DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-047, March 13, 2004 edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.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 For restrixions and searchable 2004 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 1223: Sun 0330 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0730 on WWCR 3210 Sun 1100 on WRN1 to North America, webcast; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY; maybe KTRU 91.7 Houston TX, each with webcasts Sun 2000 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sun 2100 on RNI webcast, http://www.11L-rni.com Sun 2330 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [NEW] Mon 0430 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [last week`s 1222] Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Tue 0400 on SIUE Web Radio http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ Wed 1030 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html WORLD OF RADIO 1223 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1223h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1223h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1223.html WORLD OF RADIO 1223 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1223.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1223.rm WORLD OF RADIO on RFPI: No show Sat around 2130 and 2300; perhaps they could not get the new edition downloaded in time; this may mean none of the other weekend times will show either. WORLD OF RADIO on WBCQ: no-show Sat at 2130 on 17495-CUSB; instead, occasional outbursts by a gospel huxter, same one as before 2130? Probably due to SWL Fest feed mixup. At same time on WWCR 12160, however, very good audio in contrast to the Thu 2130 airing on 15825. ** BELGIUM [and non]. In 4-046 I meant to say that the other version of the RVi A-04 schedule showed 11635 for English to NAm at 0400, same as at 2200, instead of 9590 (which is the present frequency). Andy Sennitt is checking into this contradixion (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM [non]. Re. 4-043: ``UNIDENTIFIED. 7560, 2032-2041+, 6-Mar; Sounds like a test; same techno tune with occasional brief stops & possible voice during pauses. SIO=322-/roar QRM. TDP Belgium has been reported here (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI MARE DXpedition, Cumbredx via DXLD) DRM mix?`` Well, this is indeed the very same programme that meanwhile also goes out in DRM mode to the happy few with DRM decoding equipment (my impression is that these happy few are basically technology freaks with no interest in the traditional shortwave scene at all, so this content makes sense), but 7560 is a regular AM transmission via Tbilisskaya: http://www.radioeins.de/_/meta//sendungen/apparat/031018_a1.ram http://www.airtime.be/schedule.html not only confirms the new airtime 2000-2100 (used to be 2100-2200) but shows now also a // DRM on 7380, alongside with other DRM transmissions 1100-1200 on 9850 and 1400-1500 on 5985. I understand that 9850 originates from Flevo and 5985 from Jülich, but what about this new 7380? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {see 4-048} ** BOLIVIA. 4722.83, unID, Uncía; 0954-1105, p/f on 03/02. R. Uncía has been heard on this frequency, but, regrettably I noted R. Pio XII program (// 5952.85 kHz) with strong signal. At 1045, abruptly changed "Pio XII Noticias" to local program (almost non-stop cumbia music), but no ID was given (Shoji YAMADA, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) 4722.8, Uncía; 0857-, poor on 03/06. I could not get ID. Also heard at 2145-2205 long-path (Hideki WATANABE, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. Pre-1978 sign --- Thorsten Hein found this road sign at the border crossing between France and Germany at Ittersdorf, only a few kilometres away from the Europe 1 transmitter: http://www.thorsten-online.de/newsgrps/adx/DSC03319.jpg Almost unbelievable, since it is obsolete already since 1978. And even if one considers it as nitpicking to point out that the frequency of the Heusweiler transmitter has been moved 1 kHz up when the Geneve schedule came into force: Heusweiler carries Deutschlandfunk instead of SR1 Europawelle Saar already for a decade now. These road signs were mainly put at highways and meant to direct drivers to the proper frequency for traffic jam announcements. In the past only a certain network of the broadcasting institution responsible for the area was to take into consideration, but meanwhile this nonsense is read out everywhere and consequently further signs for the frequencies of commercial stations appeared during the nineties. As far as I know these signs were deleted not long ago and many of them already dismantled. By the way, the E letter on the added sign pointing to the FM frequency of Europawelle Saar belongs to a system called ARI that it some regard as a predecessor of RDS. ARI uses the 57 kHz subcarrier (three times the 19 kHz stereo pilot) that later also became the home of RDS, and it delivers a traffic service flag, one of six area flags (in the case of Saarland E) and an announcement flag that is transmitted as long as traffic jam announcements are read out. The announcement flag is switched on and off from the studio through the STL by means of a signal called Hinztriller because it was developed by a certain Mr. Hinz: A tone of 2350 Hz modulated with 123 Hz, transmitted for 1.25 seconds for "on" and 0.55 seconds for "off". I dimly recall that Hinztriller also framed the transmitter site announcements broadcast by Deutsche Welle until a decade ago; probably this proven system was used to remote-start the tapes at the transmitter sites. The ARI system itself was used in the German- speaking countries, including the GDR where it was introduced in the late eighties on the Radio DDR 1 network. As far as I know also Czechoslovakia experimented with ARI and it became even a somewhat regular feature on the Hvezda network. Only trouble: This was at this time of course an OIRT band network, and not any ARI car radio with OIRT band capability ever existed! (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4698.77, R. Amistad (Tentative) Reactivated? Weak talk by man in Spanish at 1100 Mar 13 (Hans Johnson, Naples FL, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** INDIA. From yesterday, AIR Bangalore has stopped usage of 9425 kHz (500 kW) at 0130-0530 & 0930-1230. They used to relay AIR FM Gold programs then. However same frequency carries National Channel programs at 1320-0043 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, dx_india March 11 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Dear Friends, Christian programs in English for Iraq on 6025 from 0030-0330, (Bible Voice Broadcasting via Jülich) was not heard for the last two days. They were not giving any identification on air. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, March 11, GRDXC via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. OVERVIEW OF THE MEDIA IN KYRGYZSTAN --- Background Kyrgyzstan borders on Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China and Tajikistan. It is a mainly Muslim country with a population of about five million, of whom 65 per cent are ethnic Kyrgyz, 14 per cent Uzbek and 12 per cent Russian. (Europa World Year Book 2001, and UN 2003). Kyrgyzstan is unique among Central Asian countries in having within its borders three enclaves - two administered by Uzbekistan and one by Tajikistan. Of all the Central Asian states it has the closest linguistic, political and economic ties with Kazakhstan. Current issues War on terror: Kyrgyzstan hosts both a Russian military base at Kant and a base used by US-led antiterrorist forces at Ganci; both bases are near Bishkek. China also has close ties with the Kyrgyz army. Economy: Largely agriculture-based; very weak; indications that Kazakh companies are buying up businesses. Average annual income is 280 dollars (World Bank, 2001). Water resources: Considerable, and a possible bargaining chip in dealings with neighbouring countries; hydropower is the main source of electricity; disputes with neighbours over water discharges. Presidential elections: 2005 (no precise date yet) Poor relations with Uzbekistan: Disputes over payments for Uzbek gas, Kyrgyz water discharges and border issues Politics: The fate of jailed opposition figure Feliks Kulov has been a focus of international interest. Environment: Kyrgyz Prime Minister Nikolay Tanayev told a government session in late February 2004 that he would not allow the import of waste uranium electrodes from Germany: "No-one will allow the country to be turned into a uranium waste dump... We have enough of our own uranium waste. We do not know what to do with it, where to remove it." (Kabar news agency 0609 gmt 26 Feb 04). 2004 language law: Controversial law causing some concern among ethnic Russians Media environment From the BBC Country Profile for Kyrgyzstan, 7 January 2004: "The media in Kyrgyzstan have traditionally enjoyed greater editorial freedom than their regional counterparts, but have been subject to increasing pressure in recent years. Large fines, often the outcome of legal actions for slander, create financial burdens for opposition and private media outlets, according to press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Editorial content is also influenced by informal government censorship and self-censorship among journalists, says the US-funded Internews media organization. National state-run radio and TV networks have yet to achieve complete coverage, especially in the south of the country. Most private broadcasters and publishers operate in a difficult financial climate. There are more than 30 registered non-governmental TV and radio stations, most of them in Bishkek." Internews web site says: "Concern over media freedom is rising as the 2005 parliamentary and presidential elections near. The financial situation of most Kyrgyz stations and newspapers remains weak; few are truly self-sustainable, and journalists face an uncertain future. A substantial advertising market exists only in the capital Bishkek, where more than 70 per cent of Kyrgyzstan's media outlets are concentrated. "Most major cities have independent stations, but due to a lack of capital and to the country's mountainous geography, vast areas still do not have access to independent information. Presently there are more than 300 registered non-state TV and radio stations and newspapers in the Kyrgyz Republic, though a strong division between opposition and state or pro-state media outlets continues to exist. Contract work, self-censorship and a lack of professionalism remain major issues for journalists." President Akayev on media freedom President Akayev, in a recent phone-in programme broadcast on Kyrgyz TV, reaffirmed his backing for media freedom in Kyrgyzstan, but warned that the media should also portray "the positive in life": "I think that at present in Kyrgyzstan we have created all the conditions for the normal functioning of the media, so it can fully demonstrate freedom of speech... I think that if we allow freedom of the media and freedom of speech, then it should be complete, not restricted. But at the same time we of course hope that, in response, media workers will take this as society's _expression of confidence in them, and they, in turn, should demonstrate a responsible attitude to the word." Akayev went on: "We should call [our media] to responsibility and patriotism, so that our media, enjoying full freedom, criticizing all our shortcomings, especially those of the government, nevertheless do not forget to see the positive in life, so that they contribute to our development and our formation as a democratic state which is moving towards sustainable development by showing the positive sides of our life. "But I, as the country's president, want firmly to declare that I was and will always support full