DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-050, March 26, 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 1175: WWCR: Thu 2130 9475, Sat 0700, Sun 0330 5070, 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 RFPI: Sat 0130, 0730, Sun 0000, 0600, Mon 0030, 0630… on 7445 [may be pre-empted for Pacifica anti-war coverage] WBCQ: Mon 0545 on 7415 WJIE: Fri maybe 1300 on 7490 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html upload delayed, until sometime on March 27, we hope --- [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1175.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1175.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1175h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1175h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1175.html [already] IMPORTANT NOTE: Contrary to our previous note, we could not skip a week at this point in WOR production, and a new WOR 1175 was produced as usual March 26, and first broadcast on WBCQ at 2300. Shortly after issuing DXLD 3-049, our main website was back in use: http://www.worldofradio.com ** AUSTRIA. It is all but no pleasure to report what the ORF council decided today: Radio Austria International will be terminated and replaced by Ö1 shortwave relays effective July 1st. Official release: http://kundendienst.orf.at/fakten/gremien/stiftungsrat_30326.html (via Kai Ludwig, Mar 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ORF-STIFTUNGSRAT GENEHMIGT ORF-KOLLEKTIVVERTRAG UND NEUSTRUKTURIERUNG Von ROI. Dr. Klaus Pekarek (ORF-Stiftungsrat Vorsitzender) Ö1, erfolgreichster Kultursender Europas, wird zur Stimme Österreichs in der Welt Der ORF-Stiftungsrat unter dem Vorsitz von Generaldirektor Dr. Klaus Pekarek stimmte in der Plenarsitzung am Mittwoch, dem 26. März 2003, dem zwischen ORF-Geschäftsführung und ORF-Zentralbetriebsrat abgeschlossenen neuen Kollektivvertrag zu. Der neue Kollektivvertrag wird für alle Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter gelten, die ab 1. Jänner 2004 einen Arbeitsvertrag schließen, sowie für freie Mitarbeiter, die schon bisher für den ORF gearbeitet haben. Zustimmung des Stiftungsrats gab es auch für die von der Geschäftsführung vorgeschlagene Neustrukturierung von ROI. Weiters stimmte der Stiftungsrat zu, Prof. Dr. Rudolf Bretschneider zum Sachverständigen für das Qualitätsmonitoring und Jörg Ruminak zum Jugendschutzbeauftragten zu bestellen. Ö1: Neue Stimme Österreichs in der Welt Die Neustrukturierung von ROI ist deshalb notwendig, weil sich die Bundesregierung vor zwei Jahren aus der Finanzierung des Auslandsdienstes zurückgezogen hat. Im Hinblick sowohl auf wirtschaftliche Notwendigkeiten als auch auf die Qualitätssicherung des Auslandsangebots über Kurzwelle und Online-Dienste wird der ORF das bisherige Radio Österreich International ab 1. Juli 2003 durch das neue Angebot "Radio Österreich 1 International" ersetzen - der erfolgreichste Kultursender Europas wird zur Stimme Österreichs in Europa und in der Welt. Der vom österreichischen Publikum in einem überwältigend hohen Ausmaß angenommene Programmmix aus Information, Kultur, Musik, Literatur, Bildung, Wissenschaft und Religion wird damit über die Grenzen hinaus die Auslandsösterreicher sowie ein an Österreich interessiertes globales Publikum im bisherigen Umfang von ROI erreichen. Durch den Transfer der hoch qualifizierten Journalisten von ROI wird die personelle Kapazität von Ö1 verstärkt. Das neue "Radio Österreich 1 International" wird auch ein über das derzeitige Ö1-Programm hinausgehendes englischsprachiges Informationsangebot umfassen. Durch den weiteren Beitrieb des Kurzwellensenders Moosbrunn werden sowohl die Chancen der Digitalisierung der Kurzwelle als auch der Einsatz der Kurzwelle für Krisenzeiten gesichert. Mit der Neuordnung des Auslandsdienstes über Kurzwelle kann der ORF weiterhin höchste Qualität anbieten und gleichzeitig in einem Zeitraum von drei Jahren Einsparungen in der Höhe von jährlich rund vier Millionen Euro erzielen. Prof. Dr. Rudolf Bretschneider zum Sachverständigen Qualitätsmonitoring, Jörg Ruminak zum Jugendschutzbeauftragten bestellt Im Dezember 2002 hat der Stiftungsrat der Einführung eines Qualitätssicherungssystems für das Jahr 2003 zugestimmt, das für das Qualitätsmonitoring - Thema im Jahr 2003 wird die Unterhaltung sein - und für die Gesamtbeurteilung eine/n Sachverständige/n vorsieht, der/die mit Zustimmung des Stiftungsrats zu bestellen ist. Mit dieser Aufgabe wird Prof. Dr. Rudolf Bretschneider, Geschäftsführer Fessel- GfK, betraut, der seit 1997 ein Qualitätsmonitoring für den ORF durchführt. Zum Jugendschutzbeauftragten, einem weiteren Element des Qualitätsmonitoring, wird Jörg Ruminak bestellt. Jörg Ruminak, Nachfolger von Kurt Bergmann als Leiter der Stabsstelle "Humanitarian Broadcasting", ist seit 1980 im ORF tätig. Von 1987 bis 1993 war er Leiter des Familien- und Kinderfunks im ORF-Landesstudio Wien, von 1993 bis 2001 Leiter der Hauptabteilung Gesellschaft, Jugend und Familie (ORF via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Re 3255: Glenn, A emissora de Xapuri é autorizada há anos e agora se chama R. Educadora Seis de Agosto, como publicado em um passado recente no próprio DXLD. 73 Samuel Cássio Martins São Carlos, Brasil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA: Summer A-03 schedule of RADIO BULGARIA from March 30 to October 26, 2003; ADDR: 4, Dragan Tsankov Blvd., 1040 Sofia and P. O. Box 900, 1000 Sofia. Tel.:+359 2 9336 733; fax.:+359 2 650 560 Website: http://www.nationalradio.bg Program Director: Angel Nedyalkov e-mail: nedyalkov@nationalradio.bg Frequency Manager: Ivo Ivanov e-mail: rbul1@nationalradio.bg MW: Petrich (G.C: 23.18E/41.42N): 747 kHz 500 kW/non-dir Vidin (G.C: 22.40E/43.49N): 1224 kHz 500 kW/205 deg SW: P=Plovdiv/Padarsko (G.C: 24.42E/42.10N): 2 x 500 kW, 3 x 250 kW S=Sofia/Kostinbrod (G.C: 23.13E/42.49N): 2 x 100 kW, 2 x 050 kW ===================================================================== ALBANIAN / e-mail:albanian@nationalradio.bg 0530-0600 Mon-Fri Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 0600-0700 Sat/Sun Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 1100-1130 -daily- Balkans 9500 P250/248 1600-1630 -daily- Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 1900-2000 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 ===================================================================== BULGARIAN / e-mail:bulgarian@nationalradio.bg 0000-0100 -daily- NAm 9400 P500/306, 11900 P500/306 0000-0100 -daily- SAm 9500 P250/245, 11600 P250/258 0430-0500 Mon-Fri Weu 9400 P500/306, 12000 P500/306 0430-0500 Mon-Fri Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 0430-0500 Mon-Fri EEu 7500 S100/030, 9500 S100/030 0400-0500 Sat/Sun WEu 9400 P500/306, 12000 P500/306 0400-0500 Sat/Sun Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 0400-0500 Sat/Sun EEu 7500 S100/030, 9500 S100/030 1000-1030 -daily- Balkans 9500 P250/248 1000-1030 -daily- EEu 11600 S100/030, 13600 S100/030 1000-1030 -daily- WEu 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1200-1400 -daily- Balkans 1224 1200-1400 -daily- WEu 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1500-1600 -daily- Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 1500-1600 -daily- EEu 7500 S100/030, 9500 S100/030 1500-1600 -daily- ME 15700 P500/126 1500-1600 -daily- SAf 17500 P500/185 1800-1900 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 1800-2000 -daily- WEu 7200 P250/306 1800-2000 -daily- ME 7400 P250/140 ===================================================================== ENGLISH / e-mail:english@nationalradio.bg 0200-0300 -daily- NAm 9400 P500/306, 11900 P500/306 0630-0700 -daily- WEu 11600 P500/306, 13600 P500/306 1130-1200 -daily- WEu 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1730-1800 -daily- WEu 9400 P500/306, 11900 P500/306 2100-2200 -daily- WEu 5800 P500/295, 7500 P500/306 2300-2400 -daily- NAm 9400 P500/306, 11900 P500/306 [English portion via WORLD OF RADIO 1175] ===================================================================== FRENCH / e-mail:french@nationalradio.bg 0100-0200 -daily- NAm 9400 P500/306, 11900 P500/306 0600-0630 -daily- WEu 11600 P500/306, 13600 P500/306 1100-1130 -daily- WEu 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1700-1730 -daily- WEu 9400 P500/306, 11900 P500/306 2000-2100 -daily- WEu 5800 P500/295, 7500 P500/306 ===================================================================== GERMAN / e-mail:german@nationalradio.bg 0500-0530 -daily- WEu 9400 P500/306, 12000 P500/306 1030-1100 -daily- WEu 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1630-1700 -daily- WEu 9400 P500/306, 11900 P500/306 1900-2000 -daily- WEu 5800 P500/295, 7500 P500/306 ===================================================================== GREEK / e-mail:greek@nationalradio.bg 0500-0530 Mon-Fri Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 0500-0600 Sat/Sin Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 1030-1100 -daily- Balkans 9500 P250/248 1630-1700 -daily- Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224, 747 2000-2100 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 ===================================================================== RUSSIAN / e-mail:russian@nationalradio.bg 0300-0400 -daily- EEu 7500 S100/030, 9500 S100/030, 1224 0500-0530 -daily- EEu 7500 S100/030, 9500 S100/030 1030-1100 -daily- EEu 11600 S100/030, 13600 S100/030 1400-1500 -daily- EEu 7500 S100/030, 9500 S100/030, 1224 1400-1500 -daily- Cas 13600 P250/045 1600-1630 -daily- EEu 7500 S100/030, 9500 S100/030 1800-1900 -daily- EEu 7500 S100/030, 9900 S100/030 2300-2400 -daily- Cas 11700 P250/045 ===================================================================== SERBIAN / e-mail:serbian@nationalradio.bg 0600-0630 Mon-Fri Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 0700-0800 Sat/Sun Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224 1130-1200 -daily- Balkans 9500 P250/248 1700-1730 -daily- Balkans 7200 P250/248, 1224, 747 2100-2200 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 ===================================================================== SPANISH / e-mail:spanish@nationalradio.bg 0100-0200 -daily- SAm 9500 P250/245, 11600 P250/258 0100-0200 -daily- Cam 9700 P250/295 0600-0630 -daily- SEu 15700 P250/260, 17700 P250/292 1100-1130 -daily- SEu 15600 P250/260, 17600 P250/292 1630-1700 -daily- SEu 15700 P250/260, 17500 P250/292 2100-2200 -daily- SEu 11800 P250/292, 13800 P250/260 2300-2400 -daily- SAm 9500 P250/245, 11600 P250/258 ===================================================================== TURKISH / e-mail:turkish@nationalradio.bg 0500-0530 -daily- ME 6000 P250/115, 7400 P250/140 1000-1030 -daily- ME 7400 P250/140, 9400 P250/115 1730-1800 -daily- ME 7400 P250/140, 1224, 747 ===================================================================== DX-MIX program in Bulgarian will be on air: 1345-1400 Sun 1224 11700 15700 1945-2000 Sun 7200 7400 DX-MIX program in Russian will be on air: 0345-0400 Sun 1224 7500 9500 1445-1500 Sat 1224 7500 9500 13600 0515-0530 Sun 7500 9500 ||| additional 1615-1630 Sat 7500 9500 1045-1100 Sun 11600 13600 1845-1900 Sat 7500 9900 0515-0530 Mon 7500 9500 ||| additional 2345-2400 Sat 11700 1045-1100 Wed 11600 13600 ||| additional (Observer, Bulgaria, March 24, via DXLD) ** CHINA. Malaysia (non) Historian jailed in China over Clandestine Radio Article Glenn, I've found an interesting article on the internet http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/antonians/southchina.shtml purporting to spill the beans about a communist clandestine station broadcasting in the 60s and 70s. It appears on the website of St. Anthony's College, Oxford, which is considered to be a recruiting ground for Britain's MI6 spies. The article, reproduced from a story published last year in the South China Morning