 1296 12140 15090 1630-1730 972 1296 12140 15090 1800-1830 972 1296 12140 15090 1930-2030 972 1296 12140 ENGLISH 0000-0030 1575 1593 7215 12140 15185 15290 17820 0030-0100 1575 1593 7215 9780 11760 15185 15290 17740 17820 0100-0130 7115 9885 11705 11725 0130-0200 7115 7405 9775 9885 11705 11725 13740 Mon- Fri 0130-0200 7115 9885 11705 11725 Sat/Sun 0200-0300 7115 9885 11705 11725 Mon-Fri 0300-0330 909 1530 4930 6080 7290 7340 9885 12080 17895 0330-0400 909 1530 4930 6080 7290 9885 12080 17895 0400-0430 909 1530 4930 4960 6080 7290 9575 9885 11835 12080 17895 0430-0500 909 4930 4960 6080 7290 9575 11835 12080 17895 0500-0600 909 4930 6080 6180 7290 12080 13645 0600-0700 909 1530 6080 6180 7290 12080 13645 0700-0900 6080 7290 13645 0900-1100 9520 15205 17745 1100-1130 9520 15205 17745 Mon-Fri 1100-1130 1575 9520 15205 17745 Sat/Sun 1130-1200 9520 15205 17745 1200-1230 1170 6160 9645 9760 15240 1230-1300 6160 9645 9760 15240 1300-1400 9645 9760 1400-1500 6160 7125 9760 15265 1500-1530 6160 7125 9580 9590 9760 9825 9845 9850 12040 13690 15195 15445 15550 15580 17715 Mon- Fri 1500-1530 1575 6160 7125 9580 9590 9760 9825 9845 9850 12040 13690 15195 15445 15550 15580 17715 Sat/Sun 1530-1600 1575 6160 9590 7125 9760 9825 9845 9850 12040 15195 15445 15550 15580 17715 1600-1700 909 1170 1530 4930 6160 7125 9700 9760 9825 9850 12080 13600 15195 15410 15445 15580 17895 1700-1740 1170 1575 6160 7125 9345 9850 15410 15580 Mon-Fri 1700-1740 6160 7125 9345 9850 15410 15580 Sat/Sun 1740-1800 909 1170 1575 4930 6160 7125 9345 9850 11975 15410 15580 17895 Mon-Fri 1740-1800 909 4930 6160 7125 9345 9850 11975 15410 15580 17895 Sat/Sun 1800-1900 909 4930 9850 11975 15410 15580 17895 1900-2000 909 4930 4940 6040 9670 9850 11975 13635 13670 15410 15445 15580 17895 2000-2030 909 1530 4930 4940 6040 9670 9850 11975 13635 13670 15410 15445 2030-2100 909 1530 4930 6040 9670 9850 11975 12140 13635 13670 15410 15445 Mon-Fri 2030-2100 909 1530 4930 4940 9850 11975 12140 13670 15410 15445 Sat/Sun 2100-2200 909 1530 4930 11975 12140 13670 15410 15445 2200-2230 1593 7215 12140 15185 15290 15305 17740 17820 2230-2300 1575 1593 7215 9570 12140 13755 15145 15185 15290 15305 17740 17820 Fri/Sat 2230-2300 1593 7215 9570 12140 13755 15145 15185 15290 15305 17740 17820 Sun-Thu 2300-2330 1593 1575 7215 7260 12140 13725 15185 15290 15305 17740 17820 Fri/Sat 2300-2330 1593 7215 7260 12140 13725 15185 15290 15305 17740 17820 Sun-Thu 2330-2400 1593 1575 7215 12140 15185 15290 15305 17740 17820 Fri/Sat 2330-2400 7215 12140 15185 15290 15305 17740 17820 Sun- Thu FRENCH 0530-0600 1530 4960 6035 6095 9885 13710 Mon-Fri 0600-0630 4960 6035 6095 9885 13710 Mon-Fri 1830-2000 1530 9815 9830 12080 15730 17785 2000-2030 9815 9830 11720 12080 15730 2030-2100 9815 9830 11720 12080 15730 Sat/Sun 2100-2130 9815 9830 11720 12035 12080 Mon-Fri GEORGIAN 1530-1600 11805 15475 17870 HAUSA 0500-0530 1530 4960 6035 6095 9885 1500-1530 9710 11990 13745 1800-1830 1530 4940 9565 11955 17785 Sat/Sun 2030-2100 4940 9815 9830 11720 12080 15730 Mon-Fri HINDI 0030-0100 7430 9560 11820 1600-1700 7260 9315 12155 INDONESIAN 0000-0030 9535 11805 15145 15205 1100-1130 9700 9890 12010 1130-1230 7260 9700 9890 12010 1230-1300 9700 9890 12010 1400-1500 13620 15105 15490 Thu-Sat 2200-2330 7225 9535 9620 11805 15205 2330-2400 7225 9535 11805 15205 KHMER 1330-1430 1575 5955 7155 9680 2200-2230 1575 6060 7130 7260 13725 KINYARWANDA 0330-0430 6095 7340 13725 1600-1630 11705 11790 15205 Sat KOREAN 1300-1400 648 7215 7235 11740 1400-1500 7215 7235 11740 2000-2030 6060 7125 9510 2030-2100 6060 7125 9510 15470 KURDISH 0400-0500 7115 9730 11980 1300-1400 1593 9695 9825 15245 1600-1700 15470 15545 17745 1800-1900 9625 11905 15545 1900-2000 1593 LAOTIAN 1230-1300 1575 6030 7225 9545 11930 NDEBELE 1720-1740 909 4930 11975 17895 PASHTO& 0030-0130 972 1296 11995 12140 1430-1500 972 1296 12140 15090 1530-1630 972 1296 12140 15090 1730-1800 972 1296 12140 15090 1830-1930 972 1296 12140 PERSIAN 0200-0300 9840 11660 17855 1600-1700 6040 9670 11760 1700-1800 1593 6040 9680 11740 1800-1900 648 1593 6040 9680 11740 PORTUGUESE 0430-0500 1530 6095 7340 9885 13725 1700-1730 1530 9565 12080 17785 1730-1800 1530 9565 9815 12080 15730 17785 1800-1830 1530 9565 9815 12080 15730 17785 Mon-Fri RUSSIAN 1300-1400 11725 15130 15205 15215 17720 17730 1700-1800 6105 7220 9520 9615 11935 15370 1800-1900 6105 7220 9520 9615 11885 11935 SERBIAN 0530-0600 1458 11805 11825 13615 1930-2000 792 9705 11910 15280 2100-2130 756 7210 11885 11910 Mon-Fri SHONA 1700-1720 909 4930 11975 17895 SPANISH 0100-0200 9560 9735 9885 11815 13760 1100-1130 9535 11925 13790 1130-1200 9535 13790 1200-1230 7370 11890 13770 15360 SWAHILI 1630-1700 9815 13670 15730 1700-1730 9815 13670 15730 Mon-Fri TIBETAN 0000-0100 7200 7255 11690 11875 0400-0600 15265 15490 17665 17770 1400-1500 