DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-049, March 25, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3c.html HTML version of February issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3b.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1174: WWCR: Wed 1030 9475, Thu 2130 9475, Sat 0700, Sun 0330? 5070… RFPI: Wed 0100, 0700, Sat 0130, 0730, Sun 0000, 0600 on 7445 [may be pre-empted for Pacifica anti-war coverage] WBCQ: Wed 2300 on 7415, 17495-CUSB WJIE: M-F 1300 on 7490 WRN: Sat 0900 rest of world, Sun 0530 Europe, 1500 N. America WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1174.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1174.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1174h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1174h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1174.html IMPORTANT NOTE: Since some or most of our scheduled airings on RFPI and WWCR were pre-empted, and WJIE had not yet started 1174 as of March 25, and since our computer problems are not yet resolved, it will be fitting to (try to) continue airing WOR 1174 for another week, rather than producing a new WOR 1175 on March 26. Due to computer problems, DXLD may not be as large or as frequent as usual. Although this is a full issue, it is far from catching up with material piling up. Our main site http://www.worldofradio.com is not being updated, but new DXLDs and any other new info will be accessible at our other site, with notifications at http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/anomaly.html Our e-mail addresses may become overloaded, so please understand if there are bounces, and avoid sending large files (Glenn) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. RADIO AFGHANISTAN A-03 via Merlin: ----------------- 13680 0230 0330 smtwtfs RTA Dhabbaya 250 45 NA ME 18940 1330 1630 smtwtfs RTA Kvitsoy 500 95 NA ME (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) NA= languages not specified ** ANGOLA [non]. R. ECCLESIA, A-03 via Merlin: ---------- 7205 1900 2000 smtwtfs MNO Meyerton 250 328 ECCLESIA AF (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. Radio Australia ``ABC`` via Merlin A-03: --- 15435 1300 1430 smtwtfs ABC Singapore 100 13 CHINESE CHN 21615 0000 0030 smtwtfs ABC Tinian 250 255 INDONESIAN SE AS 21780 0400 0430 smtwtfs ABC Tinian 250 255 INDONESIAN SE AS 11550 0900 0930 smtwtfs ABC Taipei 250 205 INDONESIAN SE AS 11550 2130 2330 smtwtfs ABC Taipei 250 205 INDONESIAN SE AS 17865 0500 0530 smtwtfs ABC Singapore 250 13 KHMER SE AS 9720 2300 2330 smtwtfs ABC Singapore 100 13 KHMER SE AS 17865 0530 0600 smtwtfs ABC Singapore 250 13 VIETNAMESE SE AS 15110 2330 2400 smtwtfs ABC Taipei 250 225 VIETNAMESE SE AS (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Dear Glenn, unfortunately the best German media program will be cancelled. So I send you the following lines: After almost 34 years INTERMEDIA - the most popular German DX program from Radio Austria International - will be terminated by the end of this week for financial reasons. The program started as Kurzwellenpanorama (short wave panorama) on May 6, 1969 and changed its title to Intermedia, the media magazine, in May 1997. Since October 1976 it was hosted by Wolf Harranth. In November 2002 Wolf took his leave for early retirment. Vera Bock followed him as new presenter. Now the last INTERMEDIA programme can be heard on Friday March 28 (with repeats on Saturday and Sunday). (see the attached German website announcing the end of Intermedia) http://roi.orf.at/intermedia/welcome.html Times (in UT) and frequencies: Friday 1804 – 1830 5,945, 6,155 Friday 1930 – 2000 MW 1,476 Saturday 2003 – 2100 5,945, 6,155 Sunday 1730 – 1800 6,155, 13,730 At present there are still a French DX programme (Flash des ondes) as well as Mundo DX in Spanish (produced for 20 years now by the ASOCIACIÓN DX BARCELONA). Also their future and the future of Radio Austria International as whole is uncertain. (see the attached English website) http://roi.orf.at/english/en_wirueberuns.html Best 73 (from Ottobrunn, Germany, Michael Weigand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: The management of the ORF, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, has presented a position paper to the members of the board of trustees, the so-called "Stiftungsräte", who have to come to a decision on the future of Radio Austria International (ROI) at a meeting on March 26th. Based on the information contained in this paper, Radio Austria International will cease operations on 30 June, 2003. The ORF says the company is no longer in a position to operate an international service for solely financial reasons. Since 1 January, 2002, the ORF Act has placed the onus on the ORF itself to operate an international service. Whereas up until 31 December, 2001, the Austrian government provided the funds to operate Radio Austria International, the ORF has had to run the service at its own expense since the beginning of 2002. The federal government rejected the notion of paying even part of the operating costs, which, in the year 2002, amounted to roughly 3.5 megaeuros. When questioned, State Secretary Franz Morak pointed to the section of the ORF Act which says that the ORF may operate an international service if it so wishes, but does not have to by law. Nor does the existing legislation require the ORF to provide programming in foreign languages within the framework of its international broadcasting services. Because the federal government is not willing to provide the funds necessary, the ORF sees itself compelled to close ROI in its present form, citing its own difficult financial state and the overall spending cuts called for by the board of trustees. As things now stand, there will, in future, be a radio program on ROI's present frequencies. The ORF will broadcast Österreich 1 (Ö1), its cultural radio station. That, at any rate, is the proposal made by ORF management to the board of trustees. The final decision on the future of Radio Austria International is in the hands of the board of trustees, which meets on 26 March. Then and only then will it be possible to say whether ROI will, in fact, go off the air. ENDE FÜR INTERMEDIA UND DX-TELEGRAMM Nach 308 Sendungen muss Intermedia aus finanziellen Gründen leider mit Ende des Wintersendeschemas eingestellt werden. Auch das DX- Telegramm wird es nach 1249 Ausgaben im Sommersendeschema nicht mehr geben. Wir bedanken uns bei allen unseren Höreren für ihre langjährige Treue und Mitarbeit. Hörertelefon Ihre Wünsche, Anregungen und Kommentare und 90 Sekunden Aufsprache für unsere Sendungen: +43 1 50101 16070 INTERMEDIA Unser Radiojournal "intermedia" verdankt seine Popularität bis heute der Kombination von prägnanter, aktueller Kurzinformation und ausführlichen analytischen Features zu allen elektronischen Kommunikationsmitteln: ob Kurzwelle oder Rundfunk via Satellit, ob Amateurfunk oder Internet. DX-TELEGRAMM Ergänzt wird "intermedia" durch das wöchentliche "DX-Telegramm" mit brandneuen Empfangstipps für weltweite Wellenjäger. [hotlinks on the original website:] Erläuterungen zur Funkprognose im "DX-Telegramm" DL1VDL's kleines Funkwetterlexikon (via Michael Weigand, DXLD) ** BELARUS. BR-1 from Belarus was heard using 3992 LSB around 1715 also on March 24th at fair strength and in parallel with 279LW and 6115. 73s from (Noel R. Green [Blackpool, UK], Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BELARUS. 2340 kHz, 14.3 2155, Radio Minsk (2 x 1170) ostörd och väl så stark som på grundfrekvensen. Konstiga signaler (musik av odefinerbart snitt) också på 2370 och 2433 (AM-signaler). QSA 4. JE/RFK (Jan Edh/Ronny Forslund, Sweden, SW Bulletin via DXLD) 2340, 14.3 2155, Radio Minsk (2 x 1170) undisturbed and somewhat stronger than on its fundamental. Strange signals music of undefined type) also noted on 2370 and 2433 (AM-signals). QSA 4 (JE/RFK = Jan Edh, Ronny Forslund, Sweden, SW Bulletin, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** BELGIUM [non]. VRT A-03 via Merlin: --- 13690 1729 1856 smtwtfs VRT Skelton 300 180 VRT FGDE EUR AF 15325 1757 1856 smtwtfs VRT Dhabbaya 250 230 VRT FGDE AF 13690 1929 2056 smtwtfs VRT Skelton 300 180 VRT FGDE EUR AF 9925 0500 0529 smtwtfs VRT Meyerton 500 355 VRT FLEMISH AF 13685 0700 0756 smtwtfs VRT Skelton 300 180 VRT FLEMISH EUR AF 21630 0957 1056 s...... VRT Meyerton 250 355 VRT FLEMISH AF 15195 1057 1126 smtwtfs VRT Rampisham 500 168 VRT FLEMISH S EUR 21630 1057 1126 smtwtfs VRT Meyerton 250 355 VRT FLEMISH AF 15195 1257 1556 s...... VRT Skelton 250 175 VRT FLEMISH EUR AF (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 3255.05, 14.3 2300, Rádio Difusora Seis de Agosto, Xapuri. Står som "unauthorized" i DBS, men sände A Voz do Brasil så kanske annat nu? Annonseringar och programprat sedan, men efter fem minuter var spraket i blandning med någon utilitysändare för svåra. QSA 1-2 JE/RFK (Jan Edh, Ronny Forslund, Sweden, SW Bulletin via DXLD) 3255.05, 14.3 2300, Radio Difusora Seis de Agosto, Xapuri. Listed as ``unauthorized`` in DBS, but broadcast A Voz do Brasil so maybe other order now? Announcements and program followed, but after five minutes the noise mixed with some utility transmitter became too heavy. QSA 1-2 (JE/RFK = Jan Edh, Ronny Forslund, Sweden, SW Bulletin, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. Radio Burkina, 5030, verification letter with red "Ministère De La Communication" stamp and written greeting "Sincères Salutations. Merci pour l'écoute de notre station." In 195 days for French report and $2 US. Marcel Toe veri-signer (John Beattie, Ventura, CA, Mar 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC Timesignals: "First a series of outer space beeps, then silence, then a long dash. The long dash means one o'clock. Time is passing; in the silence before the long dash the future is taking shape. I turn my head to the pillow. I don't want to hear it." -- Margaret Atwood (Posted to alt.radio.networks.cbc via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** CANADA. After about three days of continuous coverage on the crisis in Iraq, CBC Radio One has finally taken a break, sort of. Paul Kennedy announced after the 9 p.m. (EST) news that CBC will present "some of our favourite programming, starting with two -- count 'em, two -- hours of the Vinyl Café." He said CBC Radio News will interrupt the programs for any breaking news. Paul Kennedy is interrupting the programs at the bottom of the hour to introduce Jill Dempsey for news (Ricky Leong, QC, Mar 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANARY ISLANDS. Jilly Dybka in Cumbre-DX reported earlier that he heard Full Gospel Church Las Palmas (6715 kHz) on 16 Mar (Sunday) in Spanish. Glenn Hauser pointed out that there was info from the station that they on some occasions have sermons also in Spanish and English. Well, on Sunday, 23 Mar at 1934 I happened to listen to 6715U and indeed, there was a preacher in Spanish alternating with a Korean one. A brief announcement by female in Spanish and then a children choir. Then again preacher in Spanish, talking like non- native, possibly Korean pastor. Band was very noisy at that time. I had to leave radio for a while and when I came back at 1950 there was nothing audible. Thanks to Jilly for a nice tip. Hope we'll soon hear some English from Las Palmas :) (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Mar 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6185, China Huayi Broadcasting Co. (Fuzhou, Fujian province) 1301-1400 UT Mar 14. Co-channel with V. of Russia s/on at 1300, clear ID for Huayi with Fuzhou included in ID. This station broadcasts to Taiwan and SE Asia, and plays an interesting mix of music including Buddy Holly and other American pop songs (done as instrumentals). Fair signal and copy overall, Huayi overpowered V. of Russia by 1310 and remained listenable until 1400 when it degraded (Jeffrey Heller, Katy Texas (near Houston), Drake R8B, 67 foot sloper style passive loaded wire, Cumbredx mailing list vua DXLD) ** ECUADOR [non]. HCJB A-03 via Merlin: ---- 12025 2100 2230 smtwtfs HCJ Skelton 250 165 ARABIC N AF 11760 1600 1700 smtwtfs HCJ Rampisham 500 62 RUSSIAN RUSS (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) 12025 was Sackville during B-02 ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. On 21 Mar on 5005 at 2025 a strong station with African music. As I suspected, they announced (in Spanish) "Radio Nacional Radio Bata". The ID mentioned frequencies (I hope I got them all correct) FM 98 and 102 and SW 5005 and 15190. Hope they will stay on the air now for at least a few months :). Modulation and signal strength are great here (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Deutsche Welle had a wonderful program on "Talking Point" at 2130 UT March 24 on 15410 kHz. This was an interview with the head of the Asian Languages Department at DW, and an insightful survey of how Asian countries viewed the war in Iraq. I did not catch his name, unfortunately. A summary: China has called for "an immediate end to the war," and wants to take the conflict back to the diplomatic table. There are several reasons for this. 1. There is new leadership in China with next to no experience with such high stakes situations. 