Tag Archives: RCI

Sackville Tribune-Post reports on dismantling of RCI site

Radio Canada International's Sackville, New Brunswick shortwave transmitter site. (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Many thanks to Ken Reitz for sharing this:

(Source: Sackville Tribune-Post)

A piece of local history is slowly disappearing as crews dismantle the former Radio Canada International transmission towers on the marsh near Sackville, N.B.

The towers, erected prior to the Second World War, were declared obsolete in October 2012 after the CBC ended its shortwave service because of changing technology and the use of the Internet and satellite radio.

When no use was found for the facility the decision was made to have the towers dismantled.

“It’s really sad to see it coming down, there are so many great memories working there,” said former manager David Horyl, who spent more than 35 years working at the facility on the marsh. “It’s really going to change the look of thing over there. It’s quite a landmark.”

[Continue reading…]

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Listener Post: Karen Shenfeld

Karen Shenfeld’s radio story is the latest in our series called Listener Posts, where I will place all of your personal radio histories and memories. If you would like to add your story to the mix, simply send your story by email!

In the meantime, many thanks to Karen for sharing this radio memory from her travels in the Sahara:


Karen Shenfeld

" I was in fact singing "The Hills are Alive With The Sound of Music" at the time.... I am on top of a hill in the Hoggar Mountains outside of Tamanrasset, in the middle of the Sahara."

“I was in fact singing ‘The Hills are Alive With The Sound of Music’ at the time…. I am on top of a hill in the Hoggar Mountains outside of Tamanrasset, in the middle of the Sahara.”

I have been doing some research about short wave radio and I wanted to tell you that I have loved reading many of your blogs/posts, here and elsewhere.  I was especially moved by an article that you wrote for DXer.ca about the shutting down of Radio Canada International.

And I wanted to share this with you: About 28 years ago or so, my husband I hitchhiked across the Sahara desert through Algeria. We stayed in many remote oasis villages, including Reggane. At Reggane, the paved road ends, and from there you must follow tracks in the sand for hundreds of miles in order to reach Timbuktu in Mali (or turn east toward In Salah to follow tracks in the sand south to Niger, which we did).

Location of Reggane within Algeria

Location of Reggane within Algeria

In Reggane we stayed for several days with an Algerian family. The husband was from further north in Algeria; his wife was a Tuareg. In this man’s home I remember staying up late at night with him, drinking mint tea under the stars in the courtyard of his adobe home, and listening to Radio Canada International.

Our host was a very intelligent man, who really appreciated staying current with the world’s events, and not relying upon censored Algerian papers — when they were even available in such a remote place.


Karen Shenfeld (Photo credit: Karen Shenfeld via the University of Toronto)

Karen Shenfeld (Photo credit: Karen Shenfeld via the University of Toronto)

Karen is a poet and traveler; she has crossed the Sahara Desert from north to south through Algeria, travelled the length of the Congo River in Africa by riverboat, and voyaged through India, from Kashmir to Kerala. You can read a selection of her poetry via the University of Toronto Library website: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/shenfeld/

Karen is currently writing a poem about shortwave radio for a friend–the process has rekindled her interest in this magic medium.

Happy listening, Karen!

Click here to read our growing collection of Listener Posts, and consider submitting your own!

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Thoughts after the Canadian RCI/CBC Senate hearing

CBC-RCI-HearingLast night, I listened to a live stream of the Canadian senate hearings regarding last year’s Radio Canada International cuts to shortwave radio. CBC president Hubert LaCroix and RCI director Michelle Parent met remarkably little criticism or resistance in the hearing, and it appears the report to the senate will be nothing short of cheerleading for the CBC. Indeed, the hearing’s tone overall was one of self-congratulation.

The decision to cut RCI in this manner is a prime example of a few officials with all-too-limited knowledge making decisions in the absence of experts’ input.  The business decision seemed to them essentially sound, and yet the impact of the decision has far-reaching negative consequences–for Canadians and as well as the rest of the world–that these officials may never fully comprehend.

Notes from the hearing:

  • All but one senator patted CBC and RCI management on the back for becoming more innovative in the wake of devastating budget cuts; only one suggested that such innovation could have been achieved prior to them
  • No one asked if the CBC explored the possibility of scaling back shortwave services without closing the Sackville, NB transmitter site and eliminating shortwave broadcasts altogether, which would have been a much better use of funds as well as maintaining foreign relations and domestic security
  • Hubert LaCroix basically suggested that people living in oppressed regions could gain access to RCI via mobile platforms (sadly, this is not the case)
  • When asked how cuts to shortwave have effected their listenership and demographic, LaCroix basically shrugged his shoulders and pointed out how difficult it is to judge how many people listen on shortwave.  (My response: What areas of our world lack a power grid infrastructure? Fully 1/4 of our planet.  These are the underserved who rely heavily on shortwave)
  • No one inquired about the impact upon their Chinese audience, as RCI’s website is blocked in China; meanwhile, shortwave continues to be comparatively impermeable to firewalls and is untraceable in restrictive countries

Monsieur LaCroix made it clear that the primary CBC mandate is to be a creative, innovative media force within Canada. For him, and most of CBC management, Radio Canada International must have felt like a leech to their dwindling budget. Were I in his position, with limited information and a mandate to protect his main “client” set (Canadians living in Canada)–I might have made the same decision.   And yet…it was the wrong one.

What would have solved the problem in the first place?  Radio Canada International should have been its own entity, with its own budget to manage, however modest–and if anything, funded through the foreign office rather than the domestic public news/entertainment body. After all, what RCI accomplished on shortwave was far more humanitarian and diplomatic in nature.

I’ve written at length about the RCI cuts and will not go into them further on this post. But I do believe RCI Sackville could have been a more efficient and productive operation if it employed some sensible changes. Sackville had just finished installing a (paid-for) technology infrastructure to remotely operate the entire transmitter site. Moreover, Sackville management told me they had planned to cut their staff to a skeleton crew (of three people, if memory serves), only to be there if something mechanical on site needed service. These new adjustments were not even tried.

Additionally, using a market model, RCI/Sackville could have offered their relay services to more broadcasters at competitive (even market) rates. Their hourly rate to broadcast on shortwave was simply too high, thus potential customers sought more efficient cost-effective transmission sites. Sackville was never given the tools to become a self-funding operation like so many private broadcasters have become.

Sackville’s infrastructure was an incomparably valuable resource in which many millions in taxpayer money was already invested and paid in full; sadly, these cuts have destroyed this investment.  The Sackville site, moreover, had the potential of a sleeping army, both in foreign affairs…and in Canadian security.  But it’s gone.  Simply because a few politicians doing their near-best didn’t have all the relevant information.

RCIFor what it’s worth

RCI still has some great talent on board. Canadian expats living abroad, and those  who are connected to the web, can still enjoy RCI via the website or on mobile platforms. That is an audience that may actually expand through a social media presence–something they could have done more effectively prior to the budget cuts last year.

I was also encouraged to hear that there is a serious effort to distribute RCI’s online audio content–free of charge–to broadcasters in local radio stations around the world. This is very positive: FM, though not as accessible as shortwave in Africa, has a strong community following and stations are appearing everywhere. I hope RCI has a dedicated employee whose sole focus is to identify and build connections with these local outlets for their content.

Barring a takeover or drastic re-organization, it sounds like Radio Canada International over shortwave is now destined for the history books. To honor this history, I sincerely hope the new RCI innovates and penetrates new markets. And I hope RCI employees, many of whom have long memories, find challenge and renewed confidence going forward. We certainly appreciate all of the years during which they graced the shortwaves, and wish them all the best.

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Spectres of Shortwave: RCI Sackville documentary seeks support

1-IMG_2274Last year, we mentioned that a documentary film featuring the RCI Sackville transmitter site was in the works. Fortunately, artist/film maker Amanda Dawn Christie, is on track for production of Spectres of Shortwave. Though the film has already received $70,000 in cash funding and $17,500 in services, they need an additional $10,000 to cover incidentals, so they’ve launched an indiegogo campaign.

Consider helping them along the way with even a modest contribution by visiting their indiegogo campaign page.

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Radio Canada International’s first broadcast 68 years ago

RCI(Source: RCI Action)

Canada’s international radio service started officially on February 25, 1945 with an address by Canada’s Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, followed by Justice Minister Louis St-Laurent (in French) and then by Howard B. Chase, chairman of the CBC board of governors[…]

Read the full article and listen to the broadcast on the RCI Action website.

Click here to listen to the first broadcast on the CBC website.

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Media Network Plus interviews RCI shortwave supporter, Senator Hugh Segal

Senator Hugh Segal

PCJ’s Media Network Plus interviewed Senator Hugh Segal last week.  As we mentioned previously, Senator Segal made a motion that the CBC be made accountable for the unfair proportion of cuts imposed on Radio Canada International earlier this year.

I found Segal’s thoughts regarding the future of Radio Canada International articulate and accurate. If you’ve been following the RCI Sackville story, you will appreciate this interview as well.

You can listen to the interview on PCJ Media’s website, or by downloading the mp3 by clicking here.

Again, if you haven’t signed our petition to save Radio Canada International’s Sackville transmission site, please consider adding your voice and sharing this with your friends! Click here to sign the petition!

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RNZ interviews RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda: Shutting off the shortwave

Radio New Zealand’s Bryan Crump, host of  Nights, interviewed RCI Action Committee spokesperson, Wojtek Gwiazda today. It’s an excellent and insightful interview.

Thank you, Mike, for the tip!

You can download the audio from the show here, or simply use the embedded player below:

From RNZ:

Wojtek Gwiazda is host and producer of Masala Canada at Radio Canada International, and spokesperson of the RCI Action Committee. Wojtek is still fighting to try and retain the ability to broadcast in shortwave with the very recent shut-down of the shortwave transmitters of Radio Canada International.

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