DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-154, September 3, 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 1285: 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 1300 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1400 WOR WRMI 7385 Sun 1730 WOR WRN1 to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 1900 WOR RNI Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually closer to 0418-] Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1400] Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually] Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND: 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 1285 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1285h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1285h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1285 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1285.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1285.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1285.html WORLD OF RADIO 1285 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3 (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_08-31-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_08-31-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1285 downloads in studio-quality mp3: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1285h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1285.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently available: Extra 58, 1281, 1282, 1283, Extra 59, 1284, Extra 60, 1285) CONTINENT OF MEDIA 05-08 is available from early UT Sept 4: (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0508.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0508.rm (summary) not yet available 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/ ** AUSTRALIA. ANALYSIS: AUSTRALIA TO REVIEW DIGITAL SWITCH-OVER PLAN | Text of editorial analysis by Steve Metcalf of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 2 September Australian Communications Minister Helen Coonan this week outlined her thinking on the government's long-standing pledge to reform the country's media sector, which she described as one of the most highly- concentrated in the world. Much of the reporting of her speech, to the National Press Club in Canberra, focused on her restated commitment to easing the restrictions on cross-media ownership and on foreign investment in the media. Newspapers predicted a flurry of media acquisitions and mergers as the likes of Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Packer repositioned their holdings. However, Senator Coonan linked the proposed changes to wider issues such as digital technology and new communications platforms and stated that the government would not proceed "without broad industry support". This led some commentators to suggest that, in the end, not much may change after all. New channels Under existing legislation, a number of changes are already due to come into effect on 1 January 2007. These include an end to the moratorium on allocating new free-to-air TV licences and easing the limitations on datacasting transmission licences. Holders of such licences will then be able to provide services such as pay-TV, niche (narrowcast) channels and TV to mobile devices. Coonan said in Canberra that she did not see the need for a new free- to-air commercial TV channel. Instead, she favours available frequency space being taken up by "innovative new services... to help drive digital take-up and to provide greater choice and diversity". She also hinted that the government might lift the rules on multi-channelling, which is currently limited to public broadcasters ABC and SBS with restrictions on the type of programming that can be shown. Slow digital take-up The need to boost digital take-up is undoubtedly a factor in the proposed media changes. Coonan told a Senate committee earlier this year that only 10 per cent of Australians had digital TV and that the proposed analogue switch-off date of 2008 was unrealistic. She announced in Canberra that her department would be conducting a review into the switch-over period and would develop a comprehensive Digital Action Plan. She would also be consulting with media industry figures and hoped to present legislation to parliament early next year. She concluded by saying: "Without some trade-offs, I do not imagine significant regulatory reforms can be achieved." And it is the arguments within the media over those trade-offs that could jeopardize the broad industry support the minister is seeking. Industry disagreement Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Christian Catalano said that television moguls were "bracing for an all-in brawl" over digital broadcasting. Pay TV broadcasters were worried by the prospect of more free-to-air channels, while the commercial free-to-air networks were split over the issue of multi-channelling. Disagreement between media owners was also likely to prevent any immediate changes according to Eric Beecher, former national newspaper editor and now publisher of the crikey.com.au website and subscription newsletter. Beecher added that the government might also face a political problem with passing legislation. "Despite [its] rhetoric about diversity," there would almost certainly be fewer media owners under the proposed changes, he said. This would put pressure on rural MPs in the coalition government, who had already staged a mini-revolt over plans to sell off the national telecommunications company, Telstra. Prime Minister John Howard has already been thwarted once in his attempt to introduce media ownership changes. He told ABC Radio that he backed Coonan's proposed changes, but if she couldn't secure industry agreement, it wasn't his most important priority. "But if we can reach agreement and it seems in the public interest then we will go ahead with it. If we can't then we won't." Source: BBC Monitoring research 2 Sep 05 (via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. Re Asia-Pacific to be on R. Republik Indonesia: A- P is already on R. Taiwan International for about a year on the English Service (Dan Say, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ** BERMUDA. RADIO STATION PROMISES ALL THAT JAZZ http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050903/LIFESTYLE/109030143 Bermuda's newest radio station, KJAZ 98.1FM, officially launches tomorrow. KJAZ is the brainchild of Leo Trott, President of LTT Broadcasting, who has been developing a programming blend of jazz, blues and world music along with co-owners Derrick (CJ) Symonds and five other jazz enthusiasts. "It's alive, vibrant, creative, intuitive, impulsive, no other genre can reflect life like jazz and blues," Mr. Symonds said of the station's programming plans. Mr. Trott, a devoted jazz fan since his school days in Northern Alabama where he spent time in backwoods juke joints, was disappointed when he returned to Bermuda to find a lack of good jazz programming here. A statement from the station said the station aims to reach serious jazz fans and crossover listeners. The regular announcing line-up includes: Local Jazz Announcers CJ and Lee Johnson who have a loyal audience from midday through afternoon drive. Nic Swan will host weekday evening's freestyling a mix of Nu jazz, broken beats, and Acid Jazz. Danny Garcia (jazz pianist) will host Latin Grooves 9-11 a.m. [UT -3 during DST = 1200-1400 UT] The morning show, from 6-9 a.m., will be hosted by New York-based contemporary jazz recording artist/composer/producer Bob Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin has worked with radio stations CD 101 in New York (with Bermudian Sturgis Griffith Jr.), WCLK in Atlanta, and WBLS in New Jersey. LTT Broadcasting will also take on a small number of new announcers. Hopefuls should e-mail jazzbdaradio.com [sic; where`s the @?] The station will also feature programmes from National Public Radio in the US including The Market Place Morning Report and All Things Considered (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) While as an American imperialist, I would be delighted to add Bermuda, it is ludicrous for this British territory to pretend it has a US station with a K-call, even if it is only a slogan and picks up some NPR programs. We have had reports of this before, also referred to as B-Jazz, and Bruce Elving even suggests it could really be ZJAZ --- since the ZJ- prefix can be applied in British colonies, and other Bermuda stations start with ZB and ZF. Unfortunately the British colonial prefixes are all mixed up and you can`t depend on any particular one applying to only one particular entity. Whatever became of the list of international callsign prefixes which used to be in the WRTH? Ham radio prefixes are related, but often not the same as used for broadcasting in any given country. I could not easily find any table even of international ham prefixes, on the ARRL or IARU websites. Finally a Google search led to this, zeroing in on the Zs, which do not mention Bermuda but confirm ZJ is a UK+ prefix: http://www.ac6v.com/prefixes.htm#Z (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Quito 2/9 2005 *** Friday edition: *** Recording of 5745.75 unID "EWTN Radio Católica Mundial" This station has been reported as "Radio Virgen de Remedios, Tupiza" (Bolivia). To me it`s a little bit difficult to believe this really is Bolivia. Good but distorted signal and nothing else from Bolivia on the SW bands. I understand that "Radio Virgen de Remedios" is relaying programs from "Radio Católica Mundial" but as you can hear on this recording the ID is "EWTN Radio Católica Mundial". Does anyone have correct information about this station? The recording is made this Friday evening 0000 UT [Sat Sept 3]. For the moment I´m using my old receiver NRD 535. Still works very fine after 12 years! Comments, photos and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, Sept 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, sounds weak enough to me to be Bolivia. Why don`t you see if it matches WEWN audio or if there is a satellite delay. WEWN Spanish frequencies at 0000-0500 are 7425, 13615. Here is FCC A-05 showing that WEWN itself uses 5745, but only in the mornings; at 0000, WWRB would be on there, but beamed NNW; I haven`t noticed if they are off frequency. 5745 1000 1400 WEWN 500 285 10 1234567 270305 301005 5745 1000 1400 WEWN 500 20 4,5,9,28 1234567 270305 301005 5745 2300 0600 WWRB 100 340 2-4,23,24 1234567 270305 301005 However http://www.ewtn.org/radio/freq.htm does not show 5745 currently in use at any hour. Also contrary to the FCC info, WWRB schedule for 5745 http://www.wwrb.org/schedules/scac/schedule.html says it is on 150 degree antenna, 2300-0500, but some days from 0000 or to 0400. There are a few Spanish programs mixed in with English, but not at the time of your report. I am sure Dave Frantz would be disappointed to know that his signal is not even audible in South America, or is it? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thank you very much Glenn Hauser for information and feedback regarding my unID "Católica Mundial" on 5745.75 kHz. I do not know if it´s Bolivia or not - I have just a "feeling" that it is not. I did not listen this morning, I was very occupied with my unID Bolivian on 1590.43 kHz but after months of listening I now have the ID and will present the station later today or tomorrow on my web ID-site. http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, Sept 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4845.36, Radio Municipal, Canavari, 1017-1020, August 30, Spanish/Aymara, local ads, announcement & ID as: "....a la audiencia de Radio Municipal", messages: "atención, atención, Junta Vecinal...", 34433. 