Radio Netherlands English service will be closing down on June 29, 2012. There will be a special program on their final day and listeners are invited to share their special memories of the service.  Additional shortwave frequencies are planned for this day and we will post them once available from RNW.

RNW headquarters in Hilversum, Netherlands (photo coutesty: RNW)

(Source: RNW)

Dear Readers,

We’re very sorry to inform you that the English service of Radio Netherlands Worldwide will be closing at the end of this month. As a result, this website will see some changes.

From 1 July 2012 there will no longer be a daily review of the Dutch papers. Our coverage of Dutch news stories will also cease. And, since RNW’s English webstream will end on 29 June, there will be no moreListening Guide.

However, we will continue to provide articles online relating to our new brief: promoting free speech in areas where people are not free to gather information or to form and express independent opinions.

Latest

You can check out the updates to this story lower on the page

Why?
The measures are a result of steep budget cuts imposed by the Dutch government and a concomitant change in focus. Providing the world with a realistic image of the Netherlands, as we have proudly done since 1947, will no longer be one of our statutory duties.

The last radio show
On 29 June we will broadcast a radio show looking back at the past decades of Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Have you got a memory to share? Please let us know, at the usual address, [email protected], or post a comment below this story, as many have already done. We’d love to hear from you.

Updates
Please keep checking this site for updates on our final day. There may be a surprise or two…

And, perhaps most importantly, thank you – for listening, reading, and riding this bumpy road with us over the years and through the recent, difficult times.

The RNW English team