DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-104, June 12, 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/dxldtd3f.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 In case anyone be confused, previous issues were 3-102 and 3-103, tho the subject line of the first one read 3-012. Evidently all other references and hyperlinx were correct (gh) NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1186: RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445 15039 WWCR: Sat 0600, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: Sat 0930, Sun 1030, 1630 7490 13595 [maybe] WINB: Sat 1730 13570 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN: Rest of world Sat 0800; Europe Sun 0430; North America Sun 1400 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1186.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1186.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1186h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1186h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1186.html [soon] MUNDO RADIAL, junio-julio 2003: ESCUCHAR A PEDIDO: BAJABLE: http://www.k4cc.net/mr0306.rm CORRIENTE: http://www.k4cc.net/mr0306.ram GUIÓN: http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0306.html DIFUSIÓN: a partir del 13 de junio, cada viernes alrededor de las 2115 y miércoles 2100 en WWCR, 15825; en segmentos por Radio Enlace de Radio Nederland, los viernes y domingos. MUNDO RADIAL EN SINTONIA DX Saludos cordiales Amigo Glenn Hauser. Espero se encuentre Ud muy bien. El motivo de mi correo es para participarle que he bajado sus informaciones de internet y serán colocadas al aire a traves del programa Sintonía DX, en dos partes de 7 y 8 minutos cada una, los dias sabados entre 8 y 10 de la noche hora local de Venezuela. [UT Sun 0000-0200]. Espero contar con su autorización y valiosas informaciones, para seguir consolidando a Sintonía DX, como el único programa diexista que se realiza en Venezuela con dos horas de duración y donde solo se hacen comentarios de la radio, a través de Unión Radio Porteñas 640, en Puerto La Cruz, Estado Anzoátegui, Venezuela. Atte: (José Elías, Venezuela, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. ANGOLA TO ALLOW PRIVATE SHORTWAVE RADIO STATIONS Under legislation currently being prepared in Angola, the government will lose its monopoly of shortwave broadcasting. Media Minister Hendrick Vaal Neto announced this week that not only will private TV channels be allowed under the legislation to be presented to the National Assembly, but also the establisment of privately-run short wave radio stations. The legislation involves modifications to the existing Press Bill, However, Vaal Neto cautioned that financial considerations might limit the number of new stations that are actually set up (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 12 June 2003via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. UZBEKISTAN(non): New schedule for Voice International in Hindi: 0100-0400 on 11850 via TAC 100 kW / 153 deg 0500-0800 on 13630 via TAC 100 kW / 153 deg ||||| new transmission 1100-1700 on 13635 via DRW 250 kW / 303 deg ||||| cancelled 73 from Ivo and Angel! (Observer, Bulgaria, June 11 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Radio Itatiaia (Belo Horizonte) which is quite a rare station here in the middle of Europe due to its early sign off (listed as 1900 UT) has been heard on 5969.94 kHz this morning (12 JUN 2003, around 0400 UT). They had long comments on Copa do Brasil (soccer championship) with replays of the best goals. Heard until fade out at 0450 UTC (almost 2 hours after our local Sunrise)... GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030 30 m Long Wire, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** CANADA. BROADCAST REVIEW PROPOSES OVERHAUL By SIMON TUCK, With a report from Gayle MacDonald in Banff Thursday, June 12, 2003 - Page A4 OTTAWA -- A two-year study of Canadian broadcasting has called for a vast overhaul of both the industry's public and private wings, but points in a starkly different direction than a parallel parliamentary committee did just six weeks ago. The report by the House of Commons heritage committee, the industry's first major review since the introduction of the Broadcasting Act in 1991, calls on Ottawa to provide more financial support for the industry, greater Canadian content in programming and advertising, and a greater emphasis on local programming, and to amalgamate departments and laws that guide the industry. . . http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPPrint/LAC/20030612/UCASTN/TPNational/ (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) Another version: KEEP LID ON FOREIGN OWNERSHIP: BROADCAST REPORT By SIMON TUCK, Globe and Mail Update, UPDATED AT 6:12 PM EDT, Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2003 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030611.wbrd0611/BNPrint/Entertainment/ (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. METRO MORNING GETS ITS GROOVE BACK --- CBC Radio wakeup show turns 30 after vainly trying to reposition itself with younger listeners -- MARTIN KNELMAN Andy Barrie --- the mellow-voiced guy from Baltimore who came to Toronto by way of Yonkers and Montreal --- does not usually have to dress for his job as host of Metro Morning, CBC Radio's local wakeup show. Today is different. Barrie is slipping into a double-breasted polyester leisure suit, the better to celebrate the program's 30th anniversary, on air today from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. . . . http://tinyurl.com/e1g6 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CANADA. TORONTO CN TOWER FM OUTAGE PLANNED MONDAY MORNING Not only is there a planned outage of the FM stations at the CN Tower this Monday morning from 2-4 am (approx) but look at Bill Hepburn's tropo map for that morning. Things could get, well... let's only hope the forecast doesn't get downgraded over the course of the next few days. Although Toronto is on the fringe and in the blue, we're close enough to get in on any action, if it happens as predicted. http://www.globalserve.net/~hepburnw/tropo.html Keep in mind that Monday morning means very late Sunday night. Some stations use reduced, auxilliary power. Watch for the following: 91.1, 94.1, 97.3, 98.1, 99.9, 100.7, 102.1, 104.5, and 107.1 (Saul Chernos, Ont., June 12, ODXA via DXLD) No, it doesn`t really mean late Sunday night. The new day starts at local midnight. Honest! Only those extremely out of touch with reality would think it`s still Sunday. That would be 0600-0800 UT Monday June 16 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. B.C. STATION FIRES TALK-SHOW ICON RAFE MAIR Last Updated Mon, 09 Jun 2003 18:17:40 VANCOUVER --- One of British Columbia's best-known talk-show hosts has been fired from CKNW radio after 19 years on the air. Rafe Mair was forced to leave following complaints by his female producer about his behaviour. She accuses Mair of forcing her to get his coffee and swearing in her presence. The 71-year-old Mair denies forcing her to do anything, and while he admits he swore, he says the words weren't directed at her. FULL STORY: http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/06/09/mair030609 PS: There's a link to an audio interview with Mair and CBC Vancouver's Rick Cluff (From Vancouver.cbc.ca via Bill Doskoch, Sometime CBC.ca worker bee, Toronto, ON via Ricky Leong via DXLD) JUST A TEMPEST IN A LATTE CUP? By Paul Sullivan, Globe & Mail, June 11 They can't fire Rafe Mair, can they? Yes, Virginia, they can. Go to Rafe's spot on the AM dial, CKNW 980, the same spot he's been in for 19 years, and Vancouver's favourite blowhard is gone. Backup blowhard Peter Warren is on the air, manfully pinch-conducting Rafe's orchestra of call-in cranks as they saw away through standards from the repertoire -- as this is written, it's the ever popular welfare-bums-should-get-a-job lament. The man who became the voice of a people, who just said "no" to the Charlottetown Accord, who stopped an Alcan megaproject because it would spoil a salmon stream, has apparently been done in because he used the F word at the office and asked his producer to schlep his shoes. Or was it because he expected her to have coffee with him and put the sprinkles on his latte? Or maybe it was because he once accused the same producer of "acting like a little girl with her knickers in a knot." Is that it? Is that what knocked over the highest-rated talk show host in the history of hot air? We may never know, because while the 71- year-old, self-described "miserable SOB" is no longer broadcasting on the Corus radio network, he is telling his side of the story to anyone who will listen, but the alleged complainant, producer Dallas Brodie, is laying low. And CKNW's program director will say only that CKNW has "ended its relationship" with Rafe Mair over "an internal matter." Full stop. So unless Corus comes clean, this story will remain shrouded in rumour and myth, festering in the "Remedial Media" trash heap of Frank Magazine. Meanwhile, Rafe's 100,000 listeners, not to mention his assorted targets -- politicians, business leaders, celebrities and competitive media bloviators -- are left to mumble in their morning coffee and contemplate the giant black hole that was, until last week, a reliable beacon of blab. Corus and Ms. Brodie, who routinely conspired with "Canada's most contentious radio host," as he's described on his own dust jackets, to kick over rocks and skewer reputations, are now content to broadcast dead air when they should be practising the kind of disclosure they demanded from others day after day. Why do media organizations turn into a combination of the Kremlin and the Vatican when they're the story? U.S. media strategist Mandy Grunwald, writing in the Washington Post about the Jayson Blair-New York Times scandal, puts it bluntly: "The truth is that journalists