DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-065, May 9, 2001 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@hotmail.com {Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. For restrixions and searchable 2001, 2000 contents archive see} http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/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] CONTINENT OF MEDIA 01-05 is now available (STREAM) pnm://fstv.freespeech.org/basic/hauser/rmfiles/com0105.rm (SUMMARY) soon to be posted at http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/com0105.html and should start airing on RFPI Friday May 11 at 1900 UT SENDER & FREQUENZEN 2001 Sender und Frequenzen is quite different from WRTH. I found it is much more up to date with African or Asian or Latin American domestic broadcasts on SW. You get three 48-page updates a year with new schedules for German and English broadcasts plus news sorted by country. In the Yearbook you find Schedules for German, English, French, Spanish, Russian and Esperanto broadcasts listed by hours, but only external services. Other languages are only mentioned to a certain degree in the DX tip by country section (here you find also mentions at what time a certain station is usually best to listen to in Europe but not the complete schedule - which many stations do not keep anyway). It does contain an up to date frequency list of SW and MW, but only as far as there are any chances to catch the station in Europe. Others are ignored. Clandestines and Pirates are separate, but - no surprise - quite incomplete. So you don`t find hundreds of Indonesian MW stations in the list for example nor VoA schedules for Arabic, kiSwahili or whatever language broadcasts, no FM and TV stations, but satellite lists. So, it`s very nice for European DXers, but useless for others (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Autonomous Republic of Westphalia, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) **ANGOLA [non]. GERMANY, 13810, Rádio Ecclésia via Jülich, May 8, 1803-1859* News bulletin in Portuguese in progress when tuned in, full hour was talk programme, went off mid sentence 1859, poor to fair strength on clear channel (Mike Barraclough, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I also checked 13810 sometime May 8, but not audible; nor was 15545 audible after 0500 May 9, but high-latitude propagation was subpar (gh, OK, DXLD) R. Ecclésia Schedule isn't that complicated. There's two daily broadcasts, one of them extended on Sundays. 15545 0500 0555 46,47,52 306 160 216 1234567 120401 281001 ECC * 13810 1800 1859 46,47,52 211 155 216 123456 180401 281001 ECC * 13810 1800 2130 46,47,52 211 155 216 7 180401 281001 ECC * (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Autonomous Republic of Westphalia, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, the first four lines of the sked in 1- 064 already expired (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. External radio chief discusses future of shortwave Host Roger Broadbent and Radio Australia (RA) network manager Jean- Gabriel Manguy discussed the future of shortwave broadcasting, in the light of an announcement by Swiss Radio International that it plans to cease such casts in 2004. Asked if the advent of the Internet and satellite had changed RA's commitment to shortwave, Manguy said that while there is a positive response to newer means of delivery, "we remain very much a shortwave service, particularly when you think of the Pacific region. We are on the air 24 hours a day in English... In Asia, of course, we don't have as much of a shortwave presence, we only have planned 20 hours a day... The answer is the other means of delivery are important, but we need a strong shortwave presence and that presence isn't strong enough yet." Manguy added: "We certainly find that, as effective as our relays are in urban areas, our shortwave broadcasts are more effective in the rural areas. So that enables us to reach a broad audience in varied places. And, of course, what is also essential is the independence that shortwave gives us. "Just to give you an example which is very pertinent - we have developed a number of relays in Indonesia and I was informed recently, in the last few days, that due to various reasons in Indonesia the stations that used to relay our news are not relaying our news. We have been depending on them to reach an audience. Because they cannot for various reasons relay us - and they are not (?all) political reasons, mind you - we are not able to reach that audience and that's where the independence of the shortwave broadcasts is essential and needs to be maintained... "Shortwave an obsolete technology? It is, perhaps, in urban areas, in media-rich environments. However, as we all know, digital shortwave is around the corner and should be a very cost-effective and a very promising way of delivering broadcasts to wide areas, to large audiences. And while we do not own and operate transmitters ourselves, we very much look forward to the day when we'll be able to hop on the digital shortwave signal." Source: Radio Australia, Melbourne, in English 0305 gmt 6 May 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. And the next one will be... probably Radio Austria International. Recently listener Erich Bergmann asked ROI about a slogan "Ö1 International" which is used by this ORF home service network when relayed by ROI on satellite and shortwave to Europe. ROI staff member Robert Theiler replied that they cannot influence that and concluded: "But perhaps this problem will no longer exist in a couple of months, namely when ROI has ceased to exist." Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11804.34, R Globo, Rio, May 9 0923 ID given several times @ 0926. Two men and one woman announcer doing what sounded like morning drive time radio. Signal was overmodulated, with good strength. Quick fade, down to poor by 0935 (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CABINDA. Angola: Cabinda radio`s MW transmitter inoperative | Text of report by Angolan government radio on 5 May Radio Cabinda's 20-kW mediumwave transmitter has been inoperative due to the latest torrential rains and lightning in the Province of Cabinda. Listeners have been prevented from listening to the station, notably its news bulletins. The station is currently using an FM transmitter, but it does not cover most parts of the province. The transmitter has been plagued by technical faults due to power fluctuations. It appears that the problem will not be resolved in the near future because the Cabinda radio service lacks funds. Source: Radio Nacional de Angola, Luanda, in Portuguese 1900 gmt 5 May 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CHINA. Analysis: Chinese broadcasting giant to take on foreign rivals Text of editorial analysis by BBC Monitoring's Foreign Media Unit on 3 May China Central Television (CCTV), China Radio (CNR) and China Radio International (CRI) are to merge in July to form the country's largest nationwide TV and radio broadcasting group. The new company is expected to be valued at over 1.2bn dollars. The China Daily newspaper on 26 April quoted a Chinese spokesman as saying that the merger represented a major step in the government's reform programme for the radio, TV and film industry, "in a bid to face up to the coming foreign competition that will come with China's entry into the World Trade Organization". Along with two recently formed local TV and radio groups in Hunan Province and Shanghai, the new group "will join in the effort to compete with the multinational media giants", the newspaper Guangzhou Daily said. The first group, Hunan Radio, Film and TV Media Group, was formed in December 2000. It owns seven local TV channels, four radio stations, a newspaper, a web site, film studios and other businesses, worth an estimated 360m dollars. Shanghai Cultural Radio, Television and Film Group, meanwhile, was set up in mid-April. Xu Guangchun, director of China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), said recently that the