shortwave for good - nasb home page
TRANSCRIPT
Shortwave For Good
Re-thinking International Broadcasting in a Changing
Global Landscape
Empathy
Why is Shortwave On the Decline?
• Expensive to operate
• Cold War roots for many of the major broadcasters
• Poor Economy
• Proliferation of internet access
• Declining listenership
Why is Shortwave On the Decline?
• Expensive to operate
• Cold War roots for many of the major broadcasters
• Poor Economy
• Proliferation of internet access
• Declining listenership
Why invest in Shortwave?
• Affordable via private broadcasters
• Repressive regimes/areas in need of free speech
• Competitive cost per listener
• Large percentage of the world has no power and can’t afford internet
• Listenership still strong in parts of the world lacking internet access
• Still 110 million listeners of BBG stations, for example
Why Radio?
Why Radio?
• No subscription
• No regard for borders
• No app needed
• Cheap for the listener
• Multiple people can listen at once
• Even in the most developed of countries, radio still has a following
• Works during emergencies
•Radio = Information
•Radio = Education
•Radio = Open minds
Radio = Diplomacy
Shortwave For Good
The future of shortwave radio
Preconceptions about radio
“self-powered, portable audio devices that wirelessly stream content from multiple sources around the world at the speed of light.”
Convergence/Digital SW
Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)
WBCQ – WRMI Kim’s Digital Experiment
Mobile Phones and Radio
Bill Siemering, Developing Radio Partners
A Free/Public International Radio Network?
What if…
• Use a network of public and private transmitters—shared resources
• Use existing content from partner broadcasters
• Use fixed frequencies, where possible • Use a reliable schedule • Work in conjunction with local
broadcasters • Funding through private and grant-
based sources
Results could be…
• Listeners would know where the stations are located on the spectrum
• Inexpensive as compared with traditional international broadcasting
• Information and music that could lead to a better understanding of the world
• Interactive
• Enhanced HF content through DRM?
Who could lead this?
A Network of Public and Private Broadcasters
We may need your voices