Category Archives: International Broadcasting

ABC Radio staff memo outlines cuts to external service

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Jonathan Marks, who has posted a letter by Michael Mason (Acting Director of ABC Radio) to the staff of ABC. Mason’s letter outlines changes to Radio Australia’s external service. His key points:

Radio Australia will continue to broadcast a 24/7 schedule built on a deeper collaboration with ABC News and ABC Radio and through collaboration with SBS.
Pacific Beat continues, as do RA’s hourly news bulletins.
Radio Australia will work with colleagues in ABC Radio and ABC News to identify and deliver a sustainable and engaging English program service that will appeal to our International audiences.
Language services in Tok Pisin, Khmer and Burmese will be delivered through a mix of reduced original content coupled with translated ABC content and content from SBS. The model for the French language service remains under consideration.
Asia Pacific and Asia Review will cease production as will the Mornings program.
Shortwave transmission of RA remains unchanged for the time being.

Read the full letter on Jonathan’s website, Critical Distance.

Follow news about the cuts to Radio Australia by bookmarking the tag: RA Cuts

John’s summary of Radio Australia cuts

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John Figliozzi, author of The Worldwide Listening Guide, recently posted his summary of Radio Australia cuts on several radio discussion groups. He is also kindly sharing this summary on the SWLing Post. John writes:

Here’s what I’ve been able to assemble from various sources that I consider reliable about what can only be described as a truly catastrophic situation for Radio Australia. Keep in mind that RA management is left with few options, none of them good, in its efforts to preserve and maintain anything resembling a viable service for its regional and international audiences.

The English Language Programming department (ELP) is effectively gutted. The only remaining RA productions in English appear to be some hourly news bulletins and the Pacific Beat program. All else, including the excellent Asia Pacific program, ceases.

At least for the time being, RA intends to maintain a 24/7 English language service by pulling all of its content from ABC Radio domestic sources (except for the morsels described above). A revised ELP schedule is in preparation and will be announced and implemented shortly.

Language services in Tok Pisin, Vietnamese, Khmer, Chinese, French and Burmese appear to remain but only in some skeletal form since about 3/4 to 4/5 of those staffs are to be axed. Again, it appears the plan is to pull some content from domestic sources, this time from SBS whose administration is likely to be housed with what’s left of RA at Southbank in Melbourne as indicated in a previous press report.

As unbelievable as this may sound, the situation is so dire and so immediate that there will be a culling of half of the journalists on staff via a random process — no evaluations, experience, records of achievement or years of service considered.

No reduction in shortwave schedules has yet been indicated, but it’s hard to see how that continues unaffected and unabated beyond anything but the very short term.

Personally, I will reserve comment on all this at this time and let the facts speak for themselves. However, some of you will be aware of my admiration and appreciation for Radio Australia over the decades so you are free to draw your own conclusions in that regard.

John Figliozzi
The Worldwide Listening Guide
wwlgonline.com

Many thanks, John. I have also heard that shortwave services–at least broadcast hours–have not yet been affected. The content, obviously, will be more ABC National focused. How long will they continue shortwave services? Time will tell.

Follow news about the cuts to Radio Australia by bookmarking this tag: RA Cuts

Follow John Figliozzi on his Worldwide Listening Guide blog.

Crikey: English language staff may be cut from Radio Australia

Radio Australia facing serious cuts

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One of my favorite broadcasters, Radio Australia, is facing severe cuts as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s international broadcasting budget of $35 million is being cut in more than half.

Below, I’ve copied excerpts from two news sources with links.

I will post updates with the tag: RA Cuts

(Source: The Australian via Richard Cuff)

THE ABC will confirm a wave of job cuts today, with Radio Australia’s services the first major victim.

A management proposal for a new “converged service” for its international broadcasting outlets will be outlined to staff today as the ABC rearranges its overseas obligations after the axing of the Australia Network television service.

(Source: International Business Times)

It is a sad day for the mainstream radio industry in Australia on Monday, July 14, as Radio Australia anticipates major job cuts. However, this fact-of-life among employees of being axed during hard times could be an opportunity for broadcasters to try new platforms to continue with their careers.

The job cuts at Australia Network television service is part of its management’s proposal for a new converged services for the network’s international broadcasting outlets.

Speculations on the jobs to be shed has created fear among Radio Australia workers and Australia Network as the employees anticipate a number of its services within the region abandoned with the planned reduction of the public broadcaster’s $35 million yearly budget for international broadcasting to shrink to just $15 million.

To worsen matter for the affected radio staff, the job cuts would be on top of redundancies at Australia Network and shutter of the transmission in September after finishing only one year of its 10-year agreement with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Also expected to get the axe are Radio Australia’s language service, while ABC News 24 will remain the foundation of the international service with some specialised news and current affairs content on the service.