Post, says a Hong Kong based Chinese historian, Xu Zerong, has been jailed in China for revealing "state secrets". It says Xu claims to have visited the "ruins" of the Voice of Malayan Revolution station, near Changsha in China's Hunan province, in 2000. He says the broadcasting facilities were housed in a tunnel built in 1969 and were used for 12 years. The station allegedly had a staff of 80 Malyan communists, 100 Chinese assistants and was guarded by a company of Chinese soldiers. He says a quotation from Mao Zedong is still visible on the tunnel's wall: "The righteous struggle of the people in countries around the world are and will be supported by the 650 million people in China". Xu's revelations are said to be an embarrassment for the Chinese because the ideological justification for such clandestine operations was that the "class struggle" is more important than respecting the sovereignty of other nations, a position that, potentially, undermines China's current criticisms of the US for putting "human rights" above sovereignty (Roger Tidy, UK, March 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. NEW DRM TRANSMITTER TO DT IN GERMANY FROM RIZ /GERMANY On the web site of RIZ Transmitters Co. Zagreb, Croatia http://www.riz.hr/ "NEWS" We are proud to announce that we have just won Deutsche Telekom Project for delivery and installation of the first of ten 500 kW SW DRM Transmitter that is going to be installed in DT Short Wave Radio Broadcasting Center in Wertachtal-Germany. (this scrolls in a window on the home page) (RIZ website last update Feb. 24 2003 via Donald Wilson, DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. CZECH RADIO LAUNCHES BROADCASTING TO CZECH TROOPS IN KUWAIT | Text of report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 26 March: A half-hour programme for soldiers of the first Czech-Slovak antichemical unit in Kuwait began to be broadcast on Tuesday [25 March] by Radio Praha, Czech public radio's foreign broadcasting service, Rene Zavoral from the Czech Radio communications department told CTK. According to Radio Praha's director Miroslav Krupicka, whose words were quoted by Zavoral, the broadcast should form a bridge between the soldiers and their homeland. Family members, friends, and the general public will all have air time in these broadcasts, he added. "We have considered the possibility of addressing the Czech troops in our broadcasts for some time," Krupicka stated. The decisive impulse, he added, was information that several soldiers in Kuwait were regularly listening to Radio Praha. The programme for the soldiers in Kuwait is part of the news and comment broadcast prepared for world transmission each day. The first report was from Monday's meeting of Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik with the families and friends of soldiers from the anti-chemical unit in Liberec, north Bohemia, the unit's home base. Those who would like to sent the soldiers a greeting or a message can do so via the message line of Czech Radio, at 221 552 989, or by e- mail at cr@radio.cz, Zavoral added. Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1020 gmt 26 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Time and freq???? ** INDIA. E mail confirmation was received from AIR Chennai within 3 days for an email report for their new frequency of 7270. According to that reply, they are replacing 10330 by 7270 and it is of 100 kw. Their email id is : airavadi@vsnl.com Their postal address is: Mr. K. PALANISAMY, Asst. Station Engineer, All India Radio, Avadi Chennai- 100062. This address can be used for sending reports to AIR Chennai. Their SW frequencies currently in use are 4790, 4920, 7160, 7270 and on MW 720, 783 and 1395. Reports on their new frequency of 7270 will be of special interest to them. It operates at around 0630-1730. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, dx_india via WORLD OF RADIO 1175, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. If you've got access to the digital channels from the Hotbird satellite, there's currently a feed of WABC-TV New York available on 11.938H, 27,500, 3/4 (labelled RTV Studio). Local news, ads and lots of US domestic Gulf War coverage - very interesting. Thanks to http://www.transponder-news.de for the info (Gavin Robertson, Mar 24, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** IRAQ. The Republic of Iraq Radio shortwave transmitter on 11787 kHz continues to be heard despite the continuing American-led attack on Iraq. Yesterday afternoon (22 March) I tuned in at 1604 and heard patriotic songs and strident rhetoric until past 1650. Unfortunately, as usual with this transmitter, despite a fair strength carrier, the modulation level is very low so the programming is barely audible at times. Yesterday around 1600 a strong "noise" on 11790 did not help reception, although 11785 was fairly clear (apart from a weak station on 11784.9 - Indonesia?). This morning 11787 (23 March) the strong carrier on 11787 is still present. Iraq has also been reported (see DX Listening Digests) on 6175 kHz, but I have not heard that channel here (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK, AOR 7030+ / longwire/beverage, Caversham, UK, Mar 23, via DXLD) ** IRAQ. 11787, Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, 0800 UT 22/03: Music and irate crowd shouting in Arabic. Very difficult to read any of the audio so unable to make positive ID. Also heard until S/off at 1535 on 23/03 and from 0645 UT 24/03. Heard on the 25/03 until 0715 UT when Carrier disappeared. No sign of Transmission when checking at 0800 hours on 26th March Graham Powell Editor - Online DX Logbook via DXLD) A full list of English Broadcasts from the Middle East is available Free at http://www.shortwave.org.uk 11787.0 - 1030 UT March 26, Strong signal 9+20 at this time; modulation seems to be better than previous days. Commentaries and interviews in Arabic by male and female announcers + songs - Nothing heard on 6175. Despite the bombing of the radio and TV building in Baghdad last night, Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service has been received this morning on 11787. The signal was good. I noticed that Iraq Satellite channel on Hot Bird 13 degrees east (TPS) was interrupted at 1200 UT. So let's keep on monitoring ... 73 (Pascal, Tours, France. March 26, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** IRAQ. TUNING IN, By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) -- Tune into 100.4 FM and you'll likely hear Celine Dion, Sheryl Crow and U.S. warnings to Iraqis to stay away from military targets. The United States is stepping up its propaganda campaign ahead of imminent war, dropping record numbers of ominous leaflets over Iraq and beaming a five-hour Arabic-language radio show to Iraqis every evening. "Information Radio" comes to Iraqis courtesy of "Commando Solo" -- an EC-130E aircraft flown by the 193rd Special Operations Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. Dropping an antenna from its belly as it nears the Iraqi-Kuwait border, "Commando Solo" transmits messages prepared by the Army's 4th Psychological Operations Group in Fort Bragg, N.C. For the past four months, it has beamed them on three frequencies accessible to Iraqis -- 100.4 FM, 690 kHz on the AM dial and 9,715 kHz on shortwave. [what about the other two??] "We're trying to convey information to the people of Iraq, whether it be to the civilian population, the military or even anyone who has any idea about weapons of mass destruction," said Army Staff Sgt. Noble of Lorain, Ohio. He asked not to be identified further. The broadcasts tell Iraqis what to do to avoid harm, he said in an interview Tuesday at Camp As Sayliyah, the U.S. Gulf command center for a war against Iraq. Similar broadcasts were used during the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan, and have been used in almost every major conflict since the Vietnam War, said Air Force Sgt. Mike, an electronics communications specialist from Harrisburg, Pa. The 11 crew members of "Commando Solo" -- one of six EC-130E's in use by the psychological operations unit -- say the Iraqi authorities haven't been able to jam their signals. The broadcasts are advertised to Iraqis in leaflets dropped over the "no-fly zone" in southern Iraq, including a record 1.9 million dispersed on Tuesday that brought the total dropped this year to over 17 million. Besides radio schedules, the leaflets issue dire warnings like: "Attacking coalition aircraft invites your destruction," and "Do not risk your life and the lives of your comrades. Leave now and go home. Watch your children learn, grow and prosper." Some stress that coalition forces do not wish to harm innocent Iraqis, while others encourage the Iraqi military to refrain from using weapons of mass destruction or burning oil fields. The flying broadcasters said they have no idea who's listening to their Western and Arabic music and the heavy dose of U.S. programming. A few Iraqis contacted in Baghdad said they were aware of "Information Radio" but none said they listen to it (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) [Note: BBCM has been issuing these notes every two hours; here is a recent one] ** IRAQ. MEDIA BEHAVIOUR NOTE 0000-0200 GMT 27 MAR 03 Republic of Iraq Main Radio Service continued untraced during the reporting period. Iraq Satellite Channel TV transmissions on Hot Bird at 13 degrees east, Arabsat at 26 degrees east and NileSat at 7 degrees west went off the air at 1722 gmt and remain off. BBC Monitoring cannot currently verify reports that Republic of Iraq Television has resumed broadcasting in the Baghdad area. The Voice of Youth radio was not traced by BBC Monitoring during this reporting period. As of 0000 gmt on 27 March, Iraqi media monitored by BBC Monitoring are observed to behave as follows: Iraqi Satellite Channel Television, the external TV service, not monitored since 1730 gmt on 26 March. Republic of Iraq Television, the domestic TV service, not monitored since 1500 gmt on 24 March. Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, the main domestic radio station, is unheard on all frequencies. However, a radio station that has not identified itself and is heard with poor to inaudible reception as of 1855 gmt on 603 kHz, a frequency used by Baghdad Radio, continues to carry patriotic Iraqi songs. The official Iraqi News Agency web site http://www.uruklink.net/iraqnews/ and all other Iraqi sites hosted on http://www.uruklink.net including the dailies Al-Thawrah, Al- Jumhuriyah, and Al-Iraq are inaccessible. Source: BBC Monitoring research (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQI TV RESUMES "LOCAL" TRANSMISSION USING MOBILE TRANSMITTERS, SAYS AL-JAZEERA | Text of report by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 26 March A new wave of bombardment started over Baghdad a short while ago. The Iraqi capital was hit by more than 30 explosions in the early hours of this morning. Smoke columns were seen rising from a number of buildings. The Information Ministry and the Iraqi Television building are thought to be among these buildings. The Pentagon says that the Iraqi Television station has been destroyed. The Iraqi Television's satellite transmission has stopped. However, the local transmission has resumed, using transmitters mounted on vehicles, some sources have told Al-Jazeera. Source: Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic 0804 gmt 26 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS -- GETTING THE U.S. MESSAGE TO IRAQIS BY JEFF GLASSER Posted: Mar. 22, 2003 Jeff Glasser, a U.S. News senior editor, is reporting from Central Command headquarters in Qatar. DOHA, QATAR–As the first bombs crashed down on Saddam Hussein's capital city shortly before dawn Thursday, an unusual message aired on Baghdad radio. "This is the day we have been waiting for," a speaker in Arabic declared. "The attack on Iraq has begun." In an audacious escalation of the information war, U.S. Commando Solo EC-130E planes apparently "drowned out" Iraqi state radio and replaced it with an American broadcast, says Nick Grace, editor of ClandestineRadio.com… http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/iraq/articles/qatar030321.