Tag Archives: Worldwide Listening Guide Review

A look inside: The Worldwide Listening Guide’s Tenth Edition

As I’ve mentioned many times here on the SWLing Post, I’m something of a “content DXer.”

Clearly, I enjoy chasing obscure programming––news, documentaries, music, variety shows, anything the broadcasting world has to offer. Even though my favorite medium for doing this has been shortwave radio, these days, I often turn to Wi-Fi or over-the-internet radio. Wi-Fi radio offers the discerning listener the ability to track down fascinating regional content from every corner of the globe––content never actually intended for an international audience.

If you, too, like the chase, The Worldwide Listening Guide (WWLG) will be your go-to, and this recent edition––the tenth!––is the latest in a long line of handy volumes that help the listener catch what’s out there, noting that with each passing year there’s more content to catch.

Cornucopia of content

The variety of content from online broadcasters today is surely orders of magnitude more than any one individual has ever had via over-the-air (OTA) radio sources.

Though my WiFi radio offers an easy and reliable way to “tune” to online content––both real-time station streams and on-demand podcasts––the content discovery part is actually quite difficult. I liken it to browsing a large public library looking for a new and interesting book to read, but without the guidance of a librarian. The options are so plentiful that even with superb indexing and organization, one simply doesn’t know where to begin.

On the other hand––and I’m speaking from very recent experience here––if you find a good local independent bookstore, you might actually discover more meaningful titles because the bookstore selections are curated by both the proprietor and the local community.

With this analogy in mind, The Worldwide Listening Guide is essentially my local bookstore for online content and programming.

I recently received a review copy of the new 10th Edition of the Worldwide Listening Guide by John Figliozzi and, as always, I enjoyed reading it from cover to cover.

The WWLG speaks to the types of programming I enjoy as an SWL because the author, John Figliozzi, is a devoted shortwave radio and international broadcasting enthusiast.

And while the bulk of the WWLG is a detailed and beautifully organized programming guide, it’s also so much more…

“The Many Platforms of radio”

As I’ve so often said, the WWLG is a unique guide; there’s nothing quite like it on the market because it truly takes a deep dive into the world of broadcasting and content delivery both from a technology and programming point of view.

Each media delivery platform, whether on AM, Shortwave, FM, Satellite Radio, Internet (WiFi Radio), and Podcasting, has a dedicated section in the book where Figliozzi explores each in detail. He also speaks to the state of each platform both from the broadcaster’s and the listener’s perspective.

Indeed, each chapter dedicated to these topics very much reminds me of the old Passport to Worldband Radio that I first picked up in the 1990s. The WWLG serves as a primer, but also speaks to the health and potential longevity of each platform.

I appreciate the fact that Figliozzi also addresses the nuts-and-bolts side of both over-the-air and online broadcasting. For while I’d like to think that I’m reasonably knowledgeable about the world of radio, I find I always discover something new in each edition.

There’s a surprising amount of information packed into this slim, spiral-bound volume. The Worldwide Listening Guide is enough to keep even a seasoned content DXer happy for years…or at least, until the latest edition comes out!

In short? The WWLG is a bargain for all it offers, and I highly recommend it.

The 10th edition of The Worldwide Listening Guide can be purchased here:

Note that at time of posting copies of the WWLG can be pre-ordered at Universal Radio. Amazon.com will soon have links to purchase the 10th edition when they’re in inventory. I assume the W5YI group will also have the 10th edition available for purchase soon!

Spread the radio love

The Worldwide Listening Guide: A deep dive into online and over-the-air listening

5 Replies

I recently received a review copy of the 9th Edition of the Worldwide Listening Guide by John Figliozzi:

While WRTH is my favorite guide for radio frequencies and schedules, Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide (WWLG) is my go-to for programming and content, not only helpful on the shortwaves, but especially handy when tracking online content.

The WWLG is a unique guide–there’s nothing quite like it on the market. I look forward to each edition because it truly takes a deep dive into the world of broadcasting, technology, and programming.

“Deep dive” almost feels like an understatement. I received the latest edition only a few days before Christmas travels, so packed it in my luggage and read it over the course of a week. Being the editor of the SWLing Post, I’m in the middle of a constant stream of news items and tips about the world of broadcasting and communications technology. When I read the WWLG, however, I discover so much information about the broadcasting industry as a whole, the health of various platforms, particular media companies, and even the history and technology behind content delivery systems.

Case in point: I always assumed SiriusXM satellite radio was delivered by a network of geostationary satellites. Turns out, they use a hybrid system of both “roving” satellites that orbit in a figure 8 pattern and geostationary satellites in the Clarke Belt. The WWLG is chock-full of details like this.

