Kim Andrew Elliott
discussing
International
Broadcasting and
Public
Diplomacy
UPDATED 10 JUNE 2005
Put the news here, and the propaganda there: international broadcasting versus public diplomacy. Kim's analysis.
Kim's articles and papers
VOA
transmission schedule for A-05
season, 27 March-29 October 2005.
SEVA NOVGORODTSEV, BBC, OBE. BBC Russian broadcaster receivers Order of the British Empire. Moscow News, 27 April 2005.
DAS MACHINE IST NICHT FUR DER FINGERPOKEN. Deutsche Welle donates radio equipment to Südwestafrika. Well, actually, now it's called Namibia. allAfrica.com, 27 April 2005.
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY VIA DOOR-TO-DOOR LEAFLETING. In Cuba. When nobody is looking. Chicago Tribune via Tallahassee Democrat, 26 April 2005.
RFI ET DW COLLABORANT. (ET POURQUOIS PAS?) Radio France International and Deutsche Welle will work together on broadcasts to the Arab World and the CIS. RFI press release, 27 April 2005.
BBC WORLD SERVICE NEW TECH BLITZ. Launches major e-marketing campaign to promote e-network. BBC officials e-lated. BBC press release, 27 April 2005. In Mozambique, launches m-ligado, in cooperation with mobile phone provider m-cel, providing audio news on demand by dialing easy-to-remember 0821010200. BBC press release, 27 April 2005.
DRM FROM RNZ. Radio New Zealand will demonstrate DRM digital shortwave at broadcasting symposium. New Zealand government press release, 27 April 2005. Doesn't mention Radio New Zealand International, but RNZI is part of RNZ.
"RADIO FREE CANADA" Is a blog with information that can't be disseminated within Canada. Austin Bay, Strategy Page, 27 April 2005. Blog is www.captainsquartersblog.com.
THE LATEST AL JAZEERA PRIVATIZATION STORY. "Reporters fear that the power of advertisers and shareholders could lead to self-censorship if the channel is privatised." Media Guardian, 27 April 2005. Corey Pein in Salon.com examines Al Jazeera's planned English channel. "If all goes as planned, Al-Jazeera could go the way of the Beatles during their Liverpool days: an already sizeable audience, but on its way to being bigger than Jesus." Salon.com, 20 April 2005. New Al Jazeera Live channel will broadcast conference live without editing. BBC News, 15 April 2005. Knight-Ridder describes Al Jazeera's expansion plans. Via Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, 18 April 2005.
THIS WOULD BE NEWS TO KAREN HUGHES. Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld says "We no longer have any mechanism in government to communicate to the world what the United States is all about." American Forces Information Service, 26 April 2005. And so: U.S. ARMY RETAINING THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF COMIC BOOKS. "Pentagon officials seem intent on capturing just about everything that once passed for public diplomacy and turning it into the property of the Pentagon and 'mil-to-mil' (military to military) relations, even the creation of propaganda 'comic books' for the Arab world." From Pentagon solicitation: "The US Army retains all rights to the intellectual property contained in these comic books." Tom Engelhardt, Mother Jones, 25 April 2005.
MORE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY GROUSING. Ari Berman op-ed takes shots at public diplomacy appointments, efforts. The Nation, 26 April 2005. "One of Bush's nicknames for the energetic Hughes, at least when she was working at his side in Washington, was 'Hurricane Karen.' She is in jeopardy of being downgraded to a mere tropical depression if things do not soon change." Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, 26 April 2005.
NEW RADIO AND TV NETWORK FOR BASRA. Developed by BBC World Service Trust, launching in May and July respectively. BBC World Service Trust, 26 April 2005.
RESISTANCE VIA INTERNATIONAL RADIO. At Milan exhibit about European resistance against Axis powers, "a special section deals with BBC, Voice of America and Radio Moscow propaganda broadcasts meant for the German armed forces and occupied European countries during WWII." RIA Novosti, 26 April 2005.
TELEVISION FOR CHRISTIAN ARABS HAS AN AUDIENCE. SAT-7 has weekly audience of 2 to 3 million in Arab world. The Christian Post, 26 April 2005. SAT-7 is available via Hot Bird 3, but not Arabsat or Nilesat.
THINK GLOBAL. PRODUCE GLOBAL. (WRITE ADVERBAL.) "Think Global" cluster of programs on U.S. public radio stations will include BBC and CBC participation. Public Radio Collaboration press release, 25 April 2005.
(FORMER BBC DIRECTOR GENERAL) GREG DYKE ON BBC WORLD SERVICE FUNDING. Dropping European services to enable addition of Arabic television "is likely to be incredibly controversial, as whenever a national service has been closed down in the past there have always been MPs willing to make the special case why that particular service should be preserved." The Independent, 25 April 2005.
RADIO BÉISBOL INTERNACIONAL. Arizona Diamondback games broadcast in Spanish to Hermosillo. Arizona Republic, 24 April 2005.
AN IDEA FOR KAREN HUGHES FROM OUTER SPACE. "A single US government satellite TV channel ... no matter how interesting or well produced, will still be easily identified as US government propaganda and will thus be discounted, as all government-produced TV is in the developing world." So, instead, create C-Span like channels, one for every target country, building a separate satellite if necessary. Taylor Diner, The Space Review, 25 April 2005. Diner does not mention that 1) satellites are relatively easily jammed, 2) channels can be taken off transponders as a result of politico-commercial pressure, 3) satellite dishes are conspicuous and can be confiscated or prohibited, 4) if U.S. creates a separate satellite, would audiences point their dishes to it?, and 5) there may not be any orbital slots left for such new satellites.
SUPPORT FOR IMPERILED SWISSINFO FROM SWISS EXPATS IN FRANCE. "I remember the time when swissinfo was conceived to replace Swiss Radio International...with the argument that the BBC was going to put all its content on the internet. Today the BBC still has its shortwave service and we do not!" Swissinfo.org, 24 April 2005. swissinfo.org should be saved, says Swiss parliamentary committee. But no specific proposals yet as to the swissfrancs to save the web service, successor to Swiss Radio International. swissinfo, 5 April 2005. Only small English component would be preserved, according to plan still in place. Content in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese would be dropped. German, French, and Italian content will be provided by websites of domestic parent Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. The Swiss government would save $13.6 million per year by unfunding the service. swissinfo.org, 22 March 2005. Retired SRI broadcaster Bob Zanotti continues English radio from Switzerland through his Switzerland in Sound website.
HAIL POLONIA. Radio Polonia, Poland's external radio, highlighted in all domestic programs of Polskie Radio, 23 April. Radio Polonia will celebrate 70 years next year. Radio Polonia, 23 April 2005.
EURONEWS EXPANDS TO ESTONIA. "The station reaches 4.4m viewers per day [Europe-wide], more than CNNI and BBC World combined." C21media.net, 22 April 2005.
VIRGIN RADIO TRYING DRM SHORTWAVE. Transmitting back to the U.K. from Moosbrunn, Austria, which, on shortwave, makes sense. BBC Monitoring via Radio Netherlands Media Network, 22 April 2005.
HCJB WORLD RADIO IN QUITO "NORMAL" DESPITE POLITICAL CRISIS. Unlike most religious international broadcasters, HCJB reports the news from Ecuador, in English and Spanish. HCJB website, 22 April 2005. Find audio of the English news at hcjb.org.
SIXTY YEARS OF FAR EAST BROADCASTING. FEBC, founded in 1954, adheres to trend in evangelical broadcasting by setting up 41 local AM and FM stations worldwide, depending less on, but still transmitting, shortwave via Philippines and Saipan.
Christian Post, 21 April 2005. FEBC website has interesting timeline of its history, though no longer with accompanying photos. FEBC was last owner of storied KGEI, decommissioned in 1994. Some history of KGEI is available in the Communications World script for 11 December 1999.
WHEN AMERICANS LISTENED TO RADIO FROM MEXICO. Interview with Bill Crawford, author of Border Radio: Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves. Fresh Air, 21 April 2005.
HEARTS, MINDS, AND DOLLARS (AND PARAGRAPHS). Four-month investigation by U.S. News & World Report examines overt and covert U.S. communications efforts directed to the Muslim world. "In at least two dozen countries, Washington has quietly funded Islamic radio and TV shows, coursework in Muslim schools, Muslim think tanks, political workshops, or other programs that promote moderate Islam." David E. Kaplan, U.S. News, 25 April 2005. Daniel Pipes comments on this article, citing his own previous article in which he lauded the "newly-created Radio Free Afghanistan" to counter the radicals who were supported by the previous U.S. funded Radio Free Afghanistan, created to counter the Soviet occupation. Front Page Magazine, 25 April 2005.
LOTS OF JAZZ ABOUT VOA. VOA jazz recordings among those slated for long term preservation by Library of Congress. Contrary to article, recordings predate Willis Conover's time at VOA. Billboard via Detroit News, 13 April 2005. Jazz Times, 13 April 2005. VOA News, 10 April 2005. Popular VOA broadcaster and musicologist Leo Sarkisian participates in Jazz Appreciation Month. usinfo.state.gov, 12 April 2005. "Still being cataloged are the 50,000 Voice of America tapes, which for 40 years have been housed in a dark, climate-controlled room." New York Times, 25 April 2005.
TALIBAN'S VOICE OF SHARIAT BACK ON AIR VIA MOBILE TRANSMITTER. Reuters via CNN, 19 April 2005. Afghan Islamic Press Agency (via BBC Monitoring) says station will use FM, medium wave, and shortwave. See also BBC News, 19 April 2005. VOA reports: "The Afghan government says it is not concerned about the recently launched clandestine Taleban radio station that is broadcasting anti-U.S. and anti-government propaganda." VOA news, 21 April 2005.
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY/DIPLOMATIE PUBLIQUE FIGURES IN CANADA'S NEW INTERNATIONAL POLICY STATEMENT/ÉNONCÉ DE POLITIQUE INTERNATIONALE. Radio Canada International not mentioned as part of this, however. Foreign Affairs Canada, 20 April 2005.
BOOST FOR BBC BENGALI. (VOA calls it "Bangla.") BBC's audience in Bangladesh (not "Bengalidesh") increased by 2.6 million last year. Sabir Mustafa, Acting Executive Editor of Asia and Pacific Region, BBC World Service, said: "I am delighted that the hard work and expertise of our programme makers has paid off." BBC press release, 20 April 2005.
BBC WORLD SERVICE NEWS BLOCKED IN NEPAL AND PAKISTAN. Now even BBC news in English is unavailable in Nepal. Reporters sans frontières protests. RSF, 20 April 2005.
ALHURRA LEAVES SYRIA, QUICKLY. Production team leaves after one town hall program, citing censorship. Alhurra press release, 20 April 2005. Syria says guests scheduled for subsequent programs are "abroad." ArabicNews.com, 20 April 2005. See also Index on Censorship, 20 April 2005.
AL JAZEERA LEAVES IRAN, TOO. Tehran accuses station of stirring up ethnic tensions. RFE/RL News, 19 April 2005.
BBC NAMES NEW HEAD OF GLOBAL NEWS DEVELOPMENT. Michele Grant will work from Washington. BBC press release, 19 April 2005.
VOA NEWSROOM MAY GO DARK AT NIGHT, BUT DEFUNCT VOA BETHANY (OHIO) SHORTWAVE SITE IS WELL LIT. Because of fancy new lighting system. NiteLites press release, 19 April 2005.
GOVORIT WASHINGTON. Voice of American Russian launches new daily half-hour television program. No mention of any rebroadcasters in Russia, but can be received via Hot Bird. VOA press release, 18 April 2005. "Agitation and propaganda." CASCFEN, 20 April 2005.
DON'T BLAME THE BUREAUCRACY. Three acidic examples of recent "It's the policy, stupid" commentaries about the Hughes nomination. "Blaming the bureaucracy and appointing a loyalist to tame it seems to be the name of the game in Washington these days." Dennis Jett, Miami Herald, 9 April 2005. "By granting some small measure of legitimacy to the grievances of the dispossessed rank-and-file to whom al-Qaeda appeals, we may open a doorway into a safer future for all." Patrick Rael, Bowdoin Orient, 15 April 2005. "The Loreleis claim we can talk our way out of war, but not, I would argue, until pigs fly." Michael "Imperial Hubris" Schaeur, Washington Times, 7 April 2005. Scheuer defines public diplomacy too narrowly, writes president of Terror Free Tomorrow. "Public diplomacy means using all of the tools at our disposal to reduce the public sympathy that empowers, sustains and protects global terrorists." Washington Times, 21 April 2005.
DON'T WORRY, KAREN, TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED, NOTHING URGENT GOING ON HERE. For family reasons, Karen Hughes, nominated to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, may not take office until autumn. Washington Post, 18 April 2005. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher acknowedges there will be a delay: "That process for her will probably, I think, be worked out over time over the next couple months. So I would expect by the end of this summer, for example, it could be completed." State Department press briefing, 18 April 2005. VOA discusses the Hughes nomination but does not mention the delay in her confirmation. VOA News, 19 April 2005.
MURDOCH TALKS ABOUT NEWS CORP'S CHINA AND INDIA FORAYS. "The world changes so fast, and sometimes quite unpredictably, that I believe there is security for a media company in being truly global." WorldScreen.com, 19 April 2005
INTERNET RADIO IS THE ANSWER TO THE "HEARTBREAK" OF POOR SHORTWAVE RECEPTION. Indian commentator calls for more radio stations in his country to go online. Financial Express, 19 April 2005.
BBC WORLD SERVICES LAUNCHES WEST BANK MARKETING CAMPAIGN. Encourages listening to partner station Radio Bethlehem 2000, 89.6 FM. BBC press release, 15 April 2005.
APSTAR VI SATELLITE, LAUNCHED 12 APRIL, EQUIPPED WITH ANTI-JAMMING FEATURE. Its Ku-band beam covers China. APT Satellite Holdings press release, 12 April 2005. This is significant for international broadcasting, as satellites have traditionally been much more vulnerable to jamming than shortwave. Ironic that China, the most vigorous jammer of shortwave broadcasts and blocker of web content, should develop an anti-jamming satellite. Chinese television channels on Asiastar have recently been "hijacked" by signals reportedly with Falun Gong content. The Falun Gong movement denied any attempts to jam satellite transmissions.
THE VOICE OF WHEREVER JOURNALISTS CAN BE HIRED MOST CHEAPLY. VOA management plan to move newsroom night shift to Hong Kong causes major stir. "April Fool's joke." AFGE 1812. "Distortion by outside critics." VOA director David Jackson. See also Government Executive, 13 April 2005. Washington Post, 15 April 2005. Reuters, 15 April 2005. National Public Radio, 16 April 2005. Editorial in Baltimore Sun, 19 April 2005. You can see the huge newsroom that will be empty after midnight, save for one editor, by taking the VOA tour, described in recent article in which VOA spokesman says "There is always something happening 24 hours a day." Washington Times, 10 April 2005.
UN RADIO GETTING PLACED. United Nations Department of Public Information forges rebroadcasting partnerships with stations in China, Australia, Argentina, Guatemala, and 71 other countries. UN press release, 17 April 2005.
TARGETING THE "DISCERNING INTERNATIONALIST." Interview with CNN International senior VP. Indiantelevision.com, 17 April 2005.
BRAND MALAYSIA. Commentator calls for "strong international media house" to improve Malaysia's international image. "Malaysia, for instance, could be a beacon for all moderate and progressive Muslim nations." Also includes discussion of VOA's history. L.S. Sya, New Sunday Times (Kuala Lumpur), 17 April 2005.
CHINA'S GREAT INTERNET FIREWALL BACK IN THE NEWS. China using U.S. software in increasingly effective effort to block news from abroad. OpenNet Initiative, 14 April 2005. Dallas Morning News, 10 April 2005. Washington Post, 14 April 2005. Radio Free Asia, 15 April 2005. So don't decommission those shortwave transmitters yet.
THIS WAS LONDON, DOWNLOADED A WHILE AGO. BBC offers more spoken-word radio programs via podcasting, including some World Service offerings. The Independent, 16 April 2005. Passengers on Air India can now watch BBC World newscasts, but not quite live. They will be downloaded at Mumbai five times a day. The Hindu, 15 April 2005.
RADIO SAWA "GOOFY BUT KINDA COOL." State Department resignee and public diplomacy chronicler John Brown says in interview that "pop-aganda" should be auxiliary to "educational exchanges, in-depth information programs, and serious cultural presentations." Inter Press Service, 15 April 2005.
IS THAT PRONOUNCED "WHINER" OR 'WHINGER"? Worldspace, the Washington based international satellite radio company, plans IPO, will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol WINR. CNET news.com, 15 April 2005.
MAYBE HE'S IN A BAD MOOD BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN'T PRONOUNCE HIS NAME. In a commentary acerbic even for him, Arnaud de Borchgrave writes, "Mrs. Hughes will quickly find out that sex, violence and profanity at home automatically undermines her noble purpose abroad." Washington Times, 15 April 2005.
NEW CHRISTIAN RADIO STATION IN KIEV. Has backing of U.S. evangelical international broadcaster HCJB. Christian Today, 15 April 2005.
WORLD SERVICE A FACTOR IN BBC STRIKE THREAT. Union calls on "BBC to bring forward their proposals for the future of the global news division including World Service, Monitoring and BBC World." Creative Match, 14 April 2005.
IRELAND CALLING AMERICAY. Dublin based Anner Media Group launches new television channel aimed at the Irish American audience. Business World (Ireland), 12 April 2005.
DON'T LISTEN TO THAT SATELLITE, EH? Sirius condemns Canadian gray market for its satellite radio channels. Plans Canadian service with content deemed suitable for Canada. Sirius Canada press release, 14 April 2005. See also CBC Ottawa news, 31 March 2005.
ASK ABOUT THE 444-DAY SPECIAL PACKAGE. Iran will use ads on BBC World and CNN to promote tourism. AFP via news.com.au, 12 April 2005.
BBC HINDI AUDIENCE INCREASES BY 4.3 MILLION. Now 14.5 million weekly. BBC World Service press release 12 April 2005. World Service campaign in Pakistan reached 10,000 people. BBC World Service press release, 12 April 2005. During the campaign (probably coincidentally), World Service lost its FM outlets in Pakistan. BBC News, 1 April 2005.
THIRTY SIX CHANNELS OF CHINA RADIO INTERNATIONAL. Via Panamsat, which has just signed multi-year deal with CRI for . Eight languages, eventually expanding to 39, using three satellites. PanAmSat press release, 12 April 2005.
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY BEFORE THEY CALLED IT "PUBLIC DIPLOMACY." Now available for domestic dissemination, U.S. films, from 1948, to convince European countries "to accept American aid and embrace U.S.-style democracy." Globe and Mail, 9 April 2005. See also marshallfilms.org.
THIS REMINDS ME OF A JOKE. NO IT DOESN'T. If I have this straight, Polish pilgrims traveled to the Vatican, then used shortwave radios to hear a Polish radio station describe what was happening in front of them. Article says they "lugged" their shortwave radios, but, in 2005, shortwave radios are now small enough to be "toted." Baltimore Sun, 9 April 2005.
WORLDSPACE MARKETING CAMPAIGN COMES TO HYDERABAD. Satellite radio system plans new channels "to cover almost all the major regional languages of (India). Agencyfaqs, 9 April 2005.
YES, BUT RFE HAD A 28-YEAR HEAD START. Senator Biden says Lech Walesa told him, "Radio Free Europe and the Holy Father brought the wall down." Cape Gazette (Lewes, Delaware), 8 April 2005.
INTERNET RADIO STATION FREE NORTH KOREA CARRIES ON. But, "we need to redesign our work load and prepare for better broadcasts." The Korea Times, 8 April 2005.
EC RE PLC, AKA BPL, VS. SW. European Commission does not take a position on Power Line Communications (PLC), known this side of the Atlantic as Broadband over Power Line (BPL), but states, "In general, one could say that the shift to a modern broadband e-society and e-economy will put pressure on the lower part of the radio spectrum (1,5-30 MHz), where, even without PLC systems being active, the background noise that is found in any radio system has been increasing steadily for several decades now." EC press release, 8 April 2005.
HERITAGE OFFICIAL: "THANKS TO BBC" FOR ANTI-AMERICANISM IN EUROPE. Among remedies: restore USIA or at least its functions, revitalize VOA. Helle Dale, Heritage Foundation, 7 April 2005.
A RECURSIVE THEORY OF U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING. "From feeble post-Cold War presence of Voice of America, a plethora of US media outlets are now directly broadcasting to, yet not catering for the Middle East population. Ironically their message and sometimes overt propagandistic methods employed would years ago have been ascribed to communist regimes that stations such as VOA themselves were meant to provide an antidote to." Angelique van Engelen in Global Politician, 7 April 2005.
ZIMBABWE WILL START 24 HOUR, AHEM, NEWS STATION. Will use shortwave to reach both Zimbabwe and abroad. Xinhua via China View, 7 April 2005.
INTERNATIONAL BLOGCASTING. BBC looks at global blogging and Harvard's Global Voices group. BBC News, 6 April 2005.
OH OH, THEY'RE TRYING TO "COORDINATE" INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING AGAIN. Latest evaluation of U.S. public diplomacy calls for putting all the public diplomacy ducks -- and they consider U.S. international broadcasting to be a duck -- in a row. The White House Office of Global Communications should do this. Government Accountability Office, 4 April 2005. But "In the Loop" column notes that the Office of Global Communications seems no longer to exist. Washington Post, 6 April 2005.
THE DUELING KYRGYZSTAN EXCLUSIVES OF U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING. First, ousted Kyrgyzstan president Askar Akayev gives exclusive interviews to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Kyrgyz and Russian services. RFE/RL press release, 1 April 2005. Presumably not heard on the 30 kW medium wave outlet in Bishkek, from which RFE/RL was evicted while Akayev was still in power. Then, Voice of America touts its exclusive interview with the new acting president of Kyrgyztan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev. VOA press release, 4 April 2005. Was heard on VOA Russian Service. Unfortunately, VOA does not have a Kyrgyz Service. So, U.S. government funded VOA had the exclusive interview, while its archrival, U.S. government funded RFE/RL, has a Kyrgyz Service. More evidence that U.S. international broadcasting remains an unassembled kit.
ALHURRA PRESSES ON WITH PRESS RELEASES. Reports 50 percent audience increase since last year, with one third of satellite households in seven Arab countries watching weekly. Alhurra press release, 4 April 2005.
RFE/RL'S NEW LOOK. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty now using "Torch Aflame" logo in place of its old freedom bell. Redesigned website features orange and gray tones rather than previous red, white, and blue. See RFE/RL statement.
ZEE NEW GLOBAL ENGLISH CHANNEL. Zee Network plans global English news network, to provide a South Asian perspective. Because: "CNN explains the US viewpoint, while BBC elucidates the British viewpoint to the global audience." Indiantelevision.com, 4 April 2005.
INTERRUPTED IN AUCKLAND. BBC World Service full time AM outlet in Auckland returns to air on 810 kHz, after a few days' absence, replacing 1476 kHz. New Zealand Herald, 5 April 2005. See also Auckland Radio Trust.
VOA NEWS IN INDONESIAN, TWICE AN HOUR FOR HALF THE DAY. New feed service for local radio stations in Indonesia. VOA press release, 3 April 2005.
INTERNATIONAL PODCASTING. Vatican Radio is the pioneer in the use of podcasting for international broadcasting, using Aruntx iPodcasting Syndication Network. Aruntx press release, 2 April 2005. Perhaps podcasts worked, but live audio streams from Vatican Radio were generally not available in the hours leading to and after the death of Pope John Paul II because of too many users. Radio Sweden is another podcasting pioneer. I interviewed Radio Sweden's George Wood about his station's podcasting experiments on VOA's Talk to America, 1 April. Audio available here.
PAKISTAN: MORE SHORTWAVE OUT. Pakistan's minister for broadcasting emphasizes "need for acquisition of short wave transmitters by the (Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation) PBC to reach ... neighbouring countries." Pakistan Link, 1 April 2005.
PLEASE DON'T FIRE ROCKETS AT THIS BILLBOARD. BBC Arabic promotes its FM rebroadcasts in Iraq via Al-Sharqiya TV and billboards, with slogan "Your world, your news - on BBC Arabic." BBC World Service press release, 1 April 2005.
"JUST NOT ENOUGH ROOM" BBC World Service drops soap drama Westway. BBC News 1 April 2005. Twice-weekly slot will be dropped "to make way for a new-look schedule for the English language service, which will focus on factual programmes during the week and arts at the weekend, including a new strand of world drama starting in 2006." One of its actors says: "Westway covers so many issues that might be taboo in countries where people are listening. It's trying to present a view of modern city life that's honest and not idealised. It's also a diverse company of actors, with Nigerians, Asians and West Indians. Surely this is what public service broadcasting is all about?" The Independent, 1 April 2005. See also The Stage, 31 March 2005.
News Items March 2005
News Items February 2005
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Kim Andrew Elliott.