are used to judging others and not being judged." Ms. Grunwald, who cut her teeth in the Clinton White House, issues a warning that shell-shocked Corus functionaries may want to heed: "The first instinct of most people or organizations in trouble is to close the door and hunker down with your closest associates. This is usually the worst thing to do." The self-congratulatory, four-page attempt by The New York Times to put a lid on the Blair scandal fell short, because "any casual reader -- not in Times management -- could have told them that this 'tell- all' told nothing about the heart of the story. The questions of race or the Times culture or [executive editor Howell] Raines's personal style were glossed over." So while program director Tom Plasteras tries to put a lid on the Rafe Mair firing by eulogizing him as "an icon in our industry and we thank him for 19 brilliant years at CKNW," he says nothing about the "heart of the story." Is there, despite Rafe's protest that he did nothing wrong, real cause for dismissal? And if there is, why won't Corus live by its own standards and tell the whole story? Or any of the story, for that matter? What we need is someone like Rafe Mair to get the boss behind the mike and sweat some answers out of him. But Rafe Mair's gone sailing, and in his place, there's a deafening silence ringing in Vancouver's collective ears (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CHINA. Today I got a very nice looking QSL card from China Huayi Broadcast Co. I listened to them on 4940 kHz (15 kW), but they are nowadays on 4830, 6185 and 783 kHz. V/s: Qiao Xiaoli, Feng Jing Xin Cun 3-4-304, Changshu, Jiangsu, 215500, P R China. I am quite satisfied with my 20th regional Chinese station verified! Best wishes from (Björn Fransson, the island of Gotland, Sweden, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Six QSLs were sent out: to: Jussi Suokas, Finland Jyrki Hytonen, Finland Bjorn Fransson, Sweden Gert Nilsson, Sweden Jim Solatie, Finland David Martin, Australia All via airmail! If you receive it please tell your friends, or if you could not receive your QSL please tell me! For foreign DXers who don't know any Chinese, CHBC add some English IDs in its DX programme, "The Sky of BCLs"; keep tuning in CHBC on 6185 kHz every Sunday 1600- 1700 UT. Good listening. (Qiao Xiaoli, 2883752@163.com QSL Manager of CHBC, My email address is: dxswl@21cn.com (Qiao Xiaoli, May 30, dxing.info via DXLD) So what is that numerical-looking E-mail address just before it??? There must be a better translation of the program title (gh, DXLD) That reminds me, ** CHINA [and non]. The Thu June 12 VOA TALK TO AMERICA looks very interesting, and I plan to get it from the archive when I can spare 50 minutes: Does Asian Orthography Curb Creativity? - June 12, 2003 Guests: Molly O. Sheehan, Author of WRITING ON THE WALL:HOW ASIAN ORTHOGRAPHY CURBS CREATIVITY. We will discuss Hannas thesis that the creativity of East Asians is hampered by their script which according to the author is unwieldy and inefficient (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) I suppose they are talking about Chinese? There are lots of different ``East Asian orthographies``, some of which are alphabetic or at least syllabic (gh, DXLD) ** CONGO DR. Haven't been on the bands really for ages --- listened in on 6030 kHz as Radio Okapi from (Kinshasa?) would be new to me. Tuned in at 2218 and lovely Congolese songs and western soul was heard. But a hard nut to crack - only once heard the DJ (though then very clear) say 'Okapí --- ' then a few words on local language. Some later DJ announcements which could have been in French - very hard to judge, but absolutely no 'Okapí' could be heard there, and on top of tunes. No other IDs, seemingly, until I left at 2305. Signal peaked here at 2240. Easily reported on soundtrack, but hardly possible 'the old fashioned way'. Not easy to ID at this music hour. 73's OMs (Finn Krone, Denmark, June 10, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Good to hear that you are still alive! Welcome back to the DX-world! The old japanese junk still going strong? I never heard Okapi on 6030, but deep in the night with a very weak signal on 11690 kHz. Yes, they are very tough one to report, hours of african music and a few pop songs in between. Never heard many announcements, just the sung "Okapi"-Jingles every now and then. -- 73 (Martin Elbe, Germany, ibid.) Couple of nights ago Okapi was surprisingly strong on 6030 here and yes: _nice_ to see Finn back on ;-) vy73 (Harald Kuhl, Germany, June 11, ibid.) ** COSTA RICA. Pleased to note RFPI`s 15039 back on air by UT June 10 after perhaps a week`s absence (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA [and non]. [RFPI-Vista] RFPI Online NewsLetter Part Two RADIO FOR PEACE INTERNATIONAL IN NICARAGUA Yes, we get everywhere! At the end of April, our program director Naomi Fowler visited Nicaragua where she helped deliver a three-day radio production workshop and gave a talk about Radio For Peace International at the Ben Linder house in Managua. (Ben Linder was an engineer who worked in Nicaragua as a volunteer helping to set up electricity systems to serve remote areas and was killed by the US- sponsored Contras. The house was built in his memory.) Some of the people who came for the talk at the Ben Linder house had also attended the week-long radio production workshop held at the Radio For Peace studios in Costa Rica back in January with Pauline Bartelone of Free Speech Radio News. Here's the story: I arrived in Managua in the early afternoon, having left San Jose in Costa Rica in the early hours of the morning and travelling through the beautiful mountain ranges between the two countries, passing by the huge lake once across the border in Nicaragua which is surrounded by three dramatic volcanoes, one with the top completely blown off. I was whisked off to a political meeting where I sat in on a discussion about the state of affairs in Nicaragua and criticism of National Assembly representatives who earn huge amounts of money and have perks too numerous to mention whilst so many in Nicaragua are living way below the poverty level with little prospect of anything being done to improve their lot. There was then a speaker talking about the pressure from the IMF on Nicaragua to nationalize their water and the possibilities for resisting this and a discussion on the effectiveness (or otherwise) of Bolaños, Nicaragua's current president who took over from the notorious Alemán, who appears to have stolen more money from his country than all other Nicaraguan presidents put together. I met some members of the Witness for Peace team, some of whom took part in the radio production workshop. Witness for Peace, like the World Association of Christian Churches (WACC) seems to be one of many religious organizations based in Nicaragua with a progressive agenda. Witness for Peace dedicates its time to informing the US public about the effects of their foreign policies on other countries, such as Nicaragua, through visits from delegations which they organize as well as many articles and pamphlets that they research and write aimed at informing and inspiring action back in the US. In the sense that we at Radio For Peace International are all about making visible the connections between actions and consequences (for example, of corporations, governments and of world citizens who allow these things to take place), so are some of these organizations based in Nicaragua. I was impressed by the work many were involved in, and their very thorough knowledge, understanding and sensitivity about Nicaragua. It is not always the case. Although RFP I does not share their religious views, we certainly do share the same vision for the future we would like to see in terms of a total change in the foreign policies of the most powerful governments in the world and we recognize that we are working for the same goals. Some of the streets in Managua and the politically charged atmosphere reminded me in some ways of Cuba. Managua is a surprisingly spread-out city with lots of unexpected greenery and very wide streets. The greenery, it was explained to me, was because of past earthquake damage and fear and lack of money to rebuild. I kept coming back to a feeling of disbelief that there can be so many incidences where a country and its people can be cheated so outrageously, so many times by so many different ideologies, individuals and organizations. I plan to return again soon to make some programming about Nicaragua and the realities of life there today after such a history of revolution, terrible war and its complex aftermath. So, listen out for that on Radio For Peace International. I was interested to visit Nicaragua after having encountered such negative reactions from so many Costa Ricans about Nicaraguans. As is often the case with such attitudes, they often serve among other things as a marker against which we measure ourselves and that which we wish to consider ourselves not to be; something that has its roots in a feeling of insecurity that actually has little to do with Nicaragua or whoever it is who has become the 'bottom of the pile.' The anti-immigration lobby is strong in Costa Rica, despite a tiny population and the fact that immigration boosts the economy. Their largest immigrant population is from Nicaragua and they work at the jobs Costa Ricans tend to consider beneath them. The Costa Rican experience of a not so distant harsher economic reality is still in their recent past and very much motivates what I see as their headlong and largely uncritical rush towards 'Gringolandia' and all things 'Gringo,' cheer-led on by their extremely commercialized media. The Nicaraguan relationship with and concepts of the US are of course flavored by a very different experience. People in Nicaragua told me that the only reason the Nicaraguan economy is still standing