Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Zanotti (HB9ASQ), who has, at my request, shared a video recording of a presentation he gave to the Fairlawn ARC last year.
This is part two. If you missed part one, you can view it by clicking here. Thank you, Bob! Enjoy:
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Zanotti (HB9ASQ), who has, at my request, shared a video recording of a presentation he gave to the Fairlawn ARC last year.
This is part one. Part two will soon be released and we’ll post it on the SWLing Post as well! Thank you, Bob! Enjoy:
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Bird, who shares a link to RadioInfo that summarizes the recently-released “Review of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific” by the ABC. Micheal notes:
So what do we take from this report? No recommendations. The status quo continues although there were many respondents who would favour [shortwave radio’s] return:
“There are no formal recommendations for action, only a finding that the Government “clarify the objectives of its Asia Pacific broadcasts… in achieving Australia’s broader strategic policy objectives, as well as the target audiences for those broadcasts.”
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nigel Holmes, who writes:
Here are a couple of interesting url following the joint Australian DFAT & DCA Review of Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific. [One] gives a good overview and the [other] is a concise assessment of HF and Radio Australia in the role of broadcasting to remote areas. Have a look. Former RA Head Jean-Gabriel Manguy made a submission, I did not this time. The submissions are in the public domain.
Click here to read Trevor Bird’s submission (PDF).
Click here to read Jean-Gabriel Manguy’s submission (PDF).
(Source: Lowy Institute – The Interpreter by Geoff Heriot)
International broadcasting: the ABC vs the wisdom of the crowd
The findings of two related government reviews – on international broadcasting, and soft power – should offer an incoming Australian government the potential of a substantial policy reset following the general election in May. Specifically, they may help clarify the purpose and place of state-funded international broadcasting/digital media in Australia’s foreign relations, following a decades-long cycle of investment and dis-investment.
Shortly before Christmas, the Department of Communications published most of the 433 submissions (92 private individuals, 31 organisations or groups, and 310 signatories to a pro-forma submission) made to the first of those reviews, Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific, excluding those whose authors wished them to remain confidential. Finalisation of the broadcasting report precedes the related Soft Power Review, being undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which has proposed a completion date of around March.
So it is timely to take note of the wisdom of the crowd, as expressed through the more discursive submissions to the broadcasting review, and to compare them with the institutional perspective of the ABC as the responsible agency for international broadcasting.[…]
China Radio International will become a part of the new Voice of China.
(Source: CNN Money via Cap Tux)
Beijing has a new propaganda weapon: Voice of China
China is creating a new giant broadcaster to ensure its voice is heard loud and clear around the world.
Voice of China, as the new outlet will be known internationally, will be formed by combining three mammoth state-run national networks: China Central Television (CCTV), China National Radio and China Radio International. It will employ more than 14,000 people.
The merger was revealed in a Communist Party document on a sprawling government reorganization program, championed by President Xi Jinping to reinforce the party’s absolute control in all aspects of state governance.
State news agency Xinhua released the document Wednesday after it was approved by China’s rubber-stamp parliament.
With echos of the Voice of America radio service created by the US government during World War II, Voice of China is tasked with “propagating the party’s theories, directions, principles and policies” as well as “telling good China stories,” according to the document.
It will be under the direct control of the party’s central propaganda department.
The new broadcast juggernaut is being formed at a time when Chinese authorities face growing challenges to control their message in the age of the internet and social media. They are making strenuous efforts to maintain strict censorship at home while pouring money into propaganda projects abroad.[…]
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who notes that Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty have added a new transmitter in Lithuania:
(Source: The Baltic Course)
A new transmitter will be launched in Lithuania this week for broadcasting the Russian and Belarusian-language services of the US Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) aimed at countering Russian propaganda, reports LETA/BNS.
It will replace a 52-year-old transmitter in Sitkunai, close to Kaunas, that has been transmitting programs for listeners in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova at a lower quality.
The medium wave (AM) transmitter was manufactured some five years ago and was used by the US Defense Department in Western Germany to broadcast a radio program for American troops stationed abroad.
The transmitting power of the new device is set at 75 kilowatts, the same as that of the old one, but it can be increased up to 300 kilowatts if needed, Rimantas Pleikys, the owner of Radio Baltic Waves International, said.[…]
Kim noted that the US Embassy in Vilnius also reported on the RFE tower dedication. Click here to read the post.
Thanks for sharing, Kim!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jonathan Marks, who shares the following details about the ‘Keep in touch with the Dutch’: Symposium marking the ninetieth anniversary of international radio broadcasting in the Netherlands, 1927-2017:
(Source: Historici.nl via Jonathan Marks)
‘Keep in touch with the Dutch’:
Symposium marking the ninetieth anniversary of international radio broadcasting in the Netherlands, 1927-2017
Thursday 1 June 2017, 2-5pm
Doelenzaal, Singel 425 Amsterdam
On 1 June 1927 Queen Wilhelmina officially inaugurated international radio broadcasting from the Netherlands with a speech to listeners in the Dutch colonies. This transmission attracted attention from all over the world as it was one of the first times that sound had been transmitted via radio waves across such a distance. In the decades that followed Dutch radio-makers continued to play a pioneering role in international broadcasting, experimenting with new technologies and programming formats. This symposium aims to highlight several themes from this rich history and explore source-materials in order to think about a research agenda in this field and new broadcasting techniques in the digital age.
Program
- 2.00-2.15pm: Vincent Kuitenbrouwer (University of Amsterdam)
Introduction- 2.15-2.45pm: Bas Agterberg (Beeld en Geluid)
Everybody Happy? Archiving RNW and the Heritage of Eddy Startz at Sound and Vision- 2.45-3.00pm: break
- 3.00-3.30pm: Jonathan Marks (CEO Critical Distance)
International Radio Broadcasting in the Era of Amazon Echo- 3.30-4.00pm: Rocus de Joode (Independent Consultant at JRCC)
The Importance of Shortwave, the Madagascar Relay station Now and Then- 4.00-4.15pm: break
- 4.15-5.00pm: Panel: International radio in the digital age
– Alec Badenoch (University of Utrecht/Vrije Universiteit): Radio Garden
– Leon Willems and Suzanne Bakker (Free Press Unlimited): Radio Dabanga- 5.00-6.00pm: drinks reception
Please register
Vincent Kuitenbrouwer, History Department, University of Amsterdam
Email: [email protected]This symposium is sponsored by the Amsterdam School of Historical Studies (ASH) and the Modern History Research Group
If I lived within a reasonable distance of Amsterdam, I would certainly attend this afternoon symposium. Impressive line-up!
Thank you for sharing, Jonathan!