6 - 2009 - Archive copies of DX MAGAZINE - wwdxc

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do tune in for interesting content, interesting personalities, but now it's nothing more than generic
McDonald's for the ears. It's no wonder people don't tune in as much.
My next point is budget. Yes we have seen budgets at stations cut, but maybe it's time to not cut back on
programming, but rather to look at the way you do programs. Radio Canada International, which has had
severe cut backs since the early 90s, could be a case in point. RCI, like some other international
broadcasters, have so much overhead it's not funny. At RCI you have in-studio technicians. What luxury.
In almost every station I've worked at as an announcer/producer you did your own technical work. And
now with the new studio technology it's even easier than it was 10 years ago when tape and LP's were still
widely used. When I was at China Radio International, I used to produce and present a daily 30-minute
current affairs program called Real-Time China. How many people helped me Zero! I would set up
interviews, research, write, edit and transmit the program to master control for broadcast to North America
and Europe. But yet stations like RCI and others have people that do these things for the producers and
presenters. I mean really, what luxury! So when cuts are made, where is it First programming, then
frequencies and third staff. Then what do you have Programs no one hears or let alone listens to!
Something that many programmers and managers don't think of is how important SW is even to a region
like North America. Do any of them know how many people tuned in during the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina From what I've been able to find out, SW was the only way to hear news, as many of the local
stations had no power or were knocked off air when their transmitter sites were damaged. During the 2005
tsunami, which devastated Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and Maldives with almost 300, 000
people killed, shortwave was the only way to send and receive information. In 2006 an earthquake off the
coast of Taiwan damaged an underwater fiber optic cable which made internet traffic come to a snails
pace. I remember for almost 2 months trying to listen to radio online, but it was impossible. But guess
what My radio worked. During the earthquake in China that killed nearly 70,000 people in Sichuan
Province, SW was also the only way to keep local people informed and to inform relief workers who were
in the region. I could continue to give more examples.
Let's move to China. Some stations feel that maybe shortwave to the People's Republic is not a good idea
because of the amount of jamming done by Chinese authorities with FIREDRAKE. This is silly. I lived in
Beijing for over 8 years and never had a problem to tune in. Yes it's true that frequencies directed to China
were jammed, but all I had to do was tune to a frequency for let's say Africa or Eastern Europe, and had
no problem to listen. This is the magic of shortwave. You can have a program directed only to Europe or
somewhere else, but you can also listen in a different region as the signal is bouncing around. Try listening
to online radio in China from VOA! BLOCKED! Radio Canada International, BLOCKED! And the station
websites which are not blocked from RFI, DW, RN or Radio Sweden can't be listened to online because of
the Great Firewall Of China which slows down everything so much it can take up to an hour -- sometimes
more -- for a program to be downloaded.
So finally. Is shortwave dead No! Stations, managers and programmers just need to stop thinking of the
internet and domestic relays as new toys. If it's not broken, don't fix it, improve it. My feeling is that over
the next 10 years or hopefully less, the stations, people and governments that have cut shortwave will wake
up and say "What have we done" Yes it's true that nowadays there is much more competition with the
300 TV channels that are delivered to our homes, or we can just click and listen to our favorite program.
But radio and shortwave is still the most economical medium.
To end, I would like to say to every international broadcaster: Produce interesting programs that will make
people want to listen on shortwave. Yes, music does not sound that great on SW, but if you have good
radio personalities and interesting programs people will listen. Promote shortwave as a very economical
means to reach millions of people. Look into how to improve your shortwave signal instead of just cutting
it. And do something for all the loyal shortwave listeners that are now cut off and have no other way to
tune in anymore. Bring back the respect we all once had.
(Guest commentary for the NASB Newsletter , April 2009)