6030 11705 11975 15680 TIGRINA 1630-1700 11705 11790 15205 Mon-Fri TURKISH 0330-0400 792 7205 9510 11780 Mon-Fri 1030-1100 11735 13795 17670 Mon-Fri 1800-1900 792 9385 11925 15235 UKRAINIAN 0400-0430 7265 9680 12015 Mon-Fri 2000-2015 7230 9715 11840 Sat/Sun 2000-2030 7230 9715 11840 Mon-Fri URDU* 0100-0200 972 7155 9835 11805 1400-1500 972 9510 11790 15170 15345 1500-1700 972 1700-1800 972 9315 11905 12155 1800-0100 972 UZBEK 1500-1530 801 11515 11780 15390 VIETNAMESE 1300-1330 1575 5955 9505 9720 1500-1600 1170 5955 6120 7195 9780 2230-2330 6060 7130 7260 13725 # Radio Sawa & Radio Ashna * Radio Aap Ki Dunyaa (Observer, Bulgaria, Aug 16 via DXLD) ** U S A. Updated summer schedule of DX-ing With Cumbre as July 29: Fri 2105 11765 HRA 250 kW / 090 deg Angel 5, cancelled Sat 0230 5850 HRA 250 kW / 060 deg Angel 5, additional 0330 17510 WHR 100 kW / 300 deg Angel 3 0500 7315 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg Angel 1 7465 HRI 250 kW / 042 deg Angel 2 0700 9510 WHR 100 kW / 225 deg Angel 4, cancelled 0730 7315 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg Angel 1, cancelled 7465 HRI 250 kW / 042 deg Angel 2, cancelled 0900 9510 WHR 100 kW / 225 deg Angel 4, cancelled 1230 11785 HRI 250 kW / 315 deg Angel 1, cancelled 1930 15285 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg Angel 1 Sun 0500 9510 WHR 100 kW / 225 deg Angel 4 1500 11555 WHR 100 kW / 285 deg Angel 3 1530 15285 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg Angel 1 2030 15785 HRI 250 kW / 042 deg Angel 2 Mon 0230 5850 HRA 250 kW / 060 deg Angel 5 0330 7315 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg Angel 1 (Observer, Bulgaria, Aug 16 via DXLD) This was originally labeled USA (non). But AFAIK all these transmitters are in the USA. Was each of these airings confirmed by monitoring, or just extracted from the WHR online schedules, which are notoriously inaccurate? Including wrong UT days shown. I do agree that the UT Fri 2105 has been missing for a few weeks, presumably canceled (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. BERKELEY --- KPFA BOARD REFUSES TO FIRE ITS MANAGER - Patrick Hoge, Tuesday, August 16, 2005 http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/16/BAGGPE88291.DTL The board of directors at radio station KPFA has rejected a motion to fire the station's embattled general manager. In a meeting on Saturday, the board voted 15-5 against calling for the termination of general manager Roy Campanella, board member Joseph Wanzala said Monday. Campanella, the namesake son of the Dodgers' hall-of-famer, was accused last week by some female workers at the station of sexual harassment and by a male worker of threatening him with violence. The board's recommendation to keep Campanella will go to Ambrose Lane, the acting executive director of the Pacifica Foundation, KPFA's nonprofit corporate parent, Wanzala said. Lane could concur with the recommendation or send the matter to the foundation's national board of directors for debate, he said. Wanzala said the board did not accept a recommendation to fire Campanella that was made in June by Dan Siegel, an Oakland attorney the board hired to investigate a complaint that Campanella had asked a program producer to go outdoors to settle a dispute. Campanella had asked that the Pacifica Foundation conduct an investigation of the sexual harassment charges against him. An inquiry in March failed to substantiate the charges, Wanzala said. Page B - 3 (c)2005 San Francisco Chronicle (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. WUKY-FM in Lexington, Ky., restored Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac to the air Friday, shortly after canceling the segment because of concerns about "decency." The station's manager "may now have discovered that playing it safe is the most unsafe thing an educational station manager can do," say two commentators with ties to Kentucky ETV. posted at 11:13 AM EST PROTESTS BRING BACK KEILLOR SHOW By Rick Bird Post staff writer Today's "News from Lake Wobegon" - WUKY-FM, the University of Kentucky public radio station in Lexington, has brought back to its airwaves Garrison Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac" after canceling the show earlier this month because of what it considered offensive content. The week's somewhat convoluted developments are symbolic of both the skittishness of stations over indecency issues in the current regulatory climate, and the power of public radio listeners to immediately affect change with their complaints. The saga began Aug. 1 when WUKY General Manger Tom Godell dropped "The Writer's Almanac" after questioning the language in some of the poems Keillor had been reading on the show over the last year. "It's not like he's behaving like Howard Stern, but the FCC has been