5967.82, Radio Nacional de Huanuni, Huanuni, 1025-1032, August 30, Spanish, Announcement, TC & ID as: "buenos días, las 6 de la mañana con 27 minutos... a través del amanecer de Radio Nacional ...saludos para los compañeros trabajadores, las amas de casa... siguen en sintonía con Radio Nacional de Huanuni...", different songs, 34433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. RADIO BOTSWANA NOW AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET |Text of report by Botswana newspaper Mmegi/The Reporter on 1 September Imagine how life would be if a Batswanan living outside the country were able to listen to Radio Botswana on the Internet? This is no longer a wish, but a reality. Radio Botswana has joined the digital age. It is all thanks to the University of Botswana computer science staff, who are using modern technology to record Radio Botswana's daily programmes and then channel them via the internet. If your computer is connected to the internet, RB1 programming is just a mouse click away, though it is two hours behind the normal RB1 schedule. One can only marvel at the user-friendliness of this service. If you miss out on a programme, the internet service enables you to visit the archives and listen to the programme. The service also allows you to shuffle through the programming with ease. You can listen to the six o'clock news, the seven o'clock news, or go back to the midnight shows and catch up with the goings [on] at the station. The internet version is truly representative of the national radio's programming, as they do not leave out any details, from music, to studio calls, interviews and news. However, strangely, Radio Botswana itself has not been able to come up with this kind of service. The website that runs the RB1 programming, http://www.tsebeegole.bw is not in any way associated with the government radio station. It is an independent, non-profit making website with the mission to serve Botswana citizens in far away places. The website also conducts listener surveys of the RB1's internet programming. Their recent survey reveals that 83 per cent of the listeners tune to four or less programmes, while 78 per cent listen to over seven programmes. The site also communicates solely in Setswana. Even instructions on how to use the website are in Setswana and that gives it the true original RB1 feel. Source: Mmegi/The Reporter, Gaborone, in English 1 Sep 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CANADA. RCI during strike/lockout --- I was just over at the RCI website and I cannot find anything there that describes the programming changes that are in effect during the CBC labor troubles. I know that there were some mentions of changes in recent issues of DXLD, but I was hoping that there's be a comprehensive description of what replaces what. Is it there somewhere that I just missed? This morning (Saturday the 3rd), I tuned in late to what usually was Vinyl Cafe' and it was something different but still music-oriented (never did catch just what it was, tho). But what was really odd was that there were announcements before both the following newscast and then Quirks & Quarks something like "due to labor action, the previously-scheduled program is being replaced by the following program." But then they aired what WAS scheduled (a 5-min newscast and a Q&Q repeat)! I'm wondering if SciTech File will be on at its regular time; I wasn't able to check for it Friday since I was away from a radio then. (Another annoying thing seems to be that the program websites themselves, like the SciTech File website, have no actual entries or even links to show exactly when they are aired on RCI (and I suppose CBC too). I guess they just expect people to listen on-line, which they push.) 73, (Will Martin, MO, Sept 3, dxldyg via DXLD) Apparently they just run the ``labour action`` announcement before everything whether it has changed or not! At 1405 UT Saturdays they have been running Simply Sean, upon which I have previously commented negatively. Nor have I found a correct RCI program schedule, and we are now into the third week of the disruptions. Best one can do is check the CBC Radio One and Two weekly pdf skeds http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/ and try to figure out how that info would apply to RCI, which is also linked but only to ``visit``, rather than download a real schedule. I think there was no reason to blow away so much of the CBC website, about individual program content, etc.; I guess they figured they would not have the personpower or expertise to keep it all current (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I tried looking for it as well but have never found it. From the way I understand the CBC, anything remotely related to a lockout or strike in another part of the corp. is done by management, not by unionized staff. I presume that posting special schedules on its website would fall under that category, and that might explain why there aren't any such schedules. Luck of the draw. I guess it's too much trouble for RCI to provide specific continuity announcements, as is being done on CBC Radio One. SciTech File --- That shouldn't be a problem: RCI is not directly affected by the lockout (Ricky Leong, Calgary, Alta., ibid.) ** CANADA [and non]. RCI Morning Show on 17800, always in the clear by 1300 to 1500 with SIO 555, was clashing this Saturday 9/3 morning with what sounded for me like Voice of Nigeria, altho I couldn't identify that language. // 13655 was clashing with a distant signal too, CRI? (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 3, dxldyg via DXLD) Conditions are still disturbed with high-latitude signals not making it here on the higher frequencies, no 17800 to be heard Sept 3, while 13655 and 9515 were OK. Depending on relative strength, 17800 often has co-channel QRM problems. While you never know what Nigeria is going to do, more likely the clash is from Deutsche Welle, as per EiBi, especially if there is a break at 1250-1300 and after 1350: 17800 1200-1250 D Deutsche Welle Indonesian to SEA via UAE 17800 1300-1350 D Deutsche Welle Hausa to WAf via Rwanda The latter would be aimed as well toward North America! As for 13655, per EiBi, CRI is not on 13655 until after 1600, but: 13655 1200-1600 TURKEY Voice of Turkey, Turkish to Asia, Australia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Solar-terrestrial indices for 02 September follow. Solar flux 77 and mid-latitude A-index 30. The mid-latitude K-index at 1200 UTC on 03 September was 5 (71 nT). The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 03 September was 3 (21 nT). Space weather for the past 24 hours has been moderate. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G2 level occurred (SEC via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Re 5-153, Fisheries Broadcast programme on BBC: Mike: Is this sent on 198 LW or is it networked within Newf. and Lab. on local stations? (John Figliozzi, ODXA via DXLD) It's networked across the local stations, I found this weblink but with the dispute on it is down CBC Newfoundland and Labrador Radio: Fisheries Broadcast http://www.stjohns.cbc.ca/fisheries/index.html There's a report on Sean Street's visit to research the programme at http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/international/SeanStreet.pdf If you prefer it as html put Sean Street Newfoundland into google and it`s the first link. Note that at that time the BBC had agreed to upgrade it to a one hour feature. He also says CBC in Newfoundland will be broadcasting the programme (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) see INTERNATIONAL VACUUM, USA ** CUBA. Radio Rebelde transmitting at 1230 Sat. 9/3 (so early for us) a silly ball game from the World Baseball Championship just beginning in Holland between Cuba and South Africa on (strange for me) 11655 with fair signal, which faded after 1300, while 9505 was in the clear, SIO 454, with // 5025. See they're providing wide coverage when Cuban team is on the field (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 3, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 6048, HCJB (presumed). Date: 27 Aug 05. Time: 0455-0103*. OM in Spanish with flute music followed by orchestral music (NA?), pips and sign-off announcement at TOH. Good (Joe Wood, TN, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) I can hardly imagine HCJB being 2 kHz off frequency; suspect we have another case here of someone reading off what his digital dial says when it is slightly off-tuned, rather than determining the true carrier frequency by zero-beating BFO, etc. Presumably also means 0503* UT, with 0103* being EDT. This matches HCJB`s typical sign-off behavior, but I am sure there would have been IDs included (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. RFI changes, as of Sept 4th: 3965 0400 0500 37,38W,46N ISS 500 180 French F RFI TDF 3965 2100 2200 18S,28,29 ISS 250 60 Polish F RFI TDF 5920 2000 2100 28S,29S ISS 250 85 Romanian F RFI TDF 6045 0500 0530 28S,29S ISS 250 98 Serbian F RFI TDF 6120 1400 1500 44S,49,50,54 YAM 300 235 Vietnamese J RFI TDF 6175 1900 2000 28S,29S ISS 250 98 Serbian F RFI TDF 7135 0600 0700 37,38W,46N ISS 500 180 French F RFI TDF 7175 1200 1300 33S,43E,44 YAM 300 290 Mandarin J RFI TDF 7180 1400 1500 41 XIA 150 255 English CHN RFI TDF 9655 0930 1030 33S,43E,44 YAM 300 290 Mandarin J RFI TDF 9790 0600 0700 37E,38W,47N ISS 500 155 French F RFI TDF 9790 0600 0700 37W,46W ISS 500 204 French F RFI TDF 9790 1900 2000 37E,38W,47N ISS 500 155 French F RFI TDF 9790 1900 2000 37W,46W ISS 500 204 French F RFI TDF 9805 0400 0430 48S,52E,53,57E GAB 250 127 English GAB RFI TDF 11615 1900 2000 37,46 ISS 500 185 French F RFI TDF 11700 0600 0700 37,46 ISS 500 185 French F RFI TDF 11995 0500 0530 48S,52E,53,57E GAB 250 127 English GAB RFI TDF 13680 0500 0600 38E,47E,48,53,68 ISS 500 135 English/Fr F RFI TDF 21645 1130 1200 7S,8S,10E,11,12N ISS 500 270 French F RFI TDF (via Wolfgang Büschel, BCDX Sept 2 via DXLD) I suppose this is a list of usages effective Sept 4, but without knowing what they replace it`s a bit hard to follow (gh, DXLD) ** GREECE. During the entire 0000-0400 UT period to North America last night, Avlis 3 on 9420 again was silent; although 7475 was doing great, with fair reception from 5865. I can't get anything out of 9420 during the rest of the day either (John Babbis, MD, Sept 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA-BISSAU. GUINEA-BISSAU GOVERNMENT REPLACES STATE RADIO, TV CHIEFS AMID POLL DEADLOCK | Text of a report by Portuguese newspaper Publico website on 3 September The government of Guinea-Bissau yesterday dismissed the director generals of the state TV and radio companies, Adriano Ferreira and Carlos Gomes Ferreira respectively, and denied claims that the move had been politically motivated over their alleged sympathising with President-elect João Bernardo Nino Veira [who defeated Malam Bacai Sanha, of the ruling PAIGC, African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde in a presidential runoff election 24 July]. Interior Minister Daniel Gomes said that the appointment of Mamadu Djau - the head of Gomes' office - and Ricardo Semedo for the TV and radio posts, respectively, is aimed at "giving new impetus to the government programme" in the public and media circles. However, reports have stressed the recent request made by Guinea-Bissau's state TV (TGB) for technical and operation assistance from Portugal's RTP- Africa [Portuguese state TV African branch] for the live broadcast of the forthcoming presidential swearing-in ceremony. At a meeting yesterday [Friday 2 September], the Permanent Committee of Guinea-Bissau's National Assembly failed to agree on a date for the official swearing-in of Nino Vieira, whose supporters have defended it should take place in the shortest possible time, while PAIGC officials, who have a majority in parliament, have expressed preference for the beginning of October. Parliament members representing the Social Renewal Party [PRS] of [former president] Kumba Yala and Francisco Fadul's United Social Democratic Party [PUSD] - who have given their backing to the president-elect - left the meeting early which they justified with differences with the parliament speaker, Francisco Benante. [Editor's note: Parliamentary elections