[Continue reading at the International Business Times website.]

China Radio International warbling on Dave’s home brew receiver

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My buddy and SWLing Post reader, Dave Richards (AA7EE), wrote several weeks ago with an interesting comment:

“I was just now tuning around the 31M band on a [regenerative receiver] that I am putting the finishing touches on, and noticed that the audio from China Radio International on 9790KHz was not only cutting in and out, but was also warbling, as if the program was being played from a tape machine with a slipping pinch wheel.

I’m finding it a bit hard to believe that in this day and age, a country like China would be using tape machines in their studios still, but am trying to figure out what other explanation there could be for this. The warbling doesn’t sound as if it is being caused by the propagation. Have you heard this before?

I have attached a short recording. Please excuse the bassy audio – I need to modify the receiver circuit to provide some bass roll-off.”

Click here for Dave’s recording or listen below:

I agree with Dave; it sounds like CRI is playing from a tape deck with a slipping pinch wheel. I’m not sure this could be a modulation issue. Perhaps it’s both? Curious what other readers think.

Warble aside, I was also very intrigued by Dave’s home brew 31 meter broadcast band regenerative receiver. I asked him for more details; he replied:

“I built another version of the WBR. The original version, as well as the first version I built, was for the 40M amateur band. I was intrigued to see how it would perform on other frequencies, so I built a version for the 31M band. The only change I need to make now is a bit of filtering to provide some rolloff of the bass frequencies, as they are hurting the intelligibility in my opinion.”

Wow! What a cool little home brew project! And many thanks to Dave for the brilliant photos of the WBR. I should mention that Dave has an excellent ham radio blog where he documents his radio projects. Indeed, check out this page for more information about the WBR broadcast band receiver.

Dave told me that he is currently working towards his goal of designing and building the “ultimate” regenerative receiver with plug-in coils for many different bands. I’ll be following him, so I encourage you to do the same by bookmarking his website.

Many thanks, Dave!

RNZI: Peter Fry says goodbye to Saturday Nights

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Peter Fry, host of Radio New Zealand National’s music request program, Saturday Night, said goodbye last night after fifteen years on the air. Many SWLing Post readers have written about their love of the program, having heard Fry’s voice over the shortwaves through Radio New Zealand International’s relay.

This morning, I received the following message from SWLing Post reader, Frank:

“I caught [Fry’s final Saturday Night broadcast] on my [Tecsun PL-660] while on watch last night.

For the last 2 months I have been ‘on passage’ from Antofagasta, Chile to Auckland on my wee boat and last night, having left Bora Bora 5 days ago bound Tonga, we were sailing through the ‘southern Cooks’.

Listened to his last program while sailing into the setting moon on a balmy tropical night right down to the last ‘goodbyeeee’.
To me its what SWLing is all about.”

He continues:

“Beats listening to the footy on RA. Beats DXing in Tristan da Cunha as well….”

I must admit, I agree, Frank. I would certainly love to be in your place: on the open water, listening to distant stations…Thanks for sharing, and safe travels to you and your crew.

And fans of the show, fear not. Though we will miss Peter, and are grateful for his years on the show. Saturday Night will continue with a new host, and I’m willing to bet that it’ll still be a treat to hear.

If you missed hearing Saturday Night, yesterday, check out the audio files below, which cover the entire final broadcast:

NY Times: Journalists “at Odds With Union” over VOA’s role

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The New York Times, in a recent article, describes a growing split between the VOA Union (American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812) and VOA journalists over the proposed changes to the VOA mission (via H.R. 4490), which would make it an active voice of American policy. (Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Marty, for sharing this relevant article).

Below is an excerpt from The Times; click here for the full article:

WASHINGTON — Voice of America journalists who are fighting to maintain what they say is their editorial independence are now at odds not only with Congress, but also with their own union.

The union, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812, recently endorsed a bill that would change language in the charter for the 72-year-old news agency and require it to actively support American policy. That came as a surprise to some Voice of America employees, who said the legislation would make them mouthpieces for government policy. They want the union to withdraw its letter of support.

“A lot of us would welcome change and reform, but not at the cost of undermining V.O.A.’s journalistic credibility,” said Jim Malone, a senior national correspondent at the government-financed news agency who is not a member of the union.

In its letter, union leaders said the agency’s managers had lost sight of their mission and were trying to turn the “V.O.A. into something they envisioned as a global variant of CNN.”

“In the end, some of the currently entrenched senior management represent a far greater threat to V.O.A.’s journalistic independence, indeed to the very existence of the V.O.A.,” the union wrote.

The danger, said the union’s president, Tim Shamble, is that the government could withdraw its financial support if the agency continued its current course. The federation represents about 40 percent of all Voice of America workers and 11 percent of the journalists in the central news division.

Continue reading…

For other posts about this topic, please follow the tag: HR4490