so inconsistent, we don't know where we stand," Godell told the Lexington Herald-Leader about the initial decision to drop the show. "We could no longer risk a fine." Keillor, best known for his 30-year public radio "Prairie Home Companion," also produces the daily "Writer's Almanac," a breezy five- minute mix of poetry and literary historical notes delivered with Keillor's trademark cozy touch, signing off with "Be well, do good work and keep in touch." It was the first time a Keillor show was pulled because of such concerns. The WUKY move was yet another twist in the tortuous debate that has made station license holders nervous ever since the Federal Communications Commission began a crackdown after Janet Jackson bared her breast during the halftime show of the 2004 Super Bowl. Godell said he decided to cancel the show after tracking it for a year and noting an increasing number of language advisories sent out to stations by producers. Lately, three poems carried producer advisories: "Curse of the Cat Woman," by Edward Field, which contains a violent reference to "her breast impaled on your sword;" "Thinking About the Past," by Donald Justice about a man fondly recalling his youth and "The breast of Mary Something, freed from a white swimsuit;" and "Reunion" by Amber Coverdale, about former lovers who "get high." But Keillor fans this week let the station know they were upset about the cancellation. Friday afternoon, the station announced it would bring the show back, but at 7 p.m. instead of 11 a.m. "It is fair to say there is a strong listenership for the program. A number of them called today (Friday) to express their opinion about its value," said station spokesman Jay Blanton. Among those who had protested the show's cancellation was Leonard Press, the founder and long-time director of Kentucky Educational Television. He called the cancellation "an overreaction." "This is a man who is one of the premier writers and performers of our time," he said of Keillor. "I think he's generally recognized for his tastefulness." And Keillor himself sounded off in an e-mail statement to The Post Friday. "Mr. Godell apparently considers the word 'breast' to be raw language. I don't," Keillor wrote. "He's the manager of WUKY at the University of Kentucky and so he decides what is fit for Kentuckians to listen to and if he feels it's his mission to protect them from the word 'breast' uttered on the radio, then that's his problem, not mine." Keillor noted the show airs on 300 stations whose listeners aren't so troubled by such references: "He seems to stand alone on this issue." Godell said in a statement Friday the station reserves the rights to edit the poetry readings in the future. "The concerns we have are real about the use of language that the FCC has fined stations for recently," Godell said. "As a result, we have put in place an editing process that will allow us to delete such language from the broadcast without disrupting the program." Press said even if some finds Keillor's poetry selections offensive, context is everything. "That's the nature of educational broadcasting," he said. "Programming should be edgy, but of a kind unlike the sleaze on commercial broadcasting, which is titillating. There is nothing elucidating, there is nothing to learn from it." Radio and TV operators said if they have become spooked the last couple of years, it's because of sometimes confusing FCC rulings - or non-rulings. Last fall, two dozen ABC affiliates, including Cincinnati's Channel 9, refused to carry the network's airing of "Saving Private Ryan," because profanity was not edited out of the film. The FCC later ruled the way the language was used in the film did not violate decency standards. But earlier, the agency fined NBC stations for Bono's celebratory use of an obscenity in a live broadcast. The FCC defines indecency as "language or material that depicts or describes ... patently offensive sexual or excretory references." The FCC is forbidden to take action against a station unless it receives a complaint. Even one listener who files a protest over perceived indecency can trigger an investigation, although the FCC receives tens of thousands of such complaints each year and rarely follows up on them. Press notes public broadcasting has always had a different dynamic and he thinks WUKY found that out the hard way. "(Godell) just ignited the worst firestorm a public broadcaster can face, the ire of his fans," he said. "That is all he/she really has. So he antagonizes his primary base and gains no other." Keillor's "Almanac" series only airs in the tri-state on Miami University station WMUB-FM (88.5), which has a spotty signal into parts of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The show will return to WVXU-FM (91.7) Aug. 22, after a three-year absence, at an air time that has yet to be announced. Publication date: 08-13-2005 (via Current via DXLD) ** U S A. ILLINOIS STYLE: GALVA MAN BRINGS BACK THE DRIVE-IN MOVIES OF HIS YOUTH. http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/local/12346044.htm (via Curtis Sadowski, IL, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) viz.: by KEVIN SAMPIER, Associated Press, Posted on Wed, Aug. 10, 2005 GALVA, Ill. - It was a dose of nostalgia for some and a first-time experience for many others who attended the grand opening of Illinois' newest drive-in theater. "We used to go to the drive-in when we were younger," said Diane Sowden of Galva, who came to the grand opening of the Galva Autovue Drive-in Theatre last month with her husband and two sons to watch "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." Growing up in New Jersey, Diane's husband, Paul, went to drive-ins often as a teenager before many of them closed across the country. "Our childhood memories go back to the drive-in theater there," he said, sitting in his car in front of one of the 20-by-48-foot screens at the Henry County venue. Now, thanks to Justin West's dream of opening a double-screen drive-in that will play first-run movies, the Sowdens were able to share a bit of their childhood with their own children. "I think it's excellent because I've never been to one, and we have our own now," said 16-year-old P.J. Sowden, who parked next to his parents with his girlfriend, Cortnie McClintic, 15, of Galva. And like teenagers of the 1960s and '70s who went to drive-ins before them, P.J. Sowden and McClintic had more on their minds than the movie. "He told me if they start making out, I have to turn my head," Diane Sowden said. "My mom told me stories about going to the drive-in when she was younger," McClintic said. "I'm not allowed to come to the drive-in with boys alone." Rows of cars stretched across both gravel parking lots and began lining up at 7:30 p.m. - two hours before the first beams of light splashed across the silver screens - to stake out a good spot for two of the four shows. On the screen behind the Sowdens, "Sahara" played, followed by "The Longest Yard." The concession stand buzzed with activity all night as a team of workers popped popcorn, served sodas and dished out nachos and candy to moviegoers who wanted to relive the drive-in feeling of days gone by. "We used to go when we were kids, and I have all those childhood memories of going with my parents," said Stacey Schultz of Viola, who came with her husband, Andy, and sons Ryan, 12, and Zach, 10. "Every time I go to the theater I can't see because someone tall sits in front of me," Zach Schultz said, but it wasn't a problem for him as the four sat on chairs in the bed of their pickup truck. The man responsible for making the drive-in a reality after more than two years of waiting was out of sight to the viewers as he kept busy making last-minute checks and adjustments, rewinding films and testing the radio frequency that would carry the sound through the cars' radios. And after a few minor first-day glitches, his vision of bringing a drive-in to Galva was complete. "It's not time for me to relax yet, but I'm all right," said West, 41, as he nervously looked back and forth at both screens displaying the films while telling a story about drive-ins of the past. "Every now and then I see a glitch. I want to keep my eye on it." Focusing the screen and adjusting the audio frequency were the only bumps West ran into while setting up "Sahara," but the audience didn't seem to notice or mind. Viewers settled into their cars, truck beds and lawn chairs to watch the first round of shows under a sky filled with stars, and by intermission, they were pleased with what they saw and heard. McClintic said her favorite part of the drive-in experience was "just laying back, being able to put your feet up and not get yelled at." (via Sadowski, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) WTFK?? Re Galva, IL, drive-in with FM sound: Hi Chris, I guess you're not on the Soundoff list, I'd posted a story there that had recently gone out over the Illinois AP wire. Anyway, it is open. The one my way has two transmitters in the non-commercial band. They play music until the movie starts. If you point an antenna straight at Galva some evening, you're probably close enough to hear something similar. The story had no mention of the frequency, but it did talk about the owner having to adjust the transmitters before the show. I'm thinking the only need for that would have been tropo wiping out his chosen frequency, so he had to find an alternate (Curtis Sadowski, to Chris Cervantez, IL, WTFDA via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Sorry for the slight delay, getting in contact with the theatre people proved more difficult than I expected. So I went and did the next best thing --- I drove out to Gibson City, parked and monitored the radio broadcasts from the drive-in. Anyway, the main frequency in use (and the more powerful of the two) is 91.3. I was able to get this in from about five miles out (with tropo being up). I caught this one with music and various announcements. The music was eclectic, 'Theme from the Magnificent Seven', 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' (an old version, not Elvis), 'Red-Neck Yacht Club', and a bluesy version of 'Rainy Night in Georgia'. I spent a bit of time parked tuning around for the second frequency, which I hadn't heard on the highway. Finally right at the stroke of eight, 88.5 came alive with Leann Rimes singing 'The Star Spangled Banner', then they went to silence in full-quieted stereo. Apparently 88.5 is regarded as a secondary channel, and is just used for the actual movie audio. I had to get back to Paxton before the movie started at 8:30, so I started back. The 88.5 dead-air transmission was lost about three miles out, and 91.3 at about five miles (it was replaced with Wisconsin Public Radio for my drive back home). The Harvest Moon Drive-In has a website http://www.harvestmoondrivein.com where they have a passing mention of the frequencies on the history page (a mention about signs put up a couple of years ago). It's a nice place; I watched a movie there back in 2003 with my kids. I ought to get out there more; they could probably use the business. Regards, (Curtis Sadowski, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx, Curtis, nothing like first-hand info. I see it has had quite a turbulent history. Maybe I`ll have a chance to check out some of the few OK drive-ins (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Question about reporting illegal broadcasters There is someone running one station and two translators nearby who is picking and choosing which FCC requirements he can satisfy. I want to report the guy but FCC makes it extremely difficult. Does anyone have ideas on how to go about doing this without entering bureaucratic hell? (Michael Hawkins, ABDX via DXLD) My honest advice to you is "don't bother." The FCC's policy is to make a few high-profile cases for 1% of violators while letting the other 99% slide. And there is no visible logic or coherent plan to what the FCC does; they are the living definitions of the words "arbitrary" and "capricious." I first started dealing with the FCC and FCC personnel back in the 1970s when I got really interested in pirate radio and numbers stations, and over the decades I have found FCC personnel, with rare exceptions, to be not very astute and on the lazy side. They act only in the most egregious cases or when they get pressure from above. Otherwise, they're inert and clueless. My favorite memory of dealing with the FCC came from 1987, when I heard a loud signal from then-new shortwave station KUSW (Salt Lake City) in the 60-meter tropical broadcasting band. It eventually turned out this was a spurious radiation from their transmitter, but I called the FCC's monitoring office in Livermore, CA about it. The engineer on duty tuned in the signal, agreed it was really loud, and then asked me, "Do you know if U.S. stations can use that band?" When I replied that's why I was calling him, he said, "Gee, I dunno. . . . sometimes they do things in Washington and don't tell us." When I suggested he might look up the frequency in the FCC database, he said "that hasn't been updated in months here." For a more recent account of my Alice-in-Wonderland adventures with the FCC, scroll through this link about the February, 2001 1140 kHz mystery signal (scroll down to my report of March 2: http://www.nrcdxas.org/notebook/dxnt6820.html (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, http://futureofradio.typepad.com/ ABDX via DXLD) ** YEMEN [and non]. Yemen Radio on 9780 at 1800 UT to the Middle East (at least to south India) is now blocked by Radio Canada service to Africa. That was the only time we could tune in to Radio Yemen (Manikant Lodaya, vu2jro, south India, Aug 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1800 being the only English hour from Yemen. And RCI is from Kashi, China, relatively near to India, per EiBi A-05: 9780 1800-1900 CAN Radio Canada Int. E EAf /CHN-ka 9780 For power and azimuth we consult HFCC A-05: 9780 1800 1900 48 KAS 100 239 1234567 270305 301005 D English CHN RCI (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. Heads will roll?? Hi Glenn, Not really DX stuff, but think you will enjoy this report sent to me recently. ZBH is the state broadcasting network, the one that runs Radio Zimbabwe and the local national TV station, which I never listen to nor watch. Amusing --- but sums up what goes on at the state broadcast studios. I have satellite TV from DSTV South Africa. 73 (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: CHARAMBA STORMS ZIM NEWSROOM Zimbabwe's Secretary for Information, George Charamba, says heads will roll at Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings' news arm, Newsnet, because of chaos there and because of the "tired and weak" way the national broadcaster handled a recent speech by President Robert Mugabe. Charamba, who is also the Presidential spokesperson, was also irked by the fact that the newsroom hotline went unanswered when he tried phoning it for more than an hour. Charamba was not amused by Newsnet's headline story of the day, which was: "President Mugabe has called on Zimbabweans to defend their independence and sovereignty." He argues that there was nothing newsworthy about that because that has been President Mugabe's call since 1980. Charamba says what was more relevant to today's situation in the President's speech was about the controversial operation cleanup and his opposition to talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Charamba wanted the headline changed and stormed the newsroom after failing to get the editors on their mobile phones and after also failing to get anyone on the widely advertised news hotline, which went unanswered for more than an hour. "I phoned ZBH on their hotline between 6:30 and 7:20 p.m. and all my calls went unanswered. I got so furious and had to leave my wife who is bed-ridden and go to ZBH. "When I got there, there was chaos in the newsroom. It is appalling for a 24-hour newsroom to leave its hotline unattended when news breaks every minute," fumed Charamba. When he got to the newsroom, the Information Secretary was also angered when he found out that staffers were attending to private duties during working hours. "There was confusion in the newsroom and what I saw showed there was no one in charge and no one working." He also attacked Newsnet for not giving radio news the prominence it deserves. He said the editors concentrated on television news when the majority of the population relies on radio for news. Newsnet came under fire for only extracting the first two paragraphs of the presidential speech and passing it as the headline. "There is a serious problem in that newsroom and it's an area I am going to tackle head on. I am not going to stand by, there will be changes in the newsroom," said Charamba. Newsnet's Editor In Chief, Chris Chivinge confirmed the unprofessionalism at the newsroom and said he had earlier on told the newsroom staff to correct the anomaly and they did not act until the information secretary arrived. "While one can defend the omission of essential facts on 'perspective', the slow response of the team is unacceptable" said Chivinge. He also hinted that there would be changes at the newsroom. Newsnet whose motto is "We will be there when it happens" has been rocked by scandals of sexual favors, incompetent staff and forging of journalism qualifications by some staffers. Charamba called on the Media and Information Commission to investigate those who are working as journalists without proper qualifications. Some journalists dismissed Charamba's call for a revamp at the newsroom saying he was also instrumental and responsible for the decaying of standards, which started five years ago when he was serving in his same capacity under the disgraced former Information Minister, Prof Jonathan Moyo. "Some of the policies Charamba formulated and implemented are the root cause of what's taking place at ZBH, so he must not act as if he is seeing it for the first time. "If he wants to fire people, he should just fire without blaming us for a rotten system he helped put in place, that's how the President's speech has been covered all this years", argued one Newsnet journalist. Fear, anxiety, uncertainty and low morale can best describe the situation at the newsroom since Charamba and ZBH's Executive Chairman, Dr Rino Zhuwarara confirmed that the axe is set to fall at the state broadcaster's news arm (Source? via Pringle-Wood, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION SAID TO BE FUNDING PRIVATELY- OWNED PAPERS | Text of report by South Africa-based Zim Online website on 16 August Two Zimbabwe newspaper groups are accused of receiving billions of dollars of taxpayer's money from the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) laundered through "loans" from a bank in which South Africa's Absa is the major shareholder. These allegations, first published last week by the Zimbabwe Independent, have not surprised Zimbabwean media watchdogs who long suspected that the weekly Financial Gazette and the Daily and Sunday Mirror were part of the ruling ZANU PF's media wars. The Financial Gazette and the Mirror newspapers are seen as supporters of the "enlightened" wing of the ruling ZANU PF. With the exception of two weeklies, the Zimbabwe Independent and its sister Sunday publication The Standard, all other daily press and electronic media are controlled by the ZANU PF government. Former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, now an "independent" MP since the March general election, said Monday [15 August] he was "shocked" at the revelations that the Gazette and Mirror newspapers received covert funding. "I will be investigating this," he said. The ZANU PF government, under Moyo's direction, launched a full- frontal attack on the privately owned press when, in early 2000 the new opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change mobilized enough support to defeat a referendum for a new constitution. The Financial Gazette, then fiercely critical of ZANU PF, was sold in 2002 by veteran publisher Elias Rusike to his editor-in-chief, respected journalist Francis Mdlongwa now lecturing at Rhodes University. Mdlongwa, some say naïvely, borrowed the purchase price of 200m Zimbabwe dollars, then about 25m rand [4m US dollars] from the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe, CBZ, whose chief executive at the time was Gideon Gono, now governor of the Reserve Bank who usually relishes publicity. Absa has a 25 percent stake in CBZ. "The money was lent with no questions asked and without even any agreement on when it would be paid back, and a few months later Mdlongwa was asked to repay the money immediately, and obviously he couldn't," Rusike said Monday. He said he had been happy for Mdlongwa to own the newspaper because he knew it would be in "safe hands" and would remain "independent". Mdlongwa then had to withdraw and ownership of the publication passed to two of Gono's associates in a deal which has never been adequately explained. Upon the arrival of the two associates, Mdlongwa had retained his position as editor-in-chief of the newspaper. In an interview yesterday, Mdlongwa said upon their arrival, the two Gono associates started attacking the Financial Gazette's editorial stance, saying the paper needed to be toned down as it was too critical of the government. Their stance alarmed Mdlongwa and his fellow directors with whom he had formed a consortium to buy the newspaper. Mdlongwa, who now heads the Sol Plaatje Media Leadership Institute at Rhodes University, said he then opted to quit his post as editor-in- chief as he could not countenance attempts to compromise the editorial freedom of the Financial Gazette - Zimbabwe's oldest independent newspaper. "Looking back with hindsight, it is difficult to rule out that there could have been other forces behind it all, but we simply did not have evidence," said Mdlongwa. Supa Mandawanzira, who has the contract to produce television news for the SABC is now on the board of the Financial Gazette and also handles much advertising and publicity for Gono's various projects at the Reserve Bank. Editor of the Gazette Sunsleey Chamunorwa denied the newspaper had been funded by the CIO through a deal facilitated by Gono. "I will be issuing a full statement in the paper on Thursday," he said. Ibbo Mandaza, a long-time ZANU PF supporter, who claims to be the only shareholder in the Mirror Group said yesterday: "This story is not true. We have an overdraft from CBZ and circulation is growing. We would submit our books to an independent audit." In Zimbabwe's hyper-inflationary climate many find it hard to believe that the two Mirror newspapers survive when both have maximum circulations of about 15,000 and scant advertising. Gono declined to comment on the allegations of his involvement with the newspaper groups. Nicholas Goche, formerly the minister responsible for the CIO and who now heads up the welfare portfolio, also declined to comment. Andrew Moyse, director of the Media Monitoring Project said he was not surprised at the allegations of covert funding from the CIO to both newspaper groups. "The editorial content of the Financial Gazette altered considerably after it changed hands. It fails to ask fundamental questions that would be unpalatable for its owners. We have seen it protect Gono primarily and the government he serves. "The Mirror newspapers are a foil for the reformed wing of ZANU PF. They exist on some permanent financial support and we can only assume it comes from quarters whose interest it reflects." The Daily News and its sister Sunday and two small weeklies the Tribune and Weekly Times are banned from publishing because they failed to get accreditation from the government appointed Media and Information Commission, set up by Jonathan Moyo. Government critics are outraged that it invested billions in seeking to control the private media while millions of people face food shortages. Source: Zim Online, Johannesburg, in English 16 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ READING INTERNATIONAL RADIO GROUP, AUG 20 READING INTERNATIONAL RADIO GROUP The next meeting will be on Saturday August 20th when the programme will include a look at developments in DRM, DAB and digital satellite technology and how international shortwave radio was promoted by an LP record in 1979. The meeting will be in Meeting Room 3, Reading International Solidarity Centre, 35-39 London Street, Reading. We will be in the Global Cafe/Bar at 1400 and move to the meeting room at 1430. The meetings last about 2 and a half hours. Mobile calls on the day can be made to Dave Kenny on 0775 4377661. The meeting rooms are at the back, the entrance is via a small passage just beyond the RISC shop, or ask for directions in the shop or cafe. RISC has a website with location at http://www.risc.org.uk For further information phone me on 01462 643899 (Mike Barraclough, BDXC-UK via WORLD OF RADIO 1284, 0DXLD) MADISON-MILWAUKEE GET-TOGETHER, AUG 20 Only five more days until the 12th Annual Madison-Milwaukee Get- together for DXers and Radio Enthusiasts! There is still time for you make plans. Come to Burrows Park, Madison WI, on Saturday, August 20 beginning at 1 PM, and join the 40 or so DXers who plan to be with us for a day of DX fun. Many of your fellow WTFDA members will be there. For further information, please e-mail Bill Dvorak, dxerak @ aol.com 73 (Bill Dvorak, WI, Aug 15, WTFDA via WORLD OF RADIO 1284, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BPL STORY ON TODAY'S NPR "MORNING EDITION" I heard the story at 620 AM local time (1020 UT); would expect a repeat at 820 AM local time as well. The story focuses on a small Texas town, population roughly 1,500, whose electric utility is municipally owned. The BPL infrastructure is currently being installed. The story does include a sound bite from the ARRL's Ed Hare regarding BPL interference; the equipment provider says that some frequencies are notched out to eliminate interference. The report contains one significant factual error -- the report states that BPL enables one to use every wall socket as an Internet connection, which isn't true per se -- that's more a function of the home networking method chosen. In addition to your local NPR station's over-the-air feed, numerous NPR stations webcast Morning Edition live; on-demand audio will likely be made available at approximately 10 AM ET / 1400 UT (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Aug 16, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) The story is now available on demand at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4801446 (Joe Buch, ibid.) I sent NPR a note and told them of factual errors in the report --- we'll see if anything comes from it. The error I flagged was that BPL, on its own, doesn't allow one to use a Homeplug network -- it's a separate issue. I also reminded them there were others with legal standing who could potentially be interfered with via BPL technology (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The geomagnetic field ranged from mostly quiet to unsettled levels, with one isolated active period observed at middle latitudes late on 13 August. At higher latitudes, an isolated active period was observed midday on 08 August, while a 12 hour period of minor to major storm levels were observed midday on 10 August. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 17 AUGUST - 12 SEPTEMBER 2005 Solar activity is expected be at very low to low levels. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 17 ? 22 August, 26 ? 27 August, and 02 ? 08 September. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to major storm levels. Recurrent coronal hole high speed wind streams are expected to produce active to minor storm levels on 17 August, and active to major storm levels on 23 ? 26 August. Otherwise, expect mostly quiet to unsettled conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2005 Aug 16 1954 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2005 Aug 16 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2005 Aug 17 75 20 4 2005 Aug 18 75 15 3 2005 Aug 19 80 8 3 2005 Aug 20 80 7 2 2005 Aug 21 80 7 2 2005 Aug 22 80 7 2 2005 Aug 23 85 15 3 2005 Aug 24 90 25 5 2005 Aug 25 95 20 4 2005 Aug 26 100 15 3 2005 Aug 27 105 8 3 2005 Aug 28 105 12 3 2005 Aug 29 105 12 3 2005 Aug 30 100 10 3 2005 Aug 31 100 12 3 2005 Sep 01 100 10 3 2005 Sep 02 95 12 3 2005 Sep 03 90 12 3 2005 Sep 04 85 8 3 2005 Sep 05 85 10 3 2005 Sep 06 80 10 3 2005 Sep 07 75 8 3 2005 Sep 08 75 8 3 2005 Sep 09 75 15 3 2005 Sep 10 75 12 3 2005 Sep 11 75 10 3 2005 Sep 12 75 12 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1284, DXLD) ###