were held in March last year and last month's' vote was due to complete the return of the former Portuguese colony to constitutional rule following the coup which toppled the then president Yala. Before the poll, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior threatened to resign should Nino Vieira win the election. Nino Vieira was declared the winner in the 24 July runoff election, with 52.35 per cent of the vote against Sanha's 47.65 per cent. After coming third in the first round of the presidential election former President Kumba Yala - who seized power after the 1999 military uprising but was himself ousted in a coup in 2003 - said that he backed his one-time archival Nino Vieira.] Source: Publico website, Lisbon, in Portuguese 3 Sep 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Fútbol y radio --- Para todos los que disfrutamos con las emisoras tropicales y domésticas, este fin de semana habrá buena oportunidad para escuchar e identificar emisoras de los países latinoamericanos, ya que juegan sus selecciones partidos de fútbol para la clasificación de Alemania 2006 y la mayoría de emisoras estarán narrando dichos partidos. Sábado 3 Bolivia-Ecuador, en la Paz, a las 1900 UTC Paraguay-Argentina, en Asunción, a las 2100 UTC USA-México, en Ohio, a las 2300 UTC Venezuela-Perú, en Maracaibo, a las 2300 UTC Domingo 4 Brasil-Chile, en Brasilia, a las 2000 UTC Uruguay-Colombia, en Montevideo, a las 2110 UTC (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, Sept 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And then there is béisbol: see CUBA (gh) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. So much for the Sirius poll, and the full page adverts from electronic retailers (Radio Shack Canada, Best Buy) and General Motors (D. Say, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: HERE'S YOUR ART, WHAT'S YOUR HURRY? By GRAHAM HENDERSON AND BRIAN CHATER Friday, September 2, 2005 Page A17 Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ont.) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050902/COSATE02/TPComment/TopStories Some of the media pundits weighing in on satellite radio have trivialized the valid concerns about the cultural impact shared by both Canada's cultural community and Canadians at large. Let's put aside the rhetoric and consider the facts. The availability of satellite radio is not a significant issue for Canadians. What is important is the preservation of Canadian culture. In a new poll, Pollara Inc. had difficulty finding any Canadians who had heard anything about any of the recently licensed satellite services. Among the 15 per cent who said they had heard of them, only 19 per cent (3 per cent of the overall sample) were able to actually name one. Unlike recent polls sponsored by the satellite applicants that simply asked, "Are you very or somewhat interested" in the service, Pollara asked the tough questions: Would respondents who signalled an "interest" actually buy the service? A mere 3 per cent of those who were "interested" indicated they would definitely buy it -- hardly a show of overwhelming consumer demand. By contrast, Canadians solidly support Canadian content rules that have made Canada one of the most vital incubators for homegrown music talent in the world. Pollara found that three-quarters of Canadians believe that Canadian content rules are a "good idea," and 33 per cent even thought that Canadian content requirements should be increased. Almost eight in 10 Canadians believe that the current system of rules helped "Canadians become more successful international artists by giving them better initial exposure to Canadian audiences. We know we should not lightly discard a system that may well be one of the most successful cultural policies in our history. If we are going to tamper with it, we should ask: Why, what for and is it worth it? The recent Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's satellite radio decision replaces carefully constructed and honed Canadian content rules to suit U.S. infrastructure requirements of the new satellite services. Our content rules work precisely because our best found their place alongside "the best from the rest" in international play lists. Under the proposed satellite rules, listeners would no longer encounter their beloved artists in a mix of domestic and foreign music. Instead, they would have to tune into "Canadian-only" channels. Pollara's research suggests that Canadians have little interest in such a system. Proponents of satellite radio would have us believe that hundreds of thousands of Canadians are in possession of illegal receivers and that, if we don't act now, the hundreds of thousands will become millions. This thinking influenced the commission, which felt it was hostage to a "technological imperative." In the CRTC's own words, however, there is "little quantitative evidence" for the existence of a grey market. Pollara's research confirmed this. It concluded that the grey market has been vastly overstated. A statistically insignificant number of respondents are "grey market subscribers" (13 out of a sample size of 1,261). It should also be stressed that there are all sorts of speed bumps within the system that make it difficult to join the ranks of "grey marketeers" -- which explains why there are so few. It's regrettable that the CRTC was persuaded to abandon its long-established practice of undertaking a policy hearing before licensing something as significant as satellite radio. Instead, the commission entertained applications in the context of a narrow licensing procedure. When this happens, things can go awry. No sooner had the CRTC announced its decision than calls came from the broadcasting community to review the entire Canadian content system -- threatening Canada's musical community with a race to the bottom. We have to ask: For what? For access to American satellite radio? We cannot ignore the fact that a minority of Canadians appears eager to have satellite radio. And, indeed, satellite radio is an exceedingly attractive platform for the promotion and development of artist careers. But satellite radio has to fit into our existing cultural milieu without damaging it. If we have to wait a few months to get this right, it will be time well spent. Our cultural sovereignty is not to be trifled with lightly. ----- Graham Henderson is president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association. Brian Chater is president of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association (via Dan Say, DXLD) See also USA ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. Snyder Hurricane Frequencies Sept 3 The September 3 revision of Bill Snyder`s hurricane frequencies list is now available at http://www.hurricanefrequencies.com (John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. KOREA D.P.R., 6071.6, VoK at 1211-1222+ UT on Aug 23. Man speaking in Japanese; choral music at 1219 UT. Fair signal (John Wilkins, CO, DXplorer Aug 26 via BCDX via DXLD) Someone will report an unID on this frequency (gh, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non?]. IRAN/IRAQ First time since April back on 4160 kHz heard with close down at 1632 UT with ID in Arabic "Huna ... Kurdistan", presumed Radio Voice of Independence (Aug 20). (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, wwdxc BC-DX Sep 1 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. Hi, just in brief: Monitored broadcast of Voice of Nigeria: 7255 1700-2100 English, 2100-2200 French, 2200-2300 Hausa. Much weaker than 250 kW should be. 9690, 11770, 15120 mostly missing in the past few weeks (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Sept 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CANADA for 17800 ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 7120, Wantok Radio Light at 1324-1405+ UT on Aug 23. Good signal, in the "best ever" category, with usual religious songs, M and W announcers, short features, and occasional IDs with phone numbers. Still readable past 1400 UT, an hour past local sunrise (John Wilkins, CO, DXplorer Aug 26 via BCDX via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Second Program of BSKSA was reported here in July- August as: 0300-0900 on 9675; 0600-1700 on 11855 both reported and 9580 (not heard) 0300-0600 and 1700-2200. The News of Main programs are on the air also via Holy Qur`an program frequencies at: 0400; 0600; 0800; 1130; 1400; 1800 and maybe more. The mixed frequencies and spurs are currently 21560, 21640 and 21775 (sometimes 21440), reported in Sofia and Plovdiv on different receivers (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, wwdxc BC-DX Sep 1 via DXLD) ** SENEGAL [non]. WADR transmissions ended Aug 22. Might start broadcasting in September (WADR via Jari Savolainen, Finland, hcdx via BCDX via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. According to Chinese DXer Mr. Shifeng Zhang, Trans World Brodcasting Ministries has a Taiwan local web site at http://www.twbm.org.tw providing information both in traditional (for Tawian and Hong Kong) and simplified (for Chinese mainland) Chinese characters. They also have local E-mail addresses for Chinese audience youth @ twbm.org.tw and david @ twbm.org.tw (Takahito Akabayashi, Tokyo, Japan, Sept 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TASMANIA [non]. HRI Broadcast this weekend. ===================================== HRI Info! Hobart Radio International will be on shortwaves this weekend from our Baltic Sea Area Relay Station. First HRI relay from this station was aired 6th February 2005 1400-1430 UT on 6387 kHz (15 watts). Accidentally this transmitter burnt on fire shortly after that first relay!!! HRI Baltic Sea Are Relay will transmit with power of 5 watts only (with new transmitter): Sunday 4 of September: 0800 UT on 9270 kHz 1000 UT on 11410 kHz Reports to our e-mailaddress; can be found from our webpages: http://www.hobartradiointernational.co.nr Kind Regards from Rob Wise of Hobart, Australia! Hobart Radio International W: http://www.hobartradiointernational.co.nr E: hobartradiointernational @ yahoo.com.au P: Post Box 711, Rosny 7018. Tasmania, Australia - No QSL cards accepted via Post. The World Of Shortwave Radio (TWOSWR): http://www.shortwave.co.nr (Rob Wise, shortwaves yg via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. VOICE OF TIBET STARTS TWO NEW SHORT WAVE RADIO BROADCASTS FROM 1ST SEPTEMBER - TARGETING TIBETAN EXILE COMMUNITY VOT [Friday, September 02, 2005 18:02] From 1st September Voice of Tibet starts two new shortwave radio transmissions broadcasting into India. The 30-minute-long programs contains unbiased news and information in Tibetan language only. The timings will be 7:30 to 8 pm and 9 to 9:30 pm Indian time [1400-1430, 1530-1600 UT]. Frequency will be 17550, which is (low) on meter band 16. ``Since these two broadcasts targets the Tibetan exile community in India only, we hope and expect that the Chinese authorities will not attempt to interfere on these transmissions,`` says Oystein Alme at VOT administrative office in Norway. ``Our transmissions into Tibet and China has faced severe jamming attempts by Chinese stations for many years now, thus badly affecting the availability of VOT`s short wave transmissions also in India. That is why we want to provide a separate service to the exile community in India.