Re: [Swprograms] My Suggestion to the BBC

["Richard Cuff" <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxx>]

Back in 2001 during the May-June push to dissuade the BBC (and others)
we attempted to engage the radio manufacturers (specifically Eton) in
discussions regarding their self-interest in promoting the value of
shortwave as a broadcast medium.  Apathy prevailed.

Overall the NASB has worked to push SW as a relevant delivery platform.

As far as a "safety net" goes, the thinking appears to be that the
risk, at this point, of local interdiction of English-language
broadcasts is very unlikely due to the media structures, in general,
in English-speaking countries.  From a risk management perspective,
the perceived potential of that outcome is too low to warrant keeping
the backup delivery method -- shortwave -- on the air.

The closest scenario that exists to the "DX Peace Corps" is actually
Canada's ODXA.  Steve Canney has invested significant personal time in
helping CFRB keep its shortwave transmitter, CFRX, on the air.  He
manages the QSL activity for the station in addition to helping with
transmitter housekeeping.

My conversations with radio club leaders who are DX enthusiasts have
not historically stirred much enthusiasm for these outreach ideas. 
They seem more interested in cursing the darkness than changing the
light bulb.

Broadcasters' love-hate relationships with "radio enthusiasts" are not
new.  I remember speaking with some broadcasters back in the late
1990s -- before the first BBC cuts -- and the sentiment seemed to lump
enthusiasm over shortwave (as a medium) with DXing.

Some major international broadcasters have, in general, grown weary of
the DXer who seems focused on filling out a QSL collection as a
primary motivation for listening.  It tends to be the on-site
broadcast engineers who take the time (and the courtesy) to QSL. 
Conversely, the broadcaster wants to reach people who are interested
in what the broadcaster has to say, not how the broadcaster says it. 
Those broadcasters who actively promote QSL programs use those
programs as "carrots" to get listeners to tune in in the first place,
tacitly admitting that their programming isn't good enough to draw in
listeners on its own.

These were my experiences back when we went through this in 2001.

Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA

On 3/30/06, David Goren <dbgoren@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I agree John, they closed the door on this one. The problem seems to
> be if you present yourself as a radio enthusiast in any way, the
> shortwave broadcasters tend to dismiss you as a nut, or at the least,
> not a typical listener.
>
> That said, is there any hope of floating the idea of a world covering
> safety net of analog shortwave broadcasts in a unified way?  I think
> that there could be a campaign mounted by manufacturers like Eton,
> groups like the NASB, and NASWA, which undertook a valiant, and very
> respectable effort to opposed the intial BBC cuts.
>
> Also, I've wondered aloud in the past...could there be some effort
> like a radio Peace Corp to support small domestic shortwave
> broadcasters, particularly in the tropical bands by helping them
> technically, and financially to stay on the air. I fear, that the
> trend away from shortwave by the big broadcasters will ultimately
> leave poor rural populations in Africa, and South America severely
> underserved.
>
> I realise that the tropical bands are emptying out in many cases
> because of better availability of FM, and population decrease in some
> rural areas, but it seems clear that there are many cases where a
> station is still needed by it's community but goes off the air
> because of defunct and aging equipment. Could an effort be mounted by
> shortwave listeners' with an amount of energy and intensity similar
> to that which goes into ham dxpeditions raising thousands of dollars
> to travel to various distant rocks in order to provide amateurs with
> an exotic DX target?
>

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