country's TV and film companies were "too scattered and too weak", and should join forces to become stronger and more competitive. Compared with foreign media giants, China's broadcast businesses are still small, China Daily commented. In 2000 the largest TV station, CCTV, had an income of only 600m dollars, while the MTV network owned by US media concern Viacom earned 5bn dollars. Viacom, together with other heavily capitalized foreign media players such as AOL Time Warner, Walt Disney and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, have all sent envoys to China, anticipating a share of a huge market of over one billion people. "China's radio and television industries are standing at a crossroads," Prof Huang Shengmin of the Beijing Broadcasting Institute told China Daily. At a time when domestic competition is heating up, and foreign competitors are at the door, the survival and growth of Chinese media groups rely on "a breakthrough in their thinking and management and capital support from society", Prof Huang said. For the foreseeable future, there appears no prospect of China opening its broadcasting sector to foreign ownership. In March this year the government announced that although the WTO would require China to open its telecoms market once it joined the organization, "in the realm of broadcasting and TV, there will be no importing of foreign capital, and no use of Hong Kong capital for the time being." Similar views were expressed by Zhang Haitao, vice-director of the SARFT. He said the broadcasting business would stay closed to foreign and domestic private companies, who would remain equipment providers only. "TV and radio broadcasting is a special sector, with major differences to the telecom market which is in the process of opening up," Zhang said. News Corporation recently purchased shares in China Netcom, a broadband telecoms provider, and became the first foreign company to invest directly in the sector. But its main target remains the broadcasting sector. Foreign investors are still banned from owning cable companies in China, although some foreign firms have bent the rules and entered into joint ventures in some cities. Revenues from China's cable TV sector alone are expected to exceed 12bn dollars in the next five years, according to the latest statistics from the SARFT. But analysts point out that China's planned mega-group, which will own a cable network reaching 80m TV households, will face pressure not just from foreign rivals but also from the domestic telecoms sector. Source: BBC Monitoring research 3 May 01 BBC Mon MD1 Media pf ((C) BBCM via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. FARC radio marks Caribbean Resistance radio's anniversary | Text of report by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) radio on 8 May Dear listeners: We do not want to end this broadcast without sending our warmest greetings to Caribbean Resistance, which today celebrates five years of radio broadcasting combat and constant struggle from the hertzian trenches. Caribbean Resistance has become a banner for the Caribbean people's struggle. With its voice, it breaks the information, propaganda, disloyal and ideological barrier created by the regime and multiplied by the media. Caribbean [Resistance] you have become the first link in the creation of the powerful Bolivarian radio network, meaning you are the genesis and embryo of the revolutionary radio struggle. Your great undertaking has not only turned into a regional coverage but also made you undeniable leaders in the country's overall coverage with the [word indistinct] station. The seed has multiplied and, both here and throughout Colombia, the seed brought from the Caribbean germinates to make the Colombian rebel front grow. Congratulations to Caribbean [Resistance] for keeping up a tireless struggle, for making the Liberator's dream a reality, and for building the new Colombia together. Source: Voz de la Resistencia in Spanish 8 May 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 21455 U, HCJB, May 6 0700. Booming in @ 2:00 AM here in TN. Surprised to hear anything on 13 meters at that time of day. Very nice on vertical antenna, but poor on horizontal dipole, and longwires, so very low angle propagation (David Hodgson, Nashville, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Some examples for networks of public broadcasters here in Germany: - "JUMP": The pop music network of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, which replaced the former "MDR Life". First it was called "Jump FM" and it resulted in a unexpected amount of laughter when I referred to this program as "Sprung-UKW". - "hr-skyline": A new network of Hessischer Rundfunk, which deals with business, "lifestyle" and airport information. Another new network is "hr XXL". What could this be? Yes, of course a youth program. - "N-Joy Radio": The youth program of Norddeutscher Rundfunk. And some commercial stations: - "Energy": A couple of stations in various states, which are owned by the French NRJ group - "Power 612": A dance music station, which is broadcasting at Kiel on mediumwave 612 kHz (and nobody noted until recently that they broadcast only a loop of about 2.5 hours duration since February, probably this will result in a suspension of the licence) - "Fun Fun Radio": A Hamburg-based low power FM station - "Jam FM": A Berlin-based satellite station, which arranged the order against MDR to cease using the title "Jump FM" - "98.8 Kiss FM": Broadcasting at Berlin on this former BFBS frequency - "Power Radio 4": A small station, broadcasting on five low power FM transmitters around Angermünde, a town northeast of Berlin - "Project 89.0": Broadcasting from the Brocken mountain on this former Radio DDR 1 frequency - "big FM": Some kind of a youth program from Mannheim - "sunshine live": A satellite and FM station, broadcasting Techno However, I have to admit that all these stations do not broadcast Schlager (this special German kind of light music), so actually the question remains why the Radio Sunshine from the German-speaking part of Belgium uses this name (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The hegemonic, imperialist Englisch language marches on, without even trying! (gh, DXLD) ** ICELAND. 13865 U, RUV (national radio, SW relay), May 4 2305. At this time of year there is twilight, even at midnight in Iceland, making for very nice propagation to America on 21 meters at 2300. Very nice copy here. NX, then WX @ 2328 (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. I did some research on the subject of the two Voyager spacecraft. Details can be found at http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager.html In short: Both crafts are still functioning; the only exception are the cameras and spectrometers since their heating systems were shut down in 1998 and 2000, respectively, in order to reduce the power load on the ageing Plutonium generators. The craft still collect science data; their final failure is expected to occur not earlier than 2020. Science data is downlinked at a rate of 1.4 kbps (rather than 7.2 kbps during the planetary mission), otherwise a low data rate of 160 bps is in use. The downlink operates in the X-band at about 8.4 GHz with a power of 20 watts; if I remember correctly this frequency range is otherwise in use by military satellites but not for civilian purposes (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. Weeks ago you brought some considerations about reception on the moon. Today I have the time for some comments on this very interesting and fascinating topic. I wonder if anybody aboard the old MIR or the new ISS bothered until now to check out the radio reception. This is certainly a legitimate question, considering that the crew members also do ham traffic. I would expect that FM stations pop up suddenly when coming over the horizon and then become weaker for the already discussed reason, but perhaps this gets compensated when the spacecraft is directly above the transmitter site, meaning only some 350 instead of 2000 kilometres distance. In general the stations should pop up and fade away in a rapid alternation. But also shortwave reception would be quite interesting, because the manned spacecraft are within or even still below the F2 layer (no matter that in spaceflight the atmosphere ends at 100 km height by arbritary definition). I would think that the reception pattern would be like the ones for distant stations on earth: Only high frequencies allows reception under bright daylight, also lower ones at night due to the absence of the D and E layers. When thinking about reception far away from the earth also another interesting source of radio signals comes to mind: Satellite uplinks. As well-known a satellite uplink puts out a sharply focused microwave signal. I am not sure about the beamwidth of a usual uplink antenna; if it is 0.5 degrees then a distant observer would get the signal for about 2 minutes when his location is "behind" the satellite, seen from the uplink. For an individual uplink this of course happens quite seldom but considering the large number of uplink facilities such "flares" should be no rare occurrences, similar to the impressive Iridium flares. Another source of even more powerful signals no longer exists: Roughly between 1965 and 1990 communication services between West Berlin and the FRG (West Germany) was maintained by scatter links, using frequencies between 1.7 and 2.1 GHz. The equipment consisted of PA stages of 1 kW and dishes of 18 metres diameter with a gain of 47 db, producing an ERP of 50 MW. And regarding the S-band: This is indeed a band for satellite communications, for the downlink part around 2.3 GHz. If I am correct only a few birds have S-band transponders at all but probably the S- band is or was quite popular for communication with distant spacecraft, considering that it is also used by the Pioneer 10 probe as we just learned. What`s actually up with Voyager 1, which is according to the excellent http://www.heavens-above.com website still functioning, too? By the way, if I am correct, the lightness on the location of these crafts should still correspond to street lighting. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Terra, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. Source: Radio Payem-e Doost. Main Studio: Washington, D.C. Category: Both domestic and external. Media Provider: Baha'i Faith. Comments: Radio Payam-e Doost (Radio Message from a Friend) is sponsored by Washington DC based members of the Baha'i Faith. According to the web site, which refers to the station in English as Baha'i Radio International, the broadcast aims to "educate its listeners and dissipate misinformation about the Baha'i Faith". Radio Payem-e Doost commenced broadcasting on 21 March 1994 with a one-hour weekly programme via WUST radio in Washington DC on 1120 kHz. The shortwave broadcast, via a hired transmitter in Eastern Europe or the CIS was first observed in May 2001. Languages: Persian Translated Name : Radio Message from a Friend E-mail : feedback@bahairadio.org Web Site : http://www.bahairadio.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- 0000-2359 Daily PERSIAN Global Net: http:// www.bahairadio.org - archive audio 1330-1430 Sunday PERSIAN 1.120 (via WUST Radio, Washington DC) 1800-1830 Daily PERSIAN ME 7.480 --------------------------------------------------------------------- (© BBC Monitoring May 9 condensed for DXLD) Probably via Moldova. Time and frequency match the ``Radio Bohoy`` in DXLD 1-063 (gh) ** IRAN [non]. New SW broadcasts aimed at Iranian listeners What appear to be two new shortwave broadcasts aimed at Iranian listeners have been observed by BBC Monitoring. Both are in the Persian (Farsi) language and are believed to be broadcast via hired shortwave transmitters in Eastern Europe or the CIS. Radio Payam-e Doost Radio Payam-e Doost (Radio Message from a Friend) was observed on 5 May and appears to be on the air daily at 1800-1830 gmt on 7480 kHz. The broadcast announces a web site of http://www.bahairadio.org - the web site is that of Baha'i Radio International and gives the following information: "On 21 March 1994, Payam-e-Doost went on the air for the first time on WUST 1120 AM, Washington DC. This one hour weekly programme in Persian, sponsored by the Baha'is of Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland in the United States, has only one aim: to educate its listeners and dissipate misinformation about the Baha'i faith which has permeated the Iranian community for the past sesquicentury, depriving Muslims and Baha'is alike of a chance to live, work and worship freely and in total harmony in the cradle of one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. Deep rooted misconceptions about the Baha'i faith fanned by religious fanaticism had, for many years, created an atmosphere of doubt and uncertainty about the nature of Baha'i beliefs... ``As a result of the programmes aired by Payam-e-Doost many of our listeners have, according to remarkable testimonials, acquired a clear understanding of the principles of the Baha'i faith which promote love, unity and justice. ``Since Payam-e-Doost embarked on this important mission we have heard heart-warming comments from every social, ethnic and religious strata of the Persian speaking community who now avow to the fact that their knowledge about the Baha'i Faith was incorrect and attest to the importance of one of the pivotal teachings of the Baha'i faith, i.e. independent investigation of the truth. This principle of the Baha'i faith, which teaches every individual to think freely and independent of tradition, in and of itself is a major step forward in mankind's quest for knowledge and development. ``As of Sunday, November 14, 1999 Payam-e-Doost will not only be heard in the Washington Metropolitan area on its regular station, i.e. New World Radio, WUST 1120 AM, but also simultaneously in every corner of the world by all the inhabitants of our global village through the Internet. This is a first for the Persian Baha'is, especially those residing in the blessed land of Iran, the cradle of the Baha'i faith, who have been deprived of too many basic freedoms for too many years. This programme will air every Sunday morning from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Eastern Daily Time in the United States and can be heard on real time on the internet simultaneously. Your comments and contributions will be warmly appreciated." Radio Barabari Radio Barabari (Radio Equality) was heard on 5 and 6 May at 1700-1730 gmt on 7480 kHz. Announcements stated that it was a test broadcast which started on 4 May and that regular broadcasts would commence soon. The following contact details were given: fax number 00 33 1 4345 5704, email info@barabari.org, web site http://www.barabari.org The web site says that the shortwave broadcast can be heard on Tuesdays and Fridays - although the tests were observed by BBC Monitoring on a Saturday and Sunday. Nothing was heard when checked on Tuesday 8 May. The web site states the aims of Radio Barabari as "a platform for breaking the walls of censorship and oppression, to reflect the struggle of the workers and all the wage-earners, to voice the concerns of unemployed, deprived, women, foreign residents, young people, intellectuals and religious and ethnic minorities and all those Iranians who fight for freedom and equality". Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 5-9 May 01 (BBCM via DXLD) ** MEXICO. There have apparently been recent changes at Televisa's XEQ/940 in Mexico City. In the most recent DXAS, Bruce Conti features a recently recorded clip of them where they identify themselves as "Cadena Q, Verde y Oro". On Saturday, I spent considerable amounts of time listening to XEQ on the web (what with virtually all US stations not streaming audio now), and they now identify as "Enamorada 940", or "940 in love", and feature what seems to be best described as a classic love ballads format. No references whatsoever anymore to "Cadena Q" or "Verde y Oro"; it must have been a very recent change (--tony s., May 7, NRC- AM via DXLD) I listened as well... they are indeed doing a syrupy Spanish A/C format with very traditional announcers and nearly no commercials. Very definitely IDing as Enamorada 940. Sound confirms why there is considerable talk about Televisa exiting radio totally. The website does not even mention the new name... still has the old logo (David Gleason, CA, NRC-AM via DXLD) A number of Mexico City radio stations are carried on "Es Mas dot com" at http://www.esmas.com/radio/ on the Internet, including the former Cadena Q. Es Mas has been advertising the web site on the Univisión television network. Ke Buena 92.9, Cadena W 900 AM, 101.7 VOX FM, Radical 96.9, Ke Buena 730 AM, Cadena Q 940 AM Enjoy! (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, May 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) A fine website if I do say so myself. I, too, discovered it while watching Univision. As has been reported, the updates to the stations' formats do not appear. Not only is XEQ still listed with the old "Cadena Q" logo, but what appears as "Ke Buena 730 AM" is actually now IDing on air as "La Nueva X", and from what I could gather appeared to be a young-skewing version of Televisa's Full Service XEW. All 3 AMs (XEW, XEQ, and XEX) were playing an enjoyable mix of jockless music on Saturday night/Sunday morning, with XEQ leaning towards classics, XEX playing mostly contemporary ballads, and XEW somewhere in between. May I suggest "W Radical 96.9"'s stream as well. Station runs a techno format, from what I could tell, but on Saturday morning was airing a very intriguing and enjoyable "techno lite" block, which consisted of mellow jazz-flavored techno, at one point going as far as throwing in the 60s classic "The Look Of Love"!! (tony s./miami, ibid.) ** NIGERIA. VoN in English now at least on some days of the week until 2300. No more Hausa/Yoruba in the evening, or maybe on another frequency??? Nice charts show [meaning hit music?] on Sunday, but terrible modulation as usual (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Autonomous Republic of Westphalia, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST){presumably 7255} ** RWANDA. Radio Rwanda 6055 is an easy catch in the evenings, and seems to have extended broadcasts till 2200 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Autonomous Republic of Westphalia, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA. R. Mogadishu (tent.) heard on 6750 1800-1900*, quite strong, programming type as reported in DXLD recently (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Autonomous Republic of Westphalia, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALILAND. In the French news broadcast on the website (Feb. 26th), Radio Hargeisa announces 7120 SW and 693 MW (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Autonomous Republic of Westphalia, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. This time I checked before and after 0330 UT May 9 for supposed 15245 replacing 9495 -– no, English started at 0329:30 on 9495, which was very poor and disturbed this date, but loud and clear via RCI on 11895 which also announced 9495 and 11895 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Bombshell! With use of shortwave sets in the US in the very low single numbers percentage-wise, it might at first seem that this is a good decision based on sound polling numbers. Maybe it helps the BBC's bottom line, but for avid listeners it is a disaster. For BBC program producers other than news, it is no less so. Even 1% of the US population equals about 2.8 million potential listeners -- not an insignificant potential audience especially when one considers that most of those who bought a shortwave radio probably did so primarily so they could listen to the BBC. They will be largely disenfranchised. It`s hard to understand what the BBC's thinking is here. Some quick random reactions: 1. Even in the major population centers of NA, BBC broadcasts on FM are mainly limited to occasional news bulletins. Longer form BBC programs -- even news programs -- are heard in very few locations and where they are, are confined almost exclusively to overnight situations. Feature programs are virtually non-existent in these outlets. BBC America television is available only on Direc-tv (about 15% of homes) and on some cable systems that have digital capability (another 20%) -- and the service is only available on upper tiers, which means that one has to buy-through several tiers to get them. The high marginal cost for subs means that homes actually receiving BBC America are probably in the very low single numbers %-wise. Of those, the number actually watching is probably so small as to be unmeasurable. 2. Sirius and XM are still not available. Even when they do come online, they are to be marketed (at least at the beginning) exclusively to automobiles. Their business plans have no assurance of succeeding and they already have been delayed by technical problems, such as inoperative chipsets and interference problems) more than once. The consensus on Wall Street (though hardly deterministic) is that these services have an uphill battle. 3. Yes, there is the Internet; but the Internet and radio are two different technologies still. The Internet is far from a replacement for radio and is used much differently than radio. 4. What does this mean for DRM? NA would have been a prime market for DRM given the fact that so little of the population has "worldband" capability at present. Without the BBC, DRM has to be less marketable. 5. It's one thing when SRI does this; but what will the effect be on other shortwave services, under financial stress and other pressures, when the BBC does it? I will be most interested to hear Kim discuss this with the BBC this weekend. To me, there is a fundamental misreading of poll data, a misunderstanding of the actual impact of new media, and an inappropriate and ill-advised orientation toward commercial "mass marketing" of the World Service (ie: a lack of proper direction) at work here. My reading is that stations still need to use all the media at their disposal to be effective. At best, this decision is premature. A sad day -- to make a gross understatement. This will have a domino effect, I fear. Good for "pure hobbyists" and dxers, I suppose. But a major disaster for program listeners (John Figliozzi, NY, swprograms via DXLD) I have to say this is probably the absolute stupidest thing I have ever heard of a large International shortwave station doing. I wonder how long it will be before I get the BBC on FM in rural Northwest Tennessee????? Let them all go and I'll just listen to whatever is left. There is more to listen to than Switzerland and the United Kingdom. I have sent BBC my say and that is all I can do. Whether you are in favor or against this (like me) here it the place to have your say. I suggested just having two highpowered frequencies, one for the day and one for the night. It works for KTBN on 7510 and 15590, and other US domestics. Why can`t International Broadcasters try it if they want to be more efficient. You don't have to have a frequency for every region of the US if you are relaying from the Carribean. I'll still be able to hear the BBC beamed to other regions at home, but as far as in my office building in my downtown area, Forget it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/contact/index.shtml (Ryan Ellegood, Northwest Tennessee, USA, ibid.) Ryan implies that cost is a factor in the BBC`s decision, and indeed it is. Mark Byford, Managing Director of World Service, estimates that the cost savings will be about half a million UK pounds a year. The BBC apparently feels that this half a million pounds can be better spent. DRM has also been mentioned. Without wishing to open up a technical debate that doesn`t belong in this list, I`d like to point out that one of the reasons (apart from the audio quality) that some broadcasters are so keen on DRM is that there are potential cost savings in being able to serve some target areas with lower power than is currently used on AM. The fact