Guinea Bissau: Radio that wakes up the country is run by women only Source
For two years an all female broadcaster is shaking the tree in this West African country that – according to a UN report – is one of the fifteen less developed countries in the world. The radio station aims to raise awareness on gender equality, formally granted by the constitution, but very difficult to apply in a Muslim and patriarchal society that still uses genital mutilation on young women. Born in Bafata, thanks to the efforts of Periodistas Solidarios – a NGO from Seville (Spain), it operates with equipment donated by Radio Nacional de España and Canal Sur Radio (Regional government of Andalusia’s official radio station); now the project is supported by UN. It could be a coincidence, butwithin a year the main broadcaster of the city (RCB, Radio Comunitaria de Bafata, 105.5 MHz) hired three women: previously the transmissions were all hosted by men. Radio broadcasting isn’t easy in Guinea Bissau, not only for social and political reasons: electricity is only supplied for a couple of hours during the night, so it’s necessary relying on photovoltaic panels or generators.
The studio of Radio Raabta is located inside a garrison Source
The Indian army has opened a community broadcasting station in Anantnag, capital of the district of the same name in the federal state of Jammu and Kashmir. It operates on 90.8 MHz and is aimed at the population, with the intention of sending peace messages to young people to prevent them from joining Islamic independence groups. The region is at the centre of tensions between India (which controls two thirds of it) and Pakistan, but China also occupies a small portion of the territory. After Radio Raabta a second station will be opened in the Shopian district. More details in the ABP Live article.
The Colombian Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (MinTIC) will authorize the opening of new commercial radio stations. Today, 664 stations operate in the 32 departments into which the country is divided, equally divided between AM (330) and FM (334) Source
Eleven years after the last authorizations, new medium wave (AM) and FM radio stations will be opened in the South American country. The intention, for the Minister of Telecommunications Karen Cecilia Abudinen Abuchaibe, is to “strengthen this means of communication, recognizing it as a tool that consolidates the spread of regional culture, social responsibility and facilitates the development of the regions”. The project is divided into several phases: after the submission of the application, expected by September 17, 2020, the availability of the channels will be verified and the project can be submitted. Then the assignment and the feasibility statement will follow. Details will be added to FMLIST and MWLIST as soon as the information becomes available.
Removing the constraints of duplication of programs “is preferable to a struggling station reducing programming or going off the air entirely” said Ajit Pai, chairman of the FCC Source
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has lifted the ban on broadcasting the same programme (simulcast) on several FM and AM stations. The regulation was introduced in 1964 and has been updated several times (the last time in 1992) to take account of developments in a market where competition is increasingly fierce. It is estimated that in FM no broadcaster will be able to repeat the entire programming (until now the limit was 25%), but the greater flexibility should help to overcome the crisis, favouring format changes and facilitating the transition of medium wave channels to digital. Ultimately, it should be the service offered to listeners that gains. More details and official statements can be found here.
Black Information Network can be heard on the iHeartRadio app but the news is picked up by 91 hip hop, R&B and Gospel radio stations in all the States: Power 105.1 in New York, Real 92.3 in Los Angeles, WDAS and Power 99 in Philadelphia, WGCI and WVAZ in Chicago, WJLB in Detroit, The Beat in Houston and Miami, WQUE in New Orleans and KMEL in San Francisco Source
In the wake of the racial protests following George Floyd’s death, the iHeartMedia group launched an all-news radio for the black community. BIN, which stands for Black Information Network, offers 24 hours of news seven days a week and according to the promoters is “an objective, accurate and trusted source of continual news coverage with a black voice and perspective”. The publisher has also carried out a study according to which 86% of black listeners believe that this service is necessary and that they will probably use it as an important source of news, while 83% think that it provides information that today cannot be received on the radio or TV. The broadcasts will have no advertising, but will be funded by a group of companies: Bank of America, CVS Health, GEICO, Lowe’s, McDonald’s USA, Sony, 23andMe and Verizon, “who share and support the mission of BIN”. This line-up suggests that the “black” have been identified as potential consumers.
The Japanese public broadcaster will reduce satellite TV channels and mediumwave radio channels in order to cut costs Source
The Japanese public broadcaster reduces the offer of radio and TV channels. Three satellite TV channels (BS1, BS Premium and BS4K) will be merged into one channel, and consideration is being given to closing down BS8K. With regard to radio, two medium wave channel should become one. The operation will reduce expenses by 120 billion yen (1.34 billion dollars). The broadcaster has not stated the timing of the closures, but the operation could be part of the three-year plan starting in 2021. NHK in 2019 increased revenues by 10% and is criticized by commercial stations because it collects not only the tax on television sets, but in addition generates revenues from advertising. Details in the Nikkei Asian Review article
The Minister of Education, Esteban Moctezuma Barragan, announced at a press conference that schools will start distance learning thanks to programmes broadcast on the radio and TV Source
Schools started distance learning in Mexico, one of the countries that has been hardest hit by the pandemic (in fourth place for the number of contagions). Since August 24th, 2020, 30 million pupils are able to follow programmes on air from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on 16 channels transmitted by four TV broadcasters: Televisa, TV Azteca, Grupo Imagen and Grupo Multimedios. All those who do not have access to television will be able to follow the lessons on the radio and study from books. Over 4,550 TV programmes (640 in indigenous languages) will be transmitted. The programmes do not include entertainment , but follow the school syllabus and pupils will be tested on the contents. Educational programmes do not have advertising. Here is the article with details from the daily newspaper, El Universal.
Bauer Media Audio reaches over twenty-six million daily listeners in Europe through radio, online services and podcasts. In seven countries – UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland and Slovakia – it owns leading brands including KISS, Mix Megapol, Absolute Radio, Radio Norge, Radio Expres, Radio Nova, Radio 100 and RMF Source
From September 2020, 49 of the 56 stations acquired in 2019 by the Bauer Group will change their name to Greatest Hits Radio, making the network the most important in the UK. Only four stations will retain their names under the Hits Radio brand: Pulse 1 in Bradford, Signal 1 in Stoke, The Wave 96.4 in Swansea and Fire Radio in Bournemouth. Three others will remain autonomous (Lincs FM in Lincoln, Pirate FM in Cornwall and Sam FM in Bristol). All the digital-only radio stations acquired last year (from UKRD, Lincs, Wireless and Celador) will be closed down. The closure of the local offices has resulted in staff cuts and protests from listeners as they had to say goodbye to their favourite presenters. Here are the details of the operation.
The Presidential Council for Stabilization and Consolidation’s tweet announcing where six new radio stations for peace will be located. The photograph shows the studios of the broadcaster in Ituango Source
Colombia had almost been destroyed by over fifty years of armed conflict between guerrillas, private armies fighting for the drug cartels and the army. After 2016, when a Peace Accord was signed in Havana by the government and the largest guerrilla movement, a process of reconciliation was initiated. Part of this process included opening 20 radio stations in order to teach the pedagogy of peace.The first station was opened on June 25th, 2019, in Chaparral (in the department of Tolima) broadcasting on 103.5 MHz FM, followed by the second on July 2nd, 2019, in Ituango (Antioquia) on 92.3 MHz FM. They are equipping another three in San Jacinto (Bolivar), Fonseca (La Guajira) and Convención (Norte de Santander). They have recently decided where another six radio stations, all with 5 kW power output, will be located: Algeciras (Huila), Puerto Leguízamo (Putumayo), Bojayá (Chocó), Florida (Valle), Arauquita (Arauca) and El Tambo (Cauca). In this way the number of radio stations goes up to eleven out of the 20 planned until 2026.
Professional management
Each radio station ‘is a Radio Nacional de Colombia station, managed according to state guidelines’ declared Emilio Archila, a Presidential Counsellor for Stabilization and Consolidation for the peace process Source
Each radio station team is made up of six professionals who have been carefully selected and taken on by RTVC Public Media System. They have been trained to face the challenge of explaining the implementation of the Agreement (for example, explaining the conversion of large areas of the country from coca cultivation to that of cacao). The radio programmes are also checked by a committee made up of government bodies (such as the Ministry of Stabilization and the Office of the High Commissioner of Peace) and FARC delegates. FARC today is a political party.
Three strong points
The Radio Chaparral studios, the first radio station that opened on June 25th, 2019 Source
The extensive and varied programming combines objective information and entertainment. The aim is to build a relationship between public radio stations and historically isolated communities that have suffered violence and poverty. It is a means to open a new window for dialogue and to promote peaceful coexistence. The radio programming content includes a block of time for information, another for building social networks and yet another for discussions with experts, whose aims are to explain new perspectives without sparking off heated debates.