freedom of the media and freedom of speech in our country, because, without this freedom, there will never be a true democratic state and a true democratic society," Akayev said (Kyrgyz TV 1500 gmt 30 Dec 03). Satellite broadcasting project "A satellite TV and radio broadcasting project will be launched in the second half of this year in Kyrgyzstan and will allow quality coverage of all regions by TV and radio," Kabar news agency reported on 30 January 2004. Nikolay Tanayev, the Kyrgyz prime minister, said in a speech to the Assembly of Peoples of Kyrgyzstan that Issyk-Kul (northern Kyrgyzstan), Naryn (eastern Kyrgyzstan) and Batken (southern Kyrgyzstan) Regions suffered from poor or nonexistent TV coverage. He said the government was carrying out maintenance and installing automatic transmitting devices throughout the country, but added: "The main causes of damage to the automatic transmitters have been unstable electricity supply and theft." (Kabar news agency 0942 gmt 30 Jan 04) Attack on independent media centre in Osh Two unidentified masked men attacked the US and UNESCO-sponsored Osh Media Resource Centre (OMRC) on 4 February, the independent http://www.fergana.org web site reported on the same day. A night guard was injured and about 5,000 dollars worth of computer and other equipment was stolen. The attackers reportedly indicated to the injured night guard that they were angry about reports by Aleksey Sukhov, the editor of http://www.fergana.org The facility's computer room is jointly used by the OMRC and a US organization, IREX (International Research and Exchanges Board), and is visited by about 250 people a day - local journalists, students, pupils and people who have participated in educational programmes funded by the US government - the web site said. The OMRC is a public association with over 120 members, it added. (Fergana web site in English and Russian 4 Feb 04) Activists demonstrate against "unethical" TV broadcasts "Participants in an unauthorized rally, which was staged in front of the building of the Kyrgyz National Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation [in Bishkek] today, demanded that a commission be set up [to examine TV broadcasts]. "The protesters, including the spokesman for the Kyrgyz ombudsman - famous [rights activist] Tursunbek Akunov - and a group of, most likely, religious-minded people, demanded that programmes unacceptable to their beliefs be removed from television broadcasts on KTR [Kyrgyz National Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation], ORT [Russian Channel One, which has a partner in Kyrgyz Public Educational TV (KOORT), in Kyrgyzstan], RTR [Russian Television and Radio], NTV [Russian NTV, which has a branch, Independent Bishkek TV, in Kyrgyzstan] and Pyramid TV [Kyrgyz private commercial TV channel]. "KTR's management explained to the protesters that the corporation was only responsible for broadcasts on the national TV channel which observed universally accepted moral principles in preparing television and radio programmes." (Kyrgyz Television first channel 1500 gmt 16 Jan 04) Uzbek-Kyrgyz war of words Uzbek newspaper Namangan Haqiqati has lashed out at leading Kyrgyz newspaper Delo No, which ran a report claiming that Uzbeks living in border areas with Kyrgyzstan wanted their villages to become a part of Kyrgyz territory. "It seems that the fact that Uzbekistan has sealed off its border with the neighbouring country has ruffled the feathers of some people," the Uzbek newspaper said on 14 February. "It is a very good quality to show self-restraint in politics. Thank God, our government and our wise president are conducting such a policy," it added. "It is not in line with international law to poke your nose into other people's affairs," the Uzbek report added. (Namangan Haqiqati, Namangan, in Uzbek 14 Feb 04, p2). Internews "Internews has been active in the Kyrgyz Republic since 1995. The organization provides support to mass media (TV, radio and print) all over the country," says the Internews web site http://www.internews.org/regions/centralasia/kyrgyz.htm Kyrgyz media organizations Protection of Publicity fund - established October 1999 "Journalists" public association - established in 1998, unites more than 160 representatives of independent media; web site: http://www.monitoring.kg This organization is involved in a Central Asia-wide project designed to promote an open civil society, media freedom and democracy --- see http://www.cafspeech.kz/kg/2003/en/index.htm Press Club public association - registered in November 2000 at Ministry of Justice; unites more than 40 media representatives Mass Media Development And Protection of Journalists' Rights - established in 1999 Osh Resource Centre for Mass Media Journalists in Trouble fund (Bishkek) Trade Union of Kyrgyz Journalists, set up in 2003; chairman Kuban Mambetaliyev Above list taken from http://www.monitoring.kg News agencies AKIpress news agency - independent; web site: http://www.akipress.kg Kabar news agency - state-run; web site: http://www.kabar.kg KyrgzInfo news agency web site - http://www.kyrgyzinfo.kg (independent news agency set up September 2003; web site says it "provides independent and objective information from and about Kyrgyzstan. It is a privately-owned news agency, set up by a large media holding, which incorporates Vecherniy Bishkek newspaper, KOORT television company, Love Radio station, and Ayrek advertising agency.") Kyrgyzpress News Agency (digest of the Kyrgyz press) - http://www.kyrgpress.org.kg Main TV stations KTR - Kyrgyz National Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation, state-run (two channels) Independent Bishkek TV Kyrgyz Public Educational TV (KOORT TV), Bishkek, in Kyrgyz - independent TV, mostly rebroadcasts Russian Channel One (ORT) and moderate opposition-oriented news Bishkek TV Vosst in Kyrgyz - Private TV company, broadcasts in Bishkek and Chuy valley Pyramida TV, Bishkek - independent; web site: http://www.pyramid.kg Mir Radio and TV - Intergovernmental company set up by several CIS countries in 1992; web site: http://mirtv.ru Main radios Ekho Bishkeka - independent radio station, covers Bishkek Kyrgyz Radio 1 - state-run radio Kyrgyz Radio 2 - state-run 21st Century radio - heard mainly in Chuy valley FM radio in Bishkek 88.0 NC radio, Almaty 88.5 Radio Retro E-mail: retro.kg@mail.ru 89.0 Love Radio 90.9 Maximum 99.75 KOORT radio Public Educational Radio and TV; web site: http://www.koort.kg {it`s TV audio: 4-048} 100.5 Radio Okay (Radio Discovery Channel) E-mail: okradio @ elcat.kg 100.9 Avto-radio Web site: http:// www.autoradio.kg E-mail: autoradio @ elcat.kg 101.3 Azya-Tsentr radio/Ekho Moskvy v Bishkeke E-mail: echo@elcat.kg 101.7 Radio Evropa Plus; also on 104.5 and 106.5 FM Web site: http://www.europa.kg 102.1 Almaz radio Web site: http://www.almazfm.com E-mail: almaz @ kyrnet.kg 102.5 Russian radio; also on 104.5 FM 102.9 Manas FM E-mail: manasfm @ manas.kg (Commercial radio, mainly music, adverts, Turkish joint venture) 104.1 Kyrgyz national radio 105.0 Radio Pyramida E-mail: tsvetkov @ pyramid.elcat.kg and oleg @ pyramid.elcat.kg 105.6 Hit FM Web site: http://www.hitfm.kg E-mail: hitfm @ mail.ru 106 Radio Maks Web site: http://www.max.kg E-mail: radiomax @ elcat.kg 106.5 same as Evropa Plus (see above) 106.9 State-run radio "21st Century" aimed mainly at the Chuy valley 107.8 Shanson E-mail: shanson @ infotel.kg Osh broadcast media 102.0 Almaz-Yug radio 102.7 Ekho Doliny (based in Uzbekistan, but audible in Osh) 103.2 Pyramida FM; web site: http://www.pyramid.elcat.kg (also broadcasts Radio Liberty and VOA news in Russian, Kyrgyz and Uzbek) 103.8 Europa-Plus; web site: http://www.europa.kg Local TV stations in Osh: Asr (Mezon-TV), DDD, Osh-TV (independent company broadcasting 20 hours a week in Uzbek and Russian on VHF), Pyramida-Osh, Erkin Ala-Too Government revokes Osh TV licence The government is revoking the licence of independent Osh TV, according to a report by AKIpress news agency on 2 March 2004. "Osh TV President Halil Khudayberdiyev said [at a round table at the Osh Media Resource Centre on 2 March 2004] his company had received a letter from the State Communications Agency [SCA] on 27 February 2004, which said the TV company's licence to broadcast on VHF Channel 5 in Osh was expiring. "According to the letter signed by the agency's director, A. Titova, the licence will be valid until 25 March 2004. The overall broadcasting licence will expire along with the licence to broadcast on VHF. "The SCA said it was impossible to broadcast on VHF Channel 5 in Osh because of electromagnetic incompatibility with transmitters of Channel 4 and Channel 5. Consequently, this will significantly hinder the further development of radio broadcasts in Osh. "This question has been brought up more than once for many years. However, there has never been a final decision, although the SCA's previous decision was found to be groundless and conflicting with Kyrgyzstan's laws by a Supreme Arbitration Court's resolution. "Osh TV was given a licence to broadcast on UHF Channel 23, but the company needs 42,500 dollars to buy transmitters, radio relay lines, UHF aerials and power cables in order to switch over to this channel. The company thinks that the state should pay this money." (AKIpress news agency web site 2 Mar 04). Main newspapers Slovo Kyrgyzstana - government-owned, published three times a week; web site: http://www.sk.kg Vecherniy Bishkek - private, pro-government daily; web site: http://www.vb.kg Komsomolskaya Pravda v Kyrgyzstane; regional version of Moscow Komsomolskaya Pravda, owner Komsomolskaya Pravda-Aziya company; editorial board dominated by members of legal opposition; web site: http://www.kp.kg (last updated May 2003) MSN (Moya Stolitsa Novosti) - independent; web site: http://www.msn.kg Rykov Kapitalov Business Journal; web site: http://www.rk.kg Respublica; pro-opposition paper; web site: http://www.respublica.kg Public Rating (Obshchestvennyy Reyting) - independent weekly; web site: http://www.pr.kg Argumenty i Fakty Kyrgyzstan; web site: http://www.aif.co.kg Litsa - monthly paper of opposition Ar-Namys Party; editor-in chief Bermet Bukasheva Delo No - opposition weekly; web site: http://www.delo.to.kg Liberalnaya Gazeta - private, opposition-leaning weekly RIF (Reklama, Informatsiya, Fakty) Obozreniye - independent weekly Bishkek Times - in Kyrgyz (affiliation unclear), neither overtly pro- opposition nor pro-government; owner and editor in chief is Nuraly Kaparov; relatively high-brow publication; appears twice weekly; print-run is 6,000-8,000; web site: http://janyzak.host.net.kg Times of Central Asia - Bishkek-based, English-language, regional coverage; web site: http://www.times.kg Nongovernment web sites with information on Kyrgyz media http://centran.ru/ - a Russia-based news agency reporting on Kyrgyz and Central Asian affairs http://www.areopag.net - information on Kyrgyzstan and Kyrgyz media http://www.fergana.org - based in Osh (in Russian) http://www.asrasia.org - Asrushon-Asia media holding, based in Osh http://www.cimera.org The web site of Cimera, an international NGO based in Geneva and campaigning for media rights in Central Asia; a number of analyses of the Central Asian media can be found here. http://www.cimera.org/en/publications/occaspapers.htm contains two lengthy academic publications, dated 2001 and 2002, on the status of the Kyrgyz media http://www.internews.org/regions/centralasia/kyrgyz.htm - carries a report on Internews activities in Kyrgyzstan as well as an assessment of the media landscape http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1296485.stm - BBC Monitoring Country Profile on Kyrgyzstan - updated 7 January 2004 http://www.monitoring.kg - Web site of the "Journalists" public association; carries articles in Russian about media issues, journalists' rights http://www.allkg.info/?a=web_res - includes list of relevant web site addresses --- also reached via http://www.areopag.net http://www.gazeta.kg - Internet newspaper in Russian; regularly updated; first appeared in May 2003; includes news reports from Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty) http://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/97-99/pozdnyakova.pdf - for a lengthy analysis in poor English entitled "The Kyrgyz media on the NATO and other organizations' expansion in Central Asia" (appears to have been published in 1999) Source: BBC Monitoring research 10 Mar 04 (via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 1630.0, XEUT, Mexicali; 1359-1402, poor on 03/06. NA, opening music & ID "estás escuchando Radio Universidad" (Hiroyuki WATANABE, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 4810.0, XERTA, México D.F.; 1115-1205, fair on 2/15. Contemporary Christian music. Nice Canned ID at 1138 "... cielo de México, X-E-R-T-A, radio emisora de cobertura internacional ... cielo de México, Estados Unidos, Canadá, entre Sudamérica en tres idiomas, inglés, francés y español. X-E-R-T-A, radio emisora de cobertura internacional." and at 1123 & 1150 "X-E-R-T-A, radio emisora de cobertura internacional, la primera y única de onda corta comercial México. Transmite en 4800 kHz la banda internacional de 60 metros en tres idiomas, español, inglés y francés en el corazón de la ciudad de México." (Takeshi SEJIMO, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** MEXICO [non]. PIRATE (Clandestine?) (USA) - 15045, R. Free Cascadia International. Smallish QSL card with photo montage on front, F/D text on back. "Transmitter was in SW OR" was written in. Also received RFCI info sheet and a CD entitled "Five Days Over Seattle," which, according to the fact sheet, "documents a guerrilla FM radio operation organized around the Seattle, Washington USA anti-WTO mobilization of November/December 1999". Have not listened to the CD yet. All this in 5-1/2 months, just as I was getting ready to send a follow-up. Report sent to and verie received from PO Box 703, Eugene, OR 97440 (John Wilkins, CO, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PERU. 5014.4, R. Altura, Chaupimarca; 1106-1125, good on 03/06. Peruvian folklore show. 1125 ID "Somos Altura!" (Hiroyuki WATANABE, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. PANORAMA DX por Célio Romais Saiu a decisão da Sociedade Romena de Radiodifusão. O domingo, dia 28 de março, ficará na história da presença da Romênia e do idioma português nas ondas curtas. Quando o locutor Lucian Popescu apresentar os créditos finais dos programas irradiados, neste dia, estará encerrada a saga de emissões, no nosso idioma, que perduraram por 45 anos via ondas curtas. A decisão do órgão romeno está sendo difundida, durante esta semana, logo após o noticiário, nas emissões em português, entre 21h e 21h56min, no horário de Brasília (de 0000 às 0056, no tempo universal), em 9665, 11830, 11875 e 15250 kHz. O anúncio diz que a decisão foi tomada tendo em vista o novo panorama político mundial. Segundo o comunicado, a Guerra Fria já não existe mais e a Europa está unificada. Acrescentam que novas modalidades de emissões surgiram. Os funcionários vão passar a desempenhar outras atividades que envolvam o idioma português na estação. Há a possibilidade de produção para redes de emissoras de rádios do Brasil e Portugal, anunciam. No programa Correio do Ouvinte, de 12 de março, o apresentador Lucian Popescu agradeceu o apoio fiel dos ouvintes que, nos últimos dias, remeteram mensagens de apoio ao Departamento de Língua Portuguesa. "Estamos vivendo um adeus emocionado", anunciou o apresentador que diariamente fala em português na Rádio Romênia desde o distante ano de 1966. A Davi Lucas da Silva, de Belo Horizonte (MG), um dos mais assíduos ouvintes da emissora, Popescu informou: "Infelizmente a decisão não está ao nosso alcance!" A decisão chega no momento em que diversos ouvintes de países como Brasil, Portugal, Colômbia, Japão e Uruguai enviaram mensagens de apoio e solidariedade para a emissora. O DX Clube do Brasil encabeçou manifesto pedindo a manutenção dos programas no nosso idioma que foi assinado por jornalistas, professores, engenheiros, diplomatas e por muitos ouvintes de rádio em ondas curtas. Mais de 50 simpatizantes da emissora enviaram mensagens à direção da emissora na primeira semana de circulação do manifesto. A campanha pela manutenção das emissões recebeu a adesão do cônsul honorário da Romênia em Curitiba (PR), Orcival Henning; do Conselheiro da Embaixada do Brasil em Bucareste, Dr. Carlos Augusto de Oliveira; e do ex-Embaixador do Brasil na Romênia e ex-Ministro da Cultura do governo Itamar Franco, Jerônimo Moscardo. Fica a sugestão para os radiófilos: acompanhem os últimos dias de emissões da Rádio Romênia em português. Nas quintas-feiras, 18 e 25, ocorrem as últimas edições do espaço Correio dos Ouvintes. Da mesma forma, nos sábados, 20 e 27, vão ao ar as edições derradeiras do programa Estúdio dos Ouvintes. São espaços em que as cartas e mensagens dos ouvintes são respondidas no ar. Um contato com o pessoal do Departamento de Língua Portuguesa ainda pode ser feito pelo endereço eletrônico port@r.... [truncated] Quem sabe mais algumas palavras de solidariedade e lembranças das boas novas que a emissora irradiou neste tempo todo no nosso idioma? (Jornalista Célio Romais, da equipe de Coordenação do DX Clube do Brasil, Panorama, Conexión Digital March 13 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. [TATARSTAN[non]/ KAZAKHSTAN[non] According to Sender & Frequenzen handbook Radio Kazachstan broadcast on FM only. But I heard a fair signal of Radio Kazakhstan in Russian language on 11915 kHz at 0930 UT. Seemingly heard the Kazakh domestic service. [sic] (Michael Lindner-D, A-DX Mar 10) Checked the broadcast today March 11, but was not Russian language, I guess heard Kazakh [sic, Tatar see below, wb.]. Carrier already on air at 0857 UT, opening fanfare at 09.00:03 UT, ID in Tatar (male) and in Russian (fem.). S=2 extreme thiny signal, only 2-3 diodes shining on Sony ICF 2010. S-off exact at 10.00 UT. [RAI Kranji-SNG was much, much stronger on 11920 at 1000] The Brockhaus dictionary shows more than 125 nationalities on this wide Kazakh territory! A04 registration shows very low activity via Almaty site: 5910 1430-1530 Democratic Voice of Burma 7115 2200-2300 Deutsche Welle, English 7170 1500-1600 Voice of Russia 7455 2230-2330 RFA, Cambodian 9355 1530-1600 VoR, rather Voix d'Orthodoxie church, based in Paris, Russian religious, only Mondays/Thursdays. 9570 2300-2400 Deutsche Welle, Chinese 11520 1345-1500 RFA, Vietnam. 11560 2315-0030 RFA, Vietnam. 11570 2215-2345 RFA, Khmer 13830 0000-0100 RFA, Lao 15625 1230-1330 RFA, Khmer 15635 1100-1200 RFA, Lao 17485 1000-1400 Deutsche Welle, German 17770 1030-1100 Deutsche Welle, Chinese. But latter frequency coordinated to Vladivostok 15350 (wb, Mar 11) I guess Radio Novy Vek (ex Radio Tatarstan) heard on 11915. See WRTH2004, page 334. (Max van Arnhem-HOL, A-DX Mar 11) Is used regularly by Russia at this time span: 0900-1000 Samara 250 kW 310 degrees. "Tatarstan dulkynynda" (produced by government public regional station TRK "Novyy Vek", Kazan, Tatarstan) in Tatar/Russian to Tatar national listener on European part of Russia (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Mar 11) In A04 one hour earlier and 10 kHz up: 11925 0800-0900 18,27-29 SAM 100 kW 310 deg RUS VOR. Another Tatar language outlet, V of Turkey in Tatar, A04: TATAR 1500-1555 9855* (ex1800-1855 6175 for A-03). (all via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 3320, Radio Sondergrense, 0135-0143 March 13. Noted a program of Light Opera music with comments by a man in Afrikaans. Signal was fair (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545, Dipole N/S, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At the very same time further north --- Radio Sondergrense on 3320 at tune in at 0125 UT Saturday March 13 with classical music on the all night service. I presume. Announcements in Afrikaans identifying the music played, e,g. Verdi's La Traviata. At 0152 Bolero by Ravel (the short version). Signal strength good enough at times to actually enjoy the music; up to 15 over 7. More popular music after 0200. Signal almost gone by 0230. Splash at times from CHU Canada on 3330. Heard also Wednesday to Friday this week from 0300 to 0500 close down with varying reception, usually with lots of noise (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. 4750v, Radio Peace, March 11, 0237-0400+. Presumed Southern Sudan QTH via previous excellent work in Cumbre and HCDX. English at tune-in, to 0246, then music bumper and into vernacular OM announcer. Occasional music bumpers thereafter. English talk was religious, Christian oriented, from very slow-speaking YL and OM announcers. Clear ID in English at 0246, listing frequency as well. Signal strength was poor but copy was readable until after 0300. Copy gradually deteriorated and signal faded in and out between 0310 and 0400+. Sync lock was better over LSB, despite added noise. QRN, static crashes, fading. I noted this frequency active on March 10 at same time, but very poor and no English at that time; thought it had to be Peruvian on that day. Next nite was the ticket. If only 1 kW, then a nice surprise to get the ID; Par Z end fed antenna used, a very quiet antenna (Jeffrey S. Heller, Naperville, IL, Drake R8B, 43' Par Z end fed long wire, 41' dipole and 67' coil loaded slopper [sic] (Antenna Supermarket), Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. Re. 4-044: ``As a result of SRI's move to end shortwave broadcasts for the time being [so a ray of hope? -- gh]`` The usual, DRM hopes, I think. I only wonder why, considering that they are going to shut down the satellite transmissions as well and therewith SRI as a radio station altogether? I just searched for pictures of the Sottens site. Not all too much on the web as far as the shortwave transmitter is concerned. Two thumbnails at: http://www.addx.de/archiv/sui001.php Pictures of the mediumwave tower with the shortwave antenna visible in the background: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tvignaud/galerie/etranger/ch-sottens.htm http://mypage.bluewin.ch/oldradio/sottensTX.jpg And a nice aerial view of the site: http://www.orix.ch/aviation/a_albm_htm/albm-022.html (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE BBC Mark Byford is trying to steady the corporation after Lord Hutton's damning verdict. But many of the BBC's news staff have deep misgivings about his conduct. Tim Luckhurst reports 09 March 2004 http://news.independent.co.uk/low_res/story.jsp?story=499276&host=3&dir=61 Journalists in BBC network news have a mission. They want to stop Mark Byford becoming director general. The acting DG, who took over without warning in the supercharged environment created by Greg Dyke's resignation, is described by critics as "a hick from the provinces who has never worked in serious news". Admirers who point out that Byford was a serious contender for the top job before Dyke was appointed are in a small minority in this most influential department of the BBC empire. Byford gets little credit for his achievements in BBC regional broadcasting or at the World Service. One source says: "There is no confidence in Byford. He has misjudged the deep feelings among staff." Another adds: "There is huge scepticism about Mark. People are scared that he is leading a witch-hunt." This "witch-hunt" is the internal inquiry into Andrew Gilligan's notorious Today programme broadcast. Management sources insist that it won't result in more sackings, and is simply designed to ensure that mistakes aren't repeated. But BBC journalists do not believe them. One says: "Everybody feels this procedure should not be happening. It is grotesquely unfair to those involved. If they criticise any of the staff under investigation, or move