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A grim picture was presented to employees and workers of the Mexican Institute of Radio (IMER), since the budget cut would technically lead to “paralysis” and a labor liability of seven million pesos before the dismissals.
In an audio, which was obtained by El Sol de México, the workers and collaborators were explained that “the IMER does not have the capacity to hire anyone. Neither in fees nor as a freelance, ” he says.
[…]But the recount of the damages that the IMER will have for the lack of resources is that “four stations will disappear in their entirety: Radio Mexico International, World Music, HD Interference and Digital Jazz. There will be no hearing advocate, which is why article 259 of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law is not followed. “
Very sad news. While RMI hasn’t been on the shortwaves since 2004, they have maintained a web presence.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who notes:
New construction – a 250 kw FEBC medium wave outlet coming southwest of Seoul. BTW, FEBC currently leases at least one hour of VOA-Korean on FEBC 1188 khz Seoul.
Communist North Korea is about to get hit with a massive new radio signal carrying the message of Christ’s love like never before.
“It’s an AM station, 250,000 watts, which will clearly cover North Korea,” said Ed Cannon, president of Far East Broadcasting Company, also known as FEBC.
For over 75 years, FEBC has been using radio signals to send the message of Jesus Christ around the world.
Cannon says this new “super station” will be erected close to the border of North and South Korea.
“We’ve secured a location on the western coast of South Korea just a few miles south of the Demilitarized Zone,” Cannon told CBN News. “It’s a perfect location because the signal goes across the ocean for a few miles and then goes right into North Korea.”
FEBC’s president says the radio signal will launch in a few months and will carry gospel programs produced from neighboring South Korea.
“The strategy of our organization is to use indigenous people in their native language to produce programming,” Cannon said. “We have a large segment of South Korean people broadcasting and we also have a number of escapees, refugees from North Korea, who’ve come to our organization.”
Cannon claims the signal will be “unblockable” by North Korea’s regime and will “reach far past the northern boundary of North Korea covering the entire country with the message of Jesus Christ.”
According to its website, FEBC’s broadcasts can be heard in 107 languages and 49 countries from 149 stations and transmitters.
“Our goal in North Korea is the same as it is in all of our other countries: to share the gospel through radio so that people will be inspired to follow Jesus Christ as their Savior,” Cannon told CBN News in an earlier interview.
North Korea is the most dangerous country in the world for Christians. Cannon says anyone caught listening to FEBC programs faces severe consequences.
“The {North Korean} refugees themselves say ‘pray for courage, pray for perseverance’ because the Christians are reaching out in ways to gather together in the Name of Christ, to pray together, to listen to the radio together, and they are willing to endure severe persecution,” Cannon told CBN News.
Each year, Open Doors USA releases their World Watch List, a ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution.
North Korea has taken the top spot for 18 years in a row.
“If Christians are discovered, not only are they deported to labor camps as political criminals or even killed on the spot, their families will share their fate as well,” Open Doors asserted on their website. “Christians do not even have the slightest space in society, on the contrary, they are publicly warned against.”
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood (K7UO), who shares the following guest post:
Bolivian Miners’ Radio Station Documentaries
Bolivian mine workers’ radio stations have long held an affinity among these Altiplano communities. Many were stations were targeted for shootings, bombings, etc. by forces loyal to earlier dictatorships. Today, few stations remain as the mining sector has declined in importance and newer generations migrate to the larger cities and lowland farming regions.
Radio Nacional de Huanuni and the Catholic church’s Radio Pio XII are two of the remaining miners’ stations with some long-standing shortwave presence; others like Chocaya’s Radio Ánimas permanently signed off with the mining center’s closing.
Two documentaries have been made about this earlier Bolivian miners’ broadcasting movement. The first one is a 30-minute 1983 UNESCO documentary entitled “La Voz del Minero” (“The Voice of the Miner”). This grainy 16-mm Spanish-language documentary fortunately has been ported to YouTube. The film features audio and video clips from several stations including Radio Nacional de Huanuni, Radio Pio XII, Radio Ánimas and Radio Vanguardia. Sharp eyes will notice at the 26-minute point a console-mounted Hammarlund HQ receiver in Radio Pio XII’s studios.
The second documentary is from 2017 but remains in limited release. It includes many interviews/images. The film is called “Las Voces del Socavón” (“Voices of the Tunnels) by Argentine filmmakers Magalí Vela Vázquez and Julia Delfini.
Listening to the Huanuni station you will hear 1970’s-era taped IDs listing the shortwave channel. Evenings and Sundays are the best times for those flashback moments.
A larger complex topic read is the 2004 book by Alan O’Connor titled “Community Radio in Bolivia: The Miners’ Radio Station.” (Edwin Mellen Press Ltd, ISBN-13 978-0773463929).
As an aside, perhaps the most esoteric cinematic reference to shortwave can be found in Kiro Russo’s 2016 Bolivian mining-themed movie “Viejo Calavera” (Dark Skull). In one nighttime scene, Radio Pio XII (Siglo XX) plays in the background with announcer mentioning Pio XII is broadcasting their shortwave call-in show and getting DX reports from Sweden. (Sorry, this cool background banter is not subtitled to English.)
Finally, both documentaries feature the haunting song “El Minero” by Savia Andina sung in Spanish and Quechua. The best YouTube video of the song with Quechua-to-Spanish translation is found here:
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood (K7UO), who
I just listened to REE’s 30-minute English broadcast for this Friday with Alison Hughes and Justin Coe…! (REE is relayed on Hispasat so audio quality is superb.)
Big news! Engliish is coming back to shortwave starting 29 October along with the other foreign languages..
