Category Archives: News

BBC World Service audience dwindling in transition to internet-based media

A lesson here is when you pull out of shortwave radio broadcasts you lose very large swatches of listeners–especially when many in your audience lack access to the internet.

(Source: Journalism.co.uk)

The BBC World Service’s global audience has dropped by 14 million in the past year, according to the broadcaster.

Overall audience for the year has been estimated at 166 million, down from 180 million last year.

However, it claims online the World Service’s audience has risen by 40 per cent in the past 12 months.

In the BBC World Service annual report, published today, the broadcaster blamed the overall fall on the numerous service closures and changes which were implemented following cuts to its funding.

Read full article at Journalism.co.uk.

Shortwave plays vital roll in Somalia

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I found this BBC profile on Somalia quite indicative of many countries in Africa. In light of cuts that the BBC World Service has been facing, this short article, about Somalia’s fragmented media landscape, admits that shortwave plays a vital roll in domestic news.

The TV and press sectors are weak and radio is the dominant medium. There are around 20 radio stations, but no national, domestic broadcaster. Many listeners tune to Somali-language media based abroad, in particular the BBC Somali service. The latter is available on shortwave, and via FM relays in Mogadishu (91.1), the Somaliland capital Hargeisa (89.0), and elsewhere.

They go on to say:

The Somali diaspora – in the West, the Gulf states and elsewhere – sustains a rich internet presence. But domestic web access is hampered by practicalities such as limited access to mains electricity. There were 102,000 internet users by September 2009 (Internetworldstats). In secessionist Somaliland and Puntland the authorities maintain a tight hold on broadcasting.

Shortwave listeners in Somalia, one should note, also listen to the likes of the Voice of America, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Radio France International and many others. Most of whom are facing cuts right now as national budgets are being tightened in the economic recession. To those living in Somalia, where the media is fragmented and untrustworthy, shortwave radio represents a lifeline of information.

As we mentioned in this previous post, please consider speaking up on behalf of those without a voice. Let international broadcasters and their governing bodies know how crucial shortwave services are into impoverished regions of the world.

All India Radio on DRM track

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As we’ve mentioned before, it appears AIR (All India Radio) may soon be a leader in digital radio in all forms, including shortwave. This, from the Deccan Herald:

The government plans to launch a 24-hour news broadcast channel of All India Radio (AIR) as part of its sweeping modernisation programme in the next five years.

AIR will also witness a complete digitisation of its studios, transmissions and connectivity across the country by 2017 according to plans by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. With a view to improving efficiency and broadcast quality, the government will replace old and obsolete equipment besides enhancing AIR’s infrastructure by refurbishing its studios.

[…]While the reach of the national channel is proposed to be extended to the whole of the country, the external services of the AIR will also be strengthened through digitalisation of shortwave transmitters.

Read the full article at the Deccan Herald. Thanks to @kaedotcom (Kim Elliot) for the tip!

BBC strike next week

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BBC journalists have announced that they will strike next week in protest of the mandatory lay-offs/redundancies which will greatly reduce the BBC World Service staff.

(Source: Journalism.co.uk)

Journalists at the BBC have announced they will take strike action next week in a dispute over compulsory redundancies.

Members of the National Union of Journalists voted in favour of strike action earlier this week, with 72 per cent of those who voted saying they would be prepared to strike.

According to the NUJ, more than 100 people are at risk of compulsory redundancy at the BBC World Service.

Union members are also said to be at risk in divisions including BBC Monitoring, BBC Scotland and potentially at BBC Wales, BBC 4, BBC Sport and TV Current Affairs.

Today the union confirmed a one-day walk out will take place on 15 July.

Read full article at Journalism.co.uk.

CNN reports on new Voice of Russia studios in DC

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Many long-time shortwave listeners may find it ironic that the likes of Voice of Russia now broadcasts from a studio in downtown Washington DC. I just read this news article posted on CNN about VOR’s new presence:

Jordan Hostetter doesn’t know it, but he’s a target. He’s a young professional living in Washington, curious about international events and listens to the radio while driving to work — just the kind of person Voice of Russia radio is trying to reach.

Changing American hearts and minds about Russia has been Voice of Russia’s mission since it first went on the air in 1929, broadcasting from Moscow via short-wave radio. It still does use short wave but with the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, that seems like a blast from the past.

It goes on to mention how, long-time rival, Voice of America has gone totally digital. Not totally true, in fact, but VOA is putting a major effort into moving off of the shortwave bands. As we mentioned previously, in their shortwave sunset plans, the BBG plans to keep shortwave alive in parts of the world where free speech is suppressed and where shortwave is the only option. They will, most likely, rent broadcasting time from other providers and shut down VOA-run facilities.

What was notable in this CNN article was a tidbit about a VOA attempt to do what their Russian counterpart is doing:

VOA says it tried to get a license to […] broadcast on local Russian radio in Russian to Russians. But Elez Biberaj, VOA’s Eurasia division director, says it was prevented from affiliating with Russian radio and television stations “because of threats and because of the pressure that the government brings on license holders.”

So, I guess, VOA will take on this objective with a web presence?

No doubt, our international broadcasting field is changing. I believe we’ll see more broadcasters following VOR and CRI’s local vector. Perhaps, in fact, this is just what our AM band needs.

Silicon Labs ships one billionth DSP radio chip

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Silicon Labs, the chip manufacturer behind some of the best portable shortwave radios in the market (including Tecsun and Grundig) has sold its one billionth DSP radio chip. Silicon Labs has been one of the best things to happen to the portable shortwave market this century. Their DSP chips lower the production cost of radios and enhance the performance with Digital Signal Processing.

I eagerly await the new Tecsun R-2010–an analog radio with the Silicon Labs’ Si483x DSP chip. Not only will it enhance the performance of this basic analog radio, but it should also decrease production costs by as much as 80%!

Here is the full SiLabs press release:

Industry’s First CMOS “Radio-on-a-Chip” ICs Widely Adopted in Leading Consumer Electronics and Automotive Designs

Reaching a major milestone in the broadcast audio market, Silicon Laboratories Inc [2]. (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today announced that it has shipped its one billionth broadcast radio IC. Silicon Labs’ digital CMOS broadcast radios are widely used in handsets, portable media players (PMPs), personal navigation devices (PNDs), automotive infotainment systems, tabletop and bedside radios, portable radios, boom boxes and numerous other consumer electronics products.

Silicon Labs introduced the industry’s first single-chip FM receiver in 2005. As the industry’s smallest, highest performance and most integrated FM broadcast radio IC, the Si4700 [3] IC redefined how FM tuners were designed into consumer electronics products. At that time, traditional broadcast audio solutions were based on complex, costly analog architectures that required more than 30 discrete components. The highly integrated Si4700 revolutionized broadcast radio designs by offering exceptional, highly flexible performance, while simultaneously reducing component count by more than 90 percent and board space by more than 60 percent.

Over the past six years, Silicon Labs has rapidly expanded its broadcast audio portfolio [4] to more than 40 distinct products including FM radio receivers, FM radio transmitters/transceivers, AM/FM receivers, shortwave and weather band receivers, RDS data receivers and automotive radio receivers. These products are now the broadcast radio ICs of choice for many leading consumer electronics brands.

“Silicon Labs delivered the industry’s first monolithic all-CMOS FM receiver, providing breakthrough cost, size, integration and performance for broadcast receiver applications in handsets, navigation devices, media players and consumer electronics,” said Jag Bolaria, a senior analyst at The Linley Group. “The company has continued to drive market innovation in CMOS FM transmitters and multi-band AM/FM/SW and weather-band receivers, all widely adopted in the consumer electronics, portable and automotive markets.”

Silicon Labs’ broadcast radio ICs leverage the company’s patented low-IF digital architecture, which enables the highest level of selectivity and sensitivity performance for radios, resulting in reduced interference and superior reception. In addition, Silicon Labs broadcast receivers incorporate advanced audio processing technology that delivers sound quality that is unmatched by other competing radio receiver ICs.

“Silicon Labs thrives on pioneering new ways to solve difficult system design challenges with mixed-signal technology,” said Diwakar Vishakhadatta, general manager of Silicon Labs’ broadcast audio products. “Our single-chip FM, AM/FM receiver and transceiver families are a case in point. These products have helped our customers reduce the cost and complexity of their designs while enabling more features and functionality to help them differentiate their products in the marketplace. We continue to invest and innovate around our low-IF digital architecture to remain a strategic supplier of broadcast radio technology to the industry.”

Silicon Labs has approximately 100 issued and pending worldwide patent applications in audio technologies for its AM and FM related products.

For additional information about Silicon Labs’ broadcast audio products, please visit www.silabs.com/pr/broadcast.

Radio makes us happy

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Your key to happiness

I think we radio listeners have known this all along (Source: The Telegraph):

Over 1,000 Britons were polled via their smartphones and asked to record what media they were consuming and to rate their mood and energy levels while doing so.

Radio came out top, beating both TV and online, in the study called ‘Media and the Mood of the Nation’, with respondents recording a 100 per cent lift in happiness and 300 per cent boost to their energy levels when listening to a radio show versus not consuming any type of media at all.

Watching TV and surfing the internet also significantly boosts people’s happiness and energy levels, but failed to come close to the positive effect radio listening has on Britons’ well-being.

“People are the happiest and most energetic when listening to radio. It plays an important emotional role in people’s lives,” said Mark Barber, planning director at the Radio Advertising Bureau which commissioned the research.

Read the full article hear, then turn on a radio and let the happiness begin!