`` The Chinese authorities has for many years interfered on all foreign short wave broadcasts providing unbiased information into Tibet and China. VOT, VOA and RFA Tibetan and Chinese services are facing the same, along with several others. ``Control over the media and access to information is tighter in China and Tibet than anywhere else in the world, but it will mark a new turn if they also start blocking transmissions aimed at listeners in India only,`` says Oystein Alme. ``Maybe I am too optimistic, but I can not see China going so far at this stage. With the Olympics in Beijing 2008 and their attempts to improve their international image, I can hardly see them wanting to further harm their international profile. ``We will follow the transmissions closely, and hope that many listeners in India will tune to 17550 at 7:30 and 9 pm (Indian time) in the evenings. It would also be of great interest and importance to us if the listeners could write us about the signal in their area. We also hope they will write us feedback on the contents and profile of the programs. Such feedback can be sent by e-mail to: lungtrin @ yahoo.com VOT`s programs are also available in mp3 format on the internet at: http://www.vot.org Contact persons: Mr. Karma Yeshi, VOT Editor-in-Chief: voteditor @ gov.tibet.net tel: +91 1892 2 26471 / 22384 – mobile: +91 94 1804 3890 For English language media also Mr. Oystein Alme, VOT adm. director, can be contacted: voti @ online.no – tel: +47 22111209 - mobile: +47 99378097 (via Jaisakthivel, President, Ardic DX Club, 3/45 Annai Sathaya Nagar, III Street, Arumbakkam, Chennai-600106, Tamil Nadu, India via DXLD) What does Ardic mean? ** TURKEY. See CANADA ** U K. CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER URGES PRESERVATION OF BBC CZECH SERVICE | Text of report in English by Czech news agency CTK Newport, Britain, 2 September: Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda today pleaded with his British counterpart Jack Straw for Britain not to cancel BBC's Czech-language broadcasting. "I will write a letter to confirm our desire for BBC to continue to operate in the Czech Republic", Svoboda told reporters today after a two-day meeting of EU foreign ministers in Newport, Wales. The BBC World Service has broadcasted five hours a day of Czech- language programming from Prague on its own frequency for a number of years. Its Czech-language section has one of the largest amounts of broadcasting of all the foreign languages that BBC broadcasts in. According to a recent survey by GfK Praha - Median, BBC's share of the market is roughly 0.1 per cent. Between last October and this March 17,000 listeners tuned in to BBC, whereas the most listened-to station Radiozurnal attracted 877,000 people. The BBC World Service is not covered by subscriber fees but is supported by Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office. That may be one of the reasons why there is talk of putting broadcasting in languages other than English more in tune with Britain's foreign policy priorities, first of all affecting developments in the Arab and Muslim world. Even though the station itself has not officially commented on reports about plans to cancel its Czech broadcasting along with other Central European language mutations, the employees of these sections privately acknowledge the move is all but certain. "I have huge reasons for doing so," Svoboda explained his today's personal intervention in the matter. "It is a station that is world- class in its style and content. It covers topics that are not emphasised in the Czech media because they don't have merely a domestic tint but a world- wide one," he said. Svoboda jokingly added as another reason the fact that his wife does not listen to anything else. Svoboda devoted 15 minutes of his time with Straw to the issue of BBC at the end of a conference of EU ministers. Straw told him that the initiative to cancel the broadcasting did not come from his office. Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1730 gmt 2 Sep 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K. FOOC on Write On --- Re the recent note on FOOC specials: these were mentioned on this weekend's Write On, and also a listener letter pleading for the restoration of the mid-week edition of FOOC (which they pronounce "fook", by the way). Penny Vine interviewed yet another BBC producer/scheduler person who gave the usual song and dance about how much they valued FOOC but that they just couldn't fit it into the last schedule revision. (Editorial comment: Yeah, sure... They can cram in all sorts of sports-junk 15-minute programs, keep an extra 15 minutes on Outlook each day, and have Westway even though it is planned to be killed off, and they cannot keep a 15-minute mid-week FOOC when they are paying vast amounts to support and keep these skilled foreign correspondents in various hellholes or paradises around the globe, and whose best output is their little essays on FOOC! Hmph!) Anywho, there seems to be a strong effort to restore the mid-week FOOC maybe even in the next schedule revision. Now, if only they'd try to make sure that we could hear it on SW!!! PS - The BBC missed a perfect chance to kill off Westway early and save some money and free up schedule time when the tube bombings happened in July. Short script: all the Westway characters come into the clinic (or whatever it is) at the same time for some contrived reason, and then in comes a suicide bomber and takes out the whole batch in one fell swoop. A nice combination of antiterrorist propaganda and a tie-in to then-current events (Will Martin, MO, Sept 3, swprograms via DXLD) Unfortunately, William, the BBC apparently does not exist to cater to the tastes of any one listener segment (Scott Royall, Conch Republic, ibid.) ``They can cram in all sorts of sports-junk 15-minute programs`` --- No they don't. Where have they gone on the schedule to North America? There used to be one at 1145, but that's gone. Way back when, there used to be another one at 2245, but that's been gone even longer. The only 15- minute Sports Roundup I can find is for Africa at 1745. And of course, we here in NAm can hardly listen to Saturday Sportsworld either (Ted Schuerzinger, ibid.) ** U S A. 4935, WHRI. Date 08/27/05. Time: 0516-0528. Program `DXing with Cumbre` and `Pirating with Cumbre`. ID at 0525 as ``This is World Harvest Radio, WHRI broadcasting from Cypress Creek, South Carolina.`` Heavy Static (Wood, TN, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) WHRI certainly does not use 4935. DWC is scheduled at this hour UT Sat on 7315 and 7465 from WHRI SC, while the other three transmitters have something else. I cannot figure out how 4935 would work out as an image or mixing product. Could it be simply a totally wrong frequency quotation? Why am I the only one raising questions about such logs? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is WJIE shortwave from Kentucky, U.S.A. off the air? I have been checking for them for some time, using the published skeds on several of the DXing websites, with no luck. The 2 frequencies I see posted for them are 7490 and 13595. I don't hear them on 13 megs, and the 41 meter frequency is occupied by WHRI. If they're not silent, have they changed frequencies and/or times? 73, (J. D. Stephens / U.S.A., 0251 UT Sept 3, HCDX via DXLD) As I just reported in DX Listening Digest 5-153 [q.v.]: They are certainly irregular, and I believe they were missing about 24 hours later. Best time to hear them would be in the daytime if you are close enough. WHR is scheduled on 7490 at 00-03 and 05-07, per WHR website. FCC A-05 also has WHRA at 07-09, but WHR shows them off the air at this time; and FCC shows 7490 0900 2400 WJIE 50 155 11-13 1234567 270305 301005 But that doesn`t mean they are really using the entire 15-hour span. Have not heard them on 13595 for many months, tho that is supposedly available: 13595 2200 1000 WJIE 50 55 9,27 1234567 270305 301005 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Often low power! (Robert Wilkner, FL, ibid.) ** U S A. WRNO shortwave has been off the air for years and remains off. Good News Outreach of Ft Worth now owns it and has repeatedly claimed it is going to bring it back in a month or two, such as September. Now I doubt there is anything left at the previous site. If it were to come back, it would be nothing but a transmitter site for gospel huxters somewhere else. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Sept 2, ABDX via DXLD) Thanks. I thought I had read that it was indeed back on, but I guess not. The Rush Limbaugh site still lists it as one of their radio outlets! (Mike Westfall, Lost Almost NM, ibid.) That is the least of the lies RL tells (gh, DXLD) It's been something like 20 years since I remember WRNO being ON. Speaking of Rush (and implied accuracy) I was listening to him several days after 9/11/01 happened and he was making a somewhat Big Deal of the fact that Dan Rather's CBS newscast had the best ratings in the local NYC TV market. I sent him an email pointing out that WCBS-TV was alone among the major TV broadcasters to have kept a transmitter on the Empire State building, as a backup, after everyone else had left that site for the WTC. Now I was living in Fla here and could not personally verify this but it was my understanding that WCBS had the only remaining off-air signal, at least until the others got ramped up at Alpine. This would certainly help them in overall ratings. However I never heard this replied to by him in any way, and certainly not in any reply to me. Much more fun to treat it as a journalism issue, and not a technical issue, which it was. As a side note - many of my local gas stations are either out of regular grade, or are totally out, as of today. This is gonna be a real problem if the supply lines are out for a while (Bob Foxworth, Tampa FL, Sept 2, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Looking for the "tail" of Rock The Universe, found WWCR playing some country pop and clashing with Radio Martí as I tuned 5070 (what they were doing there?) at 0550 Sat. 9/3. WWCR left this frequency at 0558 as usual and R. Martí without a warning left a minute later. New Martí sked of self-authorized frequency? (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 3, dxldyg via DXLD) Since Rock the Universe is scheduled Sat 1105-1200 UT on 5070, and since R. Martí per http://www.martinoticias.com/frequencies.htm is on 5980 from 0700 to 1200 UT via Delano, I can only conclude that 1) this was a common 2 x 455 kHz IF receiver image seeming to put the 5980 signal on 5070, and 2) you gave the time in local UT -6 instead of UT. BTW, the Martí frequency grid is confusingly labeled, with the times at the top and bottom at the right side of the blocks while they really refer to the dividing line to the left of them (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWCR 9985. As a fan of Rock The Universe, for me this is the good news of the day. Very pleased to finally hear a real decent signal for RTU, SINPO 45544. I'll have to tell this to Rick Adcock who was asking for reports about this change of frequency or change of sked, maybe due to incoming fall/winter season. But oh! As always that overmodulated audio from WWCR, or must be this transmitter only? Don't think so cause same thing happens with that terrible sound for World of Radio UT Sundays at 0230. Am I the only one who notice this? WOR sounds so clear on WBCQ Mondays 0415 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 3, dxldyg via DXLD) Yes, I have certainly noticed the distortion on 5070 for a long time. As for RTU on 9985, what time and day are you talking about? Do you mean you already hear RTU on 9985? The Sept 1 schedule shows it only at: Sun 0805 on 3210, Mon 0505 on 3210, Sat 1105 on 5070. Or are you referring to the routine frequency change announcement from 5070 to 9985 on #3 at 1159? Maybe after the end of DST timeshift, when RTU will be at 1205 UT instead, but that does not necessarily mean that 9985 will still be in use at that UT hour for B-05 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, thanks for clarifying about WWCR and R. Martí schedules. But I repeat what I heard this morning. Yes, I mistakenly wrote 0550 (that was my local time) instead of the real 1150 UT. But the clash existed. I forgot to mention there was properly a het. This ICF 7600GR toy is still brand new and never before heard that clash on 5070. It happened that way as I clearly heard WWCR leaving for 9985 at 1159 and Martí remained there for one minute more, cutting transmission abruptly. So, forget it, NO receiver image: Martí was there for the first time. So