Re: [Swprograms] My Suggestion to the BBC

["Mike Wolfson" <mwolfson@xxxxxxxxxx>]

In the late 90s I started e-mailing Radio Prague to compliment them on their 
programs and letting them know that I enjoyed the broadcasts.  Wanted to let 
them know someone was listening and that their programming was meeting at 
least one person's needs.  Their response to me was to ask my address so 
they could send me a QSL card.  I never asked for a card and never submitted 
a "reception report".  It bothered that they thought all I wanted was a QSL 
card from them.

Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Cuff" <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Shortwave programming discussion" <swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2006 5:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Swprograms] My Suggestion to the BBC


> 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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