is due to migrant workers sending in their wages to their families from all over the world, including from within Costa Rica, and that an average of $2 million US dollars comes into Nicaragua this way each day. 2003 is a pivotal year for Central America with the CAFTA talks (so called Free Trade in Central America). Abel Pacheco (the Costa Rican president) looks set to roll over and say 'yes' to everything. The Nicaraguan President looks set to say 'yes' to whatever he can manage logistically, which, bearing in mind the current complicated state of affairs and the power, not to mention money vacuum, may not be very much very fast. Costa Rica may come to regret their greater state of preparedness and their more positive view of the US. There is at least some talk at least in the media in Costa Rica (and much more in the Nicaraguan media) about Mexico's experience so far of 'free trade' and the very good economic reasons why Costa Rica and Nicaragua should really be thinking very carefully about making any agreements at all. It is going to be a turbulent time. Neither country wants their water privatized and they will come out onto the streets to stop it happening. I can only hope that their governments are more democratically minded than in my own country, Britain and take some notice. Costa Rica is in great danger of falling foul of US foreign policy, like the neighboring countries it has tended to distance itself from in the past. II am reminded of John Donne's poem, 'no man is an island entire of itself' and in some ways I am reminded of my own country Britain isolating itself within Europe (as Charles de Gaul so rightly predicted) in favor of the 'special relationship' with the US and how that continues to problematize our participation in Europe and a lot more besides. I sat and talked with two long distance lorry drivers on the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica on my way back to RFPI and found myself being asked which Latin American country I liked best. It was obviously a loaded question and when I said I had found Nicaraguans to be extremely friendly, they smiled approvingly. I asked them if they were Nicaraguan. No, they told me, one was from Guatemala and the other from El Salvador. They told me that of all the Central American countries they drive through each week, they disliked driving through Costa Rica because of the discrimination they said they were subjected to, but when they entered Nicaragua, they felt they were coming home. I wonder how opposition to the CAFTA talks will manifest itself this year in Central America. In Nicaragua, it looks like the struggle against water privatization is gaining momentum and will be big. In Costa Rica, those such as Rodrigo Carazo (Costa Rican ex-president and RFPI Board member) will continue to speak out against the agreement and RFPI will focus increasingly this year on covering this issue. We are also focusing more and more on bringing you independent news from the Central American region in our new daily RFPI news shorts at 2130 UT. We hope to build on this Central American progressive news service with help from our colleagues in Nicaragua in the future. You, like us, will have noticed that some parts of the world do not seem to exist in other parts of the world. That's what we are all about here at Radio For Peace International and with your help and support, we will go on trying to facilitate access to the airwaves of these issues, people and countries who seem to be invisible or 'un- newsworthy' to other media groups who are not motivated by the same principles as we are. Members of the group I met in Managua plan to work on a weekly progressive news report about Nicaragua for RFPI, and I also talked with people who work with indigenous groups in Nicaragua with whom we may work in the future in a project similar to the one we are currently embarking on with the Huetar indigenous group in Costa Rica where the radio station is located. We are helping them set up an AM community radio station and there are also plans to make a series of recordings of their oral history as well as a special project to preserve their language which is dying out. The Huetar eventually want to build a National Indigenous Learning Center and a school not just for indigenous children but for all children. We are very happy to be a part of such projects and we will update you on their progress as well as any new ones which may come up in Nicaragua in the future. With trips such as this latest one to Nicaragua, we can build on our network bringing you even more independently sourced information and analysis from around the world. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Radio For Peace Internacional, PO Box 75, Ciudad Colón, Costa Rica Central America Tel. +506 - 249 1821 Fax. +506 - 249 1095 Web site: http://www.rfpi.org Email: info@rfpi.org For Pay Pal donations with a visa credit, visa debit or mastercard, you can click on the Pay Pal icon on www.rfpi.org -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- (RFPI-Vista mailing list June 11 via DXLD) ** CUBA. Radio Rebelde, captada en la frecuencia de los 11655 kHz a las 1236 UT, estaban transmitiendo el programa: Haciendo Radio, donde entrevistaron a Hebe de Bonafini, presidenta de Mujeres de La Plaza de Mayo, quien dijo "La visita de Fidel a la Argentina ha sido algo maravilloso para nuestra juventud y su discurso fué magistral; nos dijo los pasos a seguir para salir de la crisis que sufre nuestro pueblo". Atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, Conexión Digital via WORLD OF RADIO 1186, DXLD) That`s certainly a new frequency for them (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. RADIO TRANS MUNDIAL (RTM) ESTÁ EN CUBA RTM está acondicionando un estudio de grabación en La Habana. Se espera que los primeros programas comiencen a ser grabados en septiembre. Estos serán transmitidos a partir del próximo año desde Bonaire donde se encuentra el transmisor más cercano a Cuba. El Estudio formará parte del Centro Bautista ubicado en la esquina Zulueta y Dragones de La Habana Vieja. En las grabaciones participará un equipo formado por personas provenientes de diversas denominaciones evangélicas existentes en la Isla. Del 19 al 22 de mayo pasados tres líderes de RTM impartieron en Cuba el Seminario ``Comunicación por radio``. El objetivo fue entrenar a los posibles miembros de lo que quedó finalmente conformado como el grupo RTM-Cuba. Unas 40 personas acudieron a dicho entrenamiento en el Campamento Bautista ``Marta Cabarrocas`` en el Valle de Yumurí, Matanzas. Los entrenadores fueron: Alan Bachmann, directivo de RTM; Lemuel Larrosa, Presidente de la programación iberoamericana y su hijo Esteban Larrosa que preside el grupo RTM-Uruguay. Como parte del seminario se impartieron diversos talleres y conferencias tales como: ``Teología de la Comunicación Cristiana``, ``Diez maneras de superar la sequía del productor de radio``, ``Fortalezas y limitaciones de la comunicación por radio``, ``¿Cómo hacer entrevistas y presentar testimonios en radio?``, ``Escribiendo para la radio``, ``La importancia de una buena voz para la radio``, y otros. A propuesta de RTM los cubanos grabarán dos programas. Uno dedicado a la familia de 28 minutos semanales y otro de reflexión con formato de cinco minutos con cinco frecuencias semanales. Por acuerdo del grupo RTM-Cuba los respectivos programas se llamarán ``Asuntos de familia`` y ``Desafíos para la vida``. Al frente de RTM-Cuba se encuentra Alberto González, destacado líder evangélico cubano y prolífero escritor. Él será el contacto entre RTM Internacional y RTM- Cuba y coordinará el proyecto a nivel nacional. Para los evangélicos cubanos involucrados en el proyecto este constituye una valiosa oportunidad de utilizar la radio nuevamente. Estos grupos religiosos tuvieron diversos programas radiales hasta 1962. Sólo al Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba se le concede actualmente (desde finales de los 90) la posibilidad de un programa de 20 minutos al mes a través de la emisora CMBF ``Radio Musical Nacional`` conocido como: ``El Evangelio en marcha``. Sin embargo la mayoría de los evangélicos cubanos considera insuficiente esta opción. RTM es una organización internacional misionera de difusión evangélica que trasmite programas semanales en más de 185 idiomas y dialectos desde 13 lugares principales, a través de satélite y 2300 emisoras afiliadas. Diariamente la programación de RTM alcanza a millones de oyentes en unos 160 países (Reporte de Mario Lleonart Barroso, desde Villa Clara, Cuba, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK. Re DXLD 3-101: Having read the article about the end of broadcasts from Radio Denmark on shortwave, why do they not add some Danish broadcasting to their mediumwave schedules? I am sure that it would be possible to reactivate the transmitter at Kalundborg which was previously in use on LW243khz during morning hours. They already run several languages for foreign workers in Denmark and I have heard the transmissions sometimes during evening hours. Schedules at present: ENGLISH: 1030, 1710 and 2200 hrs - MW 1062 khz ARABIC: 1035, 1715 and 2205 hrs - MW 1062 khz URDU: 1040, 1720 and 2210 hrs - MW 1062 khz TURKISH: 1045, 1725 and 2215 hrs - MW 1062 khz SOMALI: 1050, 1730 and 2220 hrs - MW 1062 khz BOSANSKI, SRPSKI & HRVATSKI: 1055, 1735 and 2225 hrs - MW 1062 khz TX: MW 1062 khz = Kalundborg, Denmark. Power unknown but probably 250 kW. So why don't they relay a selection of Radio Denmark's national services in Danish on LW 243 khz? Nothing else uses that frequency at present here in UK. Best 73s to all DX-ers (DXDave, Bristol, UK, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Hello Mr. Hauser, I also enjoyed very good reception of DX Partyline at 1230Z Saturday on 15115 kHz from HCJB Quito. Allen Graham commented on the novelty of having breakfast with listeners, did not mention anything about US relays. He did mention the HCJB staff managed to come up with new 4 QSLs for 2003 (they had been using up old ones from previous years for 2003 reception reports). These QSLs will feature Ecuadorian volcanoes, which should be quite worthwhile to send for. In the final two days of the evening releases, the hosts of Studio 9, Musical Mailbag, and Ham Radio Today bid moving farewells to listeners, thanking them for their loyalty to the station. Have also heard mention of an expanded program schedule from HCJB Australia, wondering if they'll revive one of their two popular mailbag programs, perhaps with Saludos Amigos host Yvonne Kennedy who's now back in New Zealand. 