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** IRAQ. STATE-RUN MEDIA GIVES IRAQIS UPBEAT NEWS ON WAR By Samia Nakhoul BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - For most Iraqis, limited to news from state-run media, every day brings reports of fresh victories over invading U.S. and British forces. Daily television news bulletins show downed U.S. attack helicopters, captured U.S. soldiers and "heroic" resistance by Iraqis in battle. President Saddam Hussein broadcasts to the nation, exhorting his troops and calling on all Iraqis to stand firm and defeat the enemy. Ministers promise more casualties among the "infidel invaders" advancing toward Baghdad. Iraqi viewers do not see the vivid international footage of the relentless bombardment of their capital. Nor were they shown pictures of the first U.S. and British tanks rolling into the south of their country late last week, spearheading a U.S.-led drive to overthrow Saddam and disarm Iraq of alleged weapons of mass destruction. In the propaganda war being fought by both sides, the Iraqi media is playing to national pride and patriotism. There is a constant feed of military music, repeats of the latest Saddam footage, Muslim prayer and readings from the Koran, Islam's holy book. State-run newspapers, too, appeal to Iraqis' patriotism, their pages full of pictures of Saddam meeting military commanders, in control. Banner headlines trumpet battle successes. Muslim clerics have special programs to rally the masses against a "war on Islam," drawing on sayings by the Prophet Mohammad on "martyrdom" and jihad (holy struggle) against the invaders. "We are in our sacred country. ... These evil infidels, British and Americans, ... the enemies of Islam have launched a hypocritical, vicious and spiteful war on Iraq and Muslims," one cleric told viewers. "This Iraq will not kneel and will not bow, except to God." The media has become a rallying call to all corners of Iraq, mobilizing the nation's 25 million people -- from Sunni Muslims loyal to Saddam, to Kurds, tribesmen, Baath party faithful and the majority Shi'ites, many of whom rose against Saddam after the 1991 Gulf War. In a clear pitch to keep the Shi'ites on board, one of the most repeated TV clips is of Saddam praying at the Shi'ite shrine of Imam Hussein at Kerbala. DITCHING DENIAL Some Baghdad residents try to broaden their news intake, secretly tuning in to Arabic-language radio stations like Radio Monte Carlo and the BBC's World Service in the early morning or late at night to avoid state jamming. Only a tiny minority of Iraqis risk having satellite TV channels, such as al-Jazeera. In Iraq, satellites are either banned or unaffordable. Discovery risks a heavy fine. Six days into war, Iraqi officials are more accessible than ever, holding daily news briefings on battles underway across southern Iraq. In the 1991 Gulf war, when a U.S.-led coalition drove Saddam's army out of neighboring Kuwait, Iraq's media boasted preposterous victories. Twelve years on, television and newspapers are no longer in denial. Losses are reported in an apparent effort to gird and strengthen public and military resolve. In daily broadcasts, Iraqi television mourns the nation's "martyrs" slain in combat with U.S. and British troops in towns and cities across southern Iraq. Individual soldiers, tribesmen and members of the ruling Baath party from different ethnic and religious sects are named for their bravery in "repelling the enemy." Video of mass anti-war protests and rioting from around the world -- from London and San Francisco to Cairo and Hamburg -- is replayed over and over again, telling Iraqis they have widespread support abroad. "Iraq is scoring every day a new victory that demonstrates Iraqi heroism, unveils the enemies' weakness, destroys their foolish arrogance and humiliates their stature as they confront the people of Iraq and its forces," said a military spokesman. Reuters/Variety 03/25/03 16:42 ET (AOL Canada news via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQI TV CONTINUES BROADCAST, PROPAGANDA By DEBORAH HASTINGS c The Associated Press Hour by hour, Iraq TV broadcasts the fierce propaganda of Saddam Hussein and his inner circle. ``Slit their throats,'' is the greeting Iraqi citizens should give advancing allied troops, the leaders advise on the air. Despite bombs, missiles and thousands of ground troops rumbling toward Baghdad, the government-controlled station operates with only intermittent outages. But threatened death and mayhem are not the most disturbing words coming over the Iraqi airwaves. The halting responses of captured Americans, their faces etched in fear, are also broadcast. And ultimately, after being picked up by Qatar-based satellite network Al-Jazeera and bounced around the world, they have made their way onto U.S. television. And into the homes of prisoners' families, who can only watch helplessly. On Monday, Iraqi television showed farmers stomping on the helmets of two downed Apache helicopter pilots in central Iraq. ``A small number of peasants shot down two Apaches,'' Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahhaf said. ``Perhaps we will show pictures of the pilots.'' They did. Chief Warrant Officers Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, of Lithia Springs, Ga., and David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, Fla. appeared on camera but didn't speak. They looked confused, turning their heads and looking in different directions. ``He looked stubborn, mad,'' said Young's mother, Kaye, standing outside her Atlanta home Monday night. ``He probably was frightened though.'' At first, the mother said, she was hysterical. ``Now I'm numb.'' American military officials have long promised a war that would take great care to avoid civilian casualties and infrastructures such as power and communications grids. Increasingly, however, U.S. leaders are being asked why allied troops - with their precision weaponry - don't simply knock Iraqi television off the air for good. The answers have been vague. On Tuesday, during the daily military briefing at the coalition's $1.5 million desert press center in Qatar, a reporter asked Air Force Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart: ``Why haven't you attacked those facilities and taken them out?'' ``I'm not going to talk about what we target and when,'' Renuart replied. Besides, he added, he doesn't think such propaganda hurts the allied cause. ``I don't believe it affects us in a negative way,'' he said. ``I think people around the world understand that it is, in fact ... not necessarily reality.'' Which may be exactly what coalition leaders are hoping for, and why they haven't yet targeted the television station, say wartime propaganda experts. ``They're trying to allow Iraq TV and the Iraq government to hang themselves,'' said Garth Jowett, a University of Houston communications expert and co-author of ``Propaganda and Persuasion.'' On Tuesday night, the Iraqi information minister appeared again, in uniform. ``Hit the enemy, hit them, hit them at times and in places he does not expect,'' he said. ``Fight them, hit them (with) in new ways. These days are the days of your great victory.'' Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz held a news conference Tuesday at a Baghdad hotel, broadcast live by Iraqi television as well as by other TV outlets including CNN. Saddam's leadership is in ``good shape,'' Aziz said, and the president is in ``full control'' of the army and the country. He did not mention allied reports that the coalition had taken more than 3,000 Iraqi prisoners of war and that a reported 500 Iraqi soldiers have been killed in the past two days. Iraq has used its television station to try to prove that Saddam is alive and well. Aziz has used it to disprove rumors he had defected. In the United States, the footage of captured Americans ``makes war personal,'' Jowett said. ``The effect that it has in this country is to simply stiffen the resolve here.'' In the Arab world, he said ``it's simply preaching to the choir.'' 03/25/03 17:57 EST (via AOL Canada News via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQ TV RAID MAY BREAK GENEVA CONVENTION BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The head of the world's biggest journalists' organisation says a U.S. bomb and missile attack on Iraqi television was an attempt at censorship and may have breached the Geneva Conventions. "I think there should be a clear international investigation into whether or not this bombing violates the Geneva Conventions," Aidan White, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), told Reuters on Wednesday. "We have every reason to believe this is an act of censorship against media that U.S. politicians and military strategists don't like," he said. A U.S. official in Washington earlier said the raid had hit the main television station, a key telecommunications vault and Baghdad satellite communications, damaging the government's command and control capability. But White said U.S. strikes would have targeted television earlier if it had been a military target. "There is no question that this attack reflects the anger and frustration of political leaders in the United States over the showing of prisoners on television and the use of television to boost the morale of Saddam Hussein supporters," said White. "This is the only credible explanation for this attack." He said the IFJ, which represents more than 500,000 journalists in 100 countries, believed there was no military justification for the raid, which recalled NATO's bombing of Radio Television Serbia during the Kosovo war three years ago. "Once again, we see military and political commanders from the democratic world targeting a television network simply because they don't like the message it gives out," he said. Despite the attack, Iraqi television came on air at about 9 a.m. (6:00 a.m. British time), and state radio was also broadcasting normally. Iraq's 24-hour international satellite television channel ceased broadcasting during the raids but came back on air at about 9:20 a.m. British time with patriotic songs. The IFJ said international law forbade attacks on television and radio stations unless they were used for military purposes, and there was no evidence this was the case in Iraq. March 26, 2003 1:15 PM http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1721317 (Reuters via Swissinfo via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** IRAQ. 