2. China has never liked any interference by any superpower (Russia or the United States). 3. China is nearly totally dependent on imported oil. 4. China sees itself as having a rôle in the "third world countries," and feels that it deserves some say in major international affairs. The Chinese foreign policy has nearly always been pragmatic. Question: So, you think China is already looking beyond the war? Answer: Yes, they probably will. China will not accept increased US influence in the Middle East, then exporting these influences into Central Asia, as the US has already done to some extent in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. China looks east, to Japan and Korea, and the US is already there. China is starting to feel encircled by the US. [couldn`t be encircled by a nicer country --- gh] On Pakistan: While a supporter of the "War on Terrorism,", Pakistan helped to create the Taliban, and many of al Qaida left Afghanistan, possibly are in Pakistan. The vast majority in Pakistan are opposed to the war. If the government is perceived as being too close to the US, many Muslim leaders will have an easy task to instill hatred in the US, and their own government. Question: This is something to be taken seriously by President Bush? Answer: Yes, if he's informed enough, he should consider it. Then the guest looked at other, mostly Moslem, nations in Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, summarizing the view of the "man on the street" in these countries. In summary, made by the same gentleman, 1. Whatever the outcome of the war, it has already deepened the rift between the West, (particularly Washington) and Islam. 2. Many in the Arab and Islamic countries will consider it a war against Islam. 3. Many fundamentalist Mullahs and clergy will exploit this. 4. Governments in power that are considered by their people as too "pro-West" will be endangered, and indeed, many of these governments will fall. This program is one reason why shortwave is so vital. It is such information that is very important to the whole issue of the war and is missing from the domestic media coverage, particularly TV, and even National Public Radio. I have to write DW a letter about this, giving them another reason why their programs should remain on short wave --- I never would have caught this on the Internet, and will really miss their "European" perspective when their SW broadcasts to North America cease (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, Mar 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DW's Newslink tonight (0100 UT Tue) broadcast to NAm on 6145) also had a very interesting program on the Iraq situation which featured in sequence: 1. An analysis of the US war strategy, who's driving it and what the alternatives were. 2. An excellent interview with Hans Blix on inspections before and after the war 3. A review of clandestine broadcasting to, in and around Iraq featuring (YLE Finland's) Mika Makelainen, a recent visitor to the annual SWL Winterfest in Kulpsville, PA. who also has a fabulous internet site of his own http://www.dxing.info The interview referred to by Roger Chambers followed Newslink at 0130. [Too late now, but] One can expect to hear this sequence of programs again in broadcasts to NA at 0300 and 0500 at least. Here are the frequencies: 0300-0345 on 11985, 6020, 6045, 9640, 9700 0500-0545 on 11795, 5960, 6120, 9670 Too bad this consistently excellent broadcaster has decided that, after March, NAm is no longer in its shortwave sphere of interest. (John Figliozzi, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Today it was confirmed that Megaradio is bankrupt and applied for the bankruptcy proceedings at Munich already on Monday. Just one of various reports: http://www.satundkabel.de/index.php?link=news&newsid=562&ressort=Satellit Allegedly the mediumwave transmitters will be switched off by the end of this month because no transmitter fees were paid since January. This unconfirmed gossip obviously refers to the T-Systems (Deutsche Telekom) transmitters in Germany, so the airtime lease on Marnach 1440 would be another issue (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI. (non-SW) - (Based on news agency reports) - Michèle Montas, the widow of Jean L. Dominique, the former owner of R. Haiti Inter (on SW for many years, then only on MW and FM, like most local stations in the country), said she would soon be closing the station down due to serious threats received; her bodyguard has recently been killed. Her husband, a personal good friend of mine when I used to live in Haiti (1961-1967), was assassinated, as well as his bodyguard, on April 3, 2000, an act widely condemned in the international media. So far the government has not laid down charges on the apparently known suspect. Out of fear, several officials in charge of the judicial investigation have fled to the US or the Dominican Republic. A sad page indeed for Haiti's radio history. (Jaar-QC, NASWA Flashsheet Mar 23 via DXLD) We had this news before, but not at such a personal level. That would be Victor C. Jaar, a DX name from the past we have not seen for decades (gh, DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 4830, R. Litoral, 0324-0340+ UT Mar 15. Went looking for R. Táchira [see VENEZUELA] at nite but found R. Litoral. (Venezuelan power supply issues? Also possible that Táchira was underneath, but very weak.) Fair signal, lots of QRN, solo Spanish singer and ID at 0329. Signal degraded considerably by 0340 (Jeffrey Heller, Katy Texas (near Houston), Drake R8B, 67 foot sloper style passive loaded wire, Cumbredx mailing list vua DXLD) ** INDIA. The following additional AIR frequencies of 7170 & 13605 is noted carrying the running Commentary of World Cup Cricket Final between India and Australia just now. It may continue till end of the play around 1730 UT Sunday 23 March 2003. On 7170 lot of interference is noted from Radio Singapore. This is in addition to the special frequencies of 7190 (Delhi), 7220 (Mumbai), 7270 (Chennai) and 11620. (7270 Chennai was on from around 0615 with AIR FM II programs. Test tones from 7220 Mumbai were on from around 0630 to 0748.) The commentaries started from 0750. Today AIR FM II additional tests from around 0430 noted on 6155 (Parallel to 9425, 9470 and 11620). Maybe because of all this activity Radio Sadayee Kashmir was missing on 9890 at 0730-0830. [see also] The afternoon broadcast of Vividh Bharathi on 10330 kHz from 0630 normally by 4 transmitters is not heard today. This may be due to tests on 7190 7220 & 7270. Also AIR External Service 15235 & 17510 was missing at 1000-1100 in English (Jose Jacob, dx_India, Mar 23 via DXLD) AIR is noted testing on a wide range of frequencies as follows lately with AIR FM II programs in Hindi & English: 6155 Delhi 0430-1100 UT 7170 Delhi 7190 Guwahati 50 kw 1100 7220 Mumbai 100 kw 7270 Chennai 100 kw 0700-1730 9425 Bangalore 500 kw 0130-1230 9470 Aligarh 250 kw 0130-1230 11620 ? 0430-1100 13605 Bangalore 500 kw -1100 The Vividh Bharathi programs on 10330 are affected as those transmitters are being used for tests on 7190, 7270 etc. (Jose Jacob, Mar 24, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Merlin A-03 schedule entries of uncertain provenance: CHRISTIAN RADIO ?? --------------- 15590 1900 2000 smtwtfs MNO Woofferton 250 170 CHRISTIANRADIO AFRI W AF (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) [what about KTBN?] GOSPEL FOR ASIA --------------- 6145 0000 0130 smtwtfs MNO Dhabbaya 250 85 NA S AS 15590 1230 1330 smtwtfs MNO Dhabbaya 250 85 NA S AS 11695 1600 1630 smtwtfs MNO Dhabbaya 250 85 NA S AS 6145 2300 2400 smtwtfs MNO Dhabbaya 250 85 NA S AS (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) NA == languages not specified PROJECT AIRWAVES (NEW) --------------------- 15250 0100 0230 smtwtfs NEW Singapore 100 13 NA FE 21510 0330 0600 smtwtfs NEW Dhabbaya 250 90 NA S AS 15265 0600 1100 smtwtfs NEW Singapore 100 13 NA FE 13735 1100 1300 smtwtfs NEW Singapore 100 13 NA FE (via Silvain Domen and Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) What is this? Could it be missionary?? (gh) Hi Glenn, I can't find anything more about this one, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's yet another religious broadcast. Only thing I know is that it was listed for previous seasons as well, but nothing ever came of it. All the best (Silvain Domen, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. MOSAIC TV PROVIDES WINDOW INTO THE MIDDLE EAST BY DANA HULL, Knight Ridder Newspapers SAN JOSE, Calif. - KRT NEWSFEATURES (KRT) - One television monitor shows CNN with its "Showdown Iraq" logo. On another, an anchor on Lebanon's Al-Manar TV, a privately owned station controlled by the fundamentalist movement Hezbollah, talks about diplomatic wrangling at the United Nations. On a third screen, a Baghdad correspondent from the United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi TV gives a live report. They're all playing on a bank of monitors at WorldLink TV, a non- profit network based in San Francisco that makes news broadcasts from the Arab world and Israel available to satellite TV subscribers in the United States. WorldLink takes news programs from 16 foreign stations from Egypt to Israel to Syria, adds English voiceovers and transmits a repackaged program called "Mosaic" to households with satellite dishes. The half-hour program, aired five days a week, gives Americans who don't speak Arabic or Hebrew a rare window into the Middle East. "After September 11, a lot of people asked, `Why do they hate us?'" said David Michaelis, a veteran Israeli journalist who is WorldLink's director of current affairs. "You will never understand that if you only watch American television. To understand how America is viewed in the Middle East, you need to watch the media that they are seeing." Except for English translations, Mosaic leaves the news broadcasts from other countries in their original form, without commentary or analysis. The segments are edited for time so that each show contains footage from stations across the region. That footage is far more graphic and bloody than what is usually seen in the United States. When a suicide bomb explodes on a bus in Jerusalem, the Israel Broadcasting Authority quickly rushes to the scene. When the Israeli military fires missiles into a village in the West Bank, Palestine Television, the official station of the Palestinian National Authority in Gaza, often shows images of bloody Palestinians with missing limbs being rushed to the hospital. Mosaic airs both. "It's not easy to watch it, but it's really important to compare perspectives," Michaelis said. " The pictures are brutal because people are so used to violence in the Middle East." WorldLink is operated by Link Media, a non-profit company formed through a partnership of four independent media organizations. Its board of directors includes prominent progressives and human rights advocates, from Carl Pope of the Sierra Club to William Schulz of Amnesty International. WorldLink specializes in documentaries on global issues, foreign feature films, and world music, and its target audience is decidedly liberal. The network's Web site says it "serves the millions of Americans who desire to make positive change in our world." Mosaic is available to the 20 million U.S. households that have satellite dishes. A consultant estimates that 2.9 million households have watched WorldLink, but the network doesn't know how many dish owners watch the Mosaic program. Some of Mosaic's episodes can also be viewed via videostreaming on the Web at http://www.worldlinktv.com Alice Nashashibi pays $65 a month for her package of programming on the DISH Network and watches Mosaic most days. "You get more detailed news about what is happening in the Middle East than you do on the American channels," said Nashashibi, a San Francisco resident who grew up in a Lebanese-American household but is not fluent in Arabic. "It's in English, and there are no commercials. I just wish they had it on regular TV instead of only on satellite." Many Americans have heard of Al-Jazeera, the independent TV network based in Qatar. Al-Jazeera has been criticized for its anti-American commentary and for airing videotaped statements from Osama bin Laden that praised the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But Al-Jazeera is just one of a number of networks accessible by satellite in the Middle East, where cable television is not readily available. And while Al-Jazeera is an independent network that is often critical of Arab governments, WorldLink has agreements with 16 primarily state-owned broadcasters to use their programming. "In the United States, you watch cable and go from Fox to CNN," said Jamal Dajani, a Palestinian-American who is Mosaic's producer. "The average Arab viewer is not flipping between channels but countries. A family in Morocco may regularly watch Lebanese TV. There are major differences between what is seen here and what is seen there." Mosaic's staff consists of four full-time and three part-time employees. Much of the work consists of watching and logging hours of video footage at WorldLink's Battery Street studio and deciding which stories should make the show. Recently, most of the Middle Eastern stations carried live footage of a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York. One television monitor out of the 14 in the studio was starkly different: the state network operated by the Iraqi News Agency aired a segment alleging that the United States plans to come and steal the country's vast oil reserves, and made no mention of the U.N. meeting. WorldLink was launched in Dec. 1999, and is funded by grants and donations. The Mosaic program began in Nov. 2001 with a $250,000 grant by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, based in Menlo Park, Calif., gave Mosaic a $500,000 grant last May. Smita Singh, the Hewlett Foundation's Special Advisor for Global Affairs, said the foundation thinks it is important to expose American audiences to foreign perspectives. "There is no other venue for news from the Middle East in English," Singh said. "It behooves us to know what people elsewhere are seeing, and how their media is covering events. We would love to see the Mosaic format replicated in other areas of the globe. How are Indian and Pakistani television reporting on the conflict in Kashmir?" With the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq under way, Mosaic expanded from five to seven days a week, and hopes to increase its ability to videostream the program on the Web. While numerous American journalists are currently "embedded" with U.S. troops, Arab reporters are scattered across Iraq and camera crews are stationed in Kurdish-controlled parts of the country. Competition among Arab journalists for scoops and exclusive footage is as intense there as it is here. "During the war, there are going to be American journalists with the troops on the streets of Baghdad," Michaelis said before the war started March 19. "But there is intense competition within the Arab world - many satellite networks are trying to compete with Al- Jazeera. The Arab reporters and cameramen will be with the civilian population, and they are not going to leave." --- (c) 2003, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.). (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. At 1745 UT on 21 March we recorded the US psyop station Information Radio on 9715 kHz, with a strong signal but co- channel with Deutsche Welle in Russian. On this segment you can hear a female announcer telling the Iraqi people that the US wants to liberate Iraq from Saddam. Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told a news conference that the raids just before dawn on 20 March hit "empty buildings" belonging to television and radio stations. He also said the United States used technology from locations west of Iraq to block Iraqi satellite television." This claim is borne out by reports from the region that the Iraq Satellite Channel was operating irregularly in the hours following the first raids, interrupting the speech by Saddam Hussein. The broadband feed of the Iraq Satellite Channel in The Netherlands is currently unavailable. Suggestions that the Saddam Hussein speech was actually a recording seem very doubtful, as Saddam referred to the date - 20 March [what does that prove? ---gh]. International news agencies have been carrying misleading reports that Iraq's state radio is "off the air." In fact, broadcasts are continuing but some of the frequencies have changed. The mobile facilities prepared in advance by the Iraqi authorities are probably in use. Reports that the US had "taken over" the "main frequency" are also misleading. Information Radio has been using 693 and 756 kHz ever since it first came on the air in December 2002. The fact that Baghdad may not currently be using those frequencies would explain why it has suddenly become audible over a wider area (Andy Sennitt, Media Network via DXLD) We have been broadcasting 24 hours a day since Feb 17 on five frequencies (CENTCOM briefing, Qatar, 1417Z March 25, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Refers to Information Radio, 11292, 9715, etc. Seems the networks are not even trying to caption names of persons on camera any more; they have so much other clutter (gh) MEDIA OBSERVATIONS FROM SALAM IN BAGHDAD (Disclaimer: Radio Netherlands has no connection with Salam, and is not responsible for any other comments you may find on his page). 21 March 2003 [local times = UT +3] 3.13 pm: "The Iraqi Satellite Channel is not broadcasting anymore. The second youth TV channel (it shows Egyptian soaps in the morning and sports afterwards) also stopped transmitting. This leaves two channels: Iraq TV and Shabab (youth) TV. They are still full of patriotic songs and useless "news", they love the French here." 20 March 2003 10.33 pm: "All radio and TV stations are still on and while the air raid began the Iraqi TV was showing patriotic songs and didn't even bother to inform viewers that we are under attack. At the moment they are re-airing yesterday's interview with the minister of interior affairs." 4.28 pm: "I watched al Shaf [the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Relations] on al-Jazeera. He said that the US has bombed the Iraqi Satellite Channel, but while he was saying that the ISC was broadcasting and if it really did hit the ISC headquarters it would have been right in the middle of Baghdad. What was probably hit were transmitters or something. All TV stations are still working." 1.23 pm: "The English speaking radio station on FM is now replaced by the Arabic language state radio program broadcasting on the same wavelength." 6.40 am: "Someone in the BBC said that the state radio has been overtaken by US broadcast. That didn't happen: the 3 state broadcasters [sic] still operate." This page last updated 22/03/03 22:16:35 Dutch time Updating of this page will resume from 0800 UT on Sunday 23 March. Observations on Saturday 22 March Thanks to Wolfgang Buschel, Nick Grace, Lou Josephs, Thorsten Koch, Vladimir Titarev and Tarek Zeidan for help with today's updates. 2105 UT: CNN reports that Iraqi TV showed pictures of Iraqi citizens stepping on, and burning, some of the leaflets dropped by allied aircraft advertising the frequencies of Information Radio. 1705 UT: CNN reporter Gary Strieker aboard the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt says that US aircraft "destroyed an AM radio station in central Iraq" during last night's air attacks. 1615 UT: The team of CNN journalists expelled from Baghdad, including correspondents Nic Robertson and Rym Brahimi, arrived safely in Jordan a few hours ago after making the dangerous overland journey from Baghdad. CNN was ordered to close its office and leave the country after the Iraqi government described their reports as "propaganda." However, a team of journalists from Britain's ITN was not so fortunate. Their two cars came under fire as they travelled between Umm Qasr and Basra. Their fate is unclear. The group includes veteran ITN reporter Terry Lloyd [later: Lloyd was reported killed], cameraman Fred Nerac and local translator Hussein Othman. Other western broadcasters, including the BBC and German TV network ZDF, still have correspondents in Iraq, but all their reports are closely monitored by the Iraqi authorities. 1615 UT: Baghdad with the news from 1500 till around 1535 followed by a song and now 1542 UT a political analysis by a professor in Baghdad Uni...I think! mainly on LSB 6175 kHz (Tarek Zeidan in Cairo) 1455 UT: Baghdad went back on the air exactly at 1443 UT on 6175 and 11787. For the time being only Qur`an on both frequencies. Poor modulation, but at least, we could hear something (Tarek Zeidan in Cairo) Here in The Netherlands we're again hearing a strong carrier on 11787, but no detectable modulation at the moment. Nothing audible on 6175, which we would not expect to hear at this time of day (Andy Sennitt) IRAQI INTERNET Media Network's Lou Josephs believes that Iraq's Internet links with the outside world have been cut. It appears that there is no new content coming from inside Iraq. Radio Baghdad is still ON +0500-0820+ UT on 11787.017 kHz and 6175.011 kHz. Both suffer from low and slightly distorted modulation. Mostly Arab songs, Time Signal (5 + one long bip) as usually shifted in time e.g. at 0700:50. I don't think it's an 'artificial substitution' for real Iraqi program. BTW, 6175 is new for me (Vladimir Titarev, Ukraine via CRW) Worth noting however that the GHFS (or whatever they're now called) is unlikely to have any war or real tactical related traffic on it - it'll just be routine transport and so forth. 7630 is probably the most active live warzone frequency I`ve found so far with 4039 and 4739 coming in joint second (David Ross, ODXA via DXLD) Thanks for this post David!!!! I have been looking all over the net for some ideas of which frequencies can be best monitored, and of course it's here on the ODXA list where I finally get my info! Thanks again, and if you see any more info like this, please post! Best regards, (Matt, ibid.) Hello Matt, Here is another useful set of frequencies. http://www.angelfire.com/mb/amandx/mbmil.html Particularly the CANFORCES CFARS network at the bottom of the page. A list of Canadian ships using this network: http://www3.sympatico.ca/gunslinger/cfars.htm A list of land based stations: http://www3.sympatico.ca/gunslinger/members.htm (David Ross, ibid.) Hi DXers, 23-03-2003 - 11787 at 0335 UT: This morning the frequency is clear, my S-meter is not over 1. 0457 UT: DW on 11785 is causing a strong disturbance on 11787 with French and Portuguese programs (S3 to S8 till 0530 UT) 0530 UT; The frequency is clear again. 0545 UT: Baghdad is on the air. I notice the same problem reported yesterday: strong carrier and poor modulation. The carrier is about S9+15dB here but heavy distortion on low level audio. 0551 UT: A very strong signal appears. Don't know the origin. 0555 UT: Better modulation, we hear clearly the chants and music. 0557 UT: DW is back and now Baghdad is unreadable but always on the air. I did not try 6175: this frequency appears in old edition of WRTH but here strong stations on adjacent channels prevent me to catch anything! Voice of Iraqi Liberation: Heard at 0248 UT on 4025.0 with a very good signal 9+20 and slight QSB. Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan: Heard at 0323 UT on 4090.0 (reported 4085) with a clear and strong signal 9+20. Program of military music, communiqués and talks in Arabic (Pascal Perriot, Tours, France, NRD515/ SONY7600G/ DATONG AD270/LW/ DATONG FL2 AF FILTER, hard-core- dx via DXLD) ** IRAQ. 11787, Radio Iraq Int'l., 1355+ March 23. Presume the one, nothing but carrier so seemingly they just left the transmitter on all the time and/or can't get the audio feed to the site, or very low modulation as some are reporting. Fairly good, faded down later in the morning (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) This situation is nothing new, not caused by war --- been that way for sesquiyears; everybody is trying to pick them up now (gh, DXLD) Tried to get 6175 today Mar 24 as usual around sunset in Cairo 1530 UT, but in vain; also 11787 is not on I think!!!! What's going on??? Can anybody hear anything? Have they changed the frequencies? Hope to hear from you soonest (TAREK ZEIDAN, Egypt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. MEDIA BEHAVIOUR ROUND-UP 1700 GMT 23 MAR 03 Iraqi electronic media continued to operate on Sunday 23 March. Republic of Iraq Television, the domestic service, was observed by BBC Monitoring at one stage broadcasting in parallel with the Iraq Satellite Channel. Republic of Iraq Radio Main service continued to be heard on mediumwave and shortwave. On the 846 kHz frequency (believed to be a transmitter at Nasiriyah), an Arabic-language radio station has been observed broadcasting pro-Iraqi government programming and urging Iraqis to defend their country. The broadcast was not in parallel with other active Iraq Radio Main Service frequencies. Iraqi domestic and satellite television have shown video of Saddam Husayn chairing separate meetings with different sets of senior officials. His son Qusay was always present at the meetings, but his eldest son Uday was not shown. The TV channels have also shown news conferences held by, among others, Vice-President Taha Yasin Ramadan and Information Minister Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf. Other programming on Iraq's broadcast media has focused on praise for Iraqi resistance and "victories" against US "aggressors". Iraqi TV has continued its coverage of anti-war demonstrations worldwide. And the Iraqi news agency web site has updated its content. Following are BBC Monitoring's observations on the Iraqi media up to 1700 gmt on 23 March: Iraq Satellite Channel Iraq Satellite Channel, the external service, continues to be observed via Hot Bird 6 at 13 degrees east and Arabsat at 26 degrees east. The channel continues to carry unscheduled announcements, patriotic songs and scheduled newscasts. The highlights of programming between 1100 and 1700 gmt on 23 March were as follows: 1103 gmt: Newscast, which included the following item: 1. Vice-President Taha Yasin Ramadan holds a news conference in Baghdad today. 2. Information Minister Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf holds a news conference in Baghdad today. 3. Foreign Minister Naji Sabri says that the Iraqis have shot down another plane. Sabri's statements to Al-Arabiyah TV are cited. 4. Staff Maj-Gen Al-Rawi says he contacted the commander of the 51st Mechanized Infantry Division. 5. Twelve members of the US forces were wounded in a grenade attack in northern Kuwait. 6. US missiles target civilian areas and wound scores of Iraqi citizens. 1120 gmt: Patriotic songs 1127 gmt: Recording of Staff Maj-Gen Al-Rawi's statements in a news conference today. 1137 gmt: Patriotic songs. 1141 gmt: Programme entitled: "Diary of Mother of Decisive Battles." The programme hosts Baghdad University Professors Dr Abd-al-Razzaq al-Dulaymi and Dr Hasan Tawalibah. Al-Dulaymi speaks about media and its role in accurately reporting US and British military activities in Iraq. Tawalibah speaks about the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party statement issued yesterday. 1300 gmt : The "Diary of the Decisive Battle" programme continues. A recording of an Abu Dhabi TV channel report showing Iraqi citizens and soldiers on the banks of the River Tigris searching for two Western pilots whose planes were shot down over Baghdad were aired during the programme. 1322 gmt : Patriotic songs. 1326 gmt : Interviews with armed Iraqis dressed in military attire voicing support for Iraq and Saddam, and stating readiness to resist the "idol" of this age. 1335 gmt : Patriotic songs. 1400 gmt: The channel interrupts the "Diary of the Decisive Battle" programme to air an Al-Jazeera report showing Iraqi soldiers and citizens firing weapons near the River Tigris. Al-Jazeera correspondent is heard saying "they are firing to celebrate capturing a pilot". 1412 gmt: A report on the situation in Karbala district is aired as part of the "Diary of the Decisive Battle" programme. The report includes statements by tribesmen in Karbala voicing support for Iraq and Saddam. 1423 gmt: The programme goes on to discuss Western media "attempts" to "mislead" the public. Within the programme, an Al-Jazeera report is aired showing the leader of the Iraqi 51st Division denying reports that he had surrendered. 1445 gmt: Patriotic songs. 1452 gmt: Repeat of Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yasin Ramadan's news conference. 1505 gmt: Radio Baghdad and the Iraq Satellite Channel were observed to broadcast on the same Iraq Satellite Channel frequency. At 1520 gmt, only the Iraq Satellite Channel was heard. 1520 gmt: Sunset call for prayers, after which the Ramadan news conference is resumed. Republic of Iraq Television Republic of Iraq Television continued to carry patriotic songs praising Saddam Husayn and Iraq. The following programming was observed between 1100 and 1700 gmt on 23 March: 1116 gmt: Repeat of a news conference held by Vice-President Taha Yasin Ramadan in Baghdad. 1318 gmt : Repeat of Iraqi Information Minister Muhammad Sa'id al- Sahhaf's briefing to reporters on latest developments. 1402-1416 gmt: News summary on world satellite channels highlighting arrest of two Western pilots. [Six-minute break in reception] 1430 gmt: Civil defence official gives guidance to citizens what to do inside their houses in case of bombing. [10-minute break in reception] 1520 gmt: Call for evening prayer. 1533 gmt: Programme interviewing an Iraqi political science professor who speaks about the US disinformation campaign in war on Iraq. The programme also shows demonstrations in New York and other US cities, as well as demonstrations and rallies in Iraqi governorates in support of Saddam Husayn against US-led war against Iraq. Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service On the 846 kHz frequency (believed to be a transmitter at Nasiriyah), an Arabic-language radio station was observed from fade-in at 1205 gmt on 23 March. The broadcast was not in parallel with other active Iraq Radio Main Service frequencies. The station was broadcasting pro-Iraqi government programming and urging Iraqis to defend their country. Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, the main official radio station of Iraq, was observed on the following frequencies at various times between 1100 gmt and 1700 gmt on 23 March: 603 kHz (believed to be a transmitter at Ninawah near Mosul) - observed at 1500 gmt ; and 909 kHz (believed to be a transmitter at Baghdad) - observed from 1100- 1700 gmt. It was heard until 1600 gmt on 6175 and 11787 kHz shortwave (locations unknown). Radio programming is interspersed with patriotic songs and brief commentaries urging Iraqis to resist the "invaders." The following programming was observed between 1100 and 1700 gmt on 23 March: Programming was as follows: 1100 gmt: News summary: 1. US Department of Defence admits that Iraqi air defences continue to pose threats to US and UK aircraft. 2. A US soldier from the 101st Airborne Division is arrested for hurling hand grenades at his colleagues in northern Kuwait, AFP cited. 3. Report on antiwar protests staged in several European countries. 4. His Holiness Pope John Paul II says that the Iraq war is a threat to the future of mankind, remarks made at a meeting with journalists cited. 5. The US administration shuts down its embassy in Riyadh and its consulates in Jedda and Dhahran, AFP cited. 6. Palestinian security source says that Israeli troops conducted an incursion into eastern Gaza City yesterday. 1110 gmt: Report on a meeting Saddam Husayn held with his top aides. 1130 gmt: Newscast: 1. Saddam Husayn chairs a meeting that brought together several of his top aides. 2. The National Assembly announces the death of Nayif Shindakh Thamir, official in charge of the Ba'th Party organizations in the Al-Najaf Governorate, "who achieved the honour of martyrdom" while engaging in combat. 3. Iraqi military spokesman makes statement on the downing of five fighter planes and two helicopters. 4. Report on a news conference held by Information Minister Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf on a visit he paid to the Al-Qadisiyah neighbourhood. 5. The Nigerian Foreign Ministry regrets the onset of the Iraq war, a statement issued by the Nigerian Foreign Ministry is cited. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry also regrets the onset of the war. 6. Wounded civilians renew their pledge of allegiance to Saddam Husayn. 7. The US Department of Defence admits that the Iraqi air defences continue to pose threats to US and UK aircraft. 8. UK spokesman is cited on an aircraft that went missing during the ongoing hostilities. 9. Venezuelan vice-president denounces the ongoing "aggression" against Iraq. 10. Report on antiwar protests staged worldwide today. 11. Antiwar demonstrations staged at Egyptian universities. 12. Some 250,000 persons take to the streets in Madrid to protest the ongoing Iraq war. 13. 1148 gmt: Radio dispatch from Al-Muthanna Governorate. Four coalition tanks were destroyed in Al-Samawah. 14. A US soldier from the 101st Airborne Division is arrested for hurling hand grenades at his colleagues in northern Kuwait, AFP cited. 15. UK's Robin Cook criticizes British government for backing the US "aggression" on Iraq. 16. Israeli troops conduct an incursion into Jenin. 17. Israeli sources admit that Palestinian resistance men carried out an attack against a Jewish settlement near Umm al-Fahm today. 1303 gmt : Full recording of news conference held by Iraqi Vice- President Taha Yasin Ramadan today. 1403 gmt: News summary. [largely indistinct] 1414 gmt: Recording of a pan-Arab satellite television interview with Abd-al-Bari Atwan, the pro-Iraq chief editor of the London-based Al- Quds al-Arabi. 1417 gmt: Recording of Al-Jazeera TV interview with its correspondent in Baghdad on search for Western pilots in Tigris river. 1433 gmt: Koran. 1500 gmt: Scheduled newscast: 1. Saddam Husayn chairs meeting comprising ministers of military industrialization, higher education, others. 2. Iraqi spokesman says five coalition aircraft and two helicopters downed. 3. Iraqi information minister holds news conference this morning. 4. Masses of Diyala lay their martyrs to rest. 5. Arab solidarity delegation arrives in Baghdad. 6. Antiwar protests continue worldwide. 7. International human rights organization condemns the aggression against Iraq. 8. US Defence Department admits Iraqi ground defences continue to pose a threat. Internet The Iraqi News Agency (INA) web site http://www.uruklink.net/iraqnews/ continues to update. INA carried the following reports: 1. President Saddam Husayn meets Qusay Saddam Husayn and Defence Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad. 2. President Saddam Husayn meets Vice-President Taha Yasin Ramadan, Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and other Iraqi officials. 3. Iraqi Armed Forces issue communique on military operations in Iraq. 4. Statement issued by the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party. INA carried the following headlines at 1310 gmt : 1. Collapse in morale of forces of the US aggression. 2. Robin Cook criticizes the British government. 3. Venezuela condemns the US-British aggression. 4. The Moroccan House of Representatives demands a halt to the aggression. 5. A US soldier killed and 13 injured. 6. Russian concern over the effects of the US-British aggression on Iraqi historical sites. 7. The information minister stresses that the aggressors are targeting residential areas and services. 8. A British aircraft crashes (over Kuwait). INA posted the following headlines at 1430 gmt: 1. President Saddam Husayn chairs a meeting comprising the ministers of military industrialization and higher education. 2. Moscow patriarch condemns the barbaric US-British aggression. 3. The information minister stresses that the US and British war criminals are in a great dilemma in Umm Qasr. 4. A delegation of Tunisian volunteers arrives to defend Iraq. 5. The shaykh of the Murad tribe in Yemen condemns the US-British aggression. 6. International delegations participating in the Human Rights Committee denounce the unjust aggression. The Iraqi UN Mission web site, http://www.iraqi-mission.org/ was not accessible. The Iraq2000 web site, which hosts the daily newspaper Babil, a number of Iraqi weekly newspapers and the Babil Online news website,http://www.iraq2000.com, was not accessible. [non] BROADCAST MEDIA TARGETING IRAQ Voice of the Liberation of Iraq says Saddam Husayn was killed during raid of 20 March Voice of the Liberation of Iraq, a radio station believed to be operating from Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, broadcast the following report at 1830 gmt on 22 March: "According to reports from the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the dictator of Iraq Saddam Husayn was killed from a serious injury he sustained during the missile attack of 20 March. These sources said that the Iraqi dictator had appointed his eldest son Uday as his successor to rule Iraq and the Iraqis before dying. "According to reports, Uday's younger brother Qusay, protested strongly against this decision and killed the personal guard of his brother Uday." [Passage omitted: Uday expected to be more ruthless than his father; allied forces calling on Iraqis to provide any information of Uday] Voice of the Liberation of Iraq is a station first monitored in March 2003 on mediumwave 1206 kHz in the Middle East and shortwave 4025 kHz. Iranian media behaviour The Iranian media continued their normal behaviour between 0700 and 1500 gmt on 23 March. Most of the programmes were still about the Iranian New Year and consisted of entertainment programmes. Even thought it is the New Year holidays, newspapers affiliated to the Iranian news agency were published and on sale at the news stands. However, their web sites were not updated. The radio news bulletin mostly quoted IRNA and foreign news agencies about the ongoing war in Iraq. Iranian news agencies continued their coverage of the war on Iraq but mostly quoted foreign sources. Turkish media behaviour On 23 March CNN Turk Television, a commercial television that is independent in content and affiliated with CNN International; NTV, a commercial news channel that is independent in content; and TRT 2 Television, a state-funded news channel, continued to operate in an open-studio format covering Operation Iraqi Freedom and related developments. The stations provided frequent updates and breaking news, such as the bombing of Mosul and Baghdad, and the fighting in Umm Qasr They all focused on the explosion at Pennsylvania Camp in Kuwait. They also broadcast their own reports or relayed footage from foreign TV channels of news conferences by Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, who threatened Turkey against cooperation with the United States in the war launched against Iraq; Iraqi Information Minister Sa'id al- Sahhaf; and Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yasin Ramadan. OTHER MEDIA REPORTS US slams captured POW tape as "Iraqi propaganda" The Qatar-based network Al-Jazeera on 23 March broadcast videotape of interviews with men and women who appeared to be US prisoners of war. Al-Jazeera said the footage had been screened earlier on Iraqi domestic TV. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on US network CBS that the tape was Iraqi propaganda. "It seems to me that showing a few pictures on the screen, not knowing who they are and being communicated by Al-Jazeera, which is not a perfect instrument of communication, obviously is part of Iraqi propaganda. Responding to Iraqi propaganda, it seems to me, is not what the United States armed forces are about," international news agencies quoted Rumsfeld as saying. Journalists' group calls on US-led forces to protect media staff The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on 23 March called for the forces of the United States and its allies to protect all journalists and media staff covering the Iraq conflict, even those not formally travelling under military protection. The following is the text of an IFJ press release: The International Federation of Journalists today called for the forces of the United States and its allies to protect all journalists and media staff covering the Iraq conflict - even those not formally travelling under military protection. The death of Australian cameraman Paul Moran, who died in a reported suicide bombing in northern Iraq, and growing concern for the safety of a three-person television crew working for ITN, which is missing after reportedly being under fire while following forces moving on Basra, has raised new fears over the safety of journalists. The death of Australian cameraman Paul Moran, who died in a reported suicide bombing in northern Iraq, and growing concern for the safety of a three-person television crew working for ITN, which is missing after reportedly being under fire while following forces moving on Basra, has raised new fears over the safety of journalists. The IFJ is demanding that media exercise more restraint in covering the conflict. "Journalists, especially freelances, are under tremendous pressure and they face terrible risks if they don't keep their distance," said Aidan White, General Secretary of the IFJ this morning. "Safety is paramount and media organizations must not let their competitive urge to be first with the news get in the way of protecting people on the ground." "This is a war fought in the glare of worldwide publicity and everyone - military and media alike - must ensure that journalists and media staff are given protection," said the IFJ. "Journalists must be given protection by the military whether they are travelling under military control or not," says the IFJ. "It is not acceptable to create a privileged group of so-called 'embedded' journalists and to ignore the needs of other journalists from all around the world who are covering the conflict trying to serve many hundreds of millions of people who are hungry for news about the war." The IFJ president, Australian journalists' leader Christopher Warren, expressed the shock and concern of journalists worldwide over the death of Paul Moran, a cameraman with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, who died in a car bomb explosion in Sayyid Sadiq in northern Iraq outside the village of Khurmal yesterday. "This death illustrates that in journalism there are tragic sacrifices to be made in covering the war in Iraq," said Warren. "We send our most profound condolences to Paul's family and colleagues. The whole region is potentially dangerous and all media must be alert to the threats." Witnesses said Moran and his two colleagues, who were injured, were waiting to enter the village when a taxi drew up beside them and exploded. Khurmal is a base of the mainstream Komala Islami Kurdistan (Islamic Society of Kurdistan), which was targeted by cruise missiles early Saturday [22 March] at the same time as the hardline Ansar al-Islam, which is allegedly linked to the Al-Qa'idah terror network. Meanwhile British television reporter Terry Lloyd and colleagues Fred Nerac and Hussein Othman are missing. ITN said the crew came under fire while travelling to Basra in southern Iraq. One of the crew, Daniel Demoustier, was injured but was able to get to safety. Lloyd is an award-winning correspondent who has reported extensively in the past from Cambodia, Bosnia and Kosovo. The IFJ has also protested also over the expulsion of a CNN team from Baghdad. "This is a spiteful and petty act of victimization against professional journalism by a regime that has no respect at all for press freedom," said White. Further information: + 32 2 235 22 00 Australia: ABC news chief to retrieve cameraman's body The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's head of news and current affairs, Max Uechtritz, will travel to Iran to retrieve the body of ABC cameraman Paul Moran, who was killed in a car bomb attack while on assignment in northern Iraq. Reporting this, ABC News Radio noted that ABC correspondent Eric Campbell had been slightly injured in the suicide car bomb attack in Sayyid Sadiq in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The journalists had been working in an area where there are no coalition forces and no Iraqi troops, the report added. Western media used as "propaganda" tools for US war - Iran paper The English-language newspaper Iran Daily on 23 March questioned the truthfulness and dependability of Western media war reports, saying their news stories are being used as propaganda by American officials to achieve their goals. A commentary in Iran Daily's "second war edition", cited by the Iranian news agency IRNA, said in part: "... There have been reliable reports that American statesmen have been censoring all war-related news... Some of the pictorial reports presented by the American media remind one of Hollywood films, while the contradictory news disseminated by them reveal attempts to distort the truth..." Stories such as the "surrender of 20 per cent of Iraq's Republican Guards, the likelihood of Saddam Husayn's death during the bombardment of Baghdad, the possibility of America deploying nuclear weapons in this war and the emergence of an imminent civil war between Iraqi Sunnis and Shi'is" point to a one-sided presentation of news about the war, the paper was quoted as saying. It added: "One important ingredient in achieving success in any war is the use of psychological warfare. Before the US launched the current war, it evidently indulged in a propaganda warfare not only to prepare the Iraqi people but the world as a whole for the war." "How could the Western mass media be trusted as reliable and professional sources of news and information when they are being used as propaganda tools by the American statesmen?" the daily asked. Source: BBC Monitoring research 23 Mar 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. ClandestineRadio.com has been updated on Mar 25th http://www.clandestineradio.com The preliminary editions 129 and 129 Extra (Iraq) of the newsletter Clandestine Radio Watch have been published on March 25th http://www.schoechi.de/crw.html The update of ClandestineRadio.com includes updates regarding the situation in Iraq and has several new audio links and new analysis articles by cr.com editor Nick Grace. The prelimininary issue CRW 129 for instance includes QSL logs for Hmong Lao Radio and Chan Troi Moi (not Clandestine, but certainly 'CR related'). Both QSL cards can be seen in CRW's Clandestine Radio QSL Gallery at http://www.schoechi.de/pic-cla.html The prelimininary issue CRW 129 Extra (Iraq) presents (clandestine) radio related news reg. Iraq in thematical and chronological order. (Martin Schoech, Merseburg, Deutschland, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** IRAQ. March 20th NY Times reported in an article entitled "First Strikes Set the Stage for a War Against Iraq" regarding issuing instructions on how Iraqis could surrender --- "The message was delivered by a radio station near the Kuwait-Iraqi border operated by American Special Operations forces and by an airborne radio station." This is the first I have read about this station which seems to indicate that there is a US Army PSYOPS unit operating in Kuwait broadcasting Information Radio. Not sure who this is, but the 10th PSYOPS Battalion deployed to Kuwait last October. I also heard a report on BBC on Mar 23rd that wind up radios were being dropped into Basra. http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Stories/Operation%20Enduring%20Freedom/03_03/23.htm worth a look, great current pictures. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81509,00.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/not_in_website/syndication/monitoring/media_reports/2583893.stm which talks of ground transmitters in Kuwait and the Gulf all the way back in December (Hans Johnson, March 24, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Concern over satphone use ------------------------- With the US military targeting satellite phone transmissions to locate Iraqi military commanders, analysts worry calls from journalists and other civilians could appear as beacons for bombers. The US military won't discuss how precisely it can track people based on their satphone signals, and the satellite phone companies say they don't know. But military and intelligence experts say US targeting technology is not just possible, it's getting better. "It's just yet another thing journalists now have to take into account," said Kate Adie, a veteran war correspondent for the BBC. US military officials have urged journalists and other foreign civilians to leave Iraq for their own safety. Iraq's information ministry estimates 300 foreign journalists remain in Baghdad. Major satellite telephone providers have said they saw subscriptions and usage rise alongside the prospect of a US invasion. On Tuesday, Inmarsat said it was activating a fifth satellite to help ease congestion caused, in part, by transmissions of news video. Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=528&e=1&cid=528&u=/ap/20030321/ap_on_hi_te/iraq_satellite_phones (AP via Yahoo! News via Georges Lessard, CAJ-list via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** IRAQ. IMPROVED TOOLS TURN JOURNALISTS INTO A QUICK STRIKE FORCE By AMY HARMON As an NBC correspondent based in northern Iraq, Fred Francis is not finding work, or life, easy right now. But things would be a lot harder without his compact satellite dish, which at 140 pounds is about 800 pounds lighter than the one he lugged into Panama during the 1989 United States invasion and spent five hours setting up as the fighting went on a half-mile away. A prototype that was inspired by NBC's frustration with the jerky videophone pictures from the war in Afghanistan, the small dish lets Mr. Francis travel light, set up in 20 minutes and send home decent video. As ABC's larger dish blew off the roof of a nearby hotel one night last week, Mr. Francis snuggled with his compact model on a sheltered balcony. "When you're in dumps like this one, the one thing you want is communication," said Mr. Francis, whose equipment also provides him with high-speed data lines and two-way video so he can help edit his stories and watch the "Today" show. FULL STORY: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/business/media/24TECH.html?tntemail1 (via Bill Doskoch, Toronto, ON, caj-list via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. MILITARY FREQUENCIES AROUND IRAQ: Try http://www.milaircomms.com/war_iraq.html for info. (Bert, W1DFU, swl via DXLD) ** IRELAND [non]. RTE A-03 via Merlin: --- 6155 0130 0200 smtwtfs RTE Rampisham 500 270 RTE C AM 15280 1000 1030 smtwtfs RTE Singapore 250 135 RTE AUS 15585 1800 1830 smtwtfs RTE Rampisham 500 105 RTE ME 13640 1830 1900 smtwtfs RTE Sackville 250 277 RTE N AM 21630 1830 1900 smtwtfs RTE Ascension 250 85 RTE AF (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. The Summer 2003 Kol Israel schedule is now available at: http://www.israelradio.org/summer03.htm It has not been updated on the Bezeq or the IBA websites yet. I have placed English and Hebrew (Reshet Bet) below, in text form. SUMMER DAYLIGHTS SAVINGS TIME [sic] AT 2300 UT ON MARCH 27 Schedule from March 30 to October 25, 2003 (The first three broadcasts are normally on Reshet Alef locally in Israel - they are on REKA during the emergency situation) English 0400-0415 UT (Midnight Eastern Daylight) 0500-0515 UT (If state of alert still exists) (1 AM EDT) Europe + N. America 9435 17545 Australasia and S. America 17600 ----- 1015-1030 UT (6:15 AM EDT) Europe + N. America 15640 17545 S. Europe, N Africa, Central America, Australia 17525 ------------- 1630-1645 UT (12:30 afternoon EDT) Europe + N. America 15640 17545 ----------------- Reshet Hey - "Israel Radio International" 1900-1925 UT (3 PM EDT) Europe + N. America 17545 15615 11605 Africa 15640 ------------------------ Hebrew/Reshet Bet Europe + N. America 0400-1800 15760 1800-0400 9345+ (In use March 30 -- April 30 and Sept 1 -- Oct 25) 0500-0100 17535 1800-0400 15760# (In use May 1 -- August 31) 2300-0600 11585 0330-0500 11590 0100-0500 13580 1600-0330 11585 --- S. Europe + S America 2000-2115 15640 1800-1850 15640 ---------------- For those interested in languages - Joel Rubin has mentioned that you can currently (Winter sched) hear Ladino ("Jewish Spanish", as he calls it...- similar in concept to Yiddish, which is like a "Jewish German") on the live Kol Israel webfeed, following English at 1130 UT. You can look at the shortwave schedule to see the times/ frequencies there. He also mentions, "It's relatively easy to hear the other major Jewish language other than Hebrew, Yiddish, on the 'net. Besides the IsraelRadio.org live stream at 1700 GMT, there's http://yv.org and the Forward Hour from http://www.1050wevd.com/stored/storedprograms.php3 " (via Doni Rosenzweig, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. The IBA website has added more domestic FM frequencies for the English news while it is on REKA. Looking at the normal frequency list - these ARE normal REKA frequencies. I don't know why they weren't included on the IBA English website before - they ARE on the israelradio.org website. http://bet.iba.org.il/bet.htm?item=betlanguage23 "94.4 -- northern and upper Galilee 93.7 -- Haifa and surroundings 88.2, 104 -- Jerusalem and surroundings 88.2, 101.2 -- Tel Aviv and surroundings 107.3 -- Beersheva and surroundings Our transmission cannot be heard on either AM or FM in Eilat, Dead Sea, or Mitzpe Ramon and surroundings." 531 (normally Reshet Gimel) and 954 AM are also being used, as previously mentioned. --- Here is the complete Kol Israel shortwave schedule - from Moshe Oren. The Bezeq website doesn't have the new schedule yet. Please excuse the (non) formatting -it's a mess. All times UTC - subtract 4 hours for EDT [not till April 7!] -- of course if the state of emergency still exists, the program timing changes will remain... (Doni Rosenzweig, Mar 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Israel Radio, A03: KHz Primary Target UTC=GMT Language 15760 N.America/W.Europe 0400-1800 Hebrew 17535 N.America/W.Europe 0500-0100 Hebrew 13580 N.America/W.Europe 0100-0500 Hebrew 9345 N.America/W.Europe 1800-0400 30.03.03-30.4.03 15760 N.America/W.Europe 1800-0400 01.05.03-31.08.03 9345 N.America/W.Europe 1800-0400 01.09.03-26.10.03 11585 N.America/W.Europe 1600-0330 Hebrew 15640 S.America/S.Europe 2000-2115 (1900-1950) [sic] 15640 S.America/S.Europe 1800-1850 Mabat 11590 N.America/W.Europe 0330-0500 Hebrew 5915 \ 12150 Middle East 0300-2115 Arabic 9435 \ 15640 N.America/W.Europe 0400-0415 English 17600 N.Africa/s.America/Australia English 15640 \ 17545 W.Europe 1015-1030 English 17525 N.Africa/s.America/Australia English 17545 \ 15640 N.America/W.Europe 1530-1555 English 17545 \ 15615 \ 11605 N.America/W.Europe 1900-1930 English 15640 S.Africa English 9435 \ 15640 N.America/W.Europe 0415-0430 French 15640 \ 17545 N.America/W.Europe 1000-1015 French 11605 \ 17545 \ 15640 N.America/W.Europe 1530-1555 French 17545 \ 15615 \ 11605 N.America/W.Europe 1930-1945 French 15640 \ 17520 N.America/W.Europe 1500-1525 Ladino-sat only 17545 N.America/W.Europe Ladino-sat only 17545 \ 15640 N.America/W.Europe 1700-1715 Spanish 17545 \ 11605 \ 15615 N.America/W.Europe 1945-2000 Spanish 15640 N.America/W.Europe Spanish 15655 Middle East 1025-1040 Ladino 9435 \ 11605 Russia 1730-1900 Russian 13850 IRAN 9,985 @@ 1400-1525 Persian 15640 IRAN 11,605 @@ (Sun-Thu) Persian 17545 N.America/W.Europe Persian 15640 IRAN 9985 @@ 1400-1500 Persian 13850 IRAN 11605 @@ (Fri&Sat) Persian 17545 N.America/W.Europe Persian 15655 Europe 1000-1025 Yiddish 9435 Europe 1600-1625 Yiddish 15650 C.America/S.Europe Yiddish 9435 \ 15650 Romania 1625-1645 Romanian 9435 \ 15650 C.Europe 1645-1700 Hungarian UTC=GMT local time 30.03.03-02.10.03 UTC+3 [NOTE above that DST actually starts Mar 28 so for those two days old winter schedule should be in effect but one hour earlier!] (via Moshe Oren, Bezeq, DXLD) @@ not explained: alternates? ** ITALY [non]. RAI A-03 via Merlin: --- 6110 0130 0230 smtwtfs RAI Ascension 250 235 ITALIAN S AM 11765 0130 0230 smtwtfs RAI Ascension 250 295 ITALIAN C AM 11920 1000 1100 smtwtfs RAI Singapore 250 140 ITALIAN OC 15320 1700 1800 smtwtfs RAI Ascension 250 100 ITALIAN AF (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** JORDAN. Radio Jordan noted March 24th 1652 tune in on 11690 with English programme Interaction, listeners phoning and emailing about how Jordanians were reacting to the different media sources in the current conflict, next week`s topic announced as how the conflict is affecting families, 1700 news bulletin leading with denials that Coalition planes were using Jordanian airspace, excellent signals (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non?]. Dear Friends, Radio Sadayee Kashmir noted with new afternoon broadcast on 9890 at 0730-0830 UT today. They also use 6100 at 0230-0330 & 1430-1530 (Jose Jacob, India, March 23, dx_india via DXLD) see also India 6100, 18.3 1515, Radio Sedayee Kashmir är det troligen som flyttat hut från 6135. Mycket prat om Pakistan, men ID-ar aldrig, så jag förstår. Avslutade 1531 med att prata om "meterband". S 3-4 BEFF (Björn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin via DXLD) 6100, 18.3 1515, Radio Sedayee Kashmir most likely the one who has moved from 6135. Lots of talk about Pakistan, but never any Ids that I can understand. Finished at 1531 mentioning ``meterband``. S 3-4 BEFF (= Bjorn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD)) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. He aquí las nuevas frecuencias y horarios de Radio Korea Internacional a partir del próximo 30 de Marzo, las cuales fueron reseñadas hoy en el programa Antena de La Amistad. 1000 a 1100 UT...............9580 y 11715 Am del Sur [Canada] 0100 a 0200 UT..............11810 Am del Sur 2000 a 2100 UT..............15575 Europa 0700 a 0800 UT..............13670 Europa 1000 a 1100 UT...............9640 Europa. (via José Elías Díaz Gómez, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [non]. KBS A-03 via Merlin: --- 3955 2100 2130 smtwtfs KBS Skelton 250 106 ENGLISH EUR 6145 1900 2000 smtwtfs KBS Skelton 250 150 FRENCH EUR 3955 2000 2100 smtwtfs KBS Skelton 250 106 GERMAN EUR 9535 0700 0800 smtwtfs KBS Skelton 300 110 KOREAN EUR 15360 1800 1900 smtwtfs KBS Rampisham 500 61 RUSSIAN RUSS (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** KUWAIT. Radio Kuwait noted 1755 March 24th on 11990 with phone in interview in Arabic to past 1810, no English service. Good signals (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LEBANON [non]. Voice of Free Lebanon noted March 24th on 11515, 1600 short morse code like interval signal followed by anthem, announcements including Loubnan al Hurriyah, pop music tune and presumed news at 1608. Good signal on clear channel, off at 1653 recheck (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LUXEMBOURG. The Megaradio relays via Marnach 1440 have ceased, apparently on Friday. Now again the German RTL-Radio is carried during daytime; they already put an announcement at http://www.rtl-radio.de (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GERMANY ** MALAYSIA. What appeared to be the R6 service in Tamil from RTM was heard March 24 on about 4844.95 at fair strength around 1730. "Indian" style popular music and song was played interspersed with announcements and commercials. I didn`t catch an ID at 1800 due to a sudden drop in signal strength, but when the signal reappeared, the news was being read (Noel R. Green [Blackpool, UK], Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MALI. 4833.27, RTV Malienne, 2212-0000* Mar 22. I wasn't sure who this was at first, as Mali is usually on frequency. African sounding music, but not hi-life. The language spoken by the male announcers was also African, and definitely not French. At sign-off, their NA sounded like it was played by a marching band. It exactly matched the clip on the intervalsignals.net website. SINPO 34433 (George Maroti, NY, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** MEXICO [non]. Thanks for your mentioning X[E]PRS 1090 khz, Wolfman Jack's auld haunt, being back on the air with sports from San Diego! Their on-air talent, including John Fricke, Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith, Steve Mason, and Coach John Kentera, was unceremoniously dumped from Clear Channel's X[E]TRA 690 around the new year! ...73s once again (from Sactown-n-Ed Gardner, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Chris Gardner, KC4WHY, manager of Radio Macedonia, in Arequipa, 4890 kHz, says they are using a 1 kW transmitter made by HCJB in Ecuador. Right now they are off the air after a transmitter failure, but they will be back as soon as they find the missing spare part. The antenna is located in one the higher parts of the city of Arequipa, called Zamacola, at an altitude of 8,500 feet above sea level. The antenna is a dipole 10 meters off the ground. "In the next couple of months we are hoping to install a lazy H antenna and that will supposedly help the transmission quite a bit. We will be trying to get better programming on the air as soon as possible. We just figured that the audio off of the TV station would be better than nothing you know. Thanks for tuning in and please bear with us, things will be getting better and better little by little", says Chris Gardner in his recent e-mail. His e-mail address is gardner@uttermost.net (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Mar 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Chris Gardner of Radio Macedonia 4890 kHz says in an answer to my report of reception that it´ll take some time for Radio Macedonia to be in full operation: ``Right now we are using the audio channel from the TV station because of a lack of funds and personnel to run the station otherwise. We are going to start identifying ourselves etc. as soon as possible and we are looking forward to converting this into a radio station like it ought to be, but that will take some time as I am sure you can imagine. Keep on listening; things will get better, I promise.`` Chris Gardner also seems to be a ham, and then should be used also to us DX-ers. He is identifying himself as ``Chris Gardner KC4WHY`` Best regards from (Jan Edh, Hudiksvall, Sweden, DX-ing Fredriksfors, Mar 24, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** PERU. 6193.48, R Cusco, peaking at 09.44 with lovely signal and Numerous ID's, 24th March (David Norrie, Auckland, NZ, AOR7030, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND. As is well-known, World War II was rolled off by means of a faked attack on the mediumwave transmitter at Gleiwitz (today Gliwice). The station is still intact and according to a former TPSA employee indeed still ready to transmit. Complete report with photos: http://www.mdr.de/viaeuropa/themen/377134.html I would assume that the Koszêcin transmitter once took over from the historic Gliwice facility (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Radio Gardarika presumed the one on 6245 from 1905 tune in to 1930 tune out March 24th, continuous Russian pop music with no announcements. Excellent signal strength (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non]. The new Voice of Russia audio stream is indeed operated by T-Systems (Deutsche Telekom). Enclosed a press release which also mentions that 603 will be on air around the clock in future and that the recent expansion of the contracts between Voice of Russia and T-Systems also includes an option for future DRM transmissions on mediumwave. The release covers the Jülich shortwave arrangements already in force, too. ----- Stimme Russlands baut Kurzwelle und Internet aus T-Systems bereitet Online-Programm des Staatsradios vor Berlin (pte, 21. Mär 2003 16:15) - Das russische Staatsradio "Stimme Russlands" http://www.vor.ru baut den Sendestandort Berlin aus. Künftig wird das Programm des Mittelwellensenders in der deutschen Hauptstadt rund um die Uhr ausgestrahlt. Zudem werde zusätzlich über Kurzwelle gesendet und ein Online-Programm vorbereitet. Umgesetzt werden diese Vorhaben von der Telekom-Tochter T-Systems http://www.t-systems.de Diesbezüglich bereits bestehende Verträge wurden verlängert und erweitert, teilte das Unternehmen heute, Freitag, mit. Der Vertrag enthalte auch eine Option zur Ausstrahlung des Programmes im digitalen Standard DRM über Mittelwelle. Vom Standort Jülich sendet das russische Auslandsradio künftig auch über Kurzwelle in den Nahen und Mittleren Osten. T-Systems bereite zudem den neuen Verbreitungsweg über das Internet vor. Die Signale kommen demnach über Satellit zur Funkstelle Usingen, von wo sie über das Telecom Broadcast Network (TBN) ins Internet gelangen. Das TBN ist ein Hochleistungsnetz zur Verteilung multimedialer Inhalte im Web (via Kai Ludwig, Germany, DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES. 11885 (actually 11884.94), FEBA, thought I would check this one out before it (literally) fades out into the sunset (or sunrise) on Mar 29, and was surprised at the good signal at 0343 Mar 14 (Fri), closing in scheduled Swahili with Tanzania address and into slow-speed EG program, "Spotlight," about bananas. Closed 0400 after Swahili ID with Nairobi, Kenya address and one "What A Friend We have In Jesus" IS. This EG is scheduled Thu-Fri-Sun 0345-0400. This channel is listed as 75 kw. Not as good at *0315 Mar 16 recheck, but not bad (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. 15745, SLBC, Mar 25 1335-1400+. In English with "Hits From Germany", a DW program featuring tunes from the German pop charts; 1400 pips and YL says "19.30 hours Indian Standard Time" and right into "Back to God Hour". Quite an eclectic menu on this station. Tuned in again at 1500 to catch pips, ID and time checks in both SL Time (21.00) and Indian Time (20.30), then news headlines. Good signal, // 9770 also good level but covered by stronger station. (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot random wire, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. CBS A-03 via Merlin [i.e. R. Taibei International] --- 3955 1800 1900 smtwtfs MNO Skelton 250 175 ENGLISH W EUR 3955 1900 2000 smtwtfs MNO Skelton 250 175 FRENCH W EUR 6185 1900 2000 smtwtfs MNO Skelton 250 105 GERMAN W EUR (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** TUNISIA. Dear DXers around the world, As you know DX activity here in Tunisia is very poor. This is why we decided to organize a DX- pedition in Tunisia, in the wonderful islands of Kerkennah. You haven't to pay for hotel --- We will stay at our house there. All you have is to pay for a ticket to Tunisia. So, all is completely FREE. Our goal is to make DX hobby more and more popular in Tunisia. It will take place in June 2003. Every one who went to participate, please email me as soon as possible on my personal e-mail, and give me these details: NAME: CITY, COUNTRY: JOB: DX Career: EQUIPMENT: Waiting for your participations (Achraf Chaabane, CRW North Africa Bureau (Tunisia), achraftn@yahoo.com hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** U K. WIN OR LOSE, THERE'S A TV CHANNEL THERE FOR YOU Opinion March 24, 2003 -- William Rees-Mogg Television has changed wars; now war is changing television. On Sky Digital there are eight channels offering continuous news coverage of the war in Iraq. As one watches them one is struck that there is no such thing as impartiality. Each channel gives very different pictures of the progress of the campaign. In the middle of yesterday morning, I was switching through the channels. Sky News had a report that Basra was now under the control of coalition forces; there being no British casualties. BBC News 24 was reporting increasing Iraqi resistance and said: "The US rhetoric will be held up to scrutiny." I had already formed the impression that Sky's coverage was consistently more positive than that of the BBC. Sky editors seemed to expect the coalition forces to win; the BBC is more defeatist. Indeed, the BBC has forecast British defeats in four out of the past five wars… http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,482-621732,00.html (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U K. Contacts within the World Service advise me that the BBCWS will be in continuous "rolling news" format, without the usual regularly scheduled programming, until "early Friday", 3/28, at the earliest; at which time a decision will be made regarding its extension. My contact advises me that this information might not be posted on the website -- as there would be substantial reprogramming of the underlying databases required. I'll update this information when possible (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, March 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non] U S A. Greetings from Sactown once again, Glen[n]! [In California,] Nevada City's KVMR, 89.5 MHz f.m., has been presenting B.B.C. World Service news at the top of the hour since the Iraqi invasion! (Sactown-n-Ed Gardner, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At present WDR Radio 5 relays the BBC-Worldservice daily between 2300 and 0500 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. This coming Sunday March 30 there will be NO transmission on 5935 kHz. This is due to essential adjustments being made to both transmitter and Antenna system in preparation for our new frequency. However we shall still be broadcasting to North America from 2000 on 9330 kHz [WBCQ CLSB]. Our European service will return on SUNDAY APRIL 6. Frequency : 9520 kHz. Broadcast hours : 1200 to 2000 UT. Keep checking our website for latest updates (Andrew, Laser Radio From laserradio@yahoogroups.com via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U K [non]. BIBLE VOICE A-03 via Merlin: ----------- 7180 0030 0100 smtwtfs MNO Dhabbaya 250 85 NA S AS 9610 0200 0230 smtwtfs MNO Dhabbaya 250 90 NA S AS (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** UNITED NATIONS [non]. UN RADIO A-03 via Merlin: -------- 7150 1700 1715 .mtwtf. UNR Meyerton 100 76 NA S AF 17720 1700 1715 .mtwtf. UNR Skelton 300 180 NA N AF 21535 1700 1715 .mtwtf. UNR Meyerton 500 342 NA S C AF 7150 1730 1745 .mtwtf. UNR Meyerton 100 5 NA E AF 15495 1730 1745 .mtwtf. UNR Skelton 300 110 NA ME 17810 1730 1745 .mtwtf. UNR Ascension 250 65 NA W C AF 15585 1830 1845 .mtwtf. UNR Rampisham 500 115 NA ME 17565 1830 1845 .mtwtf. UNR Skelton 300 180 NA N AF (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) NA = languages not specified; 1730 English? ** U S A [non]. TWR A-03 via Merlin: --- 12035 1800 1815 smtwtfs TWR Dhabbaya 250 225 VARIOUS E AF 12035 1815 1830 s.....s TWR Dhabbaya 250 225 VARIOUS E AF (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. WYFR A-03 via Merlin: ---- 15165 1900 2000 smtwtfs YFR Woofferton 100 114 ARABIC ME 15520 1500 1700 smtwtfs YFR Dhabbaya 250 85 ENGLISH S AS 21680 1700 1800 smtwtfs YFR Ascension 250 85 ENGLISH E AF 3230 1900 2100 smtwtfs YFR Meyerton 100 0 ENGLISH S AF 15195 2000 2100 smtwtfs YFR Ascension 250 65 ENGLISH C AF 15520 1400 1500 smtwtfs YFR Dhabbaya 250 85 HINDI S AS 15290 1700 1900 smtwtfs YFR Rampisham 500 62 RUSSIAN RUSS (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** U S A. AMERICA'S ARABIC VOICE --- RADIO SAWA STRUGGLES TO MAKE ITSELF HEARD --- By Michael Dobbs, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, March 24, 2003; Page C01 It was 9:45 p.m. in Washington, 5:45 the next morning in Baghdad. Fadel Meshaal, an Iraqi freelance journalist working for a U.S. government radio station, was being interviewed from a studio on the Mall as the air raid sirens began to wail. For the next five hours, Meshaal described the scene in the Iraqi capital for Radio Sawa's listeners around the Arab world: loud explosions, deserted streets, heated denunciations of Washington in the official Iraqi press. His reports from Baghdad were interspersed with interviews from northern Iraq with opponents of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The opening barrage of live news reports on Radio Sawa -- seen by the Bush administration as its principal means of communicating with the Arab world -- was a reminder that two wars are now underway in the Middle East. One is being fought with tanks and missiles and aircraft carriers. The other, a struggle for the hearts and minds of 250 million Arabs, is being waged predominantly through the airwaves.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16817-2003Mar23.html (via Chuck Albertson, Seattle, WA; Kraig Krist and Tom McNiff, VA, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. New updated schedule for VOA / Radio Sawa in Arabic: 0000-0300 990 1260 1548 6185 7150* 7185 9645 0300-0500 990 1260 1548 6160 7150* 9660 9805 0500-0600 990 1260 1548 6160 7150 9660 9805 11920 0600-0700 990 1260 1548 7150 11920 17780* 21630* 0700-0800 990 1260 1548 11920* 15475* 17780* 21630* 0800-0900 990 1548 11920* 15475* 17765* 21630* 0900-1000 990 1548 11920* 15475* 17765* 21630* 1000-1100 990 1548 11920* 15475* 17765* 21630* 1100-1200 990 1548 11920* 15475* 17765* 21770* 1200-1300 990 1548 11920* 11995* 15475* 21770* 1300-1400 990 1548 12025* 11995* 15475* 21770* 1400-1500 990 1260 1548 11995* 12020* 21770* 1500-1600 990 1260 1548 11995* 12020* 21770* 1600-1700 990 1260 1548 11810* 21770* 1700-1800 990 1260 1548 7280 11825 (delete 11905) 1800-1900 990 1260 1548 7180 7280 9530 11825 11905 1900-2000 990 1260 1548 7195 7280 9530 9615 11825 11905 2000-2100 990 1260 1548 7195 7280 9530 9650 11825 11905 2100-2300 990 1260 1548 7195 7280 9530 9650 9745* 11765* 2300-2400 990 1260 1548 6185 7150* 9650* 9745* 11765* * new additional frequencies from March 21, 2003 73 from (Ivo and Angel!, Observer, Bulgaria, via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. MOROCCO. 9645 // 7185 Radio Sawa, 0020 to 0045, ID 0030, eclectic selection of music. English tapes of Pres. Bush translated into Arabic. Site location from W. Büschel-D Mar 19, in DXLD 3-045 via Clandestine Radio Watch http://www.schoechi.de/crw-new.html (Bob Wilkner, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Here's notice of an upcoming DX test... PLEASE NOTE: Even if you don't hear a test, be sure and drop a card, letter, or e-mail to the station personnel, thanking them for going to the trouble to run a test! Tuesday, April 1, 2003 - WTBQ-1110, Warwick, NY will conduct a DX test from 5:15 to 6:00 am ELT [1015-1100 UT]. Per Rob McLean, Program Director, there will be CW IDs and novelty music played. Please note - this is NOT an April Fools' joke! The test will run at a power of 250 W, non-directional. Reception reports may be sent to: Rob McLean, Program Director, WTBQ-AM, 62 N Main St, Florida, NY 10921 http://www.wtbq.com (Arranged by Rob McLean) Also, if you hear a test, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know, via either e-mail or in rec.radio.shortwave [sic]! And if you send a reception report to a station, please remember to include return postage with your report... (Lynn Hollerman, LA, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC limits visitor access to its headquarters: Due to the elevated homeland security alert announced March 17, the FCC has announced ``additional security precautions`` to limit visitor access to FCC headquarters in Washington, DC. Until further notice, the Maine Avenue lobby will be closed. All visitors must enter the building through the 12th Street lobby and will require an escort at all times in the building. In addition, the Reference Information center is closed, but filing and docket information remains accessible via the FCC Web site http://www.fcc.gov/searchtools.html (ARRL March 20 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Radio commentator Paul Harvey plugs ham radio`s emergency communications role: Veteran ABC Radio Networks commentator Paul Harvey on March 19 offered some kind words for Amateur Radio. The mention was the second item on ``page four`` of his Paul Harvey Noon News and Comment program: ``America`s quiet warriors are the legion of ham radio operators, 700,000 of them, who are always at ready for backup duty in emergencies --- amateur, unpaid, uncelebrated, civilian radio operators, during and after floods and fires and tornadoes. After the 9/11 attacks, hams were indispensable in reuniting friends and families. Most recently it was they who expedited the search for debris after the disaster to the space shuttle Columbia, and right now, at this moment, they are involved in homeland security to a greater degree than you would want me to make public.`` The commentary`s enigmatic and mysterious final sentence -- typical of Harvey`s habit of leaving his listeners hanging --- apparently refers to the fact that many Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur Emergency Service (RACES) teams have ramped up their alert status as hostilities get under way in the Middle East. The entire Wednesday noon broadcast is available on Paul Harvey`s Web site at http://www.paulharvey.com Click on the Wednesday noon link under ``Listen Now.`` (ARRL March 20 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WPLN EVOLVES INTO TALK OF THE TOWN [caption:] SHELLEY MAYS / STAFF A board in WPLN's corporate sales office posts underwriting goals. Manager of Corporate Support Laura Landress is in the background. WPLN's corporate underwriting function was recently outsourced, and the four-member team aims to increase sales revenue from $950,000 this year to $1.5 million in two years. By JEANNE A. NAUJECK, Staff Writer, Nashville Tennessean If the words ''public radio'' bring to mind graying hippies and government subsidies, a visit to Nashville Public Radio's airy MetroCenter studios may well change that. The atmosphere is relaxed. But the nonprofit, which operates WPLN-FM 90.3 and WPLN-AM 1430, is one of the most successful stations in public radio. It reaches 11% of its market, placing it in the top five public radio stations in the 50 biggest-rated markets. The station also gets 72% of its $3.1 million annual budget from listeners and corporate underwriters and is raising that bar substantially over the next two years.... http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/03/03/30590705.shtml?Element_ID=30590705 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. 1610, FLORIDA (PIRATE). "KQV" Parkland [Ft. Lauderdale area]; during a recheck for the City of Clearwater TIS [below] from home, at 0140 March 23, this one dominating with a HUGE signal on peaks, overriding the TIS's with automated format of bubblegum pop oldies and frequent male promo ID slogans. It remains totally amazing to hear an AM pirate, much less from so far away. 1610, FLORIDA, WPXE855, City of Clearwater; 2330 March 22. Female, short loop today with "This is the evening update... the next update will be tomorrow, Sunday at 10 a.m." (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) 96.7 MHz, FLORIDA (PIRATE). "Flavor FM," St. Petersburg. Noted all day March 23 with the usual automated Old School Soul format, occasional IDs dropped at the beginning of songs. Remains active Friday-Saturday-Sunday only. Signal really kicks ass south of Central Avenue on 49th Street. 99.1 MHz, FLORIDA (PIRATE). "Radio Sonique," Tampa; still active. Noted 2100+ March 22, with big signal, nonstop Haitian kreyol political talk. So, if there was an FCC raid in the past couple of months, this one escaped (Terry L. Krueger, Ft. DeSoto, at southern tip of Pinellas County, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. 4830, R. Táchira, 1145+ UT Mar 14. ID at tune-in 1145 in fast, "popular" style common in this part of the world. Weak signal with poor copy. San Cristóbal also mentioned. Light pop style music thruout (Jeffrey Heller, Katy Texas (near Houston), Drake R8B, 67 foot sloper style passive loaded wire, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. VOICE OF VIETNAM A-03 via Merlin: ----------- 6175 0100 0130 smtwtfs VOV Sackville 250 212 ENGLISH N AM 6175 0230 0300 smtwtfs VOV Sackville 250 212 ENGLISH N AM 6175 0330 0400 smtwtfs VOV Sackville 250 212 ENGLISH N AM 9725 1700 1730 smtwtfs VOV Moosbrunn 100 300 ENGLISH W EUR 9725 1830 1900 smtwtfs VOV Moosbrunn 100 300 FRENCH W EUR 9725 1900 1930 smtwtfs VOV Skelton 250 150 RUSSIAN S EUR 6175 0300 0330 smtwtfs VOV Sackville 250 212 SPANISH C AM 6175 0130 0230 smtwtfs VOV Sackville 250 212 VIETNAMESE C AM 6175 0400 0500 smtwtfs VOV Sackville 250 268 VIETNAMESE N AM 9725 1730 1830 smtwtfs VOV Moosbrunn 100 300 VIETNAMESE W EUR 9725 1930 2030 smtwtfs VOV Skelton 250 150 VIETNAMESE S EUR (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** WALES [non]. WALES RADIO INTL A-03 via Merlin: ---------------- 9795 0200 0230 ......s MNO Rampisham 500 300 NA N AM 17845 1230 1300 ......s MNO Rampisham 500 62 NA OC 7325 2030 2100 .....f. MNO Skelton 300 110 NA EUR (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 11750, 1405-1435 March 23. Good with subcontiniental pop vocals, Hindi or somesuch M&W chatter. At 1422, brief accented English by W, "... every Saturday and Sunday at... thirty... on 13-- 65 kHz [not sure about the frequency part]..." then back to talk and subcontinental songs. M&W at bottom of the hour through tuneout. Ideas? (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ SHORTWAVELISTENER NOW We all know about the importance of shortwave when there is a crisis in the world. The US led attack on Iraq has also shown this. I have a homepage with a List of English language Transmissions on Shortwave. This homepage did during the week before the attack get an average of 37 visitors daily directed to the page from searchengines and directories. This was a very small increase from the week before. On the 19th March it suddenly got 130 new visitors, and on the 20th it got 137 visitors. And the increase has stayed. It seems as if the start of the war made a lot of people start searching for information on shortwave. ^'*~>-.,_,.-<~*'^'*~>-.,_,.-<~*'^'*~>-.,_,.-<~*'^'*~>-.,_,.-<~*'^ Sven Ohlsson Email: sven@swl.nu ShortWaveListener Now - http://www.swl.nu (via DXLD) THOUGHT FOR THE DAY +++++++++++++++++++ "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt, 1918 (JAMES M. SURPRENANT - KB1IAR - http://jsurp.tripod.com via amfmtvdx from which he was promptly expelled, via DXLD) ###