73s (Ben Loveless, WB9FJO, MIchigan USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DXPL`s new webpage has finally appeared: http://www.hcjb.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=173 Altho the homepage above gives the correct schedule, a woefully outdated schedule appears in the new redesigned format at! http://www.hcjb.org/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-174-page-1.html Audio archives finally includes the latest edition, but all pre-2003 files have been de-listed (and de-leted?) http://www.hcjb.org/dxplaudio.php It appears the page linking to the other major DX programs has been eliminated; at least no link to it now appears. Another page, ``Upcoming DX Events`` which is linked has no content, so perhaps they are not quite finished: http://www.hcjb.org/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-174-page-1.html There are certainly lots of Upcoming DX Events, as in the CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES sections of many recent DXLDs (Glenn Hauser, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Portuguese service is celebrating 39th anniversary. Eunice Carbajal does the DX program in Portuguese ``DX-HCJB`` Sat 0830 on 9745; Sun 0100 on 11920, 12020; 1730 on 15295. New QSL cards for 2003: 4 cards depicting volcanoes in Ecuador active in last few years; one each 3 months. The cards were delivered last week, after pressure from Allen et al. to continue QSLing contrary to previous cost-cutting plans. [Confirming our suspicions,] missing DXPL last week on HCJB-Australia was not intentional, but an automation breakdown (Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline June 7, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. R. Cairo in English, 9755, 30 May, 1703 UT, SINPO 33543 (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Never had English at this time or frequency. Are you sure? (gh to Robertas) Yes, I definitely heard the ID. Listened to it until 1715 UT, by the way (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, WORLD OF RADIO 1186, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA & ETHIOPIA [nons]. U A E: Frequency change for UNMEE via Al-Dhabbaya: 0900-1000 Sun Amh/Tigr NF 21790 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg, ex 21715 to avoid VOT (Observer, Bulgaria, June 11 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. RUSSIA: New station via UNID transmitter in Russia --- Radio Solidarity in Tigrina: 1700-1800 Sunday on 12120 (55544), ex 1600-1630 Wed/Sat on 15265 via DTK/JUL (Observer, Bulgaria, June 11 via DXLD) Not new, as recently discussed here (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. ONLINE AUDIENCE WITHIN RADIO'S RANGE --- COMPUTER-SAVVY LISTENERS OFFER STATIONS THEIR LONG-DISTANCE DEDICATION 06/10/2003 By CRAYTON HARRISON / The Dallas Morning News NEW YORK – Kellie Rogers searched the radio dial in vain for a station that consistently plays music she likes. The Brooklyn resident couldn't stand the New York airwaves, loaded with commercials and rarely straying from a small list of songs in regular rotation. She finally found a station that played the eclectic mix of music she was looking for – broadcasting more than 2,000 miles away in Seattle. Driven by a thirst for music she can't find on local radio, Ms. Rogers is part of a small but growing number of listeners nationwide using broadband Internet connections to loyally listen to stations outside their own towns. . . http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/061003dnbusnetradio.1c426.html or http://www.topica.com/lists/SOUNDOFF/read/message.html?sort=d&mid=1713347510&start=3793 (via John Callarman, KA9SPA, Family Genealogist, Krum TX, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) ** IRAN. IRAN'S EXTENSIVE INTERNET PORTAL TO CARRY LIVE BROADCASTS, "REPULSE CONSPIRACIES" Iran is hoping that its national portal will become operational within a month. The technical deputy-director of the Voice and Vision Organization, Engineer Afrasiabi, speaking to the radio's Central News Unit, said: "The objective of this very extensive internet base is to develop the domestic technology in this field and to repulse conspiracies of the foreign news media." He added that hopefully the base would eliminate the need for the people to access the international internet network to obtain information. The following is text of a report broadcast by Iranian radio on 10 June Iran's national portal will become operational within a month. This was announced by the technical deputy-director of the Voice and Vision Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Engineer Afrasiabi. He said: Portal is the name given to the service-provider base in the internet network [words portal and internet as heard in English]. He pointed out: The objective of this very extensive internet base is to develop the domestic technology in this field and to repulse conspiracies of the foreign news media. And this base will place the services provided by the relevant institutions of the country's private and state sectors at the disposal of the subscribers. Afrasiabi added: The first service provided by this huge base will be the subjects taught at Science Application University. And moreover, the base will provide computer lessons to the applicants who wish to obtain the international ICDL [as heard in English] certificate. Engineer Afrasiabi, speaking to the radio's Central News Unit, said: [voice recording] In the first phase, we shall provide lessons on electronic mail; and at the same time we shall carry live broadcasts of the [Iranian] radio and television programmes. Furthermore, we shall provide and update news, local and provincial information as well as some of the audio and video material available in the archives of the Voice and Vision Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We shall also provide other interesting material demanded by the people. We hope that the first phase of this base will become operational within the next month. We shall also create similar bases in other provinces in order to enable the local people to receive good quality information rapidly, without the need for them to access the international internet network to obtain such information. We hope that such bases will become operational in all provincial capitals of the country by the end of the current year [20 March 2004]. We hope that this will be a major step in accommodating the information supplied by the state departments and the people. In fact, this will realize our objective of having our own national portal. Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, in Persian 0330 gmt 10 Jun 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) What`s the URL, Khamanei? ** IRAN [non]. AZERBAIJAN[non]/IRAN[non] The following article published in March by the Swedish-based, Azerbaijan-related website "Cehreganli" http://www.cehreganli.com/xeberler/radiok-english.txt might indicate that The Voice of Southern Azerbaijan (Güney Azärbaycan Säsi Radiosu) towards Iran has been transmitted (resp. still is being transmitted) from Azerbaijan on SW, and the station has been planning to ask the Azerbaijani Communications Ministry to change from SW to MW - provided that the reported press conference has been taken place in the Azerbaijani capital. Note that the text misspells the last used frequency 9375 as "9537". --- begin quote --- Voice of Southern Azerbaijan to be on air since March 21 Founders of the radio will apeal to the communication ministry to alter the broadcasting from short waves to middle waves 525ci qazet 2003-03-19 Head of the Baku Bureau of Southern Azerbaijan National Revival Movement (SANRM), Hussein Turkeli, head of Swedish Bureau Mahmud Bilgin and employee of the Radio of Voice of Southern Azerbaijan Afsane Sulduzlu gave a press conference yesterday (March 18). In his address H. Turkelli said they decided to strengthen the activity of Radio of Voice of Southern Azerbaijan, which is broadcasted 2 times a week from 20:00 to 20:30 in short waves ranging 31M 9537 [sic] MH frequencies. According to him, key objective of establishment of this Radio was to organize the propaganda of a struggle conducted by 5 Southern Azeris for heir destiny and liberation. However, the Iranian regime is very much concerned by the activity of this radio and set up anti- propaganda campaign in this respect. He said that they are planning to appeal to the Communication Ministry to alter the broadcasting from short waves to middle waves. Sevda Ilhamgizi --- end quote -- The station's webpage http://www.cehreganli.com/media/radio.html provides updated audio files of the broadcasts. The broadcasts are in Azeri, not Farsi as reported in other sources. They might possibly be produced in Sweden, as Stockholm is occasionally mentioned in the programmes (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. FRANCE (non): Voice of Iran in Persian via ISS 500 kW / 090 degrees effective June 1: 1630-1730 (ex 1530-1730) on 17525 (55555) (Observer, Bulgaria, June 11 via DXLD) MOLDOVA: Radio Anternacionale/Radio International in Persian now on air: 1630-1700 on 13800 KCH [Moldova] 500 kW / 115 deg, ex 1630-1715 via KVI 250 kW / 105 degrees (Observer, Bulgaria, June 11 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. MARS OPERATIONS BEGIN IN IRAQ; MORE OPERATORS SOUGHT The Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) is poised to start the flow of messages between troops in Iraq and Kuwait and their families and friends back home. The first MARS licenses have been issued to soldier stations in Iraq and Kuwait, and a broad range of frequencies has been assigned for MARS use. MARS also is operational in Afghanistan. Daniel Wolff, assistant affiliate MARS coordinator for Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia, reports that four soldier licenses had been issued as of June 1 but he hopes there will be many more as active hostilities wind down. These new operations will open up MARSgram and phone patch communications for troops stationed beyond the reach of e-mail and cell phones. Just about every company-size unit overseas has high frequency radio equipment in house --- or, more likely, ``in tent.