(Source: NPR via Eric McFadden)
NPR’s Ari Shapiro talks to Brigitte Alepin, the creator of “Radio Dodo,” or Sleepytime Radio, a program that creates bedtime stories for Syrian refugees.
Click here to read the full transcript or listen to the story via NPR.
(Source: BBC via Mike Barraclough)
Paddy Feeny, the legendary voice of “Saturday Special” (now Sportsworld) for 36 years has sadly passed away aged 87 after a short illness. Paddy hosted the show from 1959 until his retirement back in 1995. BBC correspondent Mike Costello was a colleague of his, and remembers him with admiration as a genius, pioneer and meticulous professional.
The Sangean HDR-14 AM/FM HD radio
For the past week, I’ve been away from home spending time with my mother at the hospital while she recovers from a surgery. I’ve got a number of reviews and evaluations in the pipeline, but thankfully no shortwave or HF radios on the table this week (although the ELAD FDM-S3 and CommRadio CTX-10 are just around the corner). Listening to shortwave (or even mediumwave) in a hospital room can be an exercise in futility–there are just too many devices emitting noise and the buildings are built like bunkers with incredibly thick walls to attenuate signals.
I’ve had the little Sangean HDR-14 with me, however, and have been very pleased with its ability to snag FM stations both analog and digital. I’ve also had fun discovering a surprisingly diverse FM landscape in this metro area. I haven’t snagged an AM HD station yet, but my hope is one evening I might DX one (fingers crossed and not holding my breath).
The Sangean HDR-14 (left) and CC Skywave SSB (right)
At the end of most days, I’ve been able to catch a little shortwave action with my CC Skywave SSB (pre-production) portable at the guest house where I’m staying. The evenings have been surprisingly peaceful here with only the occasional popup thunderstorm to insert a little QRN in my listening sessions.
Last night, while listening to jazz on FM, I finished reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (affiliate link).
We’ve mentioned this book before and I know of at least dozen SWLing Post contributors and friends who’ve personally recommended it to me.
It is a superb novel and will, no doubt, tug at the heart strings of any radio enthusiast or WWII history buff. Highly recommended!
Indeed, last night I couldn’t fall asleep until I finished the book around 12:30 AM!
And mom? She’s recovering quite well and we hope will be discharged from the hospital soon.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, London Shortwave, for sharing the following Have Your Say review of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific:
Review of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific – Terms of Reference
The Government is undertaking a review of Australian media services in the Asia Pacific, including the role of shortwave radio. The review is being conducted jointly by the Department of Communications and the Arts and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Purpose
The objective of the review is to assess the reach of Australia’s media in the Asia Pacific region, including examining whether shortwave radio technology should be used.
Scope
The review will analyse the:
- coverage and access of existing Australian media services in the Asia Pacific region; and
- use and value of Australian shortwave technology in the Asia Pacific region.The review will cover:
- all media distribution platforms (i.e. television, radio and online);
- commercial, community and publicly funded services; and
- different types of technologies such as analogue, digital and satellite radio and television services and online services.
Have your say
Interested stakeholders in Australia and overseas are encouraged to contribute to this review. Submissions on any aspect of the review should be uploaded to the review website by 3 August 2018.
Timeframe
The review is expected to report to the Government in 2018.
Background
In September 2017 the Government agreed to conduct a review of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Services as follows:
“The Department of Communications and the Arts and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will conduct a review into the reach of Australian broadcasting services in the Asia Pacific region, including examining whether shortwave radio technology should be used. The review will include public consultation and the report of the review will be made public.”
Consultation Period:
June 04, 2018 09:00 AEST to August 03, 2018 17:00 AESTThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation ceased shortwave broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region in January 2017 ahead of a transition to FM transmission.
The review is assessing the reach of Australia’s media in the Asia-Pacific region, including examining whether shortwave radio technology should be used.
All media distribution platforms – television, radio and online – are being examined including commercial, community and publicly funded services.
The review is also looking at different types of technologies such as analogue, digital and satellite radio and television services and online services.
Click here to view this information and participate via the Have Your Say website.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, William Lee, who shares the following article from Radioinfo.com.au:
Radio Tomorrow with James Cridland
We believe that the days when all media will be distributed over the internet are not too far away.”
Those are the words of the BBC’s Chief Technology and Product Officer, the very nice Matthew Postgate, who made a long speech which the BBC has reproduced on its press site. Digital TV Europe excitedly reported it as the BBC predicting an all-IP future.
I tweeted this last week, and it was retweeted heavily, with a lot of radio people posting “I told you so!” and “I’ve been saying this for ages!”; and a few online radio companies jumped to self-promote themselves as part of the all-IP future.
Calm down, everyone.
