Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers.  To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

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Hear the voice of Bulgaria – in 9 languages from Radio Bulgaria (Radio Bulgaria)

On the website of the Bulgarian National Radio – www.bnr.bg you can now listen to the new podcast of Radio Bulgaria, “Bulgaria Today” in English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Serbian, Greek, Albanian and Turkish.

BNR has resumed its programmes in foreign languages after a 5-year pause. The change coincides with the 85th anniversary of the first foreign-language broadcasts for foreign audiences celebrated by Radio Bulgaria in 2021.

Radio Bulgaria’s new audio programme brings its listeners an overview of the most important news stories from and about Bulgaria, monitors the Covid situation, presents interesting tourist destinations and sheds light on the way of life, culture and history of this country. Each podcast ends with a dedicated music slot, “Song of the Day”, which allows the large audience of Radio Bulgaria around the world to listen to the latest Bulgarian pop and rock hits, folklore masterpieces, classical music and jazz compositions.

The restart of the foreign-language programmes is part of BNR’s campaign “Hear the voice of Bulgaria” aimed at presenting and promoting this country among foreign citizens interested in business, education or tourism in Bulgaria.

“Bulgaria Today” is available via any mobile device through the BNR website: www.bnr.bg.

Small-town Virginia radio station acts as backbone for community (WTKR)

RICHMOND, Va. — Long before the internet’s existence, people needed a way to buy, sell, and trade goods.

They looked no further than the local radio station who took phone calls from listeners. And while times have changed, one small radio station keeps the tradition alive and does much more for the local community.

At 10 a.m. on Monday through Friday on 95.3 FM, neighbors in the local community call in.

“The Trading Post is just one of those things that, its tested format, people love to call up and buy, sell or trade and just chat about their neighbors and have fun,” Jack Daniels, one of the hosts, said.

Jack said they squeeze in around 30 calls a day.

“Talking to people in this community that call into the show is also such a blessing because people are looking for things, they’re trying to sell things, they just want to say hi, and it’s just a really good service,” “Miss Sarah” Keaton, the other host, said.

Finding a locally-owned radio station is somewhat difficult to do nowadays. However, the Bobcat’s 500-foot antenna has a long reach in this part of the state.

“We get into about 24 counties,” Dennis Royer Sr., the station owner, said.

The station is firmly planted in their local community. [Continue reading full article…]

BBC TV archive clip of 1949 ham radio contact (Southgate ARC)

On October 6, 2021, the BBC Archive shared a clip of a news item about a radio amateur’s reception of BBC TV pictures in Cape Town, South Africa in 1949, it includes an on-air contact

The BBC news item describes the remarkable reception of BBC television pictures from Alexandra Palace, London on 45 MHz by Henry Rieder ZS1P in Cape Town, South Africa.
The clip features a contact between Mr C. G. Allen G8IG of Bromley, Kent and Henry ZS1P in which G8IG asks Henry questions about the TV reception.

See the BBC Archive Tweet and video at
https://twitter.com/BBCArchive/status/1445803539431841792

This SARL PDF mentions that reading about Henry ZS1P’s achievement in the magazine Radio ZS inspired Mike Bosch ZS2FM to receive the BBC TV transmissions in 1956. There is a brief description of the equipment used, see
http://www.sarl.org.za/members/HallofFame/PDF/ARHOF%20Mike%
20Bosch%20ZS2FM.pdf

See the EI7GL post from 2019
https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2019/10/example-of-bbc-tv-signal-at-45-mhz.html

The BBC World Service has published its performance review covering the period of 2016 – 2020 (Southgate ARC)

During the period covered by this review, the total reach of BBC World Service has grown significantly, by 42 percent, from 246 million people on average each week in March 2016 to 351 million people in March 2020.

In addition to supporting audiences across the world with trusted journalism, BBC World Service brings benefits to the UK. Its international expertise enhances the BBC’s UK news services by bringing unique insights to coverage on world events, helping UK audiences to understand what is going on in the world.
UK audiences agree that the World Service helps to inform UK audiences about international events and the UK’s place in the world better than any other brand.

Media Centre release here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2021/bbc-world-service-five-year-review

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