`` While preparedness to provide emergency or contingency communications backup now occupies first place, handling ``morale and welfare traffic`` is another role MARS members still can play. The only drawback is the shortage of stations to receive it. MARSgrams are being handled at least one-way. Those addressed to Iraq or Kuwait are transmitted by radio to the nearest MARS gateway station, then refiled into the Military Postal System for delivery. This shaves days or weeks off the time it takes a message going by mail. Information on sending MARSgrams is available on the Army MARS Web site at http://www.netcom.army.mil/MARS Now that most hostile action has ceased, Wolff says, MARS should be among the organizations assuming a humanitarian and support role --- if only there were more stations in the region. FCC-licensed amateurs may apply for an overseas MARS license much as they would in the US, except that some additional information is required. Commanding officers may also apply for a MARS station license for their units and are exempt from the FCC Amateur Radio license requirement, he explained. Full information and application forms are available to overseas applicants by e-mailing Wolff at aem1wf@qsl.net" or for US amateurs by visiting the US Army MARS Web site at http://www.netcom.army.mil/MARS/ (Bill Sexton, N11N/AAA9PC via ARRL June 11 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. Just got back from Alexandria with the suntan all over --- HI, and sitting on the beach, watching sunset. It was cool. Back to R. Free Iraq on 15495 kHz. Here's my report about it after getting the frequencies they announce at the beginning of the transmission it was like that: from 1400 till 1700 UT on the following frequencies: 9705, 9825, 11805, 13755, 15170, 17740, 17690 [out of order sic] OK, not a word about 15495 kHz. One more thing, according to their web sites here's the frequencies used from 1400 till 1900 UT: 1400-1600 1314 MW Every day 1400-1700 9825 SW Every day 1400-1500 13755 SW Every day 1400-1700 15170 SW Every day 1400-1700 17740 SW Every day 1500-1900 11805 SW Every day Here in Cairo I could hear only the following frequencies: 9825 kHz SIO 222 13755 nothing heard 15170 SIO 333 17740 SIO 433 That's according to their web schedule; but according to their announced frequencies: 9705 a very weak station but not R Free Iraq 11805 SIO 222 17699 SIO nothing heard 15495 is the strongest frequency of that punch of frequencies. I'd give it SIO 444. I sent an e mail to the station on iraq@rferl.org and got an automatic reply that really made me a little bit pissed off and confused!! Read carefully: I will be out of the office starting 06/07/2003 and will not return until 06/15/2003. I will respond to your message when I return on October 29. If urgent please contact Acting Director Kamran Al- Karadaghi karadaghik@refrl.org or Secretary Patricie Rejzkova rejzkovap@rferl.org So if they are out of office from 7th till the 15th of June, why would they reply by OCTOBER 29th????? What a quick service. [maybe that was a mistake --- gh] Anyway sent another e mail to Karadaghik@rferl.org and guess what --- wrong e mail!!!! it bounced back!!!!!! So my last hope was Patricie, but she's just a secretary so would she be able to talk technically about 15495?? Where from and that stuff, though I doubt it. But still crossing my fingers, and my toes as well. HI. Will keep you posted. All the best from Cairo (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, June 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. Mezopotamian Radio and TV heard tonight (June 11th) on 7560 kHz at 1700 with a couple of announcements in English during the one hour transmission. The rest of the programming consisted of just very nice music, played non stop. 73 from (Björn Fransson on the island of Gotland, Sweden, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** ISLE OF MAN. 1368 kHz, 26 May, 2300 UT. Announcement: ``It`s midnight on the Isle of Man. This is Manx Radio``. QRM from a BBC station on the same frequency at about the same level, so at times was difficult to distinguish between the two! Received a nice picturesque QSL-card, stickers and printed materials in record time --- one week! (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Here's a piece about possible cutbacks in Israel Radio's domestic networks. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GASPING FOR AIRWAVES --- By Zipi Shohat Employees at Voice of Music and Israel Radio's Reshet Aleph have grown accustomed to hearing bad tidings. An attempt made several years ago to transform Reshet Aleph into a religious radio station failed; two years ago, Voice of Music was told to suspend its live broadcasts and on-location recording of concerts - an edict that was subsequently canceled in part. Now IBA director general Yosef Barel has pronounced a new decree, one that is harsher than the preceding orders. As a consequence of the government-approved cutback in the television and radio license fee, Barel has prepared an efficiency plan, in which one of the most significant steps would be the merger of Reshet Aleph and Voice of Music. The new station would broadcast classical music in the morning (between 6 A.M. and 9 A.M.) and at night (from 10 P.M. to midnight). A truncated selection of Reshet Aleph programs would be broadcast in the intervening hours. For Reshet Aleph, the merger would spell the end of its education, literature, science and health programming. . . The URL is http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=301842 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) This long article never gets around to mentioning anything about the impact of this on shortwave or external services; but: (gh, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. IBA DG CONFIRMS PLAN TO CLOSE FOREIGN SERVICE The Director General of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), Yosef Barel, today presented his restructuring plan to the IBA managing committee. Under the plan, the Foreign Service of Israel Radio will close. The plan has been necessitated by the government's planned budget cut of NIS 230m (about US$52m) in the period through 2006. This year's budget alone will be cut by NIS 90m (approx US$20m). The plan will see 200 employees taking early retirement, saving NIS 30m (just under US$7m). The IBA will also save NIS 65 million (US$14.7m) by merging or closing some of its networks. Israel-Middle East Television (the Arabic-language satellite station) will be merged with Channel 33. In radio, Reshet Aleph and the classical music channels will be merged into a single cultural network. Channels to be closed, in addition to the Foreign Service, are the Moreshet - Jewish Religious Network and the Immigrant Network (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 11 June 2003, WORLD OF RADIO 1186, DXLD) IBA PLANNING TO MERGE SATELLITE, CABLE STATIONS Under the Ministry of Finance plan, Israel Broadcasting Authority will cut NIS 90 million from this year's budget. . . http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=695952&fid=942 (via Jilly Dybka, June 12, DXLD) ** ITALY. Dear friends, Just a short note to inform you that we have updated out page with information on European Gospel Radio. Our International station has been active in spreading the Gospel to millions of listeners worldwide since 1988. Our organization is quite small, independent and non denominational, and for so many years we have helped many Christian producers in covering the world at often less than the cost of a single market at home. We are based in Milano, Italy, and besides Europe, we can now reach such troubled regions as Iraq, China, India, the Middle East, the Pacific and Africa with a very powerful signal (from 10 to 1,000 kW = 1 Mega Watt!). Please check here for more information: http://www.nexus.org/IPAR/christian_broadcasters.html If you may help in any way, with financial or any other kind of support please also visit us at: https://secure.nexus.org I will appreciate if you can forward this to anyone interested to the effect of helping each other in fulfilling our aims. Do not hesitate to correspond with us at: info@nexus.org for any information. With best regards from a hot, and sunny Milano, Italy, (Ron Norton, NEXUS-IBA support, PO Box 11028, 20110 Milano, Italy ph: +39 02 70606603 - fax: +39 02 70638151 e-mail : ron@nexus.org http://www.nexus.org via DXLD) ** ITALY [non?]. 