is that it's *very* expensive to operate a 500 kW transmitter. When you listen on the Internet, you are only using the bandwidth for the duration of your own listening session. When you stop listening, you release that bandwidth for someone else`s use. A 500 kW transmitter is pumping out audio the whole time regardless of whether 1, 100, 1000, or a million people are listening to it. That`s why it`s called broadcasting. On the Internet, you can find out how many people are listening to a particular stream at any moment. On shortwave, you have to rely on approximations based on surveys which are themselves expensive to carry out. Having said that, I`m happy to confirm that if there is, as John Figliozzi suggests, a "domino effect" it`s not going to include Radio Netherlands. I think we have a reputation for doing our own thing in our own way, and that will continue to be the case. For example, we operate a successful engineering consultancy based at our Bonaire relay station, and the income generated by working for other broadcasters in the region helps to offset the cost of operating the shortwave station. Indeed, as many of you know, we recently installed new generators with double the capacity of the old ones. We wouldn`t be doing that if we envisaged any cutbacks in our shortwave operations from Bonaire! (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) Although I work for Radio Netherlands, I am participating here on an individual basis. Opinions expressed are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Radio Netherlands. Re: The BBC apparently feels that this half a million pounds can be better spent.... That's US$712,596.25 per annum at current exchange, roughly just under $2000 a day. Jeez, cut out a couple of the inflated salaries BBC management has been paying themselves of late and you could recover that easily. I truly thought it would have been more. (John Figliozzi, ibid.) This is truly a terrible decision. Those of us in "rural" America have no outlet to get BBCWS except via shortwave. My experience traveling all over North America tells me that is the typical situation even in major cities where FM relays tend to exist, if at all, only overnight. I cannot believe that BBCWS has the funds to expand those relays to even "prime time"... an hour on an FM station in every major city every day is beyond their resources and few public stations are going to move ATC out of the way for them. I will be an early adopter of satellite radio but that will only help in the car, not at home -- and by all indications it won't be cheap. I have DirecTV, which to date, carries no international broadcaster or even WRN, on its audio service. BBC America only carries about 90 minutes per day of news (once you subtract the commercials). Our best hope is to flood the BBC with complaints. As I have some experience lobbying for an "obscure foreign silly ball game" to be carried on US and Canadian cable TV, my suggestion is that we find the names and contact information for the key managers at BBCWS responsible for these decisions and let them know en masse that this is poorly thought out on their part. We should also look for a sympathetic official or member of parliament who can bring the attention of the government to this issue. We may fail at this but if we don`t try then we have confirmed their thinking (-Rob de Santos - Vienna, West Virginia USA, Chairman of the Board, Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA), ibid.) Here in the San Francisco Bay Area KALW-FM carries BBC news in Morning, BBC programs from 11:05 am to 12:00 noon, Newshour (one hour delayed), plus BBC overnight from midnight to 5 am on weekdays and 6 am on weekends. KQED FM also carries some BBCWS. You can go to Fry`s and buy a very good computer with modem and monitor for less than the cost of a Sony 2010. Let`s be honest: 99.9% of the WS listeners are NOT DX'ers or not even multidimensional shortwave listeners. They want to hear BBCWS clearly with the best fidelity. Real Audio at 16 kbps is much better than the best shortwave. OH: You can listen to computer audio in the backyard with an inexpensive micro transmitter. AND how many people carry a shortwave radio with them? outside of this group and HCDX? The real question is what is BBC WS (Merlin) going to do with all that transmitter time? There goes DRM for shortwave! (Larry Nebron, ibid.) Maybe BBCWS has a bad case of mad-cow disease? When I was in Moscow in Jan/Feb, I had the opportunity to talk to Vladimir Zhamkin, the head of the English language service of Voice of Russia, and in fact, we discussed this same issue. He told me that VOR "is committed to shortwave broadcasting" as that is how the majority of listeners tune in to them. Thank goodness there are some sensible heads that see SW has a future. Not everyone can afford a $1000 computer (Maryanne Kehoe, ibid.) Excellent decision! Who, in their right mind and in large numbers, listens to ENGLISH language SWBC in North America? NOBODY! Reality- based planning is a GOOD thing! You've got to CHANGE with the media or stock up on vacuum tubes! ;-)) I trust the BBC`s research to be telling them the right things. BBC`s programming, research and HF frequency scheduling are the 'yardsticks' by which ALL others are measured. The right things are that no one [in large numbers] who really 'counts' is listening to shortwave in North America -- and that`s been true for YEARS. No one [in large numbers] who really 'counts' is listening to BROADCAST television either. MOST people are watching CABLE or satellite TV and listening to FM radio in their car as they make ever-longer commutes. And an ever-increasing number of people are getting 'news' and entertainment off the internet. Napster rules! And have you ever looked at Nickelodeon.com? It`s designed to keep a kid entertained for hours -- and if you`ve got a full-time internet connection, this is GREAT stuff! In case you haven`t noticed, shortwave is being used less and less by 'traditional' VOICES and more and more by 'surrogate', 'hate' and religious VOICES! DRM is bullshit. When you think about DRM, think about AM Stereo. They are the same thing -- trying to breathe life into an AGING medium. Get over it. Nobody in a 'developed' nation is going to buy a shortwave radio that sounds like FM [when it works] unless there`s something interesting to hear -– there`s not. Nobody in a 'developing' nation is going to buy a shortwave radio that costs a couple of hundred $$ to hear something they can already hear at lesser audio quality. Besides, as Larry Nebron points out, technology is making DRM SO irrelevant it isn't even funny! (Bill Whitacre, IBB Monitoring, Washington DC, ibid.) I`m not sure if I should laugh or cry at the news. Kim, do you have contact information us listeners could use -- not the usual bureaucratic channels, but straight to higher-ups -- to protest this rash decision? I`m thankful my office is on the first floor; otherwise, I`d consider jumping. What a travesty. Oh, won`t we all have fun with this topic! I think you`re right, Bill, but about 3 years too early. As I e-mailed Kim, the 'Net isn`t portable. Shortwave, and especially the powerhouse broadcasters like the BBC, is a portable medium. I count on that when I do the dishes at night, or gulp down that first cup of coffee in the morning. If a $100 "Internet Radio" were a reality, I might not feel so bad, but with Kerbango gone kaboomo (Joe Buch`s term) the decision is ludicrous at this time. If this does happen, I have grave concerns for other broadcasters who beam to North America. We`ll be saying, "There's nothing good on!" and new radio sales will evaporate overnight. Instead of soliciting radio vendors to the SWL fest, we`ll be soliciting Internet service providers (Richard Cuff, PA, ibid.) Hey, more money for us satellite guys. To send the rebroadcasts direct. The world service audience on fm is so small it`s laughable. When you air late at night and on weekends on under powered cash strapped public radio that`s what you get. Call it the beginning of the end (Lou