'EMBEDS' OFFER GRAPHIC BUT LIMITED WAR CLOSE-UP By Merissa Marr LONDON (Reuters) - Rarely since the Vietnam war has the world seen such graphic frontline images, with footage from Iraq showing reporters hunkering down with troops in a hail of fire and crawling among soldiers as bombs fly. First met with suspicion, a campaign to "embed" journalists with U.S. and British forces has produced Hollywood-style pictures that have taken even broadcasters by surprise, as reporters take up positions with troops on battlefields across Iraq. But skeptics question whether the "embeds" have brought the media any closer to providing the big picture of war, as armchair warriors revel in gung-ho images of journalists riding on top of tanks and missiles flashing into the night. Despite access to the frontline, embedded reporters are also seeing the war entirely through the eyes of the U.S. and British forces. The Iraqi army does not have anything that resembles embeds on its side. "It appears that the fog of war has been blown away but it hasn't," said Jamie Cowling, a research fellow at the Institute of Public Policy Research in London. "It's comparable to a searchlight in a dark room rather than being able to turn the lights full on." More than 500 reporters are eating, sleeping and following the action with forces in a high-risk strategy the United States and Britain hope will show the heroism of their troops in a politically risky war. So far, that strategy appears to have paid off back home. But it could just as easily go wrong if pictures of injured troops and drawn-out battles start flowing back home -- a situation that could see the forces quickly clamp down. LIVING ROOM WAR Even politicians admit, the reality-TV reporting is only telling part of the story. Indeed, little has been seen of fighting in western Iraq, and skeptics note embeds are attached to units unlikely to see the more gruesome aspects of the war. "What we see is real but it is not the only part of the reality," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday. The Vietnam war was coined the first "living room" war after television reporters were given free and uncontrolled access to the battlefield. But that policy came back to haunt the United States as gruesome images turned the public against the war. Subsequent conflicts have been much more tightly managed. But a proliferation of news outlets and advances in technology have made the media harder to control this time. "For both President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, this is politically a highly risky war," said Roger Mortimore, political analyst with polling firm MORI. "Propaganda is a part of this war and it would be very bad propaganda to be seen to be censoring news organizations." Indeed, many media watchers say the United States and Britain have been surprisingly open with the media so far, despite imposing restrictions on "embedded" reporters and initial fears that reporters would be manipulated. "A lot of people have been surprised at the access and cooperation we've had in the field. It's produced some remarkable images," said Tony Maddox, senior vice president Europe, Middle East and Africa for CNN International. But should the conflict turn nasty, the military could easily use restrictions on what embeds are allowed to broadcast to clamp down on negative images. CONFUSION Despite accusations that they are only telling part of the story, embedded journalists have been uncovering key developments in the U.S.-led assault on Iraq. But a reliance on reporting what they see with their own eyes means they have sometimes jumped the gun. For example, one reporter mistook a caravan of camels for Iraqi trucks. Many news organizations have also sent independent reporters into Iraq to verify events. But that strategy has proved highly dangerous, with two reporters already killed. While the images from embedded reporters have their fans, some media experts conclude they are just confusing the public. "It's confusing but a different kind of confusing from previous conflicts. It's hard to know what's real and isn't real after a bit," said Steve Barber, media analyst at Ernst & Young. Reuters/Variety 03/25/03 16:36 ET (via AOL Canada News via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** IRAQ. REPORTERS AS WEAPONS – By Allan Little BBC world affairs correspondent in Kuwait city The conflict with Iraq has changed the face of war reporting with an unprecedented number of journalists in the battle zones. I am standing in the lobby of an international hotel in Kuwait city. It is just after dark. A US army major is talking urgently into a mobile phone to a journalist who has got lost in southern Iraq. "These voices you can hear," the major is saying. "Are they English or Arabic? Arabic. "Then lie flat on the ground. Do not move. "Switch off your mobile phone because if it rings it will give away your position. Stay there all night. "When you hear American forces arrive wave something white and put your hands up. "Now", he adds ominously, "is there any message you would like me to pass on to your next of kin while you still can?" Who is the hapless, terrified hack who has phoned the US army press office in Kuwait in desperation, unable to move and now fearing for his life? He has run across the Iraqi border and headed blindly into the battlefield and has run up against units of the Iraqi army. Rest at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2880949.stm (via Muskokan, Mar 25, CAJ-list via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. ARABIC STATIONS COMPETE FOR ATTENTION March 25, 2003 By NEIL MacFARQUHAR DAMASCUS, Syria, March 24 - Against the backdrop of the real war, another battle is shaping up across the Arabic-speaking world among television broadcasters vying for an audience addicted to news. Gone are the days when the region had to tune to Western networks. Although Al Jazeera, the satellite station based in Qatar, still dominates, newer, smaller channels are challenging its grip on Arab viewers. Al Jazeera's brashness and its broadcasts of far more graphic pictures than any other network ensures that critics track its every move. "Their impact is now huge," said Hussein Amin, chairman of the department of journalism and mass communication at the American University in Cairo. "They are affecting Arab public opinion to a degree never reached before." Sawsan Shair, a renowned Bahraini columnist, is among the critics of Al Jazeera's presentation. She tunes into the pro-American Kuwait channel when she wants to drown out harsh reality - "everything is always O.K. - the allies are going through smoothly, there is no resistance, the Iraqi government will fall down soon," she said. "But if I want my blood pressure to go up, I watch Al Jazeera. They always insert their point of view." Bias is partly a matter of perception. But critics say Al Jazeera's repeated broadcasts of Iraqi civilian victims and its gentle treatment of Iraqi officials give it an anti-American tone, or worse, fill Baghdad's propaganda needs. For example, Arabic networks sympathetic to the Americans call the conflict a war of liberation. Al Jazeera calls it an invasion. Viewers recall few if any interviews with Iraqis happy to see Americans, and note that they report that American officials "claim" while Iraqi officials "say." Some viewers complain that it rarely mentions Iraqi military casualties. When a figure from the Iraqi opposition tried to say on Al Jazeera recently that all the violence was the legacy of Saddam Hussein's more than two decades of tyranny, the anchor cut him off. He kept berating the man, asking how he could blame Mr. Hussein when Americans were hurling bombs against Iraq. Iraqi officials, on the other hand, often run on at length, even when edited. Al Jazeera remains popular. One 39-year-old Iraqi woman living in Damascus is typical - she watches the news nearly all day, switching channels according to her mood. (Many Iraqis remain wary of having their names published.) Mostly she watches Al Jazeera. "They don't lie, we have confidence in them and they have good translators," said the woman. Sometimes she switches to Abu Dhabi TV, a satellite channel owned by the wealthy emirate, which occasionally beats Al Jazeera on developments. Abu Dhabi TV says it has provided images from Baghdad to some 120 networks worldwide because of its spectacularly close shots of explosions captured by its three cameramen there. Its overall approach is gentler. Its anchor rarely interrupts speakers and its promotional slogan is "On the Front Line" compared with Al Jazeera's "War on Iraq." It edited Iraqi television's broadcasts of dead American soldiers this weekend to show just one from a distance. "Certain images we feel are too sensational, we do not want to fall victims of propaganda from either side," said Muhammad Dourrachad, the station's deputy director. Al Jazeera, financed by Qatar's ruling family, denies any bias. "We are not with or against any party or any country," said Muhammad Jasem al-Ali, the general manager. "We show bin Laden and we show Sharon at the same time. We bring on the opposition, all the people who are against Saddam, and we bring on some who are with Saddam." The station's reach and the depth of its reporters make it stiff competition for Western networks. Sometimes the anchors have four correspondents inside Iraq on screen simultaneously - in northern Iraq, Baghdad, Mosul and Basra. No other stations fielded reporters in Mosul and Basra. The general manager defended the decision on Sunday to broadcast the Iraqi television interviews with captured Americans. "We are professionals and our job is telling the truth, to tell what we see in the field," he said. The station, which claims 45 million viewers, comes under harsh criticism from Arab governments. Al Jazeera had to relinquish two of three spots for reporters traveling with the United States military because Bahrain and Kuwait refused accreditation. Kuwait even demanded that all networks sign a pledge not to share images with Al Jazeera. In Syria, the government views Al Jazeera as insufficiently antiwar. "They may speak Arabic, but they are not reporting from an Arab perspective that takes a clear stand against the war," said Buthaina Shaaban, director of foreign media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Arab viewers can be fiercely partisan. After watching pictures of their country being bombed, some Iraqis decided to return and fight despite their dislike for Mr. Hussein. In Amman, Jordan, in an Iraqi expatriate warren, Saad al-Kabe, 28, a money changer, was angered by a report that said 67 civilians were killed today. "People are not going back to protect Saddam," he said. "They are going back to defend their families because the Americans are killing them." In the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Palestinians identify with the Iraqis because they too have been attacked with a vast arsenal of American-made weapons, like Apache helicopters. There has been a run on Iraqi flags. In Ramallah, protesters even chanted against Al Arabiya, a new Dubai- based network partly financed by the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon, for reporting that reflected the initial American line that the Iraqi government was collapsing. The Arab networks mostly accepted the American military version of events uncritically at first but grew wary after preliminary word that Umm Qasr had fallen, or that senior Iraqi officials like Taha Yassin Ramadan had been killed proved untrue. In contrast with the Arab channels, the Western networks have largely avoided showing the gruesome scenes of Iraqi civilian casualties, focusing more on military hardware and analysis. Arab viewers particularly fault them for fielding many correspondents lacking any sense of the region. Viewers were appalled when one CNN reporter, for example, passing an encampment of Iraqi nomads, speculated that they did not own cars and would be awestruck by the "camels of steel" roaring past. "It was like Lawrence of Arabia," commented one viewer sarcastically, noting that it is exactly these kind of tribesmen who might be attacking American invaders. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/25/international/worldspecial/25SYRI.html?ex=1049631651&ei=1&en=d9542549f3607a8c Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Just news, BBCWS says, until at least early Friday. I've also been monitoring other sw stations' output on the Iraq conflict. RFI and DW have been "right down the middle", as it were. You would not know from these stations' reporting that their host governments' were opposed to the conflict (unless of course, the subject comes up in appropriate context). On RFI this morning, their Tehran reporter stated that the Iranian government is being careful not to do anything to provoke US troops into attacking Iran and that the "man on the street" in Tehran seems to feel that a US invasion would be welcome so they could get rid of the conservative mullah dominated system in place now! (Quite interesting, although I certainly hope we don't go there...) Another surprise to some perhaps is the VOA. Their reporting has also been "independent" -- timely presenting the views of protesters as well as supporters, successes as well as setback. Where the VOA has been superior IMHO is that they are still reporting on the rest of the world. Their approach seems more balanced in that regard than the BBC, which seems to me to be too much "Iraq all the time". There are other things going on in the world, after all. For example, from VOA reports it seems the N. Koreans are getting more nervous by the day. This was the lead story on Asia-Pacific from R. Australia earlier today. Perhaps the BBC will start to modulate this as the day goes on (John Figliozzi, Mar 24, WORLD OF RADIO 1175, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. IRISH STATE BROADCASTER READY TO BLAST UK From The Radio Magazine: 18 March 2003 RTE, the Irish public service broadcaster is preparing to launch its pop service on the old Atlantic 252 Longwave transmitter. The County Meath based transmitter has been heard testing on a regular basis in the run up to the launch but so far no indication of a start date has been given. An RTE spokesperson told The Radio Magazine that things were still being finalised and that it had not been agreed as to whether the pop service Radio2FM, the music and chat service Radio 1, or a new 'best of RTE' service was going to be relayed. Launched in September 1989 the powerful transmitter managed to obtain an 80% geographical coverage of the UK mainland. At its peak Atlantic 252 had a 6% share of the UK adult audience with its simplistic blend of tuneful Top 40 music and slick presentation. The station ceased operations at the end of 2001 after selling out to TEAMtalk (via Mike Terry, Mar 21, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Just a reminder (hopefully I got this straight :-) ): At 2300 UT ON MARCH 27, Thursday night (that's 1 AM Friday morning Israel Time) Israel springs their clock ahead an hour. Soon after (a few hours?), the Kol Israel TIMES will change.... subtract one hour from the listed Winter times. For Friday and Saturday, they will still be on the Winter FREQUENCY schedule though. As of Sunday, March 30, Kol Israel will go to their Summer FREQUENCY schedule. Finally, (for US listeners, at least,) we will change the clock to DST early Sunday April 6, and then the Kol Israel times will effectively return to their 'normal' local times (except for the war schedule change). (Doni Rosenzweig, Mar 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Looking over recent issues, I see contradictory info; one version had both English and French at 1530 on the same frequencies (gh, DXLD) ** ISRAEL [non]. Israeli Mickey Gurdus, 58, tunes one of his radios as he listens to the voices of American soldiers in the Iraqi battlefields from his studio in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, March 24, 2003. Gurdus, who speaks half a dozen languages, has reported over three decades the first details on numerous hijackings, kidnappings of westerners during the Lebanon war, troop movements, Mideast fighting and coups. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito) Tue Mar 25, 3:15 PM ET http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030325/168/3mexk.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) FROM HUNDREDS OF KILOMETERS AWAY, ISRAELI MONITORS IRAQ WAR TRANSMISSIONS http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030325/ap_wo_en_ge/me_fea_israel_listening_to_war_1 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. JAPAN: ACTIVISTS PLAN TO SMUGGLE VOA RADIOS INTO N. KOREA | Text of report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo on 24 March Activists helping North Korean refugees are planning to smuggle up to 20 million radios tuned to the Voice of America (VOA) into the country as part of efforts to destabilize the communist regime, the planners said Monday. The campaign is aimed at giving the population access to unfiltered information on their own country and helping bring about a regime change, said Douglas Shin, a Korean-American Christian missionary involved in the campaign. The activists say they plan to smuggle the solar-powered radios from China via boats. In North Korea, citizens face severe restrictions on their movements, and the frequencies of radios sold there are fixed to government-run broadcast stations, according to the activists. VOA is an international multimedia broadcasting service funded by the US government. It was pivotal in disseminating Western information to people in communist bloc nations during the Cold War. Shin says that although only 10 per cent of the radios may end up in the hands of North Koreans, they could still have an impact on democratizing North Korea by providing the people with uncensored information about their own country. Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0154 gmt 24 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Hi Glenn, I just heard two clandestine stations: 11530 kHz VOICE OF MESOPOTAMIA - DENGE MEZOPOTAMIA with very strong (S9 +20dB) signal and very clear reception. This station is operated by Kurdistan Workers Party. News and ID 1531 UT. Scheduled 13-17 UT. This broadcast comes from Moldova. Another station is: 9155 kHz R ASHUR - VOICE OF ASSURIAN REPUBLIC with sign on at 1558 UT. Not 1650 UT as ILG states. Signal strength S9 and quality of reception very distorted. News in Assyrian 1605 UT. Transmitter site is Baku, Azerbaijan. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, Mar 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KYRGYZSTAN. MONACO and KYRGYZSTAN: Mr. Siemens (TWR - German Office) provided some info regarding the collaboration between TWR and Radio EXTOL (1467 kHz in Bishkek). Initially, TWR supplied Radio EXTOL with several broadcast recording, in order to make estimations of signal quality and reception conditions. Contrary to usual practice of broadcasting to Central Asia, those broadcasts were not prepared in Almaty studios. Then, starting from the summer season, Radio EXTOL must start broadcasting of TWR Russian/Kyrgyz/Kazakh/etc. services on a test basis, meanwhile developing the regular sschedule. Planned time for Test broadcasts is 2130-2300 local (must be .......UTC in summer. - Ed.) (open_dx - Vasily Gulyaev, Astrakhan, Russia, Signal Mar 23 via DXLD) ** MALAYA [non]. V. of Malayan Revolution: See CHINA ** NIGERIA [non]. On Thursday, March 27, 2003, Jakada Radio International will resume its broadcasts on shortwave from 1900-1930 UTC on 15170 kHz from Monday to Friday. The broadcasts are directed towards Nigeria (Ludo Maes, TDP Mailing List, Belgium, March 26, 2003, via WORLD OF RADIO 1175, DXLD) from where? ** PAKISTAN. A-03 Schedule: PBC Pakistan Broadcasting Corp. Sked effective 30 March to 25 October 2003 Arabic 1815-1900 ME 9385 11550 Assami [has been partly in English] 0045-0115 sAS 11650 15625 Bangla 0115-0200 sAS 11650 15625 1200-1245 sAS 15625 17635 Chinese 1200-1230 FE 11570 15070 Dari 1515-1545 CIS 5860 7375 English 1600-1615 AF/ME 11570 15065 15725 17820 Gujrati 0400-0430 AF 15485 17825 Hindi 0215-0300 sAS 9340 11640 1100-1145 sAS 11640 15625 Irani 1715-1800 ME 7550 9385 Nepali 1245-1315 sAS 15625 17635 Russian 1415-1500 CIS 7375 9385 Sinhali 1015-1045 sAS 15625 17495 Tamil 015-0345 sAS 15625 17540 0945-1015 sAS 15625 17495 Turki 1330-1400 CIS 5860 7375 Turkish 1630-1700 ME 9385 11550 Urdu 0045-0215 seAS 15485 17895 0500-0700 ME 15100 17835 21460 0800-1104* EU 17835 21465 1330-1530 ME 11570 15065 1700-1900 EU 9400 11570 1800-1900 ME 7550 1915-0045 ME 7570 *Usually includes English approx 1100-1104 [and 0800-0804??] (PBC via WOLFGANG BUESCHEL, xls converted to text by Alan Roe, DXLD) ** POLAND. Radio Polonia announced in its Media Magazine March 25th that English from March 31st would be at 1200-1300 on 9525 and 11820 and 1700-1800 on 5995 7285. They hoped that the 11820 frequency would be able to be received in North America (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Too low ** QATAR. HACKERS TARGET AL-JAZEERA'S SITE NEW YORK (AP) - Hackers attacked the Web site of the Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeera today, rendering it intermittently unavailable, the site's host said. The newly launched English- language page, which went live Monday and posted images of the corpses of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, was hardest hit in a bombardment of data packets known as a denial-of-service attack. Ayman Arrashid, Internet system administrator at the Horizons Media and Information Services, the site's Web host, said the attack began this morning. rest at http://tinyurl.com/85wb (Mar. 25, 2003. 07:07 PM via Patrick Cain, caj-list, via Ricky Leong, DXLD) http://english.jazeera.net is the site, I heard on some show (gh) With all of the emotion and innuendo circulating about al-Jazeera, this is a good reminder of the networks true nature and its origins. . . Qatar, which is the headquarters for the US/UK/Aussie command during the current military operation in Iraq. IN DEFENSE OF AL-JAZEERA --- BRAVE NEW WORLD: MSNBC.coms Michael Moran comes to the defense of al-Jazeera. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_email.asp?/news/643471.asp (via John Figliozzi, Mar 26, ODXA via DXLD) More about Al-Jazeera, and other networks, above under IRAQ non ** RUSSIA. Estimados amigos: Les comunicamos que desde el 30 de marzo, hasta el 25 de octubre de 2003, "La Voz de Rusia" tiene el siguiente esquema para sus emisiones en español: Hacia Europa: 2030-2100 UT ... Periodo: 30.03.03-25.10.03: 7440 kcs. Hasta 06.09.03: 11630 kcs. Desde 07.09.03: 9480 kcs Hacia Centroamérica: 0000-0100 UT ... Periodo: 30.03.03-25.10.03: 9830 y 11750 kcs. Hasta 06.09.03: 9665 kcs. Desde 07.09.03: 7180 kcs. 0100-0200 UT ... Periodo: 30.03.03-25.10.03: 9830 kcs. Hacia Sudamérica: 0000-0100 UT ... Periodo: 30.03.03-25.10.03: 7330, 9480, 9830, 9860, 9965, 11.510, 12.060 kcs. Hasta 06.09.03: 9450 y 12010 kcs. Desde 07.09.03: 9890, 9470 kcs. 0100-0200 UTC ... Periodo: 30.03.03-25.10.03: 7330, 9830, 9860, 9945, 9965, 11510 kcs. Hasta 06.09.03: 9450, 12010 kcs. Desde 07.09.03: 9470, 9890 kcs. Agradeciendo su atención, les saluda muy cordialmente, (Francisco Rodríguez, "Frecuencia RM", LA VOZ DE RUSIA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. VOICE OF TURKEY A'03 -------------------- LANGUAGE FREQ HOURS SITE POWER MODE TO: EUROPE Albanian 11875 1130-1230 CAK 250 DSB Bosnian 9500 1800-1900 CAK 500 DSB Bulgarian 7140 1330-1430 EMR 250 DSB Croatian 11970 1600-1630 EMR 250 DSB English(1) 11655 0300-0400 EMR 500 DSB English(1) 9650 0300-0400 EMR 500 DSB English 17830 1230-1330 EMR 500 DSB English 9785 1830-1930 EMR 500 DSB English 9830 2200-2300 EMR 500 DSB English 11960 2200-2300 EMR 500 DSB French 11850 1930-2030 EMR 500 DSB German 15470 1130-1230 EMR 500 DSB German 13640 1730-1830 EMR 500 DSB Greek 11930 1030-1130 EMR 500 DSB Greek 9655 1430-1530 EMR 500 DSB Hungarian 13770 0930-1030 EMR 500 DSB Macedonian 11690 0800-0900 EMR 250 DSB Rumanian 9560 0930-1030 CAK 250 DSB Serbian 11860 1330-1400 EMR 250 DSB Spanish 15150 1630-1700 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 9460 0700-2100 CAK 500 DSB Turkish 15350 0700-1600 CAK 500 DSB Turkish 5980 1600-2200 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 9460 2100-0700 CAK 500 DSB Turkish 11885 2200-0400 EMR 500 DSB TO : NORTH AMERICA English(1) 11655 0300-0400 EMR 500 DSB English(1) 9650 0300-0400 EMR 500 DSB English 11960 2200-2300 EMR 500 DSB English 9830 2200-2300 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 9460 2100-0700 CAK 500 DSB Turkish 11885 2200-0400 EMR 500 DSB TO : AUSTRALIA English 17595 1230-1330 EMR 500 DSB English 9525 2030-2130 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 21715 0900-1200 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 13655 1200-1600 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 9560 1600-2200 EMR 500 DSB TO : ASIA Arabic 9560 0400-0600 CAK 500 DSB Arabic 11690 0900-1100 EMR 500 DSB Arabic 15520 0900-1100 EMR 500 DSB Arabic 11735 1400-1600 CAK 250 DSB Azerbaijani 11730 0700-0830 CAK 250 DSB Azerbaijani 15140 0700-0830 EMR 500 DSB Azerbaijani 11865 1400-1500 EMR 500 DSB Chinese 17715 1100-1200 EMR 500 DSB English 7270 0300-0400 EMR 500 DSB English 17595 1230-1330 EMR 500 DSB English 9525 2030-2130 EMR 500 DSB Georgian 11690 0700-0800 EMR 500 DSB Greek 7295 1030-1130 CAK 250 DSB Kazakh 11860 1500-1600 EMR 500 DSB Kyrgyz 11860 1600-1700 CAK 500 DSB Persian 11795 0830-0930 CAK 250 DSB Persian 17705 0830-0930 EMR 500 DSB Persian 11940 1230-1400 CAK 250 DSB Russian 15450 1300-1400 EMR 500 DSB Russian 9675 1700-1800 CAK 500 DSB Tatar 6175 1800-1900 EMR 250 DSB Turkish 11750 0400-0900 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 11955 0400-1600 CAK 250 DSB Turkish 15545 0400-0900 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 17690 0400-0700 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 21715 0900-1200 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 13655 1200-1600 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 5960 1600-0400 CAK 250 DSB Turkish 9560 1600-2200 EMR 500 DSB Turkmen 11905 1530-1630 EMR 500 DSB Urdu 17715 1200-1300 EMR 500 DSB Uzbek 9555 0100-0200 EMR 500 DSB Uzbek 6115 1700-1800 EMR 500 DSB TO : AFRICA Arabic 11690 0900-1100 EMR 500 DSB Arabic 17790 1400-1600 EMR 500 DSB Arabic 11735 1400-1600 CAK 250 DSB English 7270 0300-0400 EMR 500 DSB French 9535 1930-2030 CAK 500 DSB Turkish 11955 0400-1600 CAK 250 DSB Turkish(*) 17630 1000-1500 EMR 500 DSB Turkish 5960 1600-0400 CAK 250 DSB Turkish 7215 1700-2200 EMR 500 DSB TURKISH TIME : UTC + 3 (*) : Fridays only. (1) : The transmission frequency of the English Programme between 03:00-04:00 UTC will be changed from 11655 kHz to 9650 kHz on 31 August 2003. Regds, (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) [English portion via WORLD OF RADIO 1175] ** TURKEY. MEDIA BEHAVIOUR 0900 GMT 26 MARCH At 0900 gmt on 26 March, Turkish electronic media monitored by BBC Monitoring were observed to behave as follows: CNN Turk TV, a commercial television station affiliated to CNN International; NTV, a commercial news channel; and TRT 2 Television, a state-funded news channel, continue to operate a rolling news format covering Operation Iraqi Freedom and related developments. They offered comments and analyses by military experts and journalists. Images imported from foreign televisions stations were shown with the aid of split screens and news scrolls continue to update the public. All monitored stations carried a review of the Turkish press, concentrating on the Iraqi issue. They reported on Colin Powell's remarks relating to Turkey, the bombing of Baghdad, and the resumption of Iraqi TV broadcasts after a break of some three hours. The stations continued to provide breaking news and hourly updates on Iraqi developments. Correspondents reported live from the various capitals and the southeast of Turkey. The resumption of "activity" at the Incirlik airbase was reported by CNN Turk and NTV. CNN Turk hosts retired Col. Edward Moore and an international relations expert from the Monterey Institute. A special report by its correspondent in Arbil in northern Iraq covered the latest developments in north Iraq. Relayed live by CNN TURK was a speech delivered by Tuncay Ozilhan, chairman of TUSIAD, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association, in Istanbul levelling criticism against the government. Ozilhan's speech was also broadcast while in progress by NTV, while TRT 2 did not broadcast it. NTV's "consultant" Emre Kongar, hosted in the studio, offered an assessment in which he spoke of the "US ineptitude" and asserted that Turkey is not a mercenary country. An extensive reportage was carried by this station on the Kuwaiti Red Crescent's activities to extend aid to Basrah. TRT 2 repeatedly reports on remarks by Marc Grossman [Under Secretary, Political Affairs], who says that opening up the northern front depends on Turkey. The briefing conducted by the chief of the General Staff in Diyarbakir, was not carried live, reportedly upon the general's request. Correspondents provided initial reports by telephone and all the stations eventually aired a recording of the full speech. General Ozkok declares that Turkey does not intend to engage in war in Iraq or to invade Iraq. Source: BBC Monitoing research 26 Mar 03 (via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. UKRAINIAN MEDIA BEHAVIOUR NOTE 1300-2100 GMT 26 MAR 03 The conflict in the Gulf is still the stop story in Ukraine, with the local angle on events taking a close second place. Ukraine's national television channels have continued to give priority to the war in Iraq in their regularly scheduled news bulletins, which all started off with a roundup of the latest reports followed by various other stories related to the military engagement. Today's news concentrated on a press conference given by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who blamed Saddam Husayn for provoking the war while asserting a Ukrainian role in the post-war reconstruction. Several Ukrainian TV channels also broadcast comments by the US and UK ambassadors gently suggesting that Ukraine should take measures to make sure weapons of mass destruction don't get into the wrong hands. In the same widely covered press conference, Kuchma reiterated that Ukraine made no illegal arms deals with Iraq. The international exchange across Ukrainian screens was summed up with a 40 minute excerpt on state television of Kuchma's address, much of which dealt with the Gulf war. Private channels concentrated on the bombing of an Iraqi market, Russian condemnations of the war and the battle for Basra. In general, the tone was less inflammatory and slightly more balanced than previous days. However, the Ukrainian press maintained its bleak view of the armed conflict across a wide spectrum of newspaper. The parliament Holos Ukrayiny printed a front-page article entitled "Blood is cheaper than oil'. The serious analytical Den reported on the possible environmental effects of the war, including earthquakes, floods, viruses and increased radiation levels. The opposition Vechernye Vesti accuses the Ukrainian president of double standards for supporting Washington while condemning the war. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 26 Mar 03 (via DXLD) ** U K. PROTESTERS HIJACK RADIO STATION --- by Steve Rogers http://www.thisisbrightonandhove.co.uk/brighton__hove/news/NEWS2.html Anti-war protesters hijacked national radio to promote a peace rally in Brighton on Friday night. Listeners to the 1pm BBC Radio 4 news bulletin yesterday were stunned to hear a pirate broadcast, promoting the demonstration in Brighton, cut in over the scheduled programme. The BBC antenna at Whitehawk Hill was not tampered with and investigators suspect the broadcast was made from another transmitter in the city working on the same frequency. They are now keeping a careful watch on the station's output to check any unlicensed transmissions. Brighton resident Brian Oram said: "I just turned on the radio for the 1pm Radio 4 News on 94.5 FM. "There was a normal start to the programme for about 60 seconds then a big hiss and another broadcast started. "A non-BBC male voice started going on about Kate Adie and unauthorised satellite uplinks being targeted by US forces. "It went on for about one minute, then changed to an anti-war speech requesting large support for an anti-war demonstration in Brighton." Another listener, Tony Howard, said he had radios tuned into different Radio 4 transmitters and said only the Brighton antenna was affected. He said: "This strange voice came on and started talking about the Gulf and it mentioned Community Base." Community Base, on Queen's Road, Brighton, is a centre for a number of charitable groups and local organisations. Director Colin Chalmers said: "We received three calls from people who heard the broadcast. The first said they heard us mentioned and the second thought it was actually being broadcast from Community Base, which was worrying." Crown Castle, which operates BBC transmitters, was unable to comment as the matter was under investigation. A spokeswoman for the Radiocommunications Agency said: "I can confirm an illegal broadcast interrupted the licensed radio channel." (via Brock Whaley for DXLD March 23, 2003) ** U K [non]. LaserRadio.Net moves to 9520 kHz. LaserRadio.Net is pleased to announce a move to a new frequency for our European listeners. From April 13 you will be able to hear us on 9520 kHz with extended broadcast hours between 1200 and 2000 UT. In order to carry out essential aerial maintenance our European service will be off the air this Sunday (30 March) and the following (6th April). Our North American service via WBCQ on 9330 kHz from Maine is unaffected and will be on air as normal with a modified schedule. This week : 2000 Stewart Ross 2100 Gary Fosster 2200 The Media Show 2300 Geoff Rogers - featuring The Amateur Radio Newsline 2400 Close The web stream is also on the air 24/7 and will be providing repeats of last week's programmes from Saturday at 1500 and the WBCQ programmes from 2000 Sunday. The WBCQ programmes will then repeat up until the following Tuesday. Details on the weekend of 6th April will be given later. For full information, please go to the web site at http://www.laserradio.net =-= (received via email from Tom Taylor via Chris K4RAF, Buggs Island Virginia, Mar 26, DXLD) Earlier planned to skip only Apr 6, as on WOR 1175 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 17775, KVOH (presumed), 1930 Mar 26, Distorted spurs observed at multiples 146 kHz above and below 17775. The fundamental consisted of Spanish language religious format with many references to Los Angeles, so I assume this is KVOH. The upper set of spurs neatly straddle the 17 meter amateur band (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would be 17921, 18067, 18213… any further? And below, that would be 17629, 17483, 17337… any further? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WWRB LICENSE APPLICATION, WBCQ CP GRANTED FCC PUBLIC NOTICES RELEASED TODAY http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/servlet/ib.page.FetchPN?report_key=309715 Report No. IHF-00042 Wednesday March 26, 2003 INTERNATIONAL HIGH FREQUENCY RE: APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED FOR FILING The applications listed herein have been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing. The Commission reserves the right to return any of the applications if, upon further examination, it is determined they are defective and not in conformance with the Commission's Rules and Regulations and its Policies. IHF-LIC-20030212-00001 P WWRB Blueridge Communications Inc. License Application for License to cover CP (IHF-C/P-20010608-00006). For more information concerning this Notice, contact Tom Polzin at 418-2148; tpolzin@fcc.gov; TTY 202-418-2555. http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/servlet/ib.page.FetchPN?report_key=309716 Report No. IHF-00043 Wednesday March 26, 2003 INTERNATIONAL HIGH FREQUENCY RE: ACTIONS TAKEN The Commission, by its International Bureau, took the following actions pursuant to delegated authority. The effective dates of the actions are the dates specified. IHF-C/P-20020806-00003 P WBCQ ALLAN H. WEINER Construction Permit Grant of Authority Date Effective: 03/04/2003 For more information concerning this Notice, contact Tom Polzin at 418-2148; tpolzin@fcc.gov; TTY 202-418-2555. (This grants construction permit to ADD ANOTHER TRANSMITTER AND ANTENNA at WBCQ.) (Donald Wilson, Mar 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Radio Africa International A'03 (The United Methodist Church) Effective 30th March [via DTK Germany] English - 1700-1900 UT on 13820 and 15715 kHz.-Daily to Africa French - 0400-0600 UT on 13810 kHz -Daily to Africa French - 0600-0800 UT on 15435 kHz.-Daily to Africa Contact Address : Radio Africa International 475 Riverside Drive Room 1374, New York NY 10115, USA. E-Mail : radio@gbgm-umc.org Regds, (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** U S A. FOX NEWS KEEPS WARTIME COVERAGE LEAD By DAVID BAUDER .c The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - The first Gulf War established CNN as a television news outlet to be reckoned with. The second may be just as important for Fox News Channel's reputation. Through the first five days of the war, Fox News Channel has averaged 4.16 million viewers each day to CNN's 3.74 million. Fox's audience was bigger when the war began March 19, and every day through Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research. While Fox has been the top-rated cable news channel for more than a year, industry experts wondered whether that lead would hold during a big breaking news story. CNN overtook Fox, for example, on Feb. 1 when the space shuttle disintegrated. Despite CNN's overwhelming advantage in reporting manpower, more Americans - at least so far - want to watch the war unfold on Fox. ``I think it's a pretty big surprise,'' said Erik Sorenson, MSNBC president, on Tuesday. Because of CNN's experience with the first Gulf War, ``I think people thought CNN would win, at least in its early stages. One of the executives there said they would own the story, and I don't think they do.'' CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson downplayed Fox's ratings advantage, saying Nielsen shows that more people at least sample some of CNN's coverage during the day. Fox's ratings are higher because its viewers watch for a longer time. CNN also draws viewers to its Headline News and has a greater presence overseas than Fox, Robinson said. ``We're perfectly comfortable having the biggest audience in the world,'' she said. A Fox News Channel spokesman didn't return a call for comment. Fox's war coverage tends to be more uplifting, emphasizing the positive and trying to beef up morale and national identity, said Robert Thompson, professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University. The network usually maintains an American flag graphic on the upper left corner of its screen, and anchorman Shepard Smith wore a flag pin in his lapel on Tuesday. Fox's fans seem to like the network's style more than the traditional news coverage of CNN, said Alex Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The conservative ideology that drives its prime-time programming seems to be spreading more into its news coverage, he said. ``The Fox view is a useful one to have out there,'' Thompson said. ``It's not as if they are hiding it or pretending that it's not there. You have three networks out there, they don't all have to be doing the same thing.'' More viewers are watching war coverage with itchy fingers on their remotes, frequently shifting channels to find more action, Thompson said. A survey released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that nearly four of every five people gave the press good marks for its war coverage. The survey found that people who agreed with the decision to go to war were happier with the coverage than those who disagreed. During the busy first three months of the year, Fox's viewership has grown by 75 percent over the same period last year, Nielsen said. Fox and TNT are now tied for second behind Nickelodeon as the top-rated basic cable channel. CNN's audience has grown 53 percent year to year and MSNBC's 32 percent. The war has provided a much-needed boost to MSNBC. The third-place cable network has averaged 1.76 million viewers for its war coverage. MSNBC has played up its resources with the full NBC News team and, with NBC breaking into regular programming less frequently for war coverage, that has worked to MSNBC's advantage. MSNBC had 2.11 million viewers on Sunday, its best day since the war's start. It dovetails with MSNBC's latest strategy, which is ``to cover the news when it happens and analyze it when it's not happening,'' Sorenson said. The war is likely to delay the debut of former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's new prime-time show, he said. 03/25/03 18:24 EST (via AOL Canada News via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** U S A. MUDDYING THE AIR WAVES By PAUL KRUGMAN, New York Times 03/25/03 By and large, recent pro-war rallies haven't drawn nearly as many people as antiwar rallies, but they have certainly been vehement. One of the most striking took place after Natalie Maines, lead singer for the Dixie Chicks, criticized President Bush: a crowd gathered in Louisiana to watch a 33,000-pound tractor smash a collection of Dixie Chicks CD's, tapes and other paraphernalia. To those familiar with 20th-century European history it seemed eerily reminiscent of. . . . But as Sinclair Lewis said, it can't happen here. Who has been organizing those pro-war rallies? The answer, it turns out, is that they are being promoted by key players in the radio industry — with close links to the Bush administration. The CD-smashing rally was organized by KRMD, part of Cumulus Media, a radio chain that has banned the Dixie Chicks from its playlists. Most of the pro-war demonstrations around the country have, however, been organized by stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, a behemoth based in San Antonio that controls more than 1,200 stations and increasingly dominates the airwaves. The company claims that the demonstrations, which go under the name Rally for America, reflect the initiative of individual stations. But this is unlikely: according to Eric Boehlert, who has written revelatory articles about Clear Channel in Salon, the company is notorious — and widely hated — for its iron-fisted centralized control. Until now, complaints about Clear Channel have focused on its business practices. Critics say it uses its power to squeeze recording companies and artists and contributes to the growing blandness of broadcast music. But now the company appears to be using its clout to help one side in a political dispute that deeply divides the nation. Why would a media company insert itself into politics this way? It could, of course, simply be a matter of personal conviction on the part of management. But there are also good reasons for Clear Channel — which became a giant only in the last few years, after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 removed many restrictions on media ownership — to curry favor with the ruling party. On one side, Clear Channel is feeling some heat: it is being sued over allegations that it threatens to curtail the airplay of artists who don't tour with its concert division, and there are even some politicians who want to roll back the deregulation that made the company's growth possible. On the other side, the Federal Communications Commission is considering further deregulation that would allow Clear Channel to expand even further, particularly into television. Or perhaps the quid pro quo is more narrowly focused. Experienced Bushologists let out a collective "Aha!" when Clear Channel was revealed to be behind the pro-war rallies, because the company's top management has a history with George W. Bush. The vice chairman of Clear Channel is Tom Hicks, whose name may be familiar to readers of this column. When Mr. Bush was governor of Texas, Mr. Hicks was chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company, called Utimco, and Clear Channel's chairman, Lowry Mays, was on its board. Under Mr. Hicks, Utimco placed much of the university's endowment under the management of companies with strong Republican Party or Bush family ties. In 1998 Mr. Hicks purchased the Texas Rangers in a deal that made Mr. Bush a multimillionaire. There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear, but a good guess is that we're now seeing the next stage in the evolution of a new American oligarchy. As Jonathan Chait has written in The New Republic, in the Bush administration "government and business have melded into one big `us.' " On almost every aspect of domestic policy, business interests rule: "Scores of midlevel appointees . . . now oversee industries for which they once worked." We should have realized that this is a two-way street: if politicians are busy doing favors for businesses that support them, why shouldn't we expect businesses to reciprocate by doing favors for those politicians — by, for example, organizing "grass roots" rallies on their behalf? What makes it all possible, of course, is the absence of effective watchdogs. In the Clinton years the merest hint of impropriety quickly blew up into a huge scandal; these days, the scandalmongers are more likely to go after journalists who raise questions. Anyway, don't you know there's a war on? (Via Jean Adamson via Howard Box, who adds: The plot thickens. At the heart of it the "publicans" need the war to polarize the Am public into rightists and wimps! ("Publicans" and sinners ?) - Howard Box, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Accompanied by a beautiful `windbag` caricature of Rush (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. GAYLORD SELLS ITS NASHVILLE STATIONS TO CUMULUS http://www.radioandrecords.com/Subscribers/TodaysNews/homepage.htm As rumored by R&R this morning, Cumulus is getting Gaylord's WSM-FM & WWTN/Nashville for $65 million in cash. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to fund a portion of the construction of Gaylord Opryland Texas Resort & Convention Center, the renovation of the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville and what Gaylord terms "other growth initiatives." Gaylord has already agreed to let Cumulus program and market the duo; that will begin following the expiration of statutory antitrust waiting periods, and the transaction is expected to close in early Q3. Gaylord will continue to own WSM- AM/Nashville, but Cumulus will manage the station's advertising via a joint sales agreement. Speaking of WSM-AM, Gaylord says the company "remains committed to developing further this cherished icon of country music and key distribution channel for the company's Grand Ole Opry content." Cumulus will now own five stations in the Music City; it already owns WNPL, WQQK & WRQQ/Nashville. Cumulus Agrees To Add Opry Program To Its Stations The two companies have announced a joint marketing agreement under which Cumulus has committed to carrying America's Grand Ole Opry Weekend, a two-hour weekly syndicated program to be distributed by Westwood One beginning next month, on its Country stations. Gaylord's Focus: Hotels And Opry Gaylord Entertainment President/CEO Colin Reed says the sale of its two FMs in Nashville "is another step in our transformation as we sharpen our focus on our core businesses — Gaylord Hotels and the Grand Ole Opry." Reed says that WSM-AM is an "integral component" of the company's strategy to extend the reach of the Opry brand and believes its JSA with Cumulus and that company's agreement to carry America's Grand Ole Opry Weekend benefits both Cumulus and Gaylord. "We are proud of the success that WWTN and WSM-FM enjoyed while under our ownership," Reed said. "We are confident that Cumulus possesses the expertise to enhance further the strong positions that WWTN and WSM-FM currently hold in the Nashville market." (via Brock Whaley for DXLD) GAYLORD TO SELL RADIO STATIONS WSM-FM, WWTN-FM, WILL KEEP WSM-AM http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/03/03/30676934.shtml?Element_ID=30676934 (via Charles Gossett Jr., DXLD) ATLANTA-BASED CUMULUS BUYS NASHVILLE RADIO STATIONS FROM GAYLORD Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Atlanta-based Cumulus Media Inc. is buying Nashville radio stations WWTN-FM and WSM-FM from Gaylord Entertainment for $65 million, the companies announced Tuesday http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/5478097.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. There was an interesting story in the Denver Post yesterday titled "FCC gets an earful from Colorado." It says the FCC has received over 15,000 letters and e-mails on the subject, the most it has ever received. Here is an excerpt from the article: Many of those writing point to existing radio consolidation as a sign of what can happen if other media companies are allowed to consolidate further. Limitations on radio ownership were relaxed in 1996. Companies can now own up to eight stations in each market. Clear Channel owns eight in the Denver area. "(Clear Channel) has not provided breaking news events concerning fires and weather warnings in a timely fashion," Denver resident Doug Crane, 48, said in his letter to the FCC. "Their 50 (kilowatt) outlet (KOA) in Denver was very slow in providing information as ash and smoke were blanketing the Denver area" during fires last year. The station said after the fire that it initially underplayed the story. Go to www.denverpost.com and tab down to where it says SEARCH DPO. Put in FCC and then search. Look for the story titled "FCC gets an earful from Colo." (Patrick Griffith, CBT, Westminster, CO, USA, Mar 24, NRC FM-TV via DXLD) ** U S A. Here's one way for a daytimer to appear to be a 24-hour station, as reported by 100000WATTS.COM: Silent WRIK-A/PADUCAH (BROOKPORT, IL) flips to Talk as WSBX-A, "NEWS/TALK 750 WSB," "borrowing" the name of the 50kw COX Talker on the same frequency in ATLANTA that booms into PADUCAH after the local station signs off. (from http://www2.allaccess.com/ via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** U S A. 1580 WNTF, Bithlo FL; "Coming back from a long silence, noted at least the last couple of days with old 50's/60's rock songs, with about 10-seconds of silence in between each one. Sounds like a reel-to-reel tape; same songs in the same order each day. Listened today from about 1:15 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. [March 25, ET] and only heard one I.D., at around 3:15 P.M. Don't know if they're on the 2.1 Kw rig, or are on their 10 kW C.P. This must be the open carrier I've been hearing at night on 1580." (Christopher Johnson, Kissimmee, FL via Terry L. Krueger) And still listed as inactive on www.100000watts.com per mid-day check. Didn't get around to searching the FCC dB's. (Terry Krueger, FL, Mar 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WEB SITES FOR AM DX STUFF I came across a search engine for US stations that was developed by a private company, Cavell Mertz and Davis. What's nice about it is how everything is so well organized for different kinds of searches. The site says it is still in Beta, but the different searches I tried came out well. Find this at http://www.fccinfo.com A really interesting clock for your computer desktop can be found at http://yugop.com/ver3/stuff/03/fla.html Called "Industorious Clock", it has a digital readout but it uses hands. You have to see this for yourself-check it out! A US radio station broadcasting from a ship? Yes-and you can read about Seattle's KKOL putting their transmitter on the Coastal Ranger at http://www.dalke.com/kkol/ as well as see a number of really nice pictures of the operation. Jim Dalke was the consulting engineer, and also wrote an article for Radio World (Rich Toebe, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ** U S A. Commentary --- THEY GOT THEIR WAY - ONCE AGAIN The dismissal by the FCC last week of 485 LPFM applications because of alleged third-adjacent channel interference represents another victory by the powerful commercial broadcasters organization, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). Ever since the announcement that the Federal Communications Commission was going to create a low-power FM service (LPFM) to make it possible for community groups and organizations to have a voice, the NAB has been up in arms. The NAB group and many of its powerful individual members, the networks and the big media corporations, had mounted an attack on the system. When the FCC under President Bill Clinton`s administration moved forward and launched the system, answering the objections of its opponents, the NAB and fellow travelers, including National Public Radio, moved the battle to Congress. Through persistent lobbying and disseminated, deceptive recordings of what FM radio would sound like because of all the interference caused by LPFM stations separated by three channels from the power commercial stations (which run 6,000 to 100,000 watts ERP), the NAB persuaded Congress to pass a law forbidding three-channel separation. There had been no studies to prove that a 100-watt LPFM or 10-watt LPFM would cause any interference with the powerful commercial stations. National Public Radio (NPR) produced no studies to show that the new LPFM stations would interfere with the subcarrier ``Reading for the Blind and Print Handicapped`` services offered by many of them. The NAB merely alleged that the new LPFM service would cause considerable damage to the nation`s excellent FM radio service, and NPR alleged that the blind would not be able to hear the newspapers, magazines, and books read to them over the air. No matter that three-channel separation is very common in the rest of the world. In fact, two-channel separation is not uncommon. See the article on XHUIA Radio Ibero 90.9 FM in last week`s Catholic Radio Update. Congress bought it. Come to think of it, I can recall little over the 50 years I have been reading the broadcasting trade press that Congress has not bought from the NAB broadcast lobby. Why Congress should be so subservient to a group that it, along with the Executive Branch, is supposed to regulate, I do not know. They get no breaks for political ads, and they continue to be treated poorly by the journalists of these organizations. Perhaps there is no explanation other than that they are politicians. The present FCC under the chairmanship of Michael Powell, son of General Clayton Powell, has been even more hostile to the LPFM service. Actual field tests, not NAB laboratory recordings, are underway to determine if 100-watt LPFM stations interfere with commercial high-power stations. But Powell would not wait, just as Powell would not wait regarding the pending FCC legislation allowing the media giants to own even more stations in a market, to allow newspapers to own radio and television stations in the same market and vice versa, to allow cable systems to be owned by newspapers and radio and television stations and vice versa, etc. etc. One of the first actions under the new President George W. Bush administration was that Chairman Powell had the FCC advance the window for applications from the third and final group of states. Groups were caught off guard, and applications scheduled for the following year had to be submitted in short order. A clever way to cut down on the number of applications and thus the number of LPFM stations, no? The public hue and cry, reported in previous newsletters, led a maverick FCC Commissioner to announce his own series of public hearings when Chairman Powell refused to hold any. The FCC Commissioners who bothered to attend got an earful from packed meetings in New York, Richmond, and Seattle. (The planned Los Angeles meeting had to be cancelled because of a blizzard.) The media giants were there, and the always subservient trade press mocked the hearings and the groups and citizens who showed up to object to the handing over of the nation`s media to a handful of media giants. No matter that even Broadcasting magazine reported last week that 12 international media megacorporations control, along with 4 more attendant corporations, most of the world`s important news media. These media giants, the top half-dozen of which command 60% of the broadcast advertising revenues in the United States, moan that they need larger stables of broadcast properties to stay profitable! This gigantic giveaway to a bunch of international operators concerned with nothing but profits and pleasing stockholders is utter betrayal of public trust. These effective blockings and limitations on LPFM development are nothing less than devious, political end plays and schemes worthy only of lawyers. It is not just that 12 Catholic groups including 4 dioceses will not have any LPFM radio voice. It is irrelevant that the majority of the LPFM applications were filed by fundamentalist Protestant sects and churches. There were also applications from highway departments, small town and city governments, high schools, colleges, fire departments, chambers of commerce, dozens of commonweal organizations such as drug rehab and youth centers, even a coven of witches. They now have all been shut out. Pity the poor public. It must rely on foxes to guard the chickens (Michael Dorner, editor, Catholic Radio Update March 24 via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ PEEKING THROUGH THE CRACKS IN RADIO SHACK By Troy Wolverton Staff Reporter 03/25/2003 05:25 PM EST Radio Shack (RSH:NYSE) shares rose on Tuesday, despite a sell rating from Deutsche Bank Securities. http://www.thestreet.com/_tsclsii/stocks/troywolverton/10076447.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 26 MARCH - 21 APRIL 2003 Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels. Activity is expected to be at low levels until the return of Region 306 and Region 314 on 02 and 03 April respectively. Low level activity with a chance of moderate activity is expected on 04 – 17 April. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected during the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux may reach high levels on 27 – 28 March, 04 – 06 April and again on 14 – 19 April due to returning coronal holes. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to major storm levels during the period. Two small but intense coronal hole streams are due on 25 – 27 March and 30 – 31 March and are expected to produce active to isolated major storm levels. A weak but persistent coronal hole stream is expected on 01 – 04 April with unsettled to isolated active conditions. The large equatorial coronal hole is due to return to a geo-effective position on 10 – 14 April. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Mar 25 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 Mar 25 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Mar 26 110 20 4 2003 Mar 27 120 15 3 2003 Mar 28 125 12 3 2003 Mar 29 130 12 3 2003 Mar 30 135 12 3 2003 Mar 31 135 20 4 2003 Apr 01 135 15 3 2003 Apr 02 140 20 4 2003 Apr 03 145 10 3 2003 Apr 04 145 10 3 2003 Apr 05 145 10 3 2003 Apr 06 140 10 3 2003 Apr 07 140 10 3 2003 Apr 08 140 12 3 2003 Apr 09 135 15 3 2003 Apr 10 135 15 3 2003 Apr 11 135 20 4 2003 Apr 12 130 20 4 2003 Apr 13 125 20 4 2003 Apr 14 120 25 5 2003 Apr 15 110 25 5 2003 Apr 16 100 20 4 2003 Apr 17 90 15 3 2003 Apr 18 90 10 3 2003 Apr 19 95 20 4 2003 Apr 20 100 10 3 2003 Apr 21 105 20 4 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1175, DXLD) ###