real was this that I tuned 9985 after 1200 and got that pleasant surprise with Rock The Universe and Rick Adcock plainly inviting listeners to report "our new frequency of 9985", as usual giving WWCR's classic address but no e-mail address. If you have the possibility to check this out with the folks there at the station, thanks in advance (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sorry, I still think it was far more likely you had a receiver image from 5980 than that R. Martí was really on 5070. Anomalies like this 910 (or sometimes 900) kHz apart are a red flag. So did RTU continue for another hour on 9985 until 1300? Normally there would be a 5- minute newscast at the top of the hour before RTU starts at 5 past. The current Sept 1 schedule has World Wide Country Radio at 1200 Saturdays on 9985, but we know that abrupt changes can be and are made before being reflected in the online schedules (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOA Talk to America: Listen on-demand at http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/TTA-New-Past-Shows.cfm (Media Network blog via DXLD) When I said the archive was stalled at July 15, I was referring to the TTA archive page I had bookmarked! Which is still there, with no entries after July 15. This is not the first time VOA has rejiggered its website without notice in this way, leaving regular users cold. I had looked around for a possible replacement page but not found it. The one above goes to September grid, two shows so far including the non-Kim one, with links to earlier months. In August some of the files are mp3, others rm; the Sept ones only mp3 so far (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Seeing Katrina's devastation over Biloxi, I guess there's no more WTNI. Used to hear it on 1630 with poor signal and much fading around 0300 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 3, dxldyg via DXLD) It was on 1640, not 1630, and yes it was blown off. I have not heard how much damage there was to the station or what the prospects for coming back are; meanwhile, try to hear KFXY 1640 Enid with Fox sports aimed at Costa Rica, more or less (Glenn Hauser, ibid., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I heard WTNI on 08-29-05 at around 0225 [EDT?]. I was sorry to hear that they were destroyed as I often listened to them in the mornings. 73 and great DX (John Hunter, Rossville GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From the "affected area" I have nothing new, that I haven't logged before. However, with WTNI 1640, Biloxi, MS gone, I say gone because they are not just off the air, but the station is "GONE" I was able to log 1640 in Enid, OK w/ Fox sports radio. Thats all folks! (Willis, WB5KHD, Monk, Old Fort, TN, Sept 2, NRC-AM via DXLD) If WTNI was located (offices/studios) where I last recall them being, they undoubtedly were washed out and flushed back to sea. I hope there weren't any souls manning the controls at that fateful moment of 27' wall of water coming down the street. I'd estimate it being three or four blocks from the oceanfront, having driven past it a little while back (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, FL, ibid.) Ron, My QSL from WTNI was from April 03 and the address then was 1909 E. Pass Rd, Suite D11, Gulfport. I have never been to Gulfport, but is this the address you are thinking of? Mentioning stations, does anyone know which stations are totally lost now.? I know when I lived in Seward AK in the 60s, KIBH 1340 was wiped out by the earthquake and wave. The building ended up in the middle of the highway and the tower in the bottom of the bay. Seward finally got a 50 watt station on 1490 back on several months later. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) ** U S A. NAB TEAMS WITH RED CROSS ON HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 29, 2005 CONTACT Dennis Wharton 202-429-5350 WASHINGTON, DC - Local radio and television stations across the U.S. are partnering with the American Red Cross to provide public service announcements that advise citizens how to donate money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, NAB is asking its members to donate much needed equipment to the television and radio stations affected by the hurricane. 67 Radio PSAs of 10, 25 and 30 seconds can be downloaded from http://www.nab.org while television stations can order a free overnight dub by contacting Sarah Roberts at sroberts @ nab.org Featuring the song, ``Bridge Over Troubled Water,`` the PSAs remind listeners that the Red Cross is there in times of trouble, whenever help is needed. They include a localizable spot that broadcasters can customize with local chapter contact information. The spots encourage listeners to give to the Disaster Relief Fund, visit http://redcross.org or call 1-800-HELP-NOW and learn how they can help. TV PSAs feature the same audio track, and show images of hurricane damage and Red Cross service delivery. ``We salute local broadcasters along the Gulf Coast for their tremendous coverage in recent days tracking Hurricane Katrina and serving as a lifeline for citizens in need,`` said NAB President and CEO Edward O. Fritts. ``Now as attention turns to the cleanup effort, we urge radio and TV stations to carry these timely Red Cross PSAs to help our citizens who were victims of the hurricane.`` ``Time and again Americans rely on local broadcasters to provide the critical information that saves lives and offers hope in times of need,`` said American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha Evans. ``We at the Red Cross rely on broadcasters to make our lifesaving mission a reality.`` The National Association of Broadcasters is a full-service trade association [LOBBY] that promotes and protects free, over-the-air local radio and television stations` interests in Washington and around the world. NAB is the broadcaster`s voice before Congress, federal agencies and the courts. NAB also serves a growing number of associate and international broadcaster members. Information about NAB can be found at http://www.nab.org (via Sept CIDX Messenger, DXLD) ** U S A. ANALYSIS: HURRICANE KATRINA STRETCHES US MEDIA TO THE LIMIT | Text of editorial analysis by Stephen Howie of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 1 September The catastrophic force of Hurricane Katrina affected millions of people in the Gulf Coast states of the USA. Media outlets, which are depended on for emergency information, were embarking on their toughest days, as what is being called the strongest storm to ever hit the country took aim. Several days before Hurricane Katrina was expected to make landfall, television and radio stations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were making emergency preparations to deal with the force of the hurricane whilst maintaining their output. Even though the storm was downgraded as it made landfall, its unprecedented force put incredible strain on the media. From the early hours of 29 August, the major national news networks were offering wall-to-wall coverage of the impending storm, with reporters strategically placed throughout the Gulf States. CNN, whose viewing figures have recently fallen behind those of its sister station CNN Headline News and Fox News, deployed "Hurricane One" - a dedicated vehicle fitted with satellite technology and video-phone which later enabled live but grainy pictures from the very heart of the hurricane. Several hours later, the vehicle was "totalled" by flying debris, according to Gary Tuchman, the correspondent travelling with Hurricane One in Gulfport, Mississippi. NBC News, The Weather Channel, Fox News and other national providers also found themselves in increasing difficulty with stranded and marooned satellite trucks, trapped reporters and rapidly failing communications. Local affiliates rally together Local broadcast media were experiencing a similarly difficult time. According to an Associated Press report on 31 August, the New Orleans CBS TV affiliate, WWL-4, moved from its studios in the city to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, using the university's own TV broadcasting facilities to continue coverage. NBC affiliate WDSU sent its main presenters to ABC affiliate station WAPT-16 in Jackson, Mississippi, providing continuing coverage from there. Both stations simulcasted the same coverage. WWL 870 AM, a designated emergency radio channel, went off-air several times, unable to provide back-up. Many other radio services fell off-air after losing the use of transmitter masts and studios in the affected areas. According to the Billboard Radio Monitor on 30 August, Clear Channel, the US's largest radio company, were working around the clock to get radio services in New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi back on the air. The report said that Fox TV were offering their presenters for those stations struggling to provide a service. Both WWL and WDSU were among several broadcasters who maintained streaming of TV services via their websites. Other services offered on the websites in the days following the hurricane included message boards, allowing local people to notify others that they are safe. The home pages of the main broadcasters in the affected areas were primarily dedicated to the coverage of the hurricane, offering video clips, images, public safety information and emergency contact details. CNN, via their website, offered a section dedicated to so- called "citizen journalism" - images of the aftermath of the hurricane sent in by viewers. This is another example of the trend where broadcasters ask members of the public to provide still and video footage of events, as recently illustrated by the suicide bombings in London on 7 July. Websites take the strain Another continuing trend during such major events is the huge increase in internet traffic. TechWeb reported on 30 August that the major US news sites were bogged down with traffic, with the website of The Weather Channel shutting down completely for several hours, even before the hurricane hit land. Records were also broken, according to MSNBC and CNN, as unprecedented numbers of people viewed video streams offered by the websites. Blogging also played a part in the coverage of Hurricane Katrina. An earlier BBC News report said that WWL TV provided a news blog to keep people up-to-date with the progress of the hurricane, before they vacated their studios for Baton Rouge. Some journalists, who were out in the field covering the hurricane during and after it struck, regularly updated blogs with details of what they were witnessing. User-generated encyclopedia Wikipedia reacted constantly to the influx of information coming in from Hurricane Katrina. Its entry on the hurricane has grown each hour, as more people update it with images, video, personal accounts and official information, including a continuous estimated count on the death toll. Printed press continue electronically The printed press suffered too, but also made use of the internet. An Associated Press report on 31 August said that New Orleans newspaper The Times-Picayune was unable to print its usual daily paper edition. Instead, it produced a 13-page online edition of the newspaper. It lost the use of its offices and printing press, instead having to operate from an emergency office in Baton Rouge with laptop computers. The Sun Herald, usually based in Gulfport, Mississippi, had to rely on staff at a sister paper in Columbus, Georgia and managed to print 20,000 copies of its 30 August edition, the AP report said. The newspaper's parent company said it was sending in journalists and supplies from other papers. Staff from the New Orleans office of Associated Press moved operations to the home of The Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge, according to the Editor and Publisher website on 30 August. The aftermath Although the hurricane has now passed, the destruction and aftermath will remain for much longer. So too will the journalists