Josephs, ibid.) In reply, I have sent the following to BBC: It is with great sadness that I learn from Glenn Hauser's DX Listeners Digest that BBC is terminating short wave services beamed to the United States. Now in my late 60s, I have been listening to BBC World Service since a very small child. You have been the authority to which I turn when wanting objective and balanced news, thoughtful commentary, prizes such as Alistair Cooke`s Letters from America and education from a countless parade of special programs I still recall years later. Your announcement is quoted as reading in part: "In the US for example, over 200 public radio stations carry BBC programmes in America -- three times as many people listen to us on FM as on shortwave and one and a half million users access online each month." That may be true, but there are large pockets of population in this technologically advanced nation that still do not have FM or Public Radio station coverage, nor access to the Internet. Please rethink abandoning loyal listeners! (Vern Modeland, Marion County, Arkansas, USA, swl@qth.net via DXLD) I`ve seen just one letter sway a broadcaster. I hope many others on the list will help us at least protest to BBC! My reply (already confirmed by automated e-mail) went to worldservice.letters@bbc.co.uk (Vern M., Listening from the Arkansas Ozarks USA; Visit "The Little House on the Highway "(tm) via http://www.modeland.net -- swl@qth.net May 8 via DXLD) Subject: [SWL] BBC Boycott. Hello All, I just finished replacing the keyboard on primary computer system #1 here in my den/office. Two additional systems also abide here, by the way. I was so infuriated by the BBC's announcement, that I pounded an expensive micro switch keyboard into non-functional components. I, for one, am more than a little tired of the egotistical, pompous and shortsighted people that make the management decisions for the BBC. This is not the first brainless decision they have come up with, there are many others over the past few years. Writing them letters of protest or concern, does no good, at least not based on the traditional BBC attention span. It is in one ear and out the other faster than you can crumple a crumpet! Maybe we BBC World Service listeners in the United States need to revolt and boycott listening to any broadcasts in any form? Then if we keep reminding them of that on a weekly basis with tons of e-mail, and regular mail too, they might get the bloody drift! I have already sent the powers that be in the BBC 'think tank' a scorching complaint on their latest proclamation. I hope that ALL of you do also. Not one, but enough to bury the BBC building in floppy diskettes and leave a darn paper trail all the way back to America! (Duane Fischer, W8DBF, ibid.) I just read the news about your plan to drop shortwave broadcasts to the Americas. I haven't heard all the details, so I cannot comment in detail, but the general reaction I have and which is expressed by many others, is that you are idiots. If you want to get out of the broadcasting business, so be it. But if you still claim to be a "World Service", there is no excuse to cut off a large portion of the world. Internet listening is used by a trivial portion of the populace. FM rebroadcasting in the US is limited to a few cities and is mostly late-night, aside from the isolated newscast here and there. You can still step back from this and not do it. Admit that this is a mistake and stop it now! (William Martin, Saint Louis, Missouri USA, to BBC Write On, cc to DXLD) This is bad. Sure, we get the Beeb here in Seattle on FM, 0100-0400 local time. Also over the Internet, if I want to tie up my phone line most of the time. Thanks for the info, regardless (Chuck Albertson, WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, I guess it`s time to slam them with MANY e-mails and letters NOW !!!! `Tis a sad day indeed if this does take place !!! Regards, (Dave Zantow, WI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Subject: An Open Letter to the BBC Sirs, I could hardly believe my eyes when I read that you plan on discontinuing shortwave broadcasts to North America. In its stead, you have made a most disconcerting decision to utilize Internet and FM relays as an alternate delivery means to this area of the world. I fear this decision has not only been made in haste, but is based on faulty premises: Most people who listen to the BBC on shortwave do so not only for the quality of the news broadcasts, but for the quality of the overall programming. Most FM relays (based on World Radio Network satellite feeds) only carry one hour of the BBC at times that are most improbable for North American listeners to hear. Likewise, people that listen to the BBC via Internet streaming are prone to very short (and abrupt) listening periods. Broadband Internet connections are only currently widely available to those is highly populated areas. The majority of Internet listeners would therefore be limited to relatively low-bandwidth dialup connections that are prone to numerous sound dropouts, rebuffering and low- quality audio. As a noted professional in the field high technology, I have always been wary of using and promoting "technology for technology's sake" and that the method should always match the means that best fits the users (and customers). Practicality and common sense use of technology has always been the rule rather than the exception. As a long-time listener of the BBC, this latest decision to abandon shortwave to North America will make your broadcasts impractical to listen to in a leisurely fashion. As well, it will certainly not be worth the effort because of the limited available programming. I firmly believe that I not only speak for myself on this matter, but for the millions (if not billions) of others that rely on and regularly listen to the BBC in the Americas. It is we that will be left out in the cold. 73, Mark J. Fine / mark.fine@fineware-swl.com Serving the Shortwave Community since 1988: - Owner/Proprietor, FineWare: http://www.fineware-swl.com - East Coast Monitor, Monitoring Times: http://www.grove-ent.com - English Schedules Editor, NASWA Journal: http://www.anarc.org/naswa - CumbreLite Editor, Cumbre DX: http://www.cumbredx.org (cc to DXLD) Sheesh... I may be stretching/assuming too much, but try and follow what is probably typical BBC-Management logic: 1. BBC's streams were one of the worst ideas in shortwave history and are a complete failure... We now admit that, but we won't tell you that we were wrong. 2. It costs too much to split things out the way anymore and we have to reduce staff. 3. The US/CAN audience are mostly WRN-fed FM and Internet-based audiences anyway (huh?). 4. Kill the NAm shortwave broadcasts completely to solve the problem. 5. Kill the Pacific (Australia) broadcasts because it's too expensive to feed. I can read between the lines here. This is the same flawed and all- assuming logic that created the bloody streams in the first place. I don't vent much publicly, but this is probably the most ridiculous idea that the BBC has come up with yet (Mark J. Fine / mark.fine@fineware-swl.com via DXLD) So is this true? Is the BBC WS going to stop direct shortwave to the U.S.? My God, let's just kill the damn hobby off. I'm not going to upgrade to the great audio of a Grundig just to hear constant public affairs shows with bad accents, or, the crap that U.S. broadcasters spew out. The BBC WS got me started as an SWL. The first time I heard the Stones was on the BBC WS in 1964 on a borrowed Trans-Oceanic (Brock Whaley, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This one ruined my day, so I dashed off an email complaint via their website = http://www.bbcamerica.com/contactus_email.html The burden of my complaint was, "Yes, I can hear you here on PBS -- at one in the morning. And I am not going to crank up my basement computer to get webcasts when I am used to listening to you all in the comfort of my den." And that may not have been quite the right address to use. If there is another, I recommend that all NASWA members and SWLs in the country lambaste them. If not, let'`s avalanche them with snail-mail (Alan Bosch, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Subject: Just sent this to BBC Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 00:57:10 - To whom it may concern, It has come to my attention that the BBC World Service will discontinue service to North America via Shortwave as of this coming July. I would like to voice my opposition to such a decision. It was suggested that listeners in North America would be able to access World Service via local FM rebroadcasters or via the Internet. Both cause problems for many people here. 1) The FM band is so crowded in Canada's major radio markets that no new local stations are being allocated. I doubt very much that our radio regulator would allow a foreign broadcaster to use scarce frequencies. Furthermore, to adequately serve North America, BBC would have to convince the CRTC and FCC to grant the BBC dozens, perhaps hundreds of FM licences. 2) The only re-broadcast of BBC is a 30-minute edition of the World Today at 2:30 a.m. local on CBC -- and it's not even live. (Not to mention the fact that I'm usually asleep.) 3) Like many people here, I only have dial-up Internet service. (I cannot afford more.) I refuse to clog my only telephone line to listen to a radio station, even the BBC. That is what I use my SW radio for. 4) BBC World Service broadcasts via Sackville can be received very well at my location, no matter what the ionosphere is up to. This is not true of the Internet, where I experience audio dropouts, too many users at the same time, etc... In my opinion, SW is still a very reliable medium. 5) While listenership on SW is only limited by the number of radio sets running at any given time, Internet broadcasts are limited by whatever number of channels you can afford to put out. In my experience, this number rarely exceeds 5,000. Are you saying that there are fewer than 5,000 shortwave listeners in the U.S., Canada and Australia, which would make Internet a feasible option for you? It would be extremely unfortunate if a respected broadcaster such as the BBC would decide to leave the short waves in North America. I fear that your decision will only prompt more stations to leave North America and Australia unserved. I do not look forward to the day when the only technically reliable SW signals come from far-right or religious broadcasters. I implore you once again to revisit your decision regarding shortwave services to North America. Sincerely, (Ricky Leong, Brossard, Quebec, CANADA, cc to DXLD) Big news indeed. The press blurb fails to mention that the ABC only carries BBC relays after midnight, except for a couple of excerpted current affairs programs and, I think, "Letter from America" and the odd sporting program. The local community FM station in Bathurst also relays BBC after midnight, and takes "The World Today" at noon, but this is hardly handy scheduling for most people. I'm lucky enough to have access to BBC via satellite, but know few others who also have this facility, even amongst the radio/technical hobby community. Unlike shortwave receivers, satellite decoders normally have to be shared with other members of the family, who invariably favour the television capabilities rather than audio subcarriers. At least they didn't insult everyone's intelligence, as SRI did recently, by suggesting that Internet streaming was a viable alternative to shortwave. No doubt there will be a big reaction on the other side of the Pacific (Craig Seager, Australia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Last night I forwarded the news regarding BBCWS to some guys with this comment: "It does not affect us but leads to the question when it will be over with 6195, 9410 and 12095, and certainly we can mention 648 in this context, too." I must say, that hardly anything can still surprise me since BBCWS closed down its German service, something which nobody believed when the first rumours popped up, because it was considered unthinkable (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. The calling of a general election in the UK on 7 June may mean some short-term schedule changes on BBC domestic and local stations. Certainly the need for political balance will affect the content of programmes such as The News Quiz, The News Huddlines etc immediately, if indeed those programmes are allowed to continue. So don't be surprised when you log onto your favourite BBC station and here something different from what you were expecting. I suppose the web listings are likely to be much more up-to-date than the listings shown in the Braille Radio Times, which may not be corrected until week starting 26 May (Paul David, UK, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. This item from the Communications World script for May 5th might be of interest. This schedule adjustment is already in effect: Here at the Voice of America, a lack of money to pay freelance reporters will result in some VOA News Now weekend programmings being repeated during the following week. At 0030, 0430, 0830, 1230, and 2030 UTC, you will hear the following on News Now: Monday -- Press Conference USA / Tuesday -- Encounter / Wednesday -- Our World / Thursday -- Kaleidoscope / Friday -- Best of Talk to America (Kim Elliott, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. From: n0uiheric@aol.com Subject: The Anti-CC Movement Is Getting Popular! This came from Ron Jacobs' Web site (forwarded by Dennis Gibson): "Every man must finally see the necessity of protecting the rights of others as the most effectual security for his own." Thomas Paine, 1795 For five years, previous and present radio people and listeners have been bugging me about the decline of commercial radio in America. I wasn't aware of how foul, filthy and frugal it had become until I read THE STORY at salon.com ("Radio's big bully -- Dirty tricks and crappy programming: Welcome to the world of Clear Channel, the biggest station owner in America," by Eric Boehlert, April 30, 2001.) http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2001/04/30/clear_channel/index.html Until I read that piece I thought Randy Michaels -- whom I've never met and now certainly don't care to -- possessed some redeeming values. Hey, another morning man, I thought. For decades we cheered for the guys who came up through programming and made it big. We in radio believed - and acted on that belief - that it was a working part of our job to serve the community interest as well as to entertain and make a buck. It appears that ideal has been almost singularly destroyed by Michaels. Example from Salon: Clear Channel, owners of WNUA-Chicago, closed down the station's "Cares for Kids Foundation," which according to Salon, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity Another example: Salon advises that WHAS-Louisville, newly acquired by CC, informed officials of the "Great Balloon Race," a Kentucky Derby tradition for two decades, that the station now wanted to be paid to air the event. What finally got me totally pissed off in the Salon piece was the bit about Michaels taping and then firing the AMFM guys. This took place in what the victims thought was a social scene before Michaels got his hands on the stations where they worked. (Update: An L.A. Radio web site of dubious credibility, quoting a third hand "source," printed Michael's denial of the Salon covert taping accusations. The convoluted statement was yanked within hours.) Michaels is not even about radio listeners. He is only about money and power - including the abuse of power. In the radio Mission Statement at Clear Channel's corporate website http://www.clearchannel.com/radio/index.html CEO Michaels uses the word "listener" exactly once: "Clear Channel stations broadcast to over 110 million listeners every week." But he tosses around money words like a boiler room stock hustler: "Total industry revenue...distinct formats...total company revenue...fiscal year 2000...advertising demand...targeted demographics...strategic acquisitions ...mergers... unduplicated collection of assets..." How soulful. Michaels' stations -- all 1,170 of them (depending how many were bought overnight) -- clog the airwaves in every state, in 47 of the top 50 markets. Don't count on leaving the country to escape this media mediocrity -- Clear Channel owns "approximately" 240 radio stations outside the U.S. Then there's Premiere Radio Networks, headlined by Rush Limbaugh and Laura Schlessinger aired on hundreds of affiliates claiming over 180 million listeners weekly. The Katz Media Group represents 2,000-plus radio stations. Then there's the concert promotion division and their 700,000 billboards. Clear Channel's tentacles are strangling the nearly extinct local operator. According to Salon the voracious corporation has more snuff tactics in the works. Michaels concludes his mission with a combination of corporate babble and a sports metaphor, albeit one that ignores the legendary Fat Lady: "The opportunities for synergies among all these Clear Channel divisions are explosive and are in the very early innings." "Bully: an insolent, overbearing person who persists in tormenting another." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. What can we do? Plenty. If you are reading this you are into communications one way or another. Probably professionally and pretty good at it. We have something new, (it pains me to say it), that can act swifter and with more precision than radio. So, let's get truckin' on the Info Highway, guys and gals! This job can be accomplished without imposing on anyone trapped in Czar Michaels' Gulag. They need their jobs. First, email this to everyone you know. Like I used to say when a station had a 20 share and the jocks got cocky, "All that means is that 80% ain't with us. Let's go for 100%." If anyone else agrees with me that it's time to blow the whistle on Randy Michaels, CEO of Clear Channel Communications radio division, I'll volunteer as an ad hoc organizer -- if I can recruit some helpers. (Re-read my first sentence. You wanna bitch? -- or do you want to do something?) Needed, in no particular priority but all of equal import, are: * A committee of well-intentioned souls to handle various housekeeping. * Communications attorney, civil rights attorney. * Some issue-oriented spokes persons armed with Michaels/Clear Channel facts and anecdotes. Should be some of those reading this. * Suggestions for a name for Our Protest Group. * Honorary Board types to hopefully recruit: Ralph Nader, activist; Shawn Fanning, Napster, founder; Gov. Mario Cuomo, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, New York, Walter Cronkite, CBS News, emeritus; Studs Terkel, author and oral historian; Hon. Patricia S. Schroeder, President & CEO, Association of American Publishers; Warren Beatty, film producer-director-actor; Norman Mailer, author, retired boxer; Kweisi Mfume, President & Chief Executive Officer, NAACP; Christie Hefner, Chairman & CEO, Playboy Enterprises, Inc.; Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director, ACLU; Dr. Cornell West, author, social commentator; Harvard University; Norman Corwin, distinguished radio director and writer; Doris Kearns Goodwin, historian, author; Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights activist; Steven Stills, musician, composer; Dr.Tom Goldstein, Dean, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; Steve Dasbach, National Director, Libertarian Party; Erin Brokavich, environmental activist; Jann Wenner, founder, Rolling Stone magazine; Bill Press, political analyst, CNN; Pete Hamill, journalist, author; Patricia Ireland, President, NOW; Paul Krassner, founder of The Realist, free spirit and black belt in Social Protest; (feel free to add on and on.) * Politically hip people with experience in sending bulk email to legislators. * Web site designer(s) and/or host(s) to stay on top of this until it is launched and update when needed. * A graphic artist to come up with the perfect Anti-Michaels/Clear Channel logo. * Graphic representation of how Michaels' "Evil Empire" is smothering American radio. * Develop a mailing list of people to bury with email, like: L. Lowry Mays, Chairman and CEO, Clear Channel Communications, (Randy Michaels' boss), Mark Mays, President and COO, Clear Channel Communications; Randall Mays; Executive VP and CFO, Clear Channel Communications; major Clear Channel stockholders such as mutual funds, institutions; FCC Chairman Michael J. Powell: FCC bureaucrats who check license, renewals, readings, logs, SOP's -- you know the type: Local, regional and national Clear Channel advertisers (the animal killing "promotions" would make an interesting lead); Local, regional and national ad agencies; Mainstream media like 20/20, New York Times, NEWSWEEK; Alternate media like Matt Drudge, Los Angeles Free Press and whoever you can add to the list. And most of all -- the legislators whose cities, counties and states suffer from Clear Channel's alleged misuse of the public airwaves, with regard to monopolistic, anti-trust and unfair competition practices; circumvention of payola laws; imbalance of fiscal and public service priorities; discriminatory practices -- anything that would make for a publicity generating investigation would be very cool. This is just a start, an opening Call to Arms. Everything and anything is subject to suggestion and change. My observation is that the way to deal with a tyrant is to operate in anti-autocratic ways. We -- who ever that is, the definition starts today -- have no Board of Directors or Federal Commission to whom we must account. All those who have nowhere to focus their creativity these days can really come together and DO A NUMBER. A peaceful and creative Anti-Michaels/Clear Channel protest of just few hundred people at, say, a Clear Channel stockholders meeting or a broadcast convention will make some of the following: Rather-Brokaw-Jennings, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, newspapers (pass on this Randy Michaels' quote: "Newspapers will soon be useful only to those training puppies;" the print people should know that Clear Channel is the "Gannett of American radio"), magazines, trade publications, union bulletins, Internet, CSPAN and the hundreds of other new media who weren't around when Randy Michaels was playing with radios and alligator clips. Just keep on shuttling this on and on. It is bound to reach some friendly comrades in arms working at assignment desks and city rooms. All you news types send out flame throwing releases about what we are about. Since we are making it up as we go along, have a ball! ---------------------------- 73 and good DX from Eric Bueneman Amateur Radio Station N0UIH Registered DX Monitor: KDX0STL, KMO0CN Grid Square EM48, Hazelwood, MO DXing The World Since October 1981 Turn Off Clear Channel Communications! http://members.aol.com/n0uiheric/TurnOffClearChannel.html (via IRCA list via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. The following will be the shortwave schedule for Family Stations, Inc. aired from Taiwan 25 March 2001 to 28 October 2001. Language Time(UTC) Freq (kHz) Target English 0100-0200 15060 S. Asia 1302-1502 11550 S. Asia 1500-1700 6280 S. Asia Hindi 0000-0100 15060 S. Asia 1502-1602 11550 S. Asia Mandarin 1102-1602 6300 E. Asia 1102-1602 9280 E. Asia 2100-0000 6300 E. Asia 2100-0000 9280 E. Asia Russian 1502-1702 9955 Eu/Sib (E. Marcy, WYFR, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not sure why we are just getting this now; perhaps there has been a change (gh) ** VATICAN/Italy: Environment minister withdraws resignation threat | Excerpt from report by Italian TV teletext on 5 May After receiving a letter this morning from [Prime Minister Giuliano] Amato, the minister of the environment, [Willer] Bordon, has withdrawn his resignation. "I have been given formal assurances that on 18 May a specific date will be set for Vatican Radio to restore the [electromagnetic emission] limits laid down by Italian law."... Source: Rai TV teletext, Rome, in Italian 1134 gmt 5 May 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ###