Kim Andrew Elliott
discussing
International
Broadcasting and
Public
Diplomacy
UPDATED 7 JULY 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.
WORLDSPACE WILL HELP TEACH ENGLISH IN PAKISTAN. USAID will provide 25,000 satellite radios. Pakistan Link, 31 May 2005.
BBC WORLD TO MOBILES IN BAHRAIN. Live television, not just text. Al Bawaba, 31 May 2005. And via DTH to Sri Lanka. Indiantelevision.com, 27 May 2005.
NEW DIGITAL RADIO MODULE RECEIVES SHORTWAVE, DRM. And just about every other kind of radio. RadioScape DS500 based on Texas Instruments chip. EETimes, 31 May 2005. Manufacturer website is www.radioscape.com.
SALES OF SHORTWAVE RADIOS UP 50 PERCENT IN BURMA. Since blasts in Rangoon earlier in May, according to shop owner quoted by local journal Kumudra. The Irrawaddy, 30 May 2005.
CNN AT 25. Must-read article about CNN, CNN International, and their competitiveness after 25 years. The Observer, 29 May 2005.
THE FM DIAL IN KABUL MUST BE JUST ABOUT FULL BY NOW. Deutsche Welle now on 90.5 MHz. Germany also provided funding for the new Radio Television Afghanistan transmitter, just up the dial on 91.5. german-news.de, 28 May 2005.
ERITREAN OPPOSITION VIA ETHIOPIAN RADIO. "BBC Monitoring observed a programme produced by an Eritrean opposition movement on two shortwave frequencies used by the external service of Radio Ethiopia." BBC Monitoring via Sudan Tribune, 28 May 2005.
TRUST, DON'T VERIFY NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR BROADCASTING TO CUBA. House subcommittee rejects amendment that "would have required the government to evaluate the effectiveness of pro-democracy radio and television content into Cuba before spending $10 million on technology to override broadcast jamming by the Cuban government." Government Executive, 27 May 2005. Appropriations legislation (H.R. 2601) before markup establishes Middle East Broadcasting Networks as a grantee entity, enables Radio Martí to lease existing AM, FM, and shortwave transmitters, requires that broadcasting to Cuba be called "Radio Martí," establishes permanent authority for Radio Free Asia, etc. Meanwhile, President Bush has reallocated $7.7 million to the Broadcasting Board of Governors to support the operational costs of Arabic radio and television broadcasting to the Middle East. White House press release, 27 May 2005. Perhaps this has to do with a White House policy shift on war against terrorism that includes more "public diplomacy," per Washington Post, via Lexington Herald-Leader, 27 May 2005.
ARE THEY GHANA LISTEN? VOA inaugurates 24 hour FM outlet in Accra. VOA press release, 26 May 2005. U.S. ambassador to Ghana Mary Carlin Yates says, "VOA has been a trusted source of information owing to its accuracy and fairness in its dissemination of information ... VOA is not the mouthpiece of the American government." Ghana's deputy minister of information Mrs. Shirley Ayorkor advised VOA "to project Africa in the positive light." Accra Daily Mail, 30 May 2005.
ONE THING SHORTWAVE IS STILL GOOD FOR. Benin-bound Peace Corps volunteer's "backpack will contain a camera, journal, shortwave radio and non-stick frying pan. The last two, she learned from a Peace Corps on-line message board, are important." Naragansett Times, 20 May 2005. "She's the only Peace Corps worker for miles, and goes days without hearing English on anything but a shortwave radio." About PCV Gretchen Eisenhut, posted to Senegal. Modesto Bee, 31 May 2005.
RADIO JAPAN WILL CELEBRATE SEVENTIETH YEAR WITH SPECIAL PROGRAM WEEKEND OF JUNE 4. Thus international radio from Japan (most accounts say it was called Radio Tokyo then) began in the geopolitically problematic year of 1935.
VOA GETTING READY TO PODCAST. In the meantime, some programs can be downloaded as mp3 files. VOA website podcast page.
FORGET iPODS. INTERNET RADIOS MAY BE JUST THE THING FOR INTERNATIONAL RADIO. InFusion Portable Wireless Internet Radio will be ready for Christmas 2005. Gizmag, 26 May 2005. Manufacturer website is www.torian.com.au. Podcasting perhaps better for language services that transmit only 30 or 60 minutes per day, whereas internet radios make more sense for 24-hour services.
LAOS GOVERNMENT CRITICIZES RADIO FREE ASIA. Again. This time about a report of a grenade explosion the Lao government says is not true. Vietnam News Agency, 26 May 2005. This is the third or fourth complaint in the past year of alleged factual errors against RFA by the Lao government.
CALLING INDIA VIA BROADBAND. Sify's new broadband content site will include BBC World and the news channel Aajtak (which includes a VOA news program). India Infoline, 25 May 2005.
ALHURRA "NOT MERELY A PROPAGANDA VEHICLE." Writes Der Spiegel in in-depth article. "Even the station's confident director admits that Al-Hurra's underlying tone is consistently friendly to the Bush administration. For example, its 50 staff members in Iraq have been instructed to be on the lookout for signs of improvement. 'If the power comes back on in a part of the city, we see this as being more newsworthy than reporting that the power is out someplace else,' says one employee." Translated by the New York Times, 23 May 2005. Meanwhile, Radio Sawa "had better get its web site updated to archive its music and other programs so visitors can listen to the music they want to hear, when they want to hear it, via the Internet," writes Alvin Snyder, USC Center on Public Diplomacy, 26 May 2005.
"ARE WE MAKING ANY DENT? SOMETIMES YES." State Department spokesman Richard Boucher quizzed about the delayed Karen Hughes appointment. State Department press briefing, 23 May 2005.
RADIO AMATEURS LIKE NEW BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE TECHNOLOGY. American Radio Relay League says Motorola Powerline LV systems causes less interference to shortwave because it does not use medium voltage lines, and it effectively notches the amateur radio bands. ARRL press release, 23 May 2005. Also see Motorola press release, 23 May 2005. But does this system notch international broadcast frequencies?
ALJAZEERA GEARS UP FOR ENGLISH. Time's in-depth examination of Aljazeera International, the English channel to start early in 2006. BBC World Service director Richard Sambrook says, "Alzeera has deep pockets, and therefore they are going to be serious competitors." Time, 22 May 2005.
SW RADIO AFRICA MIGHT HAVE TO CLOSE. Insufficient donations to Zimbabwean opposition station. newzimbabwe.com, 23 May 2005. Not mentioned at swradioafrica.com. "Is the world admitting China is now the superpower and spreading its repressive tentacles around the world?" (China is reported to have provided technology to enable jamming.) newzimbabwe.com, 27 May 2005. New U.S. based internet radio station Southern Africa Radio is launched. newzimbabwe.com, 24 May 2005. Website is www.sarfmradio.com.
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY BY DINT OF COUNTERMISINFORMATION. Even against U.S. sources. "It is against U.S. law for the International Public Diplomacy unit to directly respond to my counter-arguments, they can only legally respond to foreign queries and not from U.S. citizen journalists whom they cavalierly attack," writes Wayne Madsen, Online Journal, 24 May 2005. Whatever the merit of his allegation, this is an opportunity to look at the Identifying Misinformation section of the U.S. public diplomacy usinfo.state.gov website.
BBC WORLD MORE THOUGHT PROVOKING BUT LESS USER FRIENDLY THAN CNN. From online surveys and focus groups, BBC World "determined through inexpensive online polling that its great strength against other news channels is that it is perceived to have integrity, to be more thought-provoking and serious than other news channels. It therefore introduced the positioning 'Demand a broader view', reinforcing the channel's approach to news. The ratings, however, remained static. While the online research had indicated that its greatest strength was the depth of its news, there was never any guarantee that this would motivate viewers. Instead, the news audience seemed to prefer the more user-friendly offerings from CNN." Market Research Bulletin, 24 May 2005.
LESS BBC ON FM IN BOSTON DURING BBC STRIKE. WBUR uses NPR stuff rather than canned BBC substitute programs. Boston Herald, 24 May 2005.
CALLING BULGARIANS EVERYWHERE. Four television and four radio channels, via satellite. Sofia News Agency, 24 May 2005.
FROM ONE SENTENCE BY HAMID KARZAI, BBG PRODUCES AN ENTIRE PRESS RELEASE. "And if -- unfortunately, you don't hear -- follow the Afghan press, but if you listen to the Voice of America, the Radio Liberty, and the BBC, the Afghan population condemned that -- those acts of arson in Afghanistan." Broadcasting Board of Governors press release, 23 May 2005.
AMERICA CALLING RUSSIA, BUT NOT THE MASSES. "Radio Liberty and Voice of America ... have proven to be unable to fill the gap and educate Russian people on the United States and its policies. In addition, the majority of the listeners of these two radio stations are well-educated people in the major Russian cities, while the bulk of Russian society prefers television as the main source of information. Similarly, the majority of Russian participants of the United States’ educational exchange programs reside in Moscow, and the Russian public can participate in the United States-sponsored cultural events only in several major cities that have United States embassies and consulates." Writes Andrei Nesterov in Worldpress.org, 21 May 2005.
VOA OPENS JAKARTA BUREAU. VOA director David Jackson on hand for the launch. Nine people will work there. Jakarta Post, 21 May 2005.
VOICE OF INDONESIA JAPANESE SERVICE IS STILL ON THE AIR. But with a budget of 45 dollars a month, its future is uncertain. Jakarta Post, 20 May 2005.
REMEMBERING THE WINDWARD ISLANDS BROADCASTING SERVICE. Historian writes about the Grenada based station which operated 1955-1971. News-dominica.com. U.S. shortwave listeners often heard the station's shortwave transmitter, which signed off each evening with a hymn and a prayer.
HCJB NUMBER ONE IN BRAZIL. Well, among members of a shortwave DX club. "Those who say shortwave radio is dead or dying should go on a trip into the jungle area of Brazil ... They will see that [there are many] communities that are very isolated from one another and find out that the only way to communicate is by shortwave." The Christian Post, 19 May 2005.
VATICAN RADIO'S DIGITAL SOLUTION TO ALLEGED ELECTROSMOG. Station will "adapt or convert several of the radio's medium and short wave transmitters to terrestrial digital technology which, once finished, would allow Vatican Radio to broadcast its programs with a lower emission power and with a better broadcast quality." Transmitters are located at Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy. Vatican Information Service, 19 May 2005. Father Pasquale Borgomeo, director of Vatican Radio, and another official given 10-day suspended sentence by Italian court for "dangerous launching of objects." Vatican Radio transmitters, on Italian territory, are believed by some to be associated with elevated cancer rates. In 2001, Vatican Radio moved some aerials and transferred some transmissions to Radio Monte Carlo facilities. AP via Guardian, 9 May 2005. AFP via news.com.au, 10 May 2005. Reuters, 9 May 2005.
THEORY THAT VOA HAD A ROLE IN THE AFGHANISTAN RIOTS GOES DOWN THE TOILET, SO TO SPEAK. Did VOA or Radio Free Afghanistan transmit the reports about the alleged desecration of Korans that caused the riots? On May 12, New York Times reported "It was unclear how the protesters got word of the report, but many Afghans receive their news from radio programs broadcast in local languages by Voice of America, the BBC and Radio Liberty, which often broadcast foreign news reports." Web search indicates VOA did not report on the Newsweek item until after the riots, and Radio Free Afghanistan not until after the controversy concerning the Newsweek report. The Newsweek report was more likely made known in the region via BBC News, 8 May or Reuters, 6 May. And BBC reported allegations of Koran desecrations at Guantanamo even before the Newsweek Periscope item. BBC News, 2 May 2005.
THE PUBLIC BROADCASTING/INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING CONNECTION FINALLY DISCUSSED BY THE NEWS MEDIA. Kenneth Tomlinson, Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, says public broadcasting needs more political balance. Opponents say he is trying to impose a conservative agenda. PBS documentary broadcaster Bill Moyers said in a recent speech: "I would like to have given Mr. Tomlinson the benefit of the doubt. But this is the man who was running The Voice of America back in 1984 when a partisan named Charlie Wick was politicizing the United States Information Agency of which Voice of America was a part. It turned out there was a blacklist of people who had been removed from the list of prominent Americans sent abroad to lecture on behalf of America and the USIA." Via Nieman Watchdog, 17 May 2005. Tomlinson responds: "No one has ever linked me to any form of blacklist incident. In fact, I was known at the Voice of America for protecting the institution from State Department attempts to interfere with its journalism." Washington Times, 18 May 2005. Washington Post discusses Tomlinson's dual chairmanships of CPB and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, describing latter as "Bush administration's efforts to polish its image." Washington Post, 20 May 2005. Center for Digital Democracy notes dual chairmanships of CPB and "U.S.'s official propaganda arm -- the Broadcasting Board of Governors." Also that Tomlinson wants Patricia Harrison, Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, to be new CPB president. CDD calls for Tomlinson to resign from CPB. CDD, 19 May 2005. If both CPB and BBG are, at least in theory, devoted to balanced and objective journalism, then the dual chairmanships should not be a conflict. The problem is that the two jobs are too much work for one person.
THE COLONEL SAYS STATE DEPARTMENT CAN'T COMMUNICATE U.S. POINT OF VIEW. In a letter about the problem of better presentation of the American point of view to the Arabs, Col. William A. Eddy, former U.S. chief of mission in Saudi Arabia wrote, "So long as the State Department has charge of it, the [government program] both on the air and in print must conform to the substance of our diplomatic policy and communications, which means that even in countries behind the Iron Curtain, which we recognize in fact as enemies, the [program] has to be artificially polite and untruthful so as not to foul up the diplomatic relations which we still maintain as a fiction. The same restraint affects what is done in friendly countries." In the Loop column of the Washington Post, 20 May 2005. But as very few people seem to realize, State has not been in charge of the "on the air" part since the creation of the Broadcasting Board of Governors in the 1990s. And if the "on the air" part is an independent journalistic endeavor, all of the news can be reported, even on matters considered impolite.
ROME RESEARCH TO CONTINUE RELAYS OF VOA AND RFA FROM MARIANAS. Contract of $10.3 million from International Broadcasting Bureau to provide information technology support, operations and associated services at the Robert E. Kamosa Transmitting Station (REKTS) on Saipan and Tinian, in the Northern Mariana Islands. Parent company PAR Technology press release, 19 May 2005. Shortwave facility transmits VOA and RFA to East Asia. The late Robert Kamosa was IBB Director of Engineering. Saipan site was originally (1982) commercial KYOI, beamed to Japan, later World Service of the Christian Science Monitor.
BBC WORLD SERVICE NEWSABOUT. Establishes monitoring bureau in Kiev, with Prince Michael of Kent in attendance. BBC press release, 19 May 2005. New deal with Egyptian online portal. BBC press release, 17 May 2005.
RFE/RL ROLE IN AFGHANISTAN HOSTAGE SITUATION. Caller claiming to represent group that kidnapped Italian national working for CARE contacted RFE/RL's Kabul bureau. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty press release, 18 May 2005.
ALHURRA AND RADIO SAWA PANNED BY COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS FOCUS GROUPS IN EGYPT AND MOROCCO. But, then, most participants hadn't watched or listened. CFR recommends: "Radio Sawa’s large youth audience would be good for spots and short documentaries about aid programs." CFR, 18 May 2005. From this tenuous, non-quantitative evidence, International Herald Tribune reports "U.S. government-sponsored media like Radio Sawa and Al-Hurra TV had proven singularly ineffective." IHT, 19 May 2005.
RADIO FREE AFRICA? American University economist George Ayittey says "Radio is the media of the masses [in Africa]. [Supporting] Radio Free Africa is the greatest gift Canada could give." Canadian newsweekly Embassy, 18 May 2005. Professor Ayittey floated proposal for a Radio Free Africa in 2002 op-ed. San Diego Union Tribune, 16 June 2002 via ProfileAfrica, 24 January 2004.
BROADSIDE AGAINST BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE. "This interference [to shortwave] is not, as former FCC chairman Michael Powell and other BPL cheerleaders have claimed, minor. Nor is it just a 'possible risk.' It is a certainty." See many footnotes and comments, including this retort: "Broadband to the population of America is what counts, not a bunch of armchair has-beens sitting in front of their vacuum tubes." NewsForge, 17 May 2005.
BBC WORLD LIVE TO HIGHLY PLACED VIEWERS. UPMARKET, YOU MIGHT SAY. Boeing's Connexion unit to provide BBC World, CNBC, etc. live to laptaps on international airlines. Boeing press release, 17 May 2005.