covering it. This poses more problems for the media. Initially, some news organizations are having difficulty contacting their own staff. For example, WDSU have been running pleas on the on-screen ticker and the website for all staff to get in touch with the TV station to let managers know of their whereabouts and safety. For the journalists who are still covering the aftermath, they must contend with issues such as disease and lack of medicine, communications, fuel, food and drinking water. Many areas are still cut off from outside help. The Hollywood Reporter quoted NBC's vice-president of worldwide newsgathering, David Verdi, as saying: "If we get our food and water and medical supplies and everyone stays healthy, we'll be OK." The report also quoted the executive producer of ABC's flagship news programme, Jon Banner, as saying it was one of the "most difficult" US stories they have had to cover for a long time. Source: BBC Monitoring research 1 Sep 05 (via DXLD) CANADIAN SATELLITE RADIO RALLIES BEHIND FRENCH SPEAKING HURRICANE- STRICKEN AMERICANS --- CSR provides French content for XM Satellite Radio's dedicated New Orleans emergency information channel MONTREAL, Sept. 2 /CNW/ - Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR) announced today that it will provide French content for XM Satellite Radio's dedicated New Orleans emergency information channel to ensure that the tens of thousands of French-speaking Louisianans receive essential information in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. "Our southern neighbours desperately need our help," said André Di Cesare, CSR's head of French talent and industry relations. "With so many French-speaking people affected in Louisiana, it's a logical way for us to assist." CSR's Quebec-based French programming team will provide vital instruction and updates for the duration of the cleanup effort. "One of the benefits of satellite radio is that it can go where land- based radio cannot go. With so many local radio stations knocked out of power, people are turning to satellite radio for their only information source in the hurricane-impacted areas. Since XM has a channel dedicated to emergencies, this was a natural thing for us to do. When we offered this to XM, they jumped at the idea," said Di Cesare. CSR's voice for these broadcasts will be well-known on-air Montréal radio veteran, Denis Grondin. A popular voice on the Quebec radio scene, Grondin has held senior management and on air roles at Couleur Jazz, CHOM FM, CKOI and Radio-Canada. Grondin will be joining the CSR on-air team for its upcoming launch. Posted by wblogg on September 2, 2005, 3:53 pm http://members2.boardhost.com/scrapbook/msg/165071.html (via Fred Waterer, ON, dxldyg via DXLD) Question is, will anyone know to look for these broadcasts, and more importantly, will anyone actually be able to tune in? (Ricky Leong, Calgary, Alta.) From: http://www.milkmanunlimited.com/tunedin.htm Every little bit helps, but I doubt any Cajuns understand Quebecois to the exclusion of English (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. I've been visiting http://wwl.com and was wholly unimpressed with their web coverage of the situation in New Orleans. For the first 2 days the website was unchanged and treated Katrina as a normal news item! I've visited several radio websites & none I've seen tell you how to keep up to date with news/or how to locate friends & family (Steve Whitt, 1545 UT Sept 2, MWC via DXLD) This was released yesterday, but I hope it's of use. Note that this press release includes a URL for live streaming of WWL. (Technically it's a stream of Clear Channel's WSKR Baton Rouge, but it's all the same broadcast now, of course. I was under the impression that pre-Katrina, WWL had no online stream at all, though I might be wrong.) In case you don't want to dig through the article, the URL is: http://ccri.eonstreams.com/ccri_la_batonrouge_wskr_am.asf Also, WWL has completely redesigned its formerly useless web site; it's now devoted entirely to the Katrina aftermath, and has an excellent, clean design that is very much worth checking out if you have any interest at all in the latest news from the affected area: http://wwl.com/ You may also want to check out the station's two new Katrina blogs. Audio blog by Chris Sullivan of KIRO/Seattle: http://wwl.com/Article.asp?id=113214&spid= "Outside Looking In" blog: http://wwl.com/sectional.asp?id=5460 (Aaron Dickey, UT Sept 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Press release from: Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 09/02/2005 http://www.csrwire.com/article.cgi/4349.html RADIO GROUPS COME TOGETHER TO FORM UNITED RADIO BROADCASTERS OF NEW ORLEANS --- Clear Channel, Entercom and Local Independent Stations Combine Resources to Provide Continuous Information to New Orleans and the Surrounding Area (CSRwire) NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the radio groups serving New Orleans and the surrounding area have come together to form the United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans. The United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans is a joint effort to provide the region with the most complete, reliable and consistent radio broadcast of emergency recovery and relief information. It is comprised of stations operated by Clear Channel Radio (NYSE:CCU), Entercom Communications (NYSE:ETM) and independent stations 1470 KLCL in Lake Charles and 1290 KJEF in Jennings. The collaboration features Entercom's WWL-AM 870, enhanced by the resources of the other Entercom and Clear Channel stations in the region. The Louisiana Network out of Baton Rouge is also providing important facilities support. An estimated 15 stations are combining programming and engineering resources that began airing the same broadcast at 10:00 p.m. Central Time last night. Programming consists of continuous news, information and coverage of local relief efforts, and will include live feeds from street reporters and interviews and updates from local officials and relief coordinators. A toll-free 800 number will allow listeners to call in with their experiences, eyewitness reports and questions. In addition, the stations will share a helicopter to transport engineers to transmitter sites and assist in the evacuation of employees as needed. "Given the state of New Orleans, we believe it is critical for the community to have the most current and accurate information available," said John Hogan, President and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. "Radio is best positioned to provide this service and by coming together and pooling our resources we will be able to provide the community with news, updates and a connection with the outside world." David J. Field, President and Chief Executive Officer at Entercom Communications, commented: "The people of New Orleans are now, more than ever, depending on radio to keep them informed and connected. Our staff at WWL-AM has provided a vital lifeline of critical news and information to the community throughout the storm and its unfortunate aftermath. We are combining our resources with our radio colleagues to enhance our collective service and support to the people of New Orleans as they struggle to cope with this horrific tragedy." Independent broadcasters in the region interested in joining this important effort should call 225-231-1860. Streamed broadcasting from the United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans is available at http://ccri.eonstreams.com/ccri_la _batonrouge_wskr_am.asf This link can also be accessed via http://StormAid.com an online hurricane relief resource operated by Clear Channel. About Clear Channel Radio Clear Channel Radio is a leading radio company focused on serving local communities across the U.S. with more than 110 million listeners choosing Clear Channel Radio programming each week. The company's operations include radio broadcasting, syndication and independent media representation. Clear Channel Radio is a division of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE:CCU), a leading global media and entertainment company. More information on the company can be found at http://www.clearchannel.com About Entercom Communications Entercom (NYSE:ETM) is the nation's fourth largest radio broadcaster, operating in Boston, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Sacramento, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Norfolk, Buffalo, Memphis, Providence, Greensboro, Greenville/Spartanburg, Rochester, Madison, Wichita, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Gainesville/Ocala. For more information please contact: Lisa Dollinger Clear Channel Communications, San Antonio LisaDollinger@ClearChannel.com 210-822-2828 John C. Donlevie Entercom Communications jdonlevie@entercom.com 610-660-5638 (via Aaron Dickey, Sept 4, dxldyg via DXLD) Streamed broadcasting from the United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans is available at http://ccri.eonstreams.com/ccri_la_batonrouge_wskr_am.asf This link can also be accessed via http://StormAid.com/main.html --- an online hurricane relief resource operated by Clear Channel (Media Network blog Sept 3 via DXLD) Unless this started today, they do not have a toll-free call in number. I've been monitoring the program nightly from the safe distance of Austin Texas and it is simply amazing. In this time of broadcasters simply ignoring their "public service" obligations this project warms my heart. It is a shame it takes such devistation for American radio to remember its obligations. For the record, the Clear Channel hosted broadcasts are still heavily political and for some reason the angriest and most desperate calls simply stop during their time (Stan Baker, 09.03.05 - 10:41 pm, ibid.) ** U S A. FCC'S MEDIA BUREAU TO ALLOW NONCOMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL STATIONS TO AIR ESSENTIAL COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS TO VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA Washington, DC - In order to get essential information to victims of Hurricane Katrina as quickly as possible, the Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau today suspended Commission rules to permit noncommercial educational (NCE) radio and television stations in New Orleans to rebroadcast programming, including commercial matter, received from commercial broadcast stations in a Public Notice. This special relief is designed to bring immediate life saving and other important program information to the residents of New Orleans in the most expeditious manner possible. It is also intended to help facilitate the cooperative efforts of broadcasters to disseminate information with the limited broadcast facilities that are currently operational. This authority expires on November 1, 2005. Prior to this action, NCE stations in New Orleans were prohibited from broadcasting promotional announcements or commercial matter on behalf of for-profit entities (Source? via Bill Frahm, Sept 2, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) What does allowing non-commercial stations to air commercial programming accomplish in the face of this catasrophe? This has got to be more than allowing for-profit advertising? It's late, maybe I'm tired and missing something... (Saul Chernos, ON, ibid.) I think it just means they won't need to pot the volume down when the station they're relaying goes into a commercial. That's all I can figure, anyway (Steve Francis, Alcoa, Tennessee, ibid.) It means that a non-com can fire up their transmitter and relay the emergency information broadcast by commercial sources without having to worry about breaking away from commercials. There are several non- coms down there without operating studios or programming source but with fully functioning transmitter sites. They can put something on the air to help the people. First & formost, help the people. Not worry about a few "commercials" or who's fault this is. Plenty of time to do that