3995 INDONESIA. RRI Kendari (p), 1333, 2/23/08. Very
weak w/ HRO splatter. Could distinguish from hams but
too little for more details (Strawman-IA) .

4845.2 BRAZIL. R. Cultural Ondas Tropicals, 0130,
2/24/08. Brazil pops was poor to fair at peaks with
some interference from data bursts (Strawman-IA) .

5035 BRAZIL. R. Aparecida, 0402, 2/22/08. Ads and
announcement w/ many mentions of Brazil and Aparecida.
Further announcements over religious sounding mx bed.
S4 signal (Strawman-IA) .

6055 JAPAN. R. Nikkei, 1255, 2/23/08. OM & YL back and
forth. Instrunental mx @ 1258. YL w/ further
announcements @ 1259. One beep at TOH. OM gave further
commentary after TOH. S4 signal (Strawman-IA) .

6185 MEXICO. R. Educacion XEPPM, 0405, 2/22/08.
Semi-classical mx. Slop from 6180, RHC. Poor signal
(Strawman-IA) .

6973 ISRAEL. Galei Zahal, 2326, 2/23/08. OM & YL
conversation. Pop mx @ 2327. S4 signal (Strawman-IA) .

7100 ERITREA. V. of Broad Masses, 0410, 2/22/08.
Listed Tigrinya service. Signal was poor. Long
vernacular talk (Strawman-IA) .

7110 ETHIOPIA. R. Ethiopia, 0238, 2/22/08. OM w/
extended tlk in vernacular. Storm static crashes did
not detract from nice S6 signal. Best in a long time
(Strawman-IA) .

Jerry Strawman - Des Moines, IA
Perseus SDR - 70′ Inverted L - Wellbrook 330S Loop

Tehran Times Culture Desk
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=163582
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8611290623
TEHRAN — The English language department of Iran´s Islamic Education
radio station was launched here on Sunday.

Expediency Council member Seyyed Ahmad Khatami, manager of the
Islamic Education radio station Mohammad-Hossein Mohammadzadeh, IRIB
deputy manager Ali Darabi and several officials from the Qom Seminary
attended the launching ceremony.

Khatami made an opening address, in which he said, “It is no exaggeration
to say that our two radio stations, one of which is dedicated exclusively to
the Holy Quran and the other to Islamic teachings, are the pride of this
country and I must acknowledge that the great scholars of the Seminary at
Qom have always praised them.”

Ali Darabi also spoke at the ceremony, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting (IRIB) airs programs in 31 languages with the assistance of a
great number of professional personnel. The countries with which we have
signed contracts of bilateral collaboration also draw on the experience of
these people.”

Radio deputy manager Hassan Khojasteh, expressing his pleasure over the
launching of the English department explained, “The world is in dire need of
Islamic teachings to help people find the right path in life, so we must make
use of this channel as a source of guidance.”

He continued that the department commenced its work with three hours of
programs in English covering various issues, adding, “Although digital
technology is not yet being used in the production of programs in our
Persian section, the programs in English are all being produced digitally.”

Khojasteh concluded that the radio station is making use of local experts for
writing and supervising the programs.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/18/business/bbc.php
By Doreen Carvajal
Published: February 18, 2008

PARIS: The BBC World Service, which started its scratchy shortwave
transmissions to listeners cut off by “desert, snow and sea” 75 years ago,
ended its last English-language shortwave services in Europe on Monday.

The British public broadcaster has been reducing its shortwave
transmissions over the past seven years, eliminating services to North
America and Australia in 2001 and South America in 2005. Last March, the
BBC started reducing European transmissions, finally cutting off a
transmitter that reached parts of southern Europe on Monday.

“There comes a point where the shortwave audience in a given region
becomes so small that spending money on it can no longer be justified,” the
broadcaster said in a statement.

The quiet ending for the service was a contrast with its celebrated arrival.
Seventy-five years ago, King George V helped promote the new technology
from his small study in the British royal family’s Norfolk retreat,
Sandringham. In a speech written by the poet Rudyard Kipling, the king
extolled radio as a way to reach out to men and women isolated by snow
and sea.

“Through one of the marvels of modern science, I am enabled this
Christmas Day to speak to all my people throughout the empire,” the king
said.

The abdication speech of Edward VIII was broadcast on shortwave, as was
news of the Hindenburg airship’s explosion and Hungarian Free Radio’s last
anguished call for aid as Russian tanks rumbled into Budapest.

But modern modes of communication have been squeezing out shortwave
services in Western countries, where programming is available on FM radio,
on the Internet and on iPods with wireless connections.

“Europe is very developed and so is America,” said Michael Gardner, a
spokesman for BBC World Services. “Shortwave is not the best way of
reaching those audiences there. They all have FM, AM stations close by.
Some of them have satellites or they can pull it down on their TV screens
and there are alternatives on line. There are lots of ways of interacting with
the BBC.”

Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the Association of International
Broadcasters in London, said that the move by the BBC “probably sounds
the death knell for traditional analogue shortwave broadcasting in the
developed world.”

Shortwave transmissions remain an important media outlet in Africa and
Asia, he noted. Since 2006, the BBC World Service shortwave audience has
grown by 7 million people, or 7 percent, to 107 million - about 58 percent of
the BBC’s total radio audience.

But in developed countries, Spanswick added, “nobody really uses
shortwave radio any more to listen to content produced on a big scale.”

All of the world’s largest international broadcasters, based in the United
States, France, Germany, England and the Netherlands, are cutting back on
shortwave or reviewing the deployment of their resources.

Andy Sennit, a media specialist with the Dutch public broadcaster, Radio
Netherlands Worldwide, said that he got his start 30 years ago working on
BBC shortwave broadcasts and had mixed feelings about the end of the
transmissions.

“For die-hard shortwave listeners, this is negative,” he said. “What they don’t
understand is the huge cost of powering transmitters. The cost of diesel fuel
has doubled.”

Radio Netherlands has also cut back its shortwave services in English and
has considered shutting down some transmitter stations, he said.

Jonathan Marks, a former radio executive and consultant for international
broadcasting, said the decision by the BBC was simply another sign of
shortwave radio’s “long, slow fade.”

“A major broadcaster has pulled the plug on a major continent,” he said. “It
indicates that the BBC no longer sees it as a viable medium.”

3235 PNG. R. West New Britain, 1323, 2/17/08. Very weak choral mx and monologue
by OM. Possible church service. Poor to fair (Strawman-IA).

3315 PNG. R. Manus, 1330, 2/17/08. Fair signal w/ apparent church service
(Strawman-IA).

4920 INDONESIA. RRI Biak, 1356, 2/17/08. Poor signal but western pop ballad so
presumed to be Biak. Faded before TOH. First ever reception here(Strawman-IA).

5995 MALI. R. Mali, 2245, 2/16/08. S7-S8 signal but low studio audio. Pop vocals
CW signal underneath Mali, maybe spurious (Strawman-IA).

6030 CANADA. CFVP, Calgary, 1310, 2/17/08. CW mx mixing with presumed CNR
Mandarin. Jumble was S4-S5 (Strawman-IA).

6300 ALGERIA. RASD, 2235, 2/16/08. Arabic comments by OM separated by ethnic
mx bumbers. Good signal (Strawman-IA).

7220 PHILLIPPINES. VOA via Tinang, 2225, 2/16/08. English VOA Nx Now. ID @ 2228.
Signal S7-S8 (Strawman-IA).

11585 INDIA. AIR, Delhi-Khampur, 1342, 2/17/08. S3 signal with noisy atmospherics.
Typical vocal mx program. Fair signal(Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman - Des Moines, IA
AOR AR7030 - Perseus SDR - 70′ Inverted L - Wellbrook 330S Loop

3235 PNG. R. West New Britain, 1323, 2/17/08. Very weak choral mx and monologue
by OM. Possible church service. Poor to fair (Strawman-IA).

3315 PNG. R. Manus, 1330, 2/17/08. Fair signal w/ apparent church service
(Strawman-IA).

4920 INDONESIA. RRI Biak, 1356, 2/17/08. Poor signal but western pop ballad so
presumed to be Biak. Faded before TOH. First ever reception here(Strawman-IA).

5995 MALI. R. Mali, 2245, 2/16/08. S7-S8 signal but low studio audio. Pop vocals
CW signal underneath Mali, maybe spurious (Strawman-IA).

6030 CANADA. CFVP, Calgary, 1310, 2/17/08. CW mx mixing with presumed CNR
Mandarin. Jumble was S4-S5 (Strawman-IA).

6300 ALGERIA. RASD, 2235, 2/16/08. Arabic comments by OM separated by ethnic
mx bumbers. Good signal (Strawman-IA).

7220 PHILLIPPINES. VOA via Tinang, 2225, 2/16/08. English VOA Nx Now. ID @ 2228.
Signal S7-S8 (Strawman-IA).

11585 INDIA. AIR, Delhi-Khampur, 1342, 2/17/08. S3 signal with noisy atmospherics.
Typical vocal mx program. Fair signal(Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman - Des Moines, IA
AOR AR7030 - Perseus SDR - 70′ Inverted L - Wellbrook 330S Loop

4900 CHINA. Voice of Strait, 1302, 2/2/08. Poor to fair w/ pop-style mx and
CODAR interference (Strawman-IA).

4949.97 ANGOLA. R. Nacional, 2330, 2/2/08. Long winded talk by OM, possible
nx headlines. Fair signal (Strawman-IA).

4950 PERU. R. Madre de Dios, Pt. Maldanado (p), 1253, 2/3/08. Ballads just
above noise. Audio from studio had reverb. TOH announcements. Peaked at poor
level. New station for me (Strawman-IA).

5010 MADAGASCAR. R. Madagaskara, 2335, 2/2/08. Signal good at times with
light pop and country mx + Malagasy tlk (Strawman-IA).

5030 BURKINA FASO, 2326, 2/2/08. Lively Afro pops w/ French commentary and
a few phone calls. Good signal (Strawman-IA).

5040 INDIA. AIR Jeypore, 1344, 2/2/08. Fair signal but big buzzy het from
5040.6. Flute mx and Hindi comment (Strawman-IA).

5040.6 MYANMAR. Myanma Radio (p), 1350, 2/2/08. Steep filters in Perseus SDR
made easy work of separating from Jeypore on 5040. Very weak at listed 25 KW.
Burmese chatter and ethnic music heard, but too weak for more details. Overtook
Jeypore by 1423 when signal peaked and then declined (Strawman-IA).

5050 CHINA. Guangxi Foreign BS, 2320, 2/2/08. Listed Vietnamese service had
haunting vocals. fair signal (Strawman-IA).

5910 COLOMBIA. Marfil Estereo, 0010, 2/3/08. Always amazed at signal which
reached S8. Listed at 1 KW. Usual pgm of romantic ballads (Strawman-IA).

6010 MEXICO. XEOI R. Mil, 1318, 2/3/08. Ballads w/ long ad strings and jingles.
Mention of “musica romantica.” Very commercial sound. “R. Mil” ID @ 1325.
Signal reached S4 (Strawman-IA).

6040 THAILAND. VOA, 1326, 2/2/08. Mandarin service. Long winded chatter by YL
with big reverb. Hint of Belaruskoye Radio underneath. Poor-fair (Strawman-IA).

7135 SINGAPORE. BBC via Kranji, 1314, 2/2/08. Indo service featuring OM & YL
alternating in presumed nx comment program. Poor- fair signal (Strawman-IA).)

7220 THAILAND. VOA via Udon Thani, 2257, 2/2/08. English service w/ VOA News
Now. Fair w/ HRO slop (Strawman-IA).

9599.3 MEXICO. XEYU, R. UNAM, 1418, 2/3/08. Classical mx pgm at S6 rising to
S9 by 1430. Still S8 @ 1756 with some fading. Lengthy announcements/nx at
1755 through TOH until 1802. “R. UNAM” ID @ 1802. Back to mx (Strawman-IA).

9865 RUSSIA.VOR via Novosibirsk, 1239, 2/3/08. Urdu service. Long-winded tlk by
YL into folk mx. Fair to good (Strawman-IA).

Jerry Strawman - Des Moines, IA, USA
Perseus SDR - AOR AR7030+ - Wellbrook 330S Loop- 70′ Inverted-L

08-02-2008

HILVERSUM - On Monday 11 February, Radio Netherlands Worldwide
(RNW) will be launching its new Chinese-language website
www.rnw.nl/chinese in Amsterdam.

The site is aimed at Chinese people with a special interest in the
Netherlands and provides Dutch news and background information. It is the
first time RNW has targetted China. The site is designed to help promote
press freedom and pluralism in China long-term.

There will be daily news reports from the Netherlands and a review of Dutch
newspapers on the site. It will also include topical pieces where the Dutch
view is of interest to China, for example, the environment, water
management, health care and culture. Chinese people will gain information
on the Netherlands and Dutch society.

Limits
The website will have to take some account of the limitations in China.
RNW’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief, China expert Ardi Bouwers, explains:

“We’ve chosen a realistic  approach without setting ourselves editorial
limitations. Bearing in mind the very specific information contained on the
site, we don’t expect to be blacked out by the Chinese government
straightaway”. However, the editorial team are not going to avoid politically
sensitive issues. “We intend to make use of what room we believe is
available. If risky topics are considered to be within the scope of the site,
we’ll publish.”

RNW has chosen an approach which looks to the future, and it will continue
to analyse China’s media landscape and the state of press freedom into the
years after the 2008 Olympic Games. “We hope the website will be a bridge
for Chinese people on the lookout for information. We hope to extend what
we do as soon as new possibilities open up,” says Ardi Bouwers.

Launch event
RNW is launching the site on 11 February at Amsterdam’s Pakhuis de
Zwijger. Speakers at the launch event, whose theme is ‘China and the
Internet: opportunities and limitations’, will include Xiaoying Zhang of
Deutsche Welle, Jeroen de Kloet from the University of Amsterdam and
China and Internet expert, Xiao Qiang, who is flying from the United States
to attend.

Editorial staff please note
Those interested in attending must register for the meeting. Please contact
Marjolein Klaassen-Hulst of Radio Netherlands Worldwide on 035-67 24
212, 06-5115 6394 or marjolein.klaassen@rnw.nl. She can also provide
further information about the website, interviews and press photos.

Each week, Radio Netherlands Worldwide informs tens of millions of people
about developments in the Netherlands, Europe and the world via radio,
television and the Internet. RNW provides an independent, objective,
unbiased and trustworthy source of news to its global audience in ten
languages, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/080208-chinese-website