First, as a former senior manager at the BBC, I’d start with the seemingly trite statement that whenever you hear “we” coming from a BBC manager in a speech, what they really mean is, firstly, “my department”, and secondly, in most cases, they also mean “television”. Indeed, there is no mention of radio in the section of Matthew’s speech which talks about an all-IP future.
Radio and television are very, very different.[…]
Photo by Rafal Jedrzejek
(Source: The Guardian via Larry W)
Insomniacs across the world give the nod to John Watson, who has ambient music producers queueing up to feature on his channel
John Watson is the first to admit that his DJ skills put people to sleep. Luckily for him, that is the point.
For the past four years Watson, who lives in the tiny New Zealand township of Te Aroha, has been broadcasting to the world. But instead of seeking an engaged listenership, Watson wants those who tune into his station to literally fall asleep. And they do.
People from as far away as Afghanistan, Israel, Russia, Hungary, Taiwan and Puerto Rico log on to Watson’s station Sleep Radio. Someone in Prague has been listening for three days straight.
The idea of a radio station that sends listeners to sleep came to Watson after he had a heart attack 10 years ago. Following five coronary artery bypasses he began to suffer from chronic depression and insomnia.
“I never used to have trouble going to sleep but now I was lying awake watching the sun rise and feeling like a zombie,” he said.[…]
Click here to continue reading the full article at The Guardian online.
Click here to to check out Sleep Radio’s website and listen to their streaming audio.
Listen to Sleep Radio via TuneIn Radio by clicking here or via the embedded player below:
Many thanks to @experimradio who notes that Michael Pack has been nominated as CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and shares the following information links.
Michael Pack’s nomination announcement via WhiteHouse.gov:
NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:
Veronica Daigle, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense, vice Frederick Vollrath, resigned.
Peter A. Feldman, of the District of Columbia, to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission for the remainder of the term expiring October 26, 2019, vice Joseph P. Mohorovic.
Karen Dunn Kelley, of Pennsylvania, to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce, vice Bruce H. Andrews, resigned
Brian A. Nichols, of Rhode Island, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Michael Pack, of Maryland, to be Chief Executive Officer of the Broadcasting Board of Governors for the term of three years. (New Position)
Elad L. Roisman, of Maine, to be a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission for a term expiring June 5, 2023, vice Michael Sean Piwowar, resigned.
Geoffrey Adam Starks, of Kansas, to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission for a term of five years from July 1, 2017, vice Mignon L. Clyburn, term expired.
Casey Wardynski, of Alabama, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Army, vice Debra S. Wada.
Michael Pack’s biography via The Claremont Institute:
Michael Pack,
Manifold Productions (Photo: The Claremont Institute)Michael Pack is a Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute, formerly serving as president from 2015 to 2017. Pack founded Manifold Productions, an independent film and television production company, in 1977.
Mr. Pack has written, directed, and produced numerous award-winning, nationally broadcast documentaries, principally for PBS, as well as corporate and educational films. His major credits include: Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power, narrated by Joan Allen (2014); Rediscovering Alexander Hamilton hosted by Richard Brookhiser (2011); God and the Inner City, narrated by Phylicia Rashad (2003); Rediscovering George Washington, hosted by Richard Brookhiser (2002); The Fall of Newt Gingrich, narrated by Blair Brown (2000);The Rodney King Incident: Race and Justice in America, narrated by Robert Prosky (1998); Inside the Republican Revolution: The First Hundred Days, hosted by Don Lambro (1995); Hollywood vs. Religion, hosted by Michael Medved (1995); Campus Culture Wars: Five Stories about Political Correctness, narrated by Lindsay Crouse (1993); and Hollywood’s Favorite Heavy: Businessmen on Prime Time TV, hosted by Eli Wallach (1987).
From 2003-2006, Mr. Pack served as senior vice president for television programming at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, where he restructured the programming department and launched several new initiatives. These included: America at a Crossroads (a series of 20 documentary films addressing issues facing America in the wake of the attacks of 9/11) and the American History and Civics Initiative (innovative, new media designed to address the crisis of historical amnesia in middle and high school students).
In 2002, President Bush nominated and the Senate confirmed Mr. Pack to serve on the National Council on the Humanities, which oversees the National Endowment for the Humanities. He served from July 2002 to February 2005.
In 1993, Mr. Pack served as co-chair of the International TV Council at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In this capacity, he oversaw the Council’s efforts to determine the feasibility of launching a cooperative program between American public television producers and stations and their counterparts in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Previously, Mr. Pack received a political appointment as director of WORLDNET, the U.S. Information Agency’s global satellite network. WORLDNET produced, acquired, and distributed programs to over 127 countries and over 200 cities on all continents twenty-four hours a day. WORLDNET, now called VOA-TV, has merged with the Voice of America.
Mr. Pack attended Yale College, the University of California at Berkeley, and studied film at New York University.