FOREIGN TV BLOCKED IN UZBEKISTAN. Affects BBC, CNN, DW, and Russian channels. Reporters sans frontières, 17 May 2005. If there is an RSF press release, there must be an IFJ press release. International federation of Journalists, 17 May 2005. Dust off the shortwave radios...
U.S. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY A "COLOSSAL FAILURE." Solution, per DePaul professor Ted Pincus: "Public diplomacy officials must have a voice in policy formulation, not just its communication. Further, it must be focused first on renewing credibility above all, and this means a new posture of humility, transparency and a softer voice to the world." Chicago Sun-Times, 17 May 2005.
CUBAN AMERICAN PROPAGANDA WARS. About as subtle and refined as mud wrestling. Washington Times, 17 May 2005.
VOA GETS A FILM ROLE. OK, a bit part, in Shanghai Dreams. "Listening to the Voice of America on a fading radio, the displaced workers pine for a return to Shanghai... ." Reuters review, 17 May 2005. Not sure why the former would result in the latter. VOA learned that Chinese censors had turned down the volume of VOA in the movie's sound track.
MORE ABOUT THE ZIMBABWE/CHINA JAMMING CONNECTION. Cites anonymous officials in Zimbabwe say jamming equipment came from China. Journalism.co.za, 16 May 2005. Other experts note that jamming transmitters in Zimbabwe sound like those in China.
VOA NEWSABOUT. "News and Views" television news program for Iran increases from 30 to 60 minutes per evening. BBG press release, 12 May 2005. New monthly "Talk to America" with health experts from the Johns Hopkins University. JHU Gazette, 16 May 2005.
CUT BUDGET FOR DEFENSE, INCREASE BUDGET FOR INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING, ETC. Says (yet another) task force. Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2005. For full report, look for "A Unified Security Budget for the United States, 2006" at Center for Defense Information. Actually, I think we should cut the budget for Defense, but also cut the budget for international broadcasting, down to parity with the budget for British international broadcasting, while increasing the audience to parity with BBC World Service.
SHOCKING REVELATION! Those stations transmitting numbers in groups of five, heard for decades by shortwave listeners, may be spy related. KCNC-TV Denver, 16 May 2005.
BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS GOVERNOR STEVE SIMMONS FIGHTS TERRORISM FROM HIS SECOND-FLOOR OFFICE IN GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT. "I've had (George W. Bush) to my house playing tennis." Greenwich Time, 14 May 2005. Meanwhile, also in Greenwich, Edward Djerejian, who headed the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, after cocktails and appetizers, spoke to "an audience of wealthy businessmen," saying (as paraphrased the news account) most Arabs resent "American policy and its relationships with the wealthy elite." Greenwich Time, 20 May 2005. At which point, did the any of the wealthy in the audience blow cocktails through their noses?
DUELING DATA INTERPRETATIONS. BBC proclaims it is "most trusted international news channel" among international air travelers. Indiantelevision.com, 16 May 2005. But: "Amongst these ‘global citizens’ ... CNN reaches 25% more viewers every day than BBC World, the nearest competition. Strategiy, 16 May 2005. American travel writer discovers CNN International: "CNNi news stories are more worldwide in scope than those at home: much more on African issues, for example, or train crashes in Turkey or elections in Indonesia. But where's the Michael Jackson trial?" Dallas Morning News, 15 May 2005.
THE ARAB STREETS ARE QUIET: EVERYONE IS AT HOME LISTENING TO THE LATEST IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS IN SUPPORT OF U.S. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY. Ambassador William Rugh's vision for U.S. international broadcasting to the Middle East. Also in the Spring Summer 2005 Transnational Broadcasting Studies, an interview with Alhurra news director Mouafac Harb, comments about Alhurra from the Cairo street, and other articles about U.S. international broadcasting and public diplomacy to the region. Meanwhile, at The American Thinker, Ambassador Joseph Ghougassian writes: "Al-Hurra TV is weak, in disarray, timid in its programing, contributes little to public diplomacy, and is superfluous in comparison to the other local Arab networks. Al-Hurra TV needs a complete makeover." The American Thinker, 11 May 2005. And what does this American thinker think that audiences will think when Alhurra transmits great huge dollops of public diplomacy where the news used to be?
FAIR AND BALANCED. NO KIDDING. Mostly excellent piece about U.S. public diplomacy and international broadcasting to the Arab World, by Kelley Beuacar Vlahos. "Radio Sawa and Alhurra ... which target the Iraqi audience [sic] have gotten mixed reviews from critics, but experts say it’s the message, not the messenger, that’s important." Fox News, 16 May 2005.
SOUTH ASIAN RADIO FOR SOUTH AFRICA, VIA SATELLITE. KL Radio (Tamil) and Jhankaar Radio (Hindi) available via DSTv and Worldspace. Sunday Tribune (Cape Town), 15 May 2005.
THE SOFTER SIDE OF PAKISTAN. Ex BBC broadcaster will lead new "Image Pakistan" project. The Hindu, 15 May 2005.
MORE ON BPL VERSUS SHORTWAVE BROADCASTING. UK's Ofcom notes interference from Power Line Telecommunications, Europe's term for Broadband Over Power Line: "PLT leakage emissions occupy parts of the high frequency radio spectrum above 2 MHz and have the potential to interfere with the reception of radio communication services, including shortwave broadcasts." ARRL Letter, 11 May 2005.
VOICE OF AMERICA UNDER THE PERIODICAL LOOKING GLASS. Two major critical articles. "Pitch Imperfect," by former VOA director Sanford Ungar, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2005, via Goucher College. "The New Wave," by Corey Pein, Columbia Journalism Review, May June 2005. Guardian mentions Ungar piece and recent VOA developments. Media Guardian, 16 May 2005.
THE PUBLIC BROADCASTING/INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING CONNECTION. Some observers say (U.S.) Public Broadcasting Service is "forced to toe a more conservative line in its programming by the Republican-dominated (Corporation for Public Broadcasting)." CPB board chairman Kenneth Tomlinson says "We're only seeking balance." Washington Post via Lexington Herald-Leader, 23 April 2005. Tomlinson is also chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Former VOA director Richard Carlson was later president of CPB. Carlson's son, Tucker, was given a program on PBS until he moved to MSNBC. Former VOA deputy director Robert Coonrod went on to be executive VP and later president of CPB. Former VOA director Kevin Klose is now president of National Public Radio. New York Times mentions that Tomlinson is simultaneously chairman of both CPB and BBG and mentions his opposition to NPR taking over VOA frequency in Berlin. Via Tuscaloosa News, 15 May 2005.
OLD NEWS ABOUT ALHURRA AND ALJAZEERA. Weekly Standard revisits Alhurra's January scoop reporting financial connection between Al Jazeera and Saddam Hussein regime. Alhurra's documentary "so far overlooked in the West." Weekly Standrad, 16 May 2005. But if a television channel funded by the Bush Administration gets a scoop that supports Bush Administration views (this time about Al Jazeera), one might understand why other media did not take it very seriously. Also this: Christopher Hitchens mentions Don North's A Show of Hands documentary shown on Alhurra. Slate, 9 May 2005. Aljazeera "has intensified coverage of Mideast reform movements" and has become "unlikely" U.S. ally. Washington Post via Seattle Times, 8 May 2005. "Al Hurra and Sawa, for all their superficial sophistication, are watched and listened to more for their curiosity and entertainment value than anything else, while Arabs, in particular, still prefer to get their news from that scourge of US spinmeisters, Al Jazeera." Linda Heard in Online Jounal, 5 May 2005.
IS VOA AHEAD OF ITSELF ON THE HUGHES NOMINATION? "President Bush recently moved to improve the American image abroad, especially in the Middle East, by appointing former White House Counselor Karen Hughes to head the office of Public Diplomacy at the State Department. ... In her office at the State Department, Karen Hughes is developing strategies to promote American values such as democracy, tolerance and pluralism in the rest of the world." VOA News, 10 May 2005.
NPR AND VOA VIE FOR FM IN BERLIN. Der Tagespiegel, 10 May 2005. Poor dial position, 87.9 MHz, low power, and inadequate coverage of the city. Was U.S. Armed Forces Network frequency. VOA has it now. Our confederate in Berlin notes "excessive audioprocessing" and "heavy MPEG artifacts" in VOA Music Mix relay on the frequency.
LISTENERS WANT BIRDCALLS TO STAY ON RADIO NEW ZEALAND. Signature "tune" of a tui familiar to shortwave listeners of Radio New Zealand International. Stuff (New Zealand), 10 May 2005. To listen, click on "Radio New Zealand (vintage)" at www.intervalsignals.net.
RSS BBC ON YOUR SITE. Without pesky "offline contractual negotiation." BBC press release, 10 May 2005.
ANONYMIZER HELPS CHINESE INTERNET USERS ACCESS VOA CONTENT. Anonymizer Inc. each day mails users a Web link to a ''proxy" site that lets them anonymously visit restricted websites. Boston Globe, 9 May 2005. Dynamic Internet Technology, Inc. also involved in effort to allow access to VOA and RFA and to battle increased Chinese government attempts to control internet. Epoch Times, 8 May 2005.
BUSH QUOTES VOA FROM V-E DAY 1945. "In the Voice of America's radio broadcast from London on the first V-E Day, the announcer asked Europe to 'think of these Americans as your dead, too.'" Where did he get the passage from that scantily documented period in VOA's history? USINFO.state.gov, 8 May 2005.
RFE/RL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR ON C-SPAN. Donald Jensen on Washington Journal, 8 May, discussing U.S.-Russian relations during President Bush's visit to Russia. C-Span Washington Journal, 8 May 2005. Speaking for RFE/RL or for the Bush Administration?
ZIMBABWE'S JAMMING: THE CHINA CONNECTION. Equipment to jam SW Radio Africa and monitor internet comes from China, though no source is cited. Scotsman, 8 May 2005. SW Radio Africa to receive Free Media Pioneer 2005 award from International Press Institute. IPI, 27 April 2005.
BBC WORLD SERVICE RECEIVES ROOSEVELT FOUR FREEDOMS AWARD. "In the darkest days of World War II the voice of the BBC World Service [not called "World Service" then] was the expression of hope ... for all of those who lived under the tyrannical yoke of Nazi oppression." BBC press release, 6 May 2005.
CAPTIVE AUDIENCE. Listening to home, surreptitiously, in a Japanese POW camp in 1945. NPR Day to Day, 6 May 2005.
IS THIS HOW TO GETSK A FREQUENCY IN DONETSK? RFE/RL president, seeking rebroadcasting agreement in Donetsk, Ukraine, says "Donetsk’s reputation is not very good." Forum (Ukraine), 4 May 2005.
HAMMERING AWAY AT THE GREAT CHINESE FIREWALL. "For every new restriction and technical door that the government slams shut, the Chinese people find a hack, a workaround or an entirely new way of communicating." BBC News, 30 April 2005. Much more discussion of this topic at a hearing of the The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 14 April 2005. And in "Commercial pressure as insidious as political," South African Anton Harbor notes "Murdoch may be more powerful than many governments, but to get into China he agreed to chuck the respected BBC World off his satellite package." Business Day, 4 May 2005.
GETTING INFORMATION INTO NORTH KOREA. "In the absence of the Internet (e-mail is banned) and satellite dishes, the only way for many North Koreans to sidestep the official propaganda is to tune into the Korean-language broadcasts of foreign radio stations. 'You can buy radio sets in North Korea that are pre-set to the government radio frequency and sealed, but some people take the risk of opening them up in order to be able to tune into other frequencies.'" Reporters sans frontières 2005 annual report for North Korea. International broadcasting and transborder information flow mentioned in RSF annual reports for many other countries.
INDOEURONEWS. Euronews channel now available to India via Dish TV DTH platform, in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Business Standard, 4 May 2005.
THE FAMILY IS GATHERED AROUND THE RADIO LISTENING TO 9133 KILOHERTZ UPPER SIDEBAND. Well, maybe radio officers are listening to Coalition Maritime Forces Radio One, heard by Swedish shortwave DXer Jan Edh. "Programming consisted of Afghan and Arabic music interspersed with appeals for information about terrorist activities, in Arabic, Dari, English, Pashto and Urdu." Via DX Listening Digest, 1 May 2005. Radio station Tikhy Okean, for Russian mariners in the Pacific, is back on the air. DXLD, 2 May 2005.
News Items April 2005
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Kim Andrew Elliott.