later (Bill Frahm, ibid.) The FCC issued several Katrina-related Public Notices today: http://www.fcc.gov - The phone number 1-800-733-2767 has been reassigned from the Nevada company which owned it to the Red Cross. (the number spells "RED- CROS") - Several FCC offices will be open tomorrow (Saturday) to process emergency applications. - Non-commercial stations will be allowed to air commercials within the emergency area. In some cases non-commercial stations' transmitters survived while their studios didn't, and nearby commercial stations are able to provide programming but don't have working transmitters. - Under normal circumstances, if a station needs to install an emergency temporary antenna without prior FCC authority, it may do so but must notify the Commission within 24 hours. For the duration of this emergency this notification period has been extended to 10 business days. - AM stations have been authorized to use daytime facilities at night, if they determine in good faith the facilities are necessary to safety. The Commission must be notified within 48 hours, and authority for daytime facilities may be rescinded in case of interference complaints. - Stations that are forced to temporarily leave the air or operate at lower-than-authorized power are normally required to notify the FCC within ten days. Stations affected by Katrina have been given an extension to either 30 days or 60 days. (the notice is rather ambigious!) - Construction permits will be extended 90 days upon request. Here's hoping (and unfortunately, doubting) this will all be just an unpleasant memory soon (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, Sept 3, WTFDA via DXLD) FCC COORDINATING TECH AID FOR KATRINA DISASTER Quick notes from conference call hosted by the FCC today about urgently coordinating resources and personnel from internet/wireless service providers to get communications networks up and running in in gulf states. Lack of communications systems has been identified as a critical issue holding back aid, missing persons, law enforcement, etc. in crisis areas. FCC personnel are working throughout the weekend to coordinate these efforts with private industry, with wireless technology groups, FEMA, and state governments in Mississippi, Louisiana, etc. One of the challenges they face in this effort is fact that the coordination effort involves multiple layers of bureaucracies -- also, that there has been no central point for directing available assets offered by private industry. Participants on the call included folks from Cisco, Intel, and wireless organizations. Another challenge: working with FEMA and local governments to ascertain whether it is more immediately effective to get old systems up and running, or create new temporary ones. Depends on tech behind communications system in question. COMPANIES WITH TECH ASSETS AND/OR HUMAN RESOURCES TO DONATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AID IN KATRINA-IMPACTED AREAS SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING FCC Chief of Staff Dan Gonzales (dan dot gonzales at fcc dot org) says FCC needs the following information from would be tech donors BY NOON EASTERN ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3. 1) identify the provider (name of your company or group) 2) identify assets you are willing to commit 3) state clearly what assets you are technologically capable of providing (IP? data? voice?) 4) what your logistical requirements are to bring that to the affected area. 5) can you bring generators? if so what size? capacity? power levels? SUBMIT THIS INFORMATION TO PART-15.ORG (they have an online submission form to collect this data) or wireless @ part-15.org contacts: Michael Anderson (wireless@part-15.org) 630-466-9090, and Claudia Crowley (ccrowley at gmail dot com), 817-292-0230. Snip from part-15.org website: The FCC and FEMA is in a desperate need to reestablish communications in the disaster area. More specifically, the metropolitan area of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. What can Wireless access internet service providers do to help? We can reëstablish internal communications and provide connectivity to all disaster relief efforts by installing point to point, point to multipoint links, IP Web cams to assist the police and fire departments who can not be everywhere in such a large area, VoIP phones to provide voice communications to relief personnel in remote areas and many other types of normal everyday communications that most people take for granted. To accomplish these goals, we will need not only the License Exempt Industry as a whole, but local communities, major companies, and all others that can provide even the slightest of assistance to our teams. Link * FCC reps on the conference call also said they may relax some regulations (power restrictions, etc) but are concerned that the effort be coordinated centrally, carefully, so that various emergency communications "efforts don't end up stepping on each other" and causing more of a tech mess. * Quote from call participant Jim Duncan, Cisco Critical Infrastructure Insurance group: "Operational issue number one is fuel and energy. Convoy accident happened today with fuel truck heading into one area... getting fuel and power in is critical, nothing can happen in terms of communications without that. Communications priorities will include law enforcement issues, but also missing persons -- getting refugees access to webpages to unite missing families... " * Some call participants also noted that any volunteers who end up being assigned in the affected area should bring sleeping bags, water, food so as not to strain resources. Hotel rooms, cars are hard to come by. Tech experts who end up coming to the area (by way of coordinated aid efforts) should be prepared to camp out (Pete Kemp, Sept 3, NRC-AM via DXLD) George Noory had a segment on Coast to Coast this morning talking about 'jammers' taking out certain frequencies in the HF and VHF bands used by public service agencies, thus hindering the relief effort. Did anyone pick up on that? And has anyone heard these 'jammers'? (BILL Hale, TX, Sept 3, ibid.) ** U S A. WASO 730 RETURNS TO AIR FOR EMERGENCY USE St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, wielding emergency powers, has seized a closed radio station near Covington and is using it to relay information about local recovery efforts to parish residents. Radio station WASO, 730-AM, got on the air late Friday with the help of Covington doctor Marcus L. "Marc" Pittman III, who heads Pittman Broadcasting Services LLL, which owns radio stations in Franklinton and Lafayette. The station is only disseminating information and is not fielding questions. Plans call for keeping the station on the air "as many hours as possible each day." Tim Harris of Access St. Tammany, the parish's cable television channel, said Parish Councilman Ken Burkhalter is lining up officials from throughout the parish for nightly programs to update residents about local efforts to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Davis said he seized the station because of failed communications sytems that hampered parish officials from getting information to residents. The station recently was shut down and taken from Bob Namer by the Federal Trade Commission for non-payment of a legal judgement. The station's studios were in Metairie and its broadcast tower was just west of Covington High School. Pittman, using computer equipment from his radio stations, revived the station in a small building next to the tower. The station's broadcast signal carries throughout the parish (From http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/ via Andy Gardner, NZ, greylinedx via DXLD) The new NRC AM Log 2005-2006 lists WASO as U1, 250 watts day, 25 watts night. I wonder if the transmitter is capable of more than 250. Assuming we are talking about the station`s original equipment still operable, and that is not very clear. No doubt they will not be powering down to 25 watts (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ANOTHER LIST OF KATRINA HAM FREQUENCIES +Known ARES HF and VHF Operations The following is a list of ARES net frequencies that may be active, courtesy of East Central Florida DEC designate Jay Musikar, AF2C: 3873 kHz Louisiana ARES Emergency (night) 3873 kHz Texas ARES Emergency (night) 3873 kHz Mississippi ARES Emergency 3910 kHz Mississippi ARES 3923 kHz Mississippi ARES 3935 kHz Louisiana ARES (health and welfare) 3935 kHz Texas ARES (health and welfare) 3935 kHz Mississippi ARES (health and welfare) 3950 kHz Northern Florida ARES 7273 kHz Texas ARES (alternate) 7285 kHz West Gulf ARES Emergency (day) 7285 kHz Louisiana ARES Emergency (day) 7285 kHz Mississippi ARES Emergency (day) 7285 kHz Texas ARES Emergency (day) 7290 kHz Texas ARES (health and welfare) 7290 kHz Louisiana ARES (health and welfare) 7290 kHz Texas ARES (health and welfare) 7290 kHz Mississippi ARES (health and welfare) Other reported frequencies: 7298 kHz Keesler AFB, Mississippi operator is Alan Deaton, KU4WN. 7666 kHz Keesler AFB, Mississippi (Note: this frequency is outside the amateur band). VHF [sic] Operations: 444.200 MHz pl 114.8 New Orleans repeater is operational and EOC in Baton Rouge is monitoring; 147.380 MHz North shore of Lake Ponchartrain; 147.241 MHz pl 114.8 is operational from East Jefferson in New Orleans. Active Station Operations in Affected Areas: WB5LHS [Louisiana Office Of Homeland Security And Emergency Preparedness Club Station], Bâton Rouge EOC and links to FEMA; W5SLA [Ozone Amateur Radio Club] Slidell (Louisiana) National Weather Service Office; Larry Kirchner, KG7FF, Meadow Crest Hospital in Grenta, Louisiana; Danny Smith, KC5EST, EOC Bay St Louis, Mississippi (between New Orleans and Biloxi); Tom Miller, AC5TM, working on Levee Pumping Stations; Bruce Kachline, KD4WDD, in port at Oak Harbor Marina, Slidell, Louisiana, accepting incoming e-mail to KD4WDD @ winlink.org; Oris Grim III, N4CND, hauling materials for FEMA; N4ARC, American Red Cross, Orlando, Florida. From the The ARRL ARES E-Letter Special Edition September 2, 2005 (via Ken Kopp, Sept 3, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. Smoking Gun TV on Court TV this week is about the Robert Novak expletive walkout from CNN: Bullsh*t: FCC Hears It On Novak Outburst http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0902051novak1.html?link=eaf (via Ken Kopp, DX LISTENING DIGEST) which links to: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/tvspecial/tvshowaug2005.html Times are UT Wednesdays 0300 & 0700, UT Saturdays 0330 & 0730 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No it wasn`t, unless I blinked and missed it among several other puppetizations. Anyway, the weblink includes some amusing off-the-wall complaints to FCC about Novak affair, including the effect of swearing on the unborn (gh) ** VENEZUELA. MAPPING THE VENEZUELAN MEDIA REVOLUTION | Text of editorial analysis by Charlotte Eimer of BBC Monitoring on 2 September The media image of Venezuela before Hugo Chávez [hereafter: Chavez] became president in 1998 was empty, according to Blanca Eekhout, head of the state-run TV station Channel 8 (VTV). It was portrayed as "a rich country, an oil country, a country of beauty queens. Not a country of people waking up at 4 a.m. so they could be exploited at work for a pittance to try to keep their families alive," Blanca Eekhout told ZNet in September 2004. The Venezuelan media is dominated by independent TV channels with a political agenda set by their powerful owners. RCTV and Venevisión together claim 80 per cent of the audience share. But by 2002, violent attacks against both the private and state-owned media were becoming a regular occurrence. International watchdogs began to monitor the situation, criticizing the behaviour of the commercial media and President Chavez's attitude towards it. News blackout Government supporters believe the short-lived April 2002 coup would not have happened without the