them to other jobs, they will have picked the biggest fight ever. I don't know anyone who would want to work for the BBC if that happened. We are involved in a fight for the soul of BBC News." That anger isn't unusual. From senior news executives to lowly producers, Mark Byford is considered too cautious to defend the BBC's journalism against political hostility. "He is not known, and what he has been seen to do and heard to say has not gone down well," says a source. Even Byford's friends criticise his conduct. A journalist who worked closely with him at the World Service says: "He did not make a great start. Mark is not a great communicator at the best of times, but he really put his foot in it by telling Feedback that it is not the BBC's job to break exclusives." That is a reference to Byford's interview on Radio 4 last month, in which he said: "The notion of 'exclusive here, exclusive there, exclusive everywhere' is not appropriate for the BBC." Journalists say that ethos is making itself felt in every news department. "Caution is official policy," says a TV news producer. "Everything we do has to go through Editorial Policy [the department responsible for checking controversial stories]. They are no longer issuing guidelines, they are issuing instructions. They were always over-cautious, and in the past we ignored them. Now they can tell you what to do." Another journalist says: "This is not an inspiring time. We needed to be led out of crisis. Instead, we have a docile civil servant." Broadcasters are convinced that the BBC's critics feel empowered to complain about the output at will. "There's a feeling now that the BBC is a softer target than it was, having been softened up," says one. Some say this post-Hutton caution has created specific examples of self-censorship at the BBC. At least one investigative piece has been sent in advance to the subjects of the story so that they can comment on possible inaccuracies before broadcast. Presenters are warned not to voice personal opinions, and swear words that would have been broadcast in the past are now edited out. Executive producers are said to use the phrase "post-Hutton", meaning to continually err on the side of caution. Some cite the corporation's refusal to interview Martin Ingram, co-author of the book Stakeknife about a British Army spy who infiltrated the top ranks of the IRA. But Ingram is subject to a Ministry of Defence injunction preventing him from speaking about his allegations, and all British media have declined to interview him. Last week Don Hale, the Matlock Mercury editor who campaigned for the release of Stephen Downing, protested that the BBC had made heavy cuts to its drama about this case to avoid rocking the boat in the aftermath of Hutton. But one BBC journalist says: "You don't need edicts or self-censorship when the Today programme is forced to run a one minute, 52-second apology over something it should never have been required to apologise for. There is an atmosphere in this place. We know what [the acting chairman] Richard Ryder's view of journalism is. The assumption now is that Ryder is telling Byford what to do, and Byford is just doing it. The atmosphere between journalists and management is far worse than before." Executives confirm that a mood of paranoia is detectable. They insist there have been no specific cases of censorship, but admit meetings have been held to discuss caution and morale. One insider says: "There are lots of seminars on editorial independence, and a lot of hand-wringing." Stephen Whittle, the BBC's controller of editorial policy, told a meeting at White City in London last month that journalists must keep details of all their conversations with contacts. "I cannot tell you how valuable it is to have a proper paper trail." Richard Sambrook, the director of news, acknowledged that questions were being asked about whether the BBC was "losing its nerve... There has been much speculation about whether we will continue to do bold and brave journalism. Of course we will." But Michael Crick, the Newsnight investigative reporter, warned in a speech at the Royal Television Society last week that BBC journalism risks being gripped by "paralysis". Crick said: "You will find in the years ahead that people want an extra opinion, an outside lawyer, an extra source. It will make the whole climate of doing this kind of work harder." Some insiders believe this has already happened. A radio reporter says: "Everybody is pretty bloody bruised, and when you are bruised you don't go out and look for someone else to hit you." Many journalists blame Byford for all of this. Even friends who worked with him in his previous BBC roles concede that he has limited experience in the firing line. "It is true that Mark has not had to face Alastair Campbell. The World Service does not break exclusives. Local journalism rarely alarms government." Jane McIntyre, a producer on BBC Radio Shropshire, wrote to the corporation's magazine Ariel to say that local journalists were also worried about the antipathy towards exclusives. "Many of us still regard the local newspaper as the rival, not the source," she wrote. "Suggesting that we don't always need to be first with the news is like sending Beckham on to the pitch and telling him not to bother with the goals." John Simpson, the BBC's World Affairs editor, e-mailed Lord Ryder to complain about the post-Hutton BBC. "Am I worried about the current situation? The answer is yes. Do I think more people should be punished? The answer is no," he said. Paralysis and confusion are perhaps not universal. One presenter was adamant that business returned to normal within days of Dyke's departure, and that executives were not "sitting on my shoulder". Journalists at the sharp end of the BBC - such as the investigative reporter John Ware and the Panorama editor Mike Robinson - are trusted not to bow to pressure. Some challenging commissions have been announced, including a series of undercover investigations into public-sector organisations. And the BBC's director of factual and learning, John Willis, said the institution would continue to produce "robust and vigorous" programmes and that controversial investigations remained "a priority". The big picture is that the BBC is divided over Mark Byford. At the World Service, he is regarded as someone who grew from an inauspicious start to become a widely respected leader. Many in regional broadcasting are similarly enthusiastic. "Quite a few people in the nations and regions see Byford as a champion," says one source. "There is a view that the arrogant big-noises in network news got the BBC into trouble, and they want a new leader who will let them do it again. Mark respects the local journalists who toil away without generating that sort of controversy. For a lot of our viewers and listeners, that sort of work matters more than attacking government." Back at Television Centre, another source describes that view as "depressing drivel" and insists that "Byford can't even get the mundane things right. His beloved nations and regions lost the rights to Scottish Premier League football to a pay-per-view broadcaster [Setanta], and ITV has got the Boat Race. If that's what his attention to the things that matter amounts to, not many people are going to be impressed." It is an indication of the impact Hutton has had on BBC journalism that many reporters and producers seem to have forgotten the recent past. People who derided Dyke's "cut the crap" approach and resented being told to "think positive" now look back fondly, although one senior reporter says: "Dyke didn't understand journalists and why they cost all that money." Byford is the victim of a delusion that all was perfect until Hutton reported. But, in the immediate aftermath of Dyke's resignation, Byford faced a huge challenge to repair morale and focus journalists' attention on the future. As camps are forming in support of potential candidates for director general, the verdict in news is that he has failed. Byford's time at network news is limited to a nine-month spell in charge of the home news desk in 1988-89. By contrast, Mark Thompson, the Channel 4 chief executive and a rival candidate for DG, is seen as possessing an "impeccable" news background, having previously been in charge of Panorama and the Nine O'Clock News. Few journalists at Television Centre are willing to mount a determined defence of Byford. One who described himself as an ally says: "He has not made a good start. He looked shocked and traumatised. I think he was shocked and traumatised. Everyone knows Mark is ambitious, but perhaps the chance to become DG came at the wrong time." Another - who would not criticise Mark Byford directly - says: "All this is not imaginary. There is scepticism about Mark in news. News badly needs to be convinced about him." (c) 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. DIMBLEBY ON SHORTLIST FOR BBC CHAIRMAN Matt Wells and Jackie Ashley Thursday March 11, 2004 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4877420-103690,00.html The broadcaster David Dimbleby has been told he is on the shortlist for the post of BBC chairman, vacant since the resignation of Gavyn Davies in the devastating fall-out from the Hutton report. Officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are sifting through applications from 79 people and are expected to pare the list down to about a dozen in the next week. It is understood that Dimbleby, the presenter of BBC1's Question Time and a former owner of local newspapers in London, has been told informally that his name will go forward for the -L-81,320-a-year position. Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, has the final say on the appointment. One of the first tasks of the new chairman will be to appoint a successor to the former director general, Greg Dyke, who quit the day after the Hutton report was published. The two leading candidates are thought to be the acting director general, Mark Byford, and the chief executive of Channel 4, Mark Thompson. Dimbleby, 65, would be a popular chairman internally at the BBC, where morale is still low after the departures of Mr Davies and Mr Dyke. His father, Sir Richard Dimbleby, was one of the most revered broadcasters in the corporation's history. He was viewed as a serious contender in 2001, when Sir Christopher Bland left to chair BT, although the job went to Mr Davies. Dimbleby also applied for the position of director general in 1986. Richard Ayre, a former controller of editorial policy at the BBC, said: "David is about the only person employed by the BBC who could conceivably be chairman. In many ways he's the ideal candidate for Tessa Jowell, in terms of reassuring the public that the BBC is free from political influence but still under scrutiny from a tough inquisitor." Chris Patten, the former Tory chairman, has ruled himself out of the job, but says in a Guardian interview today that the successful candidate needs to be robust: "It does need to be somebody who will stop apologising for the BBC." He says he is flattered to be linked to the job. "I don't want to be neutered for the next five years," he says. "I want to come back from Brussels and actually get stuck into one or two debates. One thing which is obvious is you can't be chairman of the BBC and sound off on things." In the interview he says he doesn't think either the chairman Gavyn Davies or chief executive Greg Dyke should have resigned. "The BBC matters frankly a lot more to the nation's health than Alastair Campbell." Others linked to the job include Michael Grade, the former chief executive of Channel 4, who is known to have applied for the position. Mr Grade, 61, a former BBC1 controller, is currently executive chairman of Pinewood/Shepperton studios and non-executive chairman of lottery operator Camelot. Michael Portillo, the MP for Kensington and Chelsea, has declined to deny that he has applied; Lord Burns, the former Treasury permanent secretary and currently chairman of Abbey National, has also avoided questions on the issue. Two days before the closing date for applications, Lord Burns was asked by Eddie Mair on Radio 4's PM programme whether he would be interested in the job. He said: "I think I have enough to do without worrying about that." In an unbroadcast portion, Mair repeated the question, and Lord Burns said he would not have agreed to the interview if he knew he would be asked about the subject. Guardian Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. A-04 5920 0500-2300 zones 11,12 WBOH 50 kW 170 deg ant 902 daily USA BOH FCC (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So where will they be at 2300-0500? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Concerning the KEVA-1240 DX test, also on 3/14/04, the engineer passes this along: --- All DXers --- last minute change!! As I was programming in the DX test Morse/Voice ID's this morning I decided to just take the 10 minute loop and program it back to back to back so it will just about fill the entire hour. ABC News will run at 1am, then a weather forecast at 1:05, then into the test. And will continue for the next 57 minutes. So I want to hear from EVERYBODY! You can sit there and PARK on 1240. It is bound to pop through at some point! That gives all of you almost an hour! Good luck!! QSL cards will be sent Michael KEVA Evanston Wyoming --- Further, this test will run next weekend (same time, same day) as well, and possibly after that - again, more updates to follow! (Lynn Hollerman, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Cf 4-041; 0800-0900 UT Sunday ** U S A. WEBN PERSONALITY IS 'HUSTLER HONEY' By Rick Bird. Cincy Post staff reporter Just weeks after radio giant Clear Channel issued a tough new zero- tolerance policy for on-air indecency for DJs at its 1,200 stations, a morning air personality on the company's local FM station is the "Hustler Honey of the Month" for May. Suzette Spencer shot the Hustler Magazine layout a year ago. In the photographs, she is portrayed in typically graphic Hustler style, leaving nothing to the imagination. Needless to say, it is ironic that the photo grouping, headlined "Radio Goddess -- Burning up the Airwaves," would come out now in these post-decency, Janet Jackson times. "You got to admit the timing is pretty incredible," said Mike Kenney, market manager for Clear Channel's eight Cincinnati stations, who did not sound at all amused about the timing. . . http://www.cincypost.com/2004/03/13/dec031304.html [not illustrated] (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. HOUSE PASSES TOUGH INDECENT CONTENT BILL By Paul Davidson USA TODAY The House overwhelmingly passed legislation on Thursday aimed at cracking down hard on indecent content on radio and TV airwaves. The bill, approved 391 to 22, boosts maximum fines for broadcasters airing indecent content and even targets performers. But it is harsher than similar legislation passed this week by a Senate committee and could be watered down to reach a compromise on final legislation. The bill ''makes great strides in our effort to clean up the broadcast airwaves,'' said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which crafted the bill. Critics worried the measure undercuts free speech. ''We're moving in a direction of undermining the First Amendment,'' said Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. FCC rules ban indecent material that's ''patently offensive'' on TV and radio from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., when children are likely to be in the audience. The House bill would increase fines to as much as $500,000 per incident from $27,500 now. The Senate bill allows $275,000 for the first incident, $375,000 for a second and $500,000 after, up to $3 million per day. Both allow the Federal Communications Commission to fine performers for a first offense, drawing a sharp response from a union. ''It's completely inappropriate and unprecedented for a broadcast company to shift the burden of complying with FCC regulations onto the backs of its employees,'' said the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists. Both bills would require the FCC to consider revoking a broadcaster's license after three violations. The House bill also requires the agency to act on a complaint within 180 days. The Senate panel added to its bill a provision to block looser FCC media ownership rules -- currently stayed while under appeals court review -- pending a study of whether bigger media companies air more indecent content. It also would let the FCC regulate violence on TV. The bill gained momentum from recent incidents led by Janet Jackson's breast exposure in CBS' Super Bowl halftime show. Broadcasters recently have taken steps to scrub their programming in a bid to head off new laws. Radio giant Clear Channel Communications fired a Florida shock jock and pulled Howard Stern's syndicated program off six stations as part of a new ''zero tolerance'' policy. It also announced this week a major purchase of delay equipment for its stations to allow censorship. TV networks have added delays to live award shows. (c) Copyright 2004 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) HOUSE VOTES, 391-22, TO RAISE BROADCASTERS' FINES FOR INDECENCY By CARL HULSE March 12, 2004 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/12/politics/12INDE.html?pagewanted=print&position= WASHINGTON, March 11 Saying much of the public is fed up with indecent television and radio programming, members of the House voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to increase penalties on broadcasters and performers who violate federal standards. Spurred by a racy Super Bowl halftime show, the House voted, 391 to 22, to raise fines to $500,000 for the holders of broadcast licenses and for entertainers, from $27,500 and $11,000, respectively. The measure would also force the Federal Communications Commission to act more quickly on complaints and move to revoke the licenses of repeat offenders. "For too long, we have told the entertainment industry that the federal government is unwilling to hold them accountable for their actions," Representative Joe Pitts, Republican of Pennsylvania, said. "Today, we are saying, Enough is enough." The bill, covering just content broadcast over the public airwaves and not cable or satellite programs, was strongly backed by the White House. "This legislation," the White House said in a statement, "will make broadcast television and radio more suitable for family viewing." A similar measure emerging in the Senate would block White House plans to allow large media companies to add outlets, a debate that helped stall a major spending bill last year. To go to the president, a Senate bill would have to be reconciled with the House measure. Some House Democrats were angry on Wednesday that they had been denied an opportunity to offer an amendment to limit such consolidation. "What are we doing about the concentration of power in the media?" Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, asked on the floor. Others said the measure threatened free speech and was a case of the government's trying to intercede on behalf of viewers who can make their own choices. "They can change the channel," Representative Gary L. Ackerman, Democrat of Queens, said. "They can change the station. They can turn it off." The approval came from 218 Republicans, 172 Democrats and one independent. Twenty-one Democrats and one Republican opposed the bill. Representative Edward J. Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat who was an author of the bill, said that in addition to the Super Bowl show, the measure had been prompted by the F.C.C.'s lackluster pursuit of complaints about indecency, obscenity or profanity. Despite tens of thousands of complaints from 2001 to 2003, he said, the agency issued 17 notifications that violations had occurred and that fines were possible. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. LIBERAL TALK RADIO NETWORK TO START UP IN THREE CITIES By JACQUES STEINBERG March 11, 2004 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/11/business/media/11radio.html?pagewanted=print&position= The creators of a fledgling liberal talk radio network who hope to challenge the dominance of conservative voices on the nation's airwaves said yesterday that its programming would make its debut on March 31 on low-rated stations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The network, known as Air America Radio, said its hosts would include Al Franken, the comedian and political satirist, whose program will be broadcast from noon to 3 p.m.; Janeane Garofalo, an actress whose program will be on from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Chuck D, a hip-hop artist, who will be a co-anchor of a morning program; and Martin Kaplan, a media analyst who has previously appeared on National Public Radio. Mr. Franken's program will be called "The O'Franken Factor,'' in a barb aimed at Bill O'Reilly, the host of "The O'Reilly Factor'' on the Fox News Channel. Fox News sued Mr. Franken and his publisher last summer in an unsuccessful effort to block distribution of his book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right'' (E. P. Dutton, 2003). The network charged that the book's use of Fox's "fair and balanced'' tagline would tarnish its image. For all Air America's relative star power and connections - Mark Walsh, the network's chief executive, has donated more than $100,000 to the Democratic Party and has served as an adviser to the presidential candidate John Kerry on Internet issues - the network faces enormous hurdles. They include making money for its investors and unseating the biggest conservative voices in talk radio, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, whose programs appear on hundreds of stations. "It's tough to build a syndicated show, let alone a whole array of syndicated shows,'' said Michael Harrison, a former radio station owner who is the publisher of Talkers, a trade magazine. In New York, for example, Air America will broadcast on WLIB, an AM station that was ranked 24th in the metropolitan New York market last fall, according to Arbitron; WABC, which broadcasts Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Hannity, was ranked 12th. Similarly, in Chicago, Air America's affiliate, WNTD, was ranked 32nd; the Limbaugh affiliate, WLS, was ranked fifth. In Los Angeles, Air America will be broadcast on KBLA, which ranked 30th. Nonetheless, Mr. Walsh said the effort had support, including an initial investment of more than $20 million provided by several backers, including Evan Cohen, a venture capitalist, and Rex Sorensen, a entrepreneur. Mr. Walsh said that he expected the network, whose parent company is Progress Media, would offer something unique on talk radio - a megaphone for liberals - and that by the end of the year he anticipated its programming would be carried by stations in at least a dozen other markets, including San Francisco. Mr. Walsh declined to name any other cities where the network was pursuing stations. Mr. Franken, who described himself in a telephone interview as "a comedian first and a citizen second,'' said he intended his show to be "entertaining, funny and hard-hitting.'' "This territory has been ceded to the right way too long,'' he said. "We're going to take it to them.'' Mr. Franken said that he had called his show "The O'Franken Factor'' with the hope that it would "annoy and bait'' Mr. O'Reilly. Robert Zimmerman, a spokesman for Fox News, said: "One of this country's founding principles is the right to free speech. We wish them well.'' Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. SKYBOUND LOS ANGELES TRAFFIC REPORTER SEES JOB AS A DYING ART --- By CHARLIE LeDUFF Published: March 13, 2004 ... There are about a dozen traffic reporters in Los Angeles, and Commander Street, 52, is senior among them, with 20 years' experience. His syntax is precise and one of the most recognizable on local radio. Still, Commander Street says he cannot beat the feeling that he has become a pterodactyl, a man whose livelihood is being done in by technology and radio consolidation. As deep-pocketed television stations vie for supremacy in the Los Angeles skies, radio reporters must now share seats or work for news agencies that sell their reports to subscribing stations. Commander Street, for example, provides reports to three stations and has given up the controls of his helicopter. He is now required by a sports radio station to pitch hamburgers, breath mints and sex-enhancing products while he is airborne. "In terms of gathering information, yes, the radio reporter's days are numbered," said Don Bastida, vice president of operations for Airwatch America, a traffic news service, based in Southern California. FULL STORY: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/13/national/13COPT.html (via Matt Francis, DC; Bill Doskoch, Toronto, ON, CAJ-list via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** U S A. Question of the Week: To the best of your memory, what is the most unusual or unique transmitter site you have personally seen?" (Harold, NRC-AM list moderator, via DXLD) It may be the first transmitter site I ever saw, on the south bank of the Mary's River at the end of 15th Street in Corvallis, Oregon. It may be kin to the urban legends, but my memory of KRUL-1340, when it first went on the air in 1947, was that the tower was a converted service station sign. I was a oil company roadmap collector, so I paid attention to the various service stations in Oregon and on our family trips. Richfield Oil Company, on many of its service station sites, built its signs on a tower similar to fat ham towers. The story was that the KRUL tower was, indeed, a Richfield Oil tower. It was short and squatty, and it certainly looked like the Richfield towers I had seen. KRUL had a box-like building on the banks of the Mary's River, with the offices and studios on the bottom floor and the general manager's apartment on the top floor. The legend of how the station came to be built involved the certain candy company in the northwest and an heir to the family fortune. The legend was that the heir's parents had been trying to figure out how to settle their little boy down. His attention span into early adulthood was short. According to the legend, he was in the drunk tank of a jail in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he shared a cell with a fellow who had worked for the radio station in Ottumwa. The radio guy told the candy heir about his work and candy air decided he wanted a radio station. The candy company built KRUL for him, but by the time the station was ready to go on the air, the candy heir had lost interest in it and was off onto other pursuits. The radio guy, though, stayed on as general manager. I hung around the station, I guess from 7th grade on. One morning, on the "Early Worm" show, a record ran out and we heard it clicking, clicking, clicking. The DJ told me later that Peck was drunk and had chased his wife downstairs, brandishing a pistol, and the DJ ... well, I can't remember if he said he interceded or hid. (I think the former.) The station was very loosely operated. The DJ's had a free hand in programming, and chose their own names for the programs. The only other title I recall was the country music show called "The Hayloft Hoedown." One of the more colorful DJ's was a fellow named Mel Palder. He used his real name on the pop music shows, but for "Hayloft Hoedown," he became Sheriff Lem Redlap, spelling his name backward. One of the DJ's would make fun of the call letters. He'd say "This is KRU-All in South Corvallis" or "This is KRU-Listening?" It took a long time before the manager cleaned up a call-letter sign in front of the station. A vandal had changed the call from KRUL to KRUD. The "Early Worm" show took written requests and I and a bunch of my eighth-grade classmates were regulars, using "stage names." I was Serutan Yob, my best buddy became "Hoppy," one of our female classmates decided to embarrass me by signing in as Serutan's girl friend, "Bubbles" and some of the others in our little clique were "Lippy No-Nose," "Jeromeo" and "Makkm." I gave Makkm a surname -- Wisniewlisnkiarvocamerinczyzezapethameisteringlansterscidcleff" -- and this highly successful investor remembered that name, syllable-by- syllable, at our 25th class reunion. My sister, five years younger than I, recites Makkm's surname to me when we do a little memory dredging. It was a thrill to find "Hoppy" on the internet in 2002, and, though he moved away after the 8th grade, he was so happy to make the connection after many years (I'd seen him last in 1956 when he was a senior at San José State and I was taking Army basic training at Fort Ord, Calif.), he came to our 50th class reunion this past summer. We posed for a picture, singing "Baby Face" and playing our air ukeleles. Hoppy and Makkm were BCB DX'ers with me during our seventh- and eighth-grade years (we thought we'd invented the hobby), but they grew up. I, obviously, didn't. Back to KRUL and the radio guy --- he did the play-by-play sports, back before there was such a thing as a broadcast booth in the small high school stadiums and gymnasiums. He was not always sober during those broadcasts. One night, Corvallis was playing Sweet Home at Sweet Home, where the radio`s only electric outlet for the radio guy's remote unit was in an aisle through which spectators walked to get to and from their seats. Several times, someone would kick the plug, interrupting the broadcast, the radio guy would have to get up, plug the unit back in, walk back to the unit and resume the broadcast. One fellow, though, noticed that he had kicked the plug out, reached down, plugged it back in, just in time to hear the radio guy say "G.D.S.O.B., the f'g thing's gone out again." (He was inebriated, but his words were not abbreviated.) KRUL has had only one call letter change in its history --- to KLOO -- - and in 1998, when I want to Corvallis for my 45th high school reunion, the station still operated from that same building and that same tower. The building and tower were still there in 2003, but it appeared that the site was vacant, though KLOO was still at 1340 on my rented car radio dial. Pardon me for the long-winded answer to such a short question, but the Krumudgeon would be interested to know if any of our West Coast old- timers would remember the Richfield service station towers and the 10 o'clock news on NBC Pacific (KFI and KPO, among others): "The Richfield Reporter." And I wonder, also, how many people remember when you got free road maps at service stations. Some of those road maps even listed the radio stations that operated in the area covered. I may have shared portions of these yarns in another thread a couple of years ago --- but there's been some turnover, so it may be fun to see how silly we used to be --- and how much fun the second childhood is! (John Callarman, KA9SPA, Family Genealogist, Krum TX, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. 4740, R. Son La, reactivated (presumed). 1320-1401 3/10. Vietnamese programming heard here with male and female announcers and Viet songs to 1330 then into indigenous programming until sign off at 1401. Indigenous programming is primarily songs with no instrumental accompaniment and occasional announcement. SINPO 3+5444 - seems too good of a signal for a Viet regional, but this used to be one of the Son La channels. It almost seemed like the 1330 programming was a pick up from the Hanoi Hmong program but I have heard similar programming on other regionals like Lao Cai (2-3 years ago). I would estimate that the signal was more like a 20-50 kW transmitter than a 1 kW. Could Hanoi have taken this channel? Japan Radio NRD-545 with Wellbrook ALA- 1503 Loop beamed 130 degrees (Bruce Churchill, location unknown, Mar 10, Cumbre DX via DXLD) He used to be in California, probably still Bruce, Son La has been reported here, ex 4796 (Hans Johnson, ibid.) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 1550, R. Nacional Saharaui, Algeria; Arabic talks, // 7460 kHz F 0737 11/3 (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland. NRD-545, beverages: 513m at 240 degrees, unterminated; 506m at 290 degrees, terminated; 588m at 315 degrees, terminated; 362 m at 360 degrees, unterminated. http://www.gorrell.supanet.com/index.html MWC via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. ZIMBABWE MEDIA GUIDE --- Overview The government of Zimbabwe dominates the country's news media. It owns and tightly controls all radio and television stations, and currently all daily newspapers. The government forced the country's only major privately owned daily to suspend publication in September 2003, ostensibly for failing to meet licensing regulations, though all independent observers recognize the real reason to be its vocal opposition to government policies. A small number of privately owned weekly papers publish regularly. Foreign shortwave broadcasts and satellite television are available to the limited number of Zimbabweans who can afford the appropriate receiving equipment. With the political situation in the country strongly polarized and the state-owned media voicing only the government's point of view, many urban dwellers depend on a mix of state, private and foreign media to get a balanced and accurate view of current affairs. Rural Zimbabweans, generally poorer and without ready access to television and print media, are more likely to rely entirely on government radio for their news. Internet access is available, principally through cyber-cafés in urban areas, but recent data indicate that less than one per cent of the population uses the Internet. Demographics Zimbabwe has a population of over 12 million and an ethnic makeup of Shona (82 per cent), Ndebele (14 per cent), other Africans (2 per cent), and Asians and Europeans (2 per cent). The principal languages are Shona, Ndebele and English. Harare is the largest metropolitan area with a population of 1.2 million. Bulawayo, the second largest city, has a population of 620,000. The population is largely rural with, according to the 2003 edition of "The World Factbook", approximately two-thirds of the labour force involved in agriculture. The same source also reports that over 90 per cent of the population aged 15 and over can read and write English. Restrictions on media freedom President Robert Mugabe has tightened his control over Zimbabwe's media as political crises - including a controversial land redistribution policy, food shortages, and a highly contentious election - have increased in the country. In the run-up to the March 2002 election, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) introduced a restrictive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and stepped up intimidation of the independent press, which the government saw as being sympathetic to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Parliament passed the AIPPA in March 2002 and Mugabe signed the bill into law. Media observers see AIPPA - which requires all news organizations and journalists to register with the Media and Information Commission (MIC), a body appointed by the information minister, and which criminalizes the publication of inaccurate information - as only the most recent of a series of recent laws that have narrowed freedom of _expression and restricted the media. AIPPA, the Public Order and Security Act (2002) and the Broadcasting Services Act (2001) all prescribe stiff penalties for journalists and media institutions that violate any of their provisions. The government has tried to use these laws - along with extra-legal harassment, detention