6275, 2049-2101 UT, Radio Tre Network. With Italian, English and French announcements (said ``broadcasting from the centre of Italy``). SINPO 44333 (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Date? This was active a few weeks ago; is it still? (gh to Robertas) This was end of May. The last online reference I saw to it was last weekend. Irregular, though, so perhaps not worth mentioning at the moment. I will let you know if I catch it again (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. DENGE MEZOPOTAMYA RADIO STATION NOW ON THE INTERNET --- 05 March 2003 KurdishMedia.com - (Translated) The radio station Denge Mezopotamya [Voice of Mesopotamia], which began to broadcast in Kurdish on 18 May 2001, will now reach its listeners through the internet as well. Denge Mezopotamya, which is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, transmits in four Kurdish dialects: Kurmanji, Sorani, Dimilki [Zazaki], and Hewremani. After the radio, which to date has been able to be received in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, goes into broadcast over the internet, Kurds everywhere who have access to the internet, regardless of what country or part of the world they may live in, will be able to listen to the programs of Denge Mezopotamya and listen live to what is happening all the time. The director of Radio Denge Mezopotamya, Amed Dicle, answered our questions regarding the broadcasting over the internet and the latest status of the radio. Dicle noted that Denge Mezopotamya is listened to particularly in the prisons and by the guerrillas in the mountains, and indicated that now people everywhere will be able to listen to the radio. Dicle said that There are millions who listen to our radio station in various parts of the world. We are in contact with our listeners every day. [not pronounced ``dikkle``, I think, but something like ``didzh-leh`` --- gh] In particular, our people in the East [Iranian Kurdistan] and the South [Iraqi Kurdistan], despite the difficulties with the telephones, contact us and share their thoughts and feelings with us. We hope that, by means of the internet, we will from now on be able to expand these contacts even further. After expressing pleasure at the contacts with listeners, Amed Dicle pointed out that the broadcasting progresses as a result of criticism and suggestions, and said that Without a doubt we have many shortcomings. And many criticisms come to us on account of these shortcomings. We receive these criticisms as being help to us. The guerrillas and prisoners, in particular, criticize our broadcasts a great deal. And we, for our part, are grateful to them for their showing such interest. Dicle also asked for support from prisoners, and said: In particular, we want the people in the prisons to help us in other ways. They could send us essays and stories. Most up-to-date news The manager of the radio, Dicle, likewise drew attention to the strength and degree of support that the radio gets, and continued as follows: Not only the listeners that we currently have, but also large press agencies and corporations want to work with us. This radio has a great influence. For example, we have the most up-to-date news. Because this voice is the voice of the people, and we have correspondents and contacts in every part of Kurdistan and the world. Originally in Kurdish The web-site of Radio Denge Mezopotamya, which at the moment is working on a test basis, will be in Kurdish, just like its broadcasts to date, and likewise will broadcast over the internet in four Kurdish dialects: Kurmanji, Sorani, Dimilki, and Hawremani. To date, the radios broadcasts have been heard in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, but henceforth, every Kurd, and anyone else, who wants to listen to it and has internet connections can log into the site at http://www.denge-mezopotamya. Amed Dicle stated that the programs of the radio station have been largely political to date and said: Our 12-hour program will be broadcast at the same time on the internet, in other words, those who want to can listen via the radio, while those who prefer the internet can listen via the internet. We intend to strengthen our programming, and in particular political programs. Likewise, there will be request programs five days per week. On this program, listeners can send requests to us via e-mail for particular songs that they want to have played. Dicle indicated that they now have 30 different programs, that they want to diversify their programming, and that they will henceforth strengthen their schedule with literary, cultural, and historical programs as well as political ones. Seven news bulletins per day are broadcast on Denge Mezopotamya. Of these, 3 are in Kurmanji, 3 in Sorani, and 1 in Kirmanjki [Zazaki]. Dicle said that there are currently no such bulletins in Hewremani or Gorani, but that these dialects do have cultural and literary programs, and there is an intention to institute news programs in these dialects as well should this be possible. The broadcasts of Radio Denge Mezopotamya begin as 7:00 a.m. Amed [Diyarbakir] time, and conclude at 7:00 p.m. [UT+2, now UT+3 ???] Frequency: 07.00 to 15.00: 19 m., 15675. 15.00 to 19.00: 25m., 11530. Internet address: http://www.denge-mezopotamya.com Contacts webmaster@denge-mezopotamya.com Tel: 003253648827-29 Fax: 003253641215 Source: Translated from Kurdish by KurdishMedia.com; originally published in Azadiya Welat weekly newspaper, By Sevda Eldemir, edition of 1 March 2003 (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, June 12, DXLD) ** LIBERIA. LIBERIAN GOVERNMENT RADIO UNHEARD ON SHORTWAVE FOR OVER TWO MONTHS Radio Liberia International (also sometimes known as the Liberia Communications Network), which broadcast from Monrovia in support of President Charles Taylor, has not been heard on either of its usual shortwave frequencies - 5100 and 6100 kHz - since 28 March 2003. Transmissions from the station had been erratic even before that date. Source: BBC Monitoring research Mar-Jun 03 (via WORLD OF RADIO 1186, DXLD) ** LIBYA. Voice of Africa. 15205, 1930 UT 6 June. Talk in English about the Revolutionary Committees Movement, than into Arabic at 1932. SINPO 45433. Also, 15610, 1156 27 May in French. At 1159 announced telephone numbers in English, the, ID in French: ``Voix de l`Afrique - -- Voix de la Grande Jamahiriya``. Gave postal address and phone numbers in French. Time signals slightly after 1200, then into Arabic (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LITHUANIA. 9710 kHz, RADIO VILNIUS, partial data QSL-card (relay site not given), card shows 'station logo and tower', v/s not given, answer (incl. envelope) looks like the station has no extra money to spend but the staff seems to care for the listeners. In 23 days for a report with no rp to Radio Vilnius, English Service, Konarskio 49, 2600 Vilnius, Litauen (M. Schoech, Germany May 2003, hard-core-dx via DXLD) No reason to believe this be a relay site: 9710 is Sitkunai, Lithuania itself (gh, DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. Updated schedule of foreign MW relays via Lithuania: 612 kHz Vilnius (100kW ND) 0300-0500 R. Liberty in Belarusian 0500-0700 Overcomer Ministry in English (Sat/Sun) 1300-2100 R. Liberty in Belarusian 2100-2130 R. Polonia in Belarusian 1386 kHz Sitkunai (500kW ND) 2200-2215 Missionswerk Freundesdienst in German 1557 kHz Sitkunai (150kW ND) 1800-2000 China Radio Int. in Russian 2000-2030 China Radio Int. in Polish 2030-2100 China Radio Int. in English 2100-2200 China Radio Int. in Chinese (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, June 12, MW-DX via DXLD) ** MADEIRA. Regarding (in DXLD 3-102): ``I could not ascertain when this happened, but Estação Rádio da Madeira, Funchal, 1485 kHz 1kW, is no more, ...`` MV-Eko August 2001 says: "1485 Estação Rádio da Madeira has been off the air since 6 August 2000. The licensing authority declared in a decision dated 5 April 2001 that it intends to revoke the station's licence as a station is not permitted to be off the air for more than two months (except in case of force majeure). http://www.aacs.pt/bd/Deliberacoes/20010405e.htm (via OA)" (Olle Alm, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITANIA. 4845: Monitoring here near Albany, NY. Signal very strong, but audio is somewhat muffled. Man is speaking in Arabic in a tone that is more than conversational but less than highly emotional. Talk continued right through and past 0000 UT, so it would seem that this broadcast is anything but routine. Sign off at regular time (approx. 0101 UT) following Kor`an and national anthem. Carrier off at 0103 (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, UT June 10, Lowe HF-150 stack A/D DX sloper oriented west to east, (Also monitored easily using Sony SW- 07 with built-on whip), swprograms via DXLD) MAURITANIAN STATE RADIO BACK ON THE AIR Mauritania's state-run radio station was back on the air on Monday night after a weekend of confusion as opponents of President Ould Taya launched an abortive coup attempt. Fierce fighting was reported around the station, which had announced early on Sunday that the coup attempt had failed. It went off the air again during the day. According to eyewitnesses the radio and television building and the education ministry were ransacked by prisoners who had reportedly escaped from cells when prison guards abandoned their posts in the chaos. On Monday, a person who answered a phone call to the radio station said that he was from a presidential army unit, the situation was under control again, and the station was under armed guard. Opposition to the 62-year-old President centres on his pro-western stance. The state media routinely reflects the President's opposition to Islamic extremism. Although Mauritania is an Islamic Republic, the country is one of only three Arab League members to have established diplomatic relations with Israel. Radio Mauritania is widely heard abroad on 4845 kHz (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 10 June 2003 via DXLD) Yesterday evening seemed good for Africa with Mauritania booming in on 4845 kHz. Tuned in on 4845 this very moment and found NO signal whatsoever on 4845 agn, i.e. no Mauritania at ard 1910. News reports at scarce here, when it comes to countries like Mauritania, so haven't been able to follow latest developments. 73's OMs (Finn Krone, Denmark, June 10, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. MONGOLIAN CHRISTIAN TV STATION CLOSES DOWN AFTER DISPUTE An eight-year old Christian TV station in Mongolia which claimed huge viewing figures has closed down after a row between its US and Mongolian partners over financing and management. Eagle TV was the result of an unlikely alliance between born-again Christians from South Dakota and the Mongolian government. Its aim was to advance freedom and democracy in Mongolia, as well as promoting the Gospel in the former Communist state, whose people are mostly Buddhist. It claims to have converted 2,500 Mongolians to Christianity. In 1992, a delegation of US Senators and businessmen from South Dakota visited Mongolia. During the visit, one of the Mongolian leaders told the delegation his country needed a TV station here that broadcast news fairly and objectively. He said the government had made a number of contacts, but no one was interested because they didn't feel there was any money in it for them. The delegation was invited to help, and on their return to America they formed an organisation of evangelical Christians called the Among Foundation. The Foundation agreed to finance a new station provided it was allowed to broadcast some evangelical programming. The Mongolian government, keen to establish Western-style broadcasting in the country, granted Eagle TV a licence in October 1995, and the station initially went on the air as a CNN relay. In the Spring of 1996, a news department was set up. Eagle TV began to promote itself as Mongolia's source of unbiased, objective news, and began a local news service on Monday through Friday, followed by a half-hour of CNN world news, voiced-over in Mongolian. But the station collapsed in the spring of this year when the Among Foundation accused their Mongolian partners of failing to pay their share of expenses. The Mongolians responded by claiming that the Americans weren't sharing management control. On 21 April, the Americans closed down the station and took away the equipment. The Among Foundation is now trying to get a licence from the Mongolian government for a station financed and run entirely by Americans. (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 10 June 2003 via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 12085, Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, received a nice waterfall full detail QSL card in 62d for taped report. They enclosed a 50 note piece and two uncancelled Mongolian stamps, along with a form letter in Chinese and a program sked in English. The report was sent to the Chinese section (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KAVT Reception Manager, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** MOROCCO. An up-to-date list of MW transmitters in Morocco including power can be found on the new website of RTM: http://www.rtm.ma/radio/frequences.cfm (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, June 12, MW-DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Dutch Television programme Nova just announced that in a still secret report can be read that there is an advice to stop many activities and cut in the money of Radio Nederland. The organization of journalists is afraid this will be the end of Radio Nederland. More to follow, (Max van Arnhem, The Netherlands, June 11, hard-core-dx via DXLD) REPORT CALLS FOR DEEP CUTS AT RADIO NETHERLANDS A draft report by the McKinsey consulting firm says that Radio Netherlands World Service should make drastic budget cuts. The report was commissioned by the Dutch culture ministry and the state broadcasting system, and parts of it were leaked on Wednesday evening in a current affairs television programme. The report, which is aimed at assessing the efficiency of the state broadcasting system, recommends that Radio Netherlands focus its broadcasts on the Dutch Antilles and Surinam, and cut its budget by up to 83 percent. In a reaction, the Dutch Association of Journalists warns that the proposal, if implemented, would amount to scrapping Radio Netherlands. The financial director of Radio Netherlands, Jan Hoek, says the television programme has misrepresented the report's conclusions. http://www.rnw.nl/news/news.html#3631310 (From Radio Netherlands Website, relayed by Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO NETHERLANDS MANAGEMENT RESPONDS TO TV REPORT This is a special edition of the Media Network Newsletter. Unfortunately a highly misleading story is being circulated on mailing lists and has also appeared on some Web sites. It has resulted in my getting E-mails asking if Radio Netherlands is closing down!! In a nutshell, it isn't. Nothing has changed here, apart from a few people making mischief. The regular edition of the Newsletter will be published tomorrow (Fri) as usual. The following also appears on our Media Newsdesk page: 12 June 2003 Radio Netherlands management have reacted angrily to an item in last night's edition of the Dutch current affairs TV programme Nova. The item was based on a leaked copy of the McKinsey report into the efficiency of public broadcasting that was jointly commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Culture and the broadcasters themselves. Nova seized on one section of the report, suggesting drastic budget cuts of up to 83% for Radio Netherlands. Under this scenario, everything except our broadcasts to the Netherlands Antilles and Surinam would be scrapped. The programme interviewed a representative of the Dutch Association of Journalists, who said this would effectively mean the end of Radio Netherlands. In a press statement this morning, Radio Netherlands management pointed out that the purpose of the report was to identify different scenarios where cost savings could be made, of which the example quoted by Nova was just one. They point out that Radio Netherlands, on its own initiative, has already embarked on a major reorganisation based on budget cuts already planned for the next few years. Decisions on the mission of Radio Netherlands are made by politicians in The Hague, not by other public broadcasters or McKinsey. RN management also point out that a motion was to have been put to the lower house of the Dutch parliament last year, specifically ruling out further cuts to Radio Netherlands within the overall budget for public broadcasting. The fall of the government prevented that motion from being discussed or voted upon, but Radio Netherlands has been told that a similar motion could still be on the cards. In a personal message to staff, Radio Netherlands Director General Lodewijk Bouwens said that he is no more pessimistic about the future of Radio Netherlands than he was before the Nova broadcast. Radio Netherlands' Financial Director Jan Hoek and Editor-in-chief Freek Eland addressed a meeting of staff about the Nova broadcast this afternoon. In answer to a question about why the programme did not contain any official reaction from Radio Netherlands, it was explained that Nova had contacted a number of individuals at Radio Netherlands prior to the programme, but had given the impression that it would be a general item dealing with cuts across the whole of public broadcasting. Given that the McKinsey report has not been officially published, the consensus was that Radio Netherlands should wait until it is in the public domain before commenting. The fact the the item actually broadcast was only about Radio Netherlands came as a surprise. Andy Sennitt comments: Radio Netherlands is regularly the target of critical items by domestic public broadcasters. At a time when the whole of public broadcasting is under financial pressure, they would like to get their hands on RN's budget. Unfortunately, some of the items are poorly researched and unbalanced. This turned out to be one of them. A cynic might conclude that the decision to focus on a scenario where the axe falls on Radio Netherlands was deliberately intended to deflect attention away from other scenarios in which domestic broadcasting would suffer more cuts. This has only made journalists here at Radio Netherlands more determined than ever to maintain their reputation for fair, unbiased reporting, even on issues which directly affect us (© Radio Netherlands Media Network via DXLD) I feel these sorts of criticism only makes Radio Netherlands more determined than ever to maintain their reputation for fair, on the face and unbiased reporting, which makes RN only one among the best examples of dedicated and honest journalism you can always rely on. Best Regards (Baiju, Hanjin Shipping, Dubai, UAE, 12.06.03, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO NETHERLANDS: WE WON'T FADE AWAY http://www.expatica.com/index.asp?pad=2,18,&item_id=31962 73 (via Kim Elliott, Jilly Dybka, DXLD) DUTCH PARLIAMENT LIKELY TO OPPOSE FURTHER CUTS AT RADIO NETHERLANDS I am happy to bring you this news item which just appeared on our Web site :-) Andy -- item -- The media spokesman for the Christian Democrats says a majority in parliament would be opposed to any further cutbacks at Radio Netherlands. He was responding to a leaked report from the McKinsey consultancy firm, which says many of the Dutch World Service's operations can be discontinued. Certain sections of the report were disclosed last night on a current affairs programme on one of the Netherlands' public television networks. Referring to the fact that the report actually focuses on the entire public broadcasting system, and that it recommends cutbacks across the board, the management of Radio Netherlands accused the television programme of highlighting just one aspect, and doing so in biased and one-sided manner. -- ends – (via Andy Sennitt, RN, June 12, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Dutch TV programme Nova announced today another part of the still "secret" McKinsey report. Yesterday they informed watchers of the TV programme about an advice for budget cuts for Radio Nederland. If the government follows this advice, this will be the end of Radio Nederland. Today's programme informs us that there is another advice to end the transmissions of Radio 747 AM. Also advises of other budget cuts or end of institutions are mentioned (orchestras and newscast organisations). (Max van Arnhem, The Netherlands, June 12, hard-core- dx via DXLD) Radio Netherlands has already issued a clear and emphatic rebuttal to this story. I fail to see the point of repeating it, unless to cause more mischief than has been caused already. This is not some game; you're talking about the careers of 300 people. I hope this will be the last message on this particular subject (Andy Sennitt Radio Netherlands, June 12, ibid.) ** NETHERLANDS. The following mediumwave pirate stations have been heard recently (frequencies approximate, +-2 kHz): Graaf Van Luxemburg (``De Count``) 1646 kHz, 31 May, 2124-2130, SINPO 35344. Radio Utopia 1646 kHz, 25 May, 2115-2129 UT, SINPO 35333). Technische Man 1636 kHz, 28 May, 2002-2020 UT, SINPO 35433. Also 1646 kHz, 6 June 2334-2353, SINPO 25422. Radio Anton 1646 kHz, 9 June 2218-2228 UT, SINPO 34233. Zender Barcelona (tentative) 1646 kHz, 2209-2214 UT, SINPO 35323. Radio Barones (``De Baro``) (2147-2152 UT, SINPO 45333, the strongest MW pirate. Also heard in this band: Irene Radio, Radio Satellit (tentative, not mentioned in any listings; only a short QSO), and an unidentified pirate whose name sounded like `Radio Falkland`. Almost sure this is not correct, but it did sound very similar and contained `-land` at the end! (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND [non]. Hi, Glenn. In response to Ian Baxter, Australia [DXLD 3-101]: Yes, the word "Dosh" is used here in the United Kingdom to describe money (DXDave, Bristol, England, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NICARAGUA. See COSTA RICA ** NIGERIA. QSLing Enugu: How the heck did you manage this one, Joe? All of my attempts have met with failure, other than a flood of the financial scam garbage. Congratulations! Do share your secret of success (Duane Fischer, MI, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Hi Duane and group: No, nothing special done! Basic friendly report direct to the station using: Radio Nigeria-Enugu, P.M.B 1051, Enugu (Anambra), Nigeria. A few IRC's and a few local station stickers as a souvenir. Nothing special! As you know, mail theft is a big thing these days; my recent E Mail follow-up to an Argentine DXer who forwards reports to LRA-36 Antarctica, yields his reply that he never received my report. So one never knows, follow-ups! For countries will a history or suspicion of mail theft, I just send a one page report on "onion skin" paper with a hand cancelled or postal label instead of stamps. Don't give them any impression there is anything to steal! Tricks of the trade, sure some countries! Generally keep sending your reports, nice reports, ask yourself this question before you lick that envelope, would I answer this report? Then after 3 months or so try a follow-up! My old DX buddy Ed Kusalik told me once "never give up", he waited 23 years for North Korea and over 30 years, yes 30 years for Maldives! Remember patience is a virgin, opps, I meant virtue, hi, hi. 73's all (Joe Talbot, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, ibid.) In other cases, Joe has used surrogates such as his globetrotting brother, to hand-deliver reports (gh) ** PARAGUAY. CONATEL DIO A CONOCER EL PRIMER PLAN NACIONAL DE FRECUENCIAS --- Extraído de ABC, Asunción 12 de junio 2003 La Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Conatel) dio a conocer ayer el primer Plan Nacional de Atribución de Frecuencias del Paraguay, documento que contiene el mapeo completo de todas las frecuencias disponibles en el país para los diferentes servicios de telecomunicaciones. Desde ahora podrá saberse quiénes operan legal e ilegalmente en el país. Es la primera vez que nuestro país tiene un plan de asignación de frecuencias, tarea que se inició hace tres años después de la Conferencia Mundial de Radios en Estambul, en enero del 2000, y en cumplimiento de los mandatos constitucionales, de la Ley 642/95 de Telecomunicaciones y su reglamentación el Decreto Nº 14.135. El Plan Nacional de Atribución de Frecuencias es el documento técnico normativo que contiene los cuadros de asignación de frecuencias así como las normas técnicas generales para la utilización del espectro radioeléctrico en todo el territorio nacional. Con este documento se tienen diseñadas o mapeadas las diferentes bandas, anchos de bandas y frecuencias que se utilizan en las distintas áreas de telecomunicaciones (radio, televisión, celulares, Internet, TV cable, sistemas de microondas, entre otras). Según el presidente de la Conatel, Dr. Osvaldo Bergonzi, toda licencia del uso del espectro está incluida en este plan y se prevén, en banda y frecuencia, las posibilidades de cada licencia, sea para transmitir señales de radio primarias o secundarias. El plan contiene, además, todos los acuerdos suscritos por el Paraguay para aquellas personas que quieran iniciar una labor de transmisión de emisiones de radios en cualquiera de las esferas que están a disposición y va a poder revisar todo el espectro y saber hasta dónde se puede llegar en las peticiones de licencias, señaló Bergonzi. Por su parte, el diputado electo Víctor Bogado, ex titular de la Conatel, quien estuvo desde el inicio de la elaboración de este proyecto, dijo que el documento es importante para saber cómo se encuentra el espectro, pero que para conseguir un ordenamiento efectivo se debe ejercer un mayor control del mismo a fin de erradicar aquellas operadoras que funcionan ilegalmente. Se puede optar por tercerizar el sistema de control, como en otros países, o si se decide que sea siempre la Conatel, se la debe fortalecer en recursos técnicos y humanos para que el control realmente funcione, indicó (via Levi P. Iversen, Paraguay, June 12, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 15190, Radyo Pilipinas, Pilipino service (via VOA transmitter). 6 June, 1842-1929 UT, SINPO 35433. A strange language, contains many English and Spanish phrases, so easy to follow without any prior knowledge! Talk about how important it is to be organized, then another talk encouraging not to fall into a ``time trap`` by ``living with the past`` but stick to the present and future. I would expect such programming from a religious station, not from a governmental one! (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. FEBC changes: 1000-1500 Mandarin on 9420 ||||| cancelled 1330-1400 Ch dialect NF 9835, ex 9810 1500-1600 Cantonese on 9420 ||||| cancelled (Observer, Bulgaria, June 11 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 6235, Nevskaya Volna (``Neva Wave``, Saint Petersburg), mainly in Russian. 9 June 2050-2101 (sign-off). Russian pop songs, long announcement with repeated IDs in Russian and English. SINPO 35433. By the way, I used SONY ICF SW-7600GR, with a long wire 7 m indoor antenna for SW, and internal antenna for MW (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Studio-Garderica St. Petersburg This has been broadcasting on 9th and 10th June 2003 from 1800 to 2100 UT, as pre-announced, on 6.235 MHz. The broadcasts are expected to continue at these times up to and including 16th June 2003. Due to a combination of disturbed propagation conditions, short skip (believe it or not) and seasonal factors, as well as some D region absorption and its unfortunate 60 degrees north transmitter location (which makes it much more vulnerable to the geomagnetic disturbances, we are at present experiencing). It is only the last hour or so, (2000-2100 UT) which is coming in here at a reasonable level, as, at least, here in the North West of England, darkness starts to approach. I would be interested in any 'spot' observations, that it may be possible to put on BDXC News from different parts of the UK, regarding these transmissions, in order to build up a picture of what reception is like, nation wide. The transmitter is believed to be a 200 kW one beamed to North West Europe, situated just south of St. Petersburg. [many thanks to the Radio Netherlands website for that information (although they say Central Europe)]. The broadcasts consist of short news summaries in several (Baltic?) languages, promotions of St. Petersburg and some (quite attractive, light, pop music, with a beat to it (Ken Fletcher, UK, 2258 UT June 10th 2003, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. DRM: The Voice of Russia launched, yesterday, on June 11, digital broadcasting for Europe. One of the radio company's senior executives, Rachelle Staviskaya says that Geneva and Berlin have both received high-quality VOR broadcasts at the wavelength of 15780 Kilohertz. Ms Staviskaya expects the Voice of Russia's digital frequency modulation standard to be presented at a nine-day international conference that is opening in Geneva on June 12. Other leading broadcasters The Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corporation and Deutsche Welle - will also introduce this standard. The Voice of Russia will be broadcasting from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in English and German as long as the radio conference goes on in Geneva. 06/12/03, (Voice of Russia News via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. RADIO VOICE OF RUSSIA Broadcast schedule from March 30 till October 25, 2003 [all languages] http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=rusdx That`s the June issue of RUS-DX; not sure if there be anything new in it, as the schedule first appeared more than two months ago (gh, DXLD) ** SAO TOME & PRINCIPE. 1530, VOA in English, via STP relay. 9 June, 2204-2215, SINPO 32542, under Vatican until 2209. Glad to have caught this! (Robertas Pogorelis, Leuven, Belgium, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Continued as 3-105!]