backing of a group of media moguls, dubbed "the four horsemen of the apocalypse" by Chavez. The major channels were criticized for their failure to cover scenes of looting in Caracas during the coup attempt. At the time they said security concerns for reporters prompted the decision, but viewers were told the capital was calm. The channels then broadcast cartoons and movies, rather than covering Chavez's historic return to Miraflores Presidential Palace. Journalist Andrés Izarra - who had worked for CNN and NBC in the United States before returning to Venezuela as production manager for the Radio Caracas TV newscast - resigned in protest. Izarra cited RCTV head Marcel Granier's order of "zero Chavism on the screen", Caracas daily Tal Cual recalled in August 2004, as evidence of the news blackout. Violence and intimidation Attacks against the media escalated, leading the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) to ask the government to adopt precautionary measures designed to protect the lives and freedom of expression of media workers who had been attacked. They were never adopted. The IACHR also urged the commercial media to reflect on its role in the institutional crisis, regretting what it called the loss of objectivity. Nonetheless, the court defended the right to follow any editorial line. In December 2002 the press again became the target of Chavez's wrath, this time for its role in an eight-week strike that sought to cripple the country's oil industry. According to government estimates, some 700 pro-strike advertisements were aired every day on commercial networks. Journalists in the dock When the strike ended early in 2003, politicians began to debate new broadcasting regulations designed - the government said - to control propaganda without violating freedom of expression. But international NGOs took a different view of the Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television (Resorte), which allows the government to suspend stations that "promote, defend or incite breaches of public order or that are contrary to the security of the nation". When the legislation was passed in November 2004, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Americas director José Miguel Vivanco warned that it "severely threatens press freedom in Venezuela". HRW was not alone in viewing the "vaguely worded restrictions and heavy penalties" established in the Resorte Law as a recipe for self- censorship by the press and arbitrariness by government authorities. Some analysts believe the airtime the commercial media now gives to officials and the perceived toning down of anti-Chavez rhetoric is a direct result of the new law, which increased penalties for anyone who "may seriously offend" the president or defame officials. They claim the legislation seeks to criminalize political dissent. But others say the change in tone is merely a reflection of the opposition's realization that they can no longer afford to ignore Chavez's popular appeal. Since the law came into force, a group of high-profile journalists have appeared in court to answer charges relating to reports that portrayed a negative image of the government. Some have also been found guilty of defaming government officials. "Democratizing" the airwaves Meanwhile, Andrés Izarra's resignation from RCTV had proved to be a smart career move. After a short spell at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, he returned to run the Maisanta Command's successful presidential recall referendum campaign and play a key role in reshaping the government's media and communications strategy at the head of the Information and Communications Ministry. Initially, Minister Izarra's role was to strengthen the state-owned media and "lower the levels of aggression" among some private media. But by late 2004 he was working on a strategy to "democratize" the airwaves, "supporting Latin American integration through communications" and "promoting the image of the revolutionary process at home and abroad", Tal Cual explained. Fomenting instability However, a meeting of the Inter-American Radio Broadcasting Association (AIR) in May 2005 concluded that far from encouraging freedom of expression, Venezuela had become the country with the greatest restrictions on journalism in the Americas, a situation exacerbated by government pressure on commercial outlets. Later that month the government rejected a recommendation by HRW that the Organization of American States (OAS) rapporteur on press freedom visit the country claiming, Caracas daily El Nacional reported, that the NGO's proposal was "dictated by extremist opinions from within the United States". In July 2005, the Supreme Court ruled against the owners and managers of 24-hour satellite news channel Globovisión TV in a case brought by members of four civic associations. Globovisión was found guilty, Venezuelan National Radio reported on 19 July, of continually broadcasting messages aimed at the sudden and unconstitutional removal of the president from power and at generating "opinion patterns" that foment political instability and drive the population towards "collective hysteria" and "psychotic dissociation". Promoting the revolution Before the legislation came into force, the government busied itself pumping money into community TV and radio, believing its grassroots focus would counter the influence of the commercial media. A 5 giga-bolivar fund (approx. 2.3 mega-dollars) was set up to finance the start-up costs of 30 new community media outlets throughout the country, El Nacional confirmed in September 2004. By the end of the year, 153 community radio and TV stations had registered with the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) and were up and running. Of these just 10 were based in the capital. The best-known of the community outlets, CatiaTV, would become a model for TeleSur, the new pan-Latin American TV channel regarded by Washington as a mouthpiece for anti-US propaganda. TeleSur: Degree of independence In July 2005 Andrés Izarra resigned as communications minister to take control of TeleSur, created to end what Chavez has called CNN's media dominance in the Americas. "We must break up that media dictatorship; we have a media source that is at the people's service. We must make people fall in love with the idea of integration," Chavez said on a recent visit to Uruguay. Some media analysts in the USA have already labelled the fledgling channel "a Latin Al-Jazeera" run by radical leftists trying to impose their own media monopoly in the region. But Izarra told Caracas daily El Universal that said his resignation would lend impartiality to TeleSur, ensuring that the Chavez administration "does not maintain a direct influence over the channel and we can guarantee a certain degree of independence". The channel, which began broadcasting on 24 July - Liberator Simón Bolívar's birthday - is a joint venture by Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina and Uruguay based at the VTV offices in Caracas. Next on the agenda is RadioSur, a network of radio stations throughout the continent that will complement TeleSur, reaching remote areas where there is no TV coverage. Source: BBC Monitoring research 2 Sep 05 (via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re: Carlos Gonçalves' message in DXLD: UNIDENTIFIED. 1550.2 kHz, (as I previously reported too) Silent carrier noted again on 09 AUG 2149-... WESTERN SAHARA [non]? At 2030 I have a very faint carrier on 1550.22 kHz. A bit stronger carrier visible on 699.902, but still far from understandable audio. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, via Steve Whitt, Sept 2, MWC via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6790/USB, 0355-0400+, 28-Aug; USB audio covered by really bizarre buzzing QRM or jammer. Sounds like a kazoo and juice [sic] harp band gone nuts. Both audio & jammer in USB only! (Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) You mean klezmer? (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 5-152: UNIDENTIFIED. Dear Glenn --- I thought you might like to know about a station I heard tonight. 8/30/05 I monitored it from 8:54 to 9:33 PM (MDT) [0054-0133 UT Aug 31]. Frequency: 9550 Language: Spanish . . . I misconverted the time to UT; should be 0254-0333! (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. I'm not that keen on listening to SW much, but I thought that you might be of some help. From 2-2:30 pm local time in Bangkok, Thailand (that's 0700-0730 UT), I listened to some music program in the 31m band which was DJ'd in English (rather staidly) by a woman with an Asian accent. She introduced each song by mentioning its name and artist, then reading a bunch of dedications, and then repeating the name of the song and artist just before the song. At the end of the program at 2:30 pm, the announcer said that this was the end of the afternoon broadcast of this station. It ID'd itself as "Radio Shenkou", or at least that's what I heard it as (can't seem to find anything online), and played what I think some sort of Chinese traditional music before ceasing broadcasting. Dunno if you can help me or not, but worth giving it a shot (Varakorn Ungvichian, Thailand, Sept 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s intriguing but without an exact frequency (at least correct to 5 kHz) it`s impossible to research. Another list had an unID from someone between 14000 and 15000 kHz! I don`t recognize the name, but it could well be some Chinese or SE Asian station`s domestic service relayed. Of course, ``Shenkou`` is close to ``Chung-kuo``. Were there any clues in the dedications with names or locations? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I heard "AA9" in one of the dedications (I presume, part of a school's name), and there were several mentions of Avril Lavigne (although they didn't play any of her songs). The signal was fairly clear, but the Asian accent of the announcer made it hard to understand. I'm thinking it might be out of Vietnam or China. (I pick up lots of Chinese signals, some Vietnamese signals, VOA's English and Malaysian services, BBC WS, and the same day I picked up "Radio Shenkou", I also picked up NHK's English service.) BTW, I've been doing MW DX for two weeks (Varakorn Ungvichian, Thailand, Sept 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DIGITAL BROADCASTING see also AUSTRALIA ++++++++++++++++++++ Re: WRN DRM on 26 MHz If this band is adopted for such transmissions on a regular basis, it will offer something of a much needed new DX opportunity during Sporadic E seasons and High Sunspot times for what will be local radio services (Andrew Tett, BDXC-UK via DXLD) WTFK? Does WRN mean exactly 26000 kHz? There are already DRM stations there (gh, DXLD) Nice to see someone finding a use for the 11 meter band (25600-26100 kHz) (Ray Woodward, 09.03.05 - 10:38 am, Media Network blog via DXLD) BBCWS DRM --- Re 5-153, In answer to Glenn's question "So why doesn`t he go on and give the schedule??" the frequencies can be found in the current DRM schedule, i.e.: 0700-1600 on 9470 kHz, 1600-1900 on 7465 kHz [but see below!] The beam for both transmissions is 190 degrees, and the DRM power is 50 kW (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx, I could have hunted it up too, but my point was that so many PR people and so-called journalists don`t have a clue that they should include such basic essential info explicitly (gh, DXLD) Kvitsoy has started with BBC World Service DRM transmissions on 7465, running as late as 2200, reports on this thread, note interference problems from Western Sahara on 7460. http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?s=4d61e7446c53dc9f912c07450707ad0d&threadid=1153 (Mike Barraclough, Sept 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Actually someone reported 7465 was on until 2309* May I point out that WWCR is using 7465 in analog from 2200, so there is likely to be some mutual interference (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###