and acts of violence - to silence critical opinion and obtain favourable, one- sided reporting. International media freedom and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists have widely condemned AIPPA and the government's use of it. Despite harassment by police and ZANU-PF supporters, the independent press has tried to continue operating, exposing high-level wrongdoing and reporting critically on government policies. Nonetheless, as noted in the US State Department's Human Rights Report for 2003 (published in February 2004), the threat of government retribution has caused media to exercise some self-censorship. Perhaps the most significant abuse of government authority over the press has been the closure of The Daily News, a privately owned newspaper and vocal Mugabe critic that Information Minister Jonathan Moyo once called "a threat to national security which has to be silenced" (from http://newzimbabwe.com 25 October 2003). In October 2003, the MIC refused to issue a licence to the paper, despite a court order to do so. When the paper attempted to resume publication, police raided the paper's office and arrested 18 journalists as well as several executives of the paper's publisher, Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (South African Press Association, 26 October 2003). On 22 January 2004, The Daily News again resumed publication under court order, but the government immediately appealed, and on 5 February the high court issued a ruling favourable to the government and the paper was again closed. Foreign journalists also have been subject to government pressure and intimidation. Many of those who have offended the government have been deported or asked to leave immediately. For example, in May 2003 Andrew Meldrum, a US citizen who works for the UK's Guardian newspaper and who had written articles critical of the Mugabe government, was "abducted" - to use his word - and put on a plane out of the country, despite a court order forbidding the deportation http://zwnews.com 8 September 2003. Many foreign reporters have responded to pressure by relocating to South Africa, depriving the international media of a direct view of events in the country. Some stringers and reporters come to Zimbabwe under tourist visas, while some wire services use Zimbabwean citizens to report stories. International human rights and media watchdog organizations agree on the poor state of press freedom in Zimbabwe. The US State Department's Human Rights Report calls Zimbabwe's record on human rights and freedom of the press "very poor". The Freedom House Press Freedom Survey 2003 rates the situation in Zimbabwe as "Not Free". Reporters Without Borders in its 2003 World Press Freedom Ranking ranks Zimbabwe 141st out of the 166 countries assessed, pointing out that independent news media are repressed by the authorities. Radio Radio remains the most important medium of public communication in Zimbabwe, especially for those living in rural areas, who make up the majority of the population. All radio stations are state-owned and part of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), which is supervised by the information minister. According to the ZBC web site http://www.zbc.co.zw/radio.htm there are 20 FM transmitting stations throughout the country, each airing four different channels. The stations offer no autonomous local programming - only that made available on the national channels. Each channel provides a different type of programming and caters to a distinct audience. Each is available 24 hours a day. Radio Zimbabwe, which originates from the Mbare studio in Harare, broadcasts in both Shona and Ndebele, though Shona programming predominates. It is transmitted via shortwave (3306/6045 kHz) as well as the FM relay stations. Radio Zimbabwe caters to both urban and rural audiences and offers a variety of information programmes featuring guest experts - in fields such as farming, health, and culture - speaking on issues of local concern. National FM, which originates in the Pockets Hill studio in Harare, broadcasts in 14 minority languages, including Chewa, Xhosa and Venda. Its programming includes African music and informational programmes. It is also currently aired on shortwave (4828 kHz) as well as FM. Power FM (formerly known as 3FM), according to the ZBC web site, is "an entertainment channel blended with information and education" designed for the youth audience. The channel, which originates in the city of Gweru, broadcasts in English, with much of its schedule given to pop music. Media observers note that in 2003, Power FM adopted a 100-per cent local content policy, replacing US and British music with local and regional artists. According to ZBC, the station's appeal is strongest among the urban youth. The fourth channel, S-FM (formerly Spot FM), originates in Bulawayo, broadcasts in English, and features news, current affairs, and national and international sporting events. It carries hourly news bulletins and programmes in which experts speak on economic and political issues. Media observers cite reports that Information Minister Moyo regularly reviews ZBC news and excises stories that might be deemed critical of the government. Similarly, political discussion programmes feature only government supporters and mention opposition party activities only to discredit them. There are no listener call-in shows on ZBC other than music request programmes, which media observers say are by far the most popular radio shows in the country. The ZBC has no external service. There are no community radio stations or university radio stations in Zimbabwe. Knowledgeable observers say the government had indicated plans to open the airwaves to private broadcasters by the end of 2003, but has yet to begin the process of deregulation. Foreign stations available to Zimbabweans with shortwave receivers include the Voice of America and the BBC, as well as Short Wave Radio Africa, which broadcasts from the UK, and Voice of the People radio, a communications trust registered in Zimbabwe, with trustees, staff and studios inside Zimbabwe, which currently broadcasts from a transmitter in Madagascar because the authorities in Zimbabwe have repeatedly refused to issue it with a domestic broadcasting licence. Zimbabwean officials have criticized some of these broadcasters, especially those identified with the US and the UK, as being instruments of antagonistic propaganda. Moyo has singled out VOA's "Studio 7" programme, available via shortwave as well as mediumwave transmissions from Botswana, for particular criticism. According to a report in the government-owned Herald (3 July 2003), for example, the information minister accused "Studio 7" of "churning out propaganda about regime change" and "sowing seeds of division" among rural people. In addition to foreign media specifically directed to the country, Zimbabweans living near the borders can tune into radio and television stations in South Africa and Zambia. Media observers note that ZBC has plans to expand its service in cooperation with foreign governments. It has entered into an agreement with Iran for additional transmitters to cover the whole country (ZBC Television, 18 February 2003). Zimbabwe has also signed a cooperation agreement with Tanzania, which would include an exchange of radio and television programming and the establishment of a joint 24-hour satellite news station (The Herald, 21 August 2003). Television The ZBC operates Zimbabwe's only television channel. It is produced in Harare and media observers note it is available in all urban areas, but not widely in the countryside. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, with mostly locally produced programmes and a few old US and British sitcoms and dramas. A weekly programming schedule is available on the ZBC web site, but it is nearly a year old. Morning and afternoon programming is mainly music (all televised music programmes feature only African music), films, and cultural and religious shows. Prime- time viewing includes local drama, news, agricultural features, music, and discussion programmes. Late night television is almost entirely music. According to knowledgeable media observers, the music shows on television are the most popular. The films and dramas are very old, and people are said to have grown tired of them. Current affairs programmes usually feature interviews or discussions with studio guests on a variety of topics. Observers note that programme guests are invariably supporters of the government and the ruling party. Other programming on ZBC television can also take on a political and pro-government tone. For example, the channel plays a music video - Sendekera Mwana Wevhu (Celebrate, Child of the Soil) - acclaiming the government's land redistribution efforts before every programme and newscast. Observers note that the song was written by Information Minister Moyo, and that all four ZBC radio channels also play the same song at regular intervals. According to the US State Department's Human Rights Report, ZBC has been losing "credibility and audience" in recent years as it has included fewer international programmes in its broadcasts and has stopped carrying CNN. It has also cancelled call-in talk shows, which had carried phone calls from viewers critical of the government. ZBC fired 60 per cent of its staff in 2002, while moving employees loyal to the government into senior positions. ZBC Television formerly had two channels. The second channel was leased to a privately-owned TV station, Joy TV, but the lease was cancelled, and the station closed on 31 May 2002. According to a 15 May 2002 World Press Review article, Joy TV's licence was revoked because the station had aired interviews with MDC leaders and had broadcast foreign produced programmes, including some produced by the BBC. The article also said that the government wanted the frequency for use by New ZIANA, a planned 24-hour TV news service designed to "tell Zimbabwe's story to the world" and to counter criticism of the government from the BBC, CNN and others. According to a report in the Bulawayo Sunday News on 11 January 2004, ZBC has plans to open a new television station, National Television, in June that would broadcast primarily in Ndebele and Shona. The report adds that the station is to be funded from an Iranian credit facility. Currently, observers note, the only alternative to ZBC television is international television available through private satellite firms such as South Africa's M-Net and DStv. Payment for this service, however, must be made in foreign currency, which is unavailable to most citizens. Satellite television makes available news sources such as Sky News and SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) Africa. Observers note that the elite - including government officials, ZANU- PF members, and opposition figures - who can afford it are accessing these outside channels to get a less biased view of current events. Print media Until the banning of The Daily News in September 2003, there were three principal daily newspapers available in Zimbabwe: The Herald, The Chronicle and The Daily News. The Herald (and its sister paper The Sunday Mail) and The Chronicle (and its sister paper The Sunday News) are state-owned, English- language newspapers that have traditionally served different regions and ethnic readerships. The Chronicle, published in Bulawayo, has a strong Ndebele readership, while The Herald, published in Harare, has a largely Shona clientele. Both papers are government controlled and clearly support ZANU-PF. According to media observers, both papers are thought to be taking editorial instructions from the Information Ministry and Jonathan Moyo. The Herald and The Chronicle on average contain between 30 and 40 pages in each issue, including their business inserts, The Herald Business and The Chronicle Business. Every page carries at least