Each media delivery platform–AM, Shortwave, FM, Satellite Radio, Internet (WiFi Radio), and Podcasting–has a dedicated section in the book where Figliozzi explores each in detail. He also includes a “State of the Radio Platforms” chapter where he examines the health and potential direction of each.

SWLing Post contributor, Mark Fahey, recently summed up his love of the WWLG in the following comment:

[I]t’s the best guide to digital streaming media I have ever found. An indispensable guide to the world’s public broadcasters and others broadcasters who appeal to us raised on decades of shortwave.

As shortwave transmitters close, don’t make the mistake of thinking your favourite broadcasters disappear – they in most cases continue and the Worldwide Listening Guide will guide you to them as live and on-demand programs.

I use the guide as a directory for online listening, but of course RF transmission broadcasts are comprehensively covered as well.

I agree 100%.

Like Mark and many SWLs, I’m something of a “Content DXer:” I love chasing obscure programming––news, documentaries, music, and variety shows, anything the broadcasting world has to offer. For this, I often turn to Wi-Fi radio. Wi-Fi radio offers the discerning listener the ability to track down fascinating regional content from every corner of the globe––content never actually intended for an international audience.

Digging into local content via a WiFi radio isn’t nearly as challenging or fun (for me, at least) as scanning the shortwave bands in search of elusive weak signal DX or a pop-up pirate radio station. Though my WiFi radio offers an easy and reliable way to “tune” to online content–both station streams and podcasts–the actual content discovery part is quite difficult.

Truth is, there’s so much content out there–tens of thousands of stations and shows–it’s hard to know where to start!

This is where the WWLG comes in: Figliozzi exhaustively curates thousands of programs, indexing their airing times, stations, days of broadcast, program types, frequencies, and web addresses. Additionally, he sorts the programs by genre: arts, culture, history, music, sports, and more. And Figliozzi also includes a well-thought-out directory of at least forty genres. In my shack and office, the WWLG has been an invaluable tool for content discovery.

There’s a surprising amount of information packed into this slim, spiral-bound edition of the Worldwide Listening Guide…enough to keep even a seasoned content DXer happy for years.

The 9th edition of Worldwide Listening Guide can be purchased here:

Spread the radio love

The Worldwide Listening Guide: the content DXer’s handbook

5 Replies

WWLG-7th-Edition I’m very pleased to have just received the 7th edition of John Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide (WWLG), the latest, most updated version of the excellent guide I’ve often reviewed.

As I’ve said, you may want a copy of the WWLG in your shack, especially alongside your computer or Wi-Fi radio.

SWLing Post readers know that I’m a huge fan of the Word Radio TV Handbook (WRTH); it’s my go-to guide for radio frequencies and schedules. Well, Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide is my go-to for programming and content, not only helpful on the shortwaves, but also handy when tracking online content.

WWLG: The Content DXers Guide

Like many SWLs, I’m something of a “Content DXer:” I love chasing obscure programming––news, documentaries, music, and variety shows, anything the broadcasting world has to offer. For this, I often turn to Wi-Fi radio. Wi-Fi radio offers the discerning listener the ability to track down fascinating regional content from every corner of the globe––content never actually intended for an international audience.

But the fact is, there’s so much content out there, it’s hard to know where to start. This is where the WWLG comes in: Figliozzi exhaustively curates more than 4,000 programs (!), indexing their airing times, stations, days of broadcast, program types, frequencies, and web addresses. Additionally, he sorts the programs by genre: arts, culture, history, music, sports, and more. And Figliozzi also includes a well-thought-out directory of at least forty genres. In short, this directory has helped me not just locate, but identify, programming I would never have known about otherwise.

Frankly, I’m not sure how Figliozzi manages to curate such a vast assortment of programming. But I’m happy that he does, and especially, that he offers it for the SWL’s benefit––!

Thus the WWLG has become a permanent reference book in my shack, alongside my trusty WRTH. There’s a surprising amount of information packed into this slim, spiral-bound book…enough to keep even a seasoned DXer contented for years.

The 7th edition of Worldwide Listening Guide can be purchased here:

With a retail price under $25, I feel like the WWLG is an excellent bargain.

Spread the radio love

The sixth edition of The Worldwide Listening Guide

4 Replies

wwlg-2013-cover-web I’m very pleased to have just received the 6th edition of John Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide (WWLG). This is the latest updated version of the guide I reviewed last year.

As I said then, you may want a copy of the WWLG in your shack–and, may I suggest, next to your computer or wi-fi radio.

SWLing Post readers know that I’m a huge fan of the Word Radio TV Handbook (WRTH)–it’s my go-to guide for radio frequencies–and Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide is my helpful companion for programming and for content.

Figliozzi exhaustively curates more than 4,000 programs, indexing their airing times, stations, days of broadcast, program types, frequencies, and web addresses. He also sorts the programs by genre: from arts, culture, and history; to music, sports, and more. In fact, he has a well-thought-out directory of at least forty genres–this directory has helped me locate programming about which I would otherwise have never known. Want to find jazz and blues programming, or shows focusing on sports? This book’s got you covered. Frankly, I’m not sure how Figliozzi manages to curate such a vast assortment of programming, but I’m happy he does, and that he offers it for our benefit!

Figliozzi even dedicates a section of his book to “The Big Six” English language broadcasters–namely, NPR, BBC, CBC, ABC, RTE and RNZ. These networks are widely regarded as the best in the business, with audience numbers to back this claim. The WWLG dedicates several pages to describing the structure and programming diversity of each, with listening tips and more.

I’ve always liked the WWLG, and it has become a permanent reference book in my shack, alongside my trusty WRTH. There is a surprising amount of information packed into this slim, spiral-bound book…enough to keep even a seasoned DXer contented for years.

The 6th edition of Worldwide Listening Guide can be purchased here:

Spread the radio love

Review: The Worldwide Listening Guide

4 Replies

The Worldwide Listening Guide by John Figliozzi

On the SWLing Post, I write an annual review of the World Radio TV Handbook–a fantastic and comprehensive frequency guide, with a focus on broadcasters and frequencies, though it certainly lacks the programming detail–i.e. content–I so enjoyed in the late Passport To World Band Radio.

That’s where John Figliozzi’s The Worldwide Listening Guide (WWLG) comes in–in short, I think you need a copy in your shack, not to mention, next to your computer.

The Worldwide Listening Guide is like no other frequency/schedule guide you’ll find on the market. First of all, it’s instantly apparent that the author, John Figliozzi, is a DXer, since the book has a spiral bind–which permits it to lie flat when open, and allows the pages to be folded back to take up less table space. A small detail, but important for those of us who want an easily accessible reference in the shack. Figliozzi, moreover, is a noted SWLer, a long-time active member of the North American Shortwave Association, co-host of the annual NASWA Winter SWL Fest in Plymouth Meeting, PA–and did I say, a great guy?

But back to the book: perhaps what makes the WWLG so unique is its comprehensive look at “radio” listening in general, guiding the reader through the many forms radio content now takes: live, on-demand, WiFi radio, podcasts, satellite, internet, AM/FM and, of course, shortwave radio. He explains the pros and cons of each delivery method and a little about its utility. I thought that I wouldn’t gain a lot from these beginning sections as I’m quite familiar with all of them, but was pleasantly surprised to find all sorts of interesting facts hidden within; no doubt you will, too. Figliozzi also spends a good deal of time time covering the various devices–such as WiFi radios, satellite radios, apps, shortwave radios, portables–that have become indispensable tools of the trade.

Program details like no other

My favorite part of WWLG, and the sections I turn to the most, are those covering programming and content. Figliozzi exhaustively curates more than 4,000 programs sorted by time of day, station, days of broadcast, program types, their frequencies and web addresses. He also sorts the listings by genre: from the arts, culture and history, to music, sports and more. In fact, he has a well-thought-out list of 34 genres that have helped me locate programming I would have otherwise have never known about. For example, SWLs will find his “Media and Communications” genre listing programming from Allan Weiner Worldwide, Glenn Hauser’s World of Radio and DXers Unlimited to Click and Tech Nation. Each listing tells you exactly when you can catch the program, and where.

What’s also great is the fact that if I find a program I like, I can cross-reference its offering on shortwave–and, if I miss that, I can look up where to find it on demand, on the internet.

A program guide with longevity

I have the 5th edition of The Worldwide Listening Guide–the latest. While I like to have an annual guide, I actually believe this guide will be valid for several years. True, some programming comes and goes–as we’ve seen shortwave stations leaving this year–but, Figliozzi also actively maintains a companion website, The Worldwide Listening Guide Online, which he keeps up-to-date with the latest changes; there is even a blog with his comments and news items. He tells you when to cross out and change listings in your WWLG as programming evolves.

In short, I like the WWLG and have decided that it will become a permanent reference book in my shack, along side my trusty WRTH. There is a surprising amount of information packed into this slim, spiral-bound book. Enough to keep even the seasoned DXer happy for years.

The Worldwide Listening guide can be purchased here:

Spread the radio love