one advertisement, with the business pages containing half news and half advertisements. Both papers are structured the same, with the first three to four pages containing local news, followed by world news, and then opinion and analysis. The last section contains sports. A normal Herald or Chronicle carries a separate classified section, though the classified ads are occasionally incorporated into the business insert. Both papers publish online versions: http;//www.herald.co.zw and http://www.chronicle.co.zw According to media observers, with the emergence of the opposition MDC in 1999, which has strong support in Bulawayo and among the Ndebele population in general, The Chronicle found itself deserted by many of its traditional Ndebele readers, who started reading The Daily News instead. Because Bulawayo receives comparatively few copies of The Herald, ZANU-PF still uses The Chronicle to reach its supporters in the region. The Daily News, founded in 1999, is an independent paper with a history of criticizing the Mugabe government and supporting the opposition MDC. Its reporting provided "the other side of the story" to readers who might otherwise have to rely totally on the biased perspective of The Herald. The Daily News is owned by Strive Masiyiwa, founder and CEO of Econet Wireless, one of Africa's five largest telecommunications companies, who has been accused of using the paper for his own political interests. According to an article in the August 2003 issue of the Bulawayo-based independent news site The Insider, Masiyiwa takes a close personal interest in the paper's news coverage, especially when it comes to issues regarding the MDC. The article said Masiyiwa turned The Daily News into the MDC's "mouthpiece". As noted above, the government stopped The Daily News from publishing in September 2003, and despite repeated court orders in the paper's favour, it published only one issue during the last three months of the year. The paper did, however, publish via a web site from South Africa. On 22 January 2004, the paper returned to Zimbabwe news stands for a little more than two weeks on the strength of yet another court order, which the government quickly and successfully appealed. In October 2003, The Daily Mirror began publication. The paper is owned by Ibbo Mandaza, who also owns The Sunday Mirror, a weekly paper that also publishes online http://www.africaonline.co.zw/mirror Mandaza is said to be a ZANU-PF sympathizer, an affiliation he denies. Mandaza's earlier attempts to establish a daily had failed, according to a 3 October 2003 article in The Zimbabwe Independent, for lack of financing. The Independent article noted that Mandaza's latest effort to go daily was motivated by a desire to fill the void left by the banning of The Daily News, a void that government officials also wanted filled. Smaller daily papers include The Manica Post, published in Mutare, and the Shona-language Kwayedza, published in Harare. Both are government controlled. In addition to the daily papers, there are several weekly papers, which have formats similar to the dailies and likewise depend on commercial advertising. The Standard, published on Sundays, is considered the best general news weekly in the country, widely read by the elite, with copies circulated from one reader to the next. People in the countryside are said to be grateful for month-old copies. The paper is also available in electronic version at http://www.thestandard.co.zw This paper openly criticizes the ZANU-PF, but unlike The Daily News it has not become an opposition ally and is willing to criticize any individual or group. The Financial Gazette is widely considered the best business weekly in the country, read by the elite of all parties and races. It publishes up to 50 pages an issue - more than any other paper in the country - has the largest advertising volume, and is available electronically at http://www.fingaz.co.zw In addition to business news and financial statements, the paper publishes a national news section, opinion and commentary, letters to the editor, and a sports section. Comment in the paper has in the past been satirical and critical of the government. According to a story in The Sunday Mirror on 13 October 2003, the Financial Gazette has recently been acquired by the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono, whom the paper describes as a "ZANU-PF technocrat". The Sunday Mirror reported that under the new owner, the new Financial Gazette "has discarded the abrasive and vitriolic anti-government trajectory which its predecessor pursued," but has "so far refrained from openly promoting any politician or ZANU-PF faction in its coverage". The paper has also given coverage to the opposition. The Business Tribune is a privately owned weekly with an Internet version http://www.btribune.co.zw --- published by Media Africa Group, a company owned by Mutumwa Mawere. Mawere is said to be a ZANU-PF sympathizer and an associate of Parliament Speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa, but he denies this. According to media observers, The Business Tribune takes a cautious, middle-of-the-road approach, avoiding hot political topics. The Zimbabwe Independent, published on Friday and the sister paper of The Standard, was initially a business weekly of the white community that traditionally focused on farming and mining. It has expanded its reporting, staff and readership and is currently owned by the News Trust of Botswana. Its Internet version is available at http://www.theindependent.co.zw It has no apparent political affiliation in Zimbabwe and appears to provide relatively unbiased reporting. According to a report on the website of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), however, as recently as 3 October 2003 Moyo had threatened The Standard and The Zimbabwe Independent had for "being critical of the government" and promoting "Western interests." Describing the papers as "trash" and "running dogs of imperialism", Moyo said the papers faced the same fate as The Daily News. Papers from Harare generally circulate in all the of the country's cities and larger towns, usually arriving a few hours after they are available in the capital. Newspapers are not generally available in rural areas, however, except for those occasionally brought by visiting relatives from the city. To counter this deficiency, the government has recently come up with the idea of "Rural Information Kiosks", facilities where one can walk in and read newspapers and books. News agencies All newspapers in Zimbabwe, as well as the state-owned broadcast media, subscribe to foreign news organizations, such as Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, AFP and others, and regularly carry their reports. Zimbabwe has long had a state-owned news agency, ZIANA (Zimbabwe Inter-Africa News Agency). In 2001, Information Minister Moyo first announced the "New ZIANA" project, with a view to transforming the old ZIANA from a government-funded service into a profit-making organization. According to a report widely cited on the Internet and attributed to The Standard in February 2002, New ZIANA was to have a 24-hour news agency, an electronic business unit, radio and television components, and a newspaper publishing unit. New ZIANA was meant to counter broadcasts from the BBC, CNN, and other news sources, which the government said were being used to frustrate the liberation struggle. As reported in The Independent, major financial misappropriations have kept New ZIANA from getting off the ground (6 July 2003), and though the news agency still functions it does so only with a greatly reduced staff (27 July 2003). Internet According to the International Journalists' Network, Zimbabwe ranks among the top five African countries in the number of registered domain names (2001 data). More and more Zimbabweans - including academics, students, journalists, and politicians - are logging onto the Internet, especially in the dozens of Internet cafes that have opened in Harare and in other cities. There were six Internet service providers in the country in 2000 and an estimated 100,000 Internet users as of 2001, according to "The World Factbook". According to the State Department's Human Rights Report, the government does not restrict access to the Internet. However, the Posts and Telecommunications Act, passed in November 2000, allows security services to monitor phone calls and e-mail. The law obliges ISPs and other operators belonging to the Computer Society of Zimbabwe to supply information to the authorities on request and to give police and intelligence officials access to their equipment. The Human Rights Report notes that journalist Andrew Meldrum and Zimbabwean human rights activist Frances Lovemore have been arrested because of articles published on the Internet portraying the government in a poor light. Source: BBC Monitoring research Mar 04 (via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 2020.10 kHz, could be HJZD R. Panzenú, Montería. Quito 11/Mar/2004 20:31 Amigos DXistas! Have been listening to a presumed harmonic on 2020.10 kHz this morning. Could be HJZD R. Panzenú, Montería, 1010 kHz because of ad for centro naturista "Casa Verde" in Montería. You are very welcome to listen to my recording at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com Saludos Cordiales desde "La Mitad del Mundo"! (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3330: Hi Glenn, I should have added perhaps that this frequency range is quite a common band for military communications in Russia and European countries (it is officially allocated for this use, sharing it with other services), as you might remember also the military transmitters in Belarus (which are heard with a relay of radio programs) were noted over the years on frequencies in this range, like 3346, 3355 and others. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BROADBAND POWER LINES POLLUTE RADIO SPECTRUM The Wall Street Journal March 12, 2004 Any listing of the pros and cons of using power lines to deliver broadband services ("The Web's New Outlet," March 2) must mention its major disadvantage: It pollutes the radio spectrum, interfering with nearby radio receivers. What the FCC calls broadband over power lines, or BPL, amounts to sending a wideband radio signal over unshielded wires that weren't designed for that purpose. Power transmission lines are designed to carry alternating current at 60 hertz (cycles per second). They don't work at all well for the transmission of the higher frequencies, between 1.7 and 80 megahertz that are used in BPL systems. Instead, because they operate according to the laws of physics, they function much like antennas. Radio receivers in the vicinity pick up the BPL signal, which overrides and interferes with radio reception. The frequencies in question are used by public safety agencies, the military, aeronautical and maritime services, broadcasters, radio astronomers, radio amateurs and others. The frequency range includes the unique and very narrow portion of the radio spectrum in which the ionosphere supports world-wide communication. BPL designers have tried to address the problem by notching certain frequencies, but with only limited success. Yet BPL implementation can't go forward without solving the problem, because for very good and obvious reasons it is a violation of FCC regulations for a BPL system to cause radio interference. If BPL causes interference -- and it does -- the system must be shut down. The American Radio Relay League, the national association for amateur radio operators, has documented interference in all four of the BPL-marketing-trial areas we have visited. Information is available at our web site, http://www.arrl.org David Sumner Chief Executive Officer The American Radio Relay League Newington, Conn. [sic] (Wall Street Journal via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ###