Radio Giveaway
Starting January 1, 2006, we are giving away a multiband digital display radio EVERY WEEK!
Don’t miss your chance to win. You can enter simply by filling out the entry form below and you can keep entering once a week, every week!
See complete rules and regulations here.
Radio Giveaway Rules
1. Eligibility: Employees of Adventist World Radio as well as the immediate family and household members of each such employee are not eligible. Subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
2. Sponsor: Adventist World Radio
3. Timing: Giveaway weeks begin on January 1, 2006 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (ET) and ends on March 18, 2006 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Weekly drawings will be held every Monday at 12:00 p.m. ET to determine winner.
4. How to Enter: Visit awr.org and follow links and instructions to complete the registration. Complete and submit the registration. You will automatically receive one entry into the sweepstakes. Limit one (1) entry per week.
5. Prize: One (1) multiband digital display radio:
Check back for more details.
http://www.awr.org/
AM/FM/SW 1-6 World band receiver
High Sensitivity I.C. Circuit
Digital Display w/ Manu-tuning
Radio Alarm Clock
Stereo Earphone Set
Detachable Antenna
UM3X2, DC-3V
Removable Belt Clip
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Dxers Guide –279
***Soon you can watch your own TV channel
Germany-based Siemens Telecommunications is in talks with all major Indian telecom service providers, including Reliance, Bharti, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, to launch its Surpass Home Entertainment Solution (HES) technology, which will enable users to watch digital TV, surf the Internet and at the same time make telephone calls.
-Exchange4media.com 22/12
***Recovery brings Smile back to Asia Pacific TV
Brand-hungry shoppers with increasingly fat wallets are fuelling double-digit, year-on-year growth in advertising spend around the Asian region, with emerging markets leading the charge. Total ad spend across 12 Asia-Pacific markets (excluding Japan) was US$61 billion last year, up 21 per cent on the previous year, according to figures compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the year 2004-2005.
-Televisionpoint.com 22/12
***Tara TV plans separate channel for North-east
THE Rathikant Basu-promoted Tara TV is planning to tap the North-eastern markets by extending its channel brand to cater to this region. Mr Rathikant Basu, Chairman, Broadcast Worldwide, told Business Line, "There is a business plan and we are looking at the North-eastern States with intentions of starting a channel. We have been approaching TV producers and software providers to start a channel for the region, which comprises six States."
-Business Line 22/12
***High Court bans adult films on TV
The Bombay high court restrained cable operators and service providers from showing any film with an ‘A’ (adults only) certificate on television. A division bench comprising Justice RM Lodha and Justice DG Karnik passed the interim order on a public interest petition by social activist Pratibha Naithani.
-Dnaindia.com 22/12
***INSAT 4A to herald new era in satellite television broadcast Marking a major milestone in the Indian space programme, the fourth generation communication satellite, INSAT 4A successfully launched from Kourou in French Guyana will herald a new revelotion in Television broadcasting in India, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair said.
-Newkerala.com 22/12
***ATN Launching NDTV News Channel in English on Rogers Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN), the largest broadcaster of South Asian programming in Canada (TSX-SAT) is delighted to announce the launch of India's finest television news channel NDTV 24/7 (New Delhi Television), on Rogers Digital Cable, Canada's largest digital cable service provider.
-Newswire.com 22/12
***Doordarshan Automates Graphics With VertigoXmedia Doordarshan, India's national television service, has purchased the Xmedia Suite for graphics automation and a VertigoXG system to play out graphics for its programming, broadcast throughout India and reaching nearly 90 percent of the country's residents. With Vertigo's Xmedia Suite, Doordarshan will have access to a robust suite of tools for automatically creating, managing, and playing out real-time, dynamic broadcast graphics.
-Broadcastbuyer.tv 21/12
***Govt to examine TRAI's suggestions
The government is examining the recommendations of broadcast regulator TRAI on digitalisation of cable television that envisages to put in place a national plan from 2006-2010. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had in September given its recommendations on digitalisation of cable television for framing a national plan from April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2010, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said in a written reply.
-Economic Times 22/12
***Private channels owe DD Rs 4.54 crore
Private channels owe Prasar Bharati a sum of Rs 4.54 crore for taking DD signal in respect of the India-Pak cricket series, the House was informed. “Some private channels have contested the bills by Prasar Bharati and the matter is sub judice,” information and broadcasting minister PR Dasmunshi said in a written reply. He said so far the amount received by Prasar Bharati for the purpose stood at Rs 12,000 from CNBC.While NDTV 24X7 owed Rs 82.44 lakh, NDTV India had outstanding dues of Rs 68.04 lakh, the minister said.
-Screenindia.com 24/12
***Doordarshan News to go in mobile mode from New Year
Come New Year and television viewers in Delhi and Chennai will have the luxury of watching DD News channel while traveling in their vehicles. This follows Prasar Bharati’s decision to convert Doordarshan’s Digital Terrestrial Transmitter (DTT) service in Delhi and Chennai into mobile reception mode. Currently, Doordarshan is operating DTT from four metros – Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata – benefiting its five channels, including DD News, DD-1, DD Sports, DD India and regional service.
-Exchange4media.com 24/12
***Cyprus co buys 7.9 % stake in NDTV
A European Investments has picked up 7.9 per cent stake in New Delhi Television Ltd. GA European, a company incorporated in Cyprus, acquired 48,36,000 shares aggregating to 7.954 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital of NDTV, the New Delhi-based electronic media company informed the National Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The Cyprus company acquired the shares from Shyam Cellular Infrastructure Projects, it said.
-The Economic Times 21/12
***A book on media's role in India
The Oxford University Press has published a book titled ‘Making News: A Handbook of Media in Contemporary India’ edited by Uday Sahay with a foreword by Robin Jeffrey. This book contains 36 articles written by the top names among the Indian media persons, media academics, PR and media marketing professionals in India. It has representations from the Print Media, the Electronic media, the Internet and the Radio.
-Agencyfaqs.com 26/12
***Industry welcomes the possibility of more research agencies in the fray to measure TRPs
The Rs 4,800-crore television industry in India avails the services of TAM for gauging their TRP ratings. However, though TAM is the widely accepted tool to measure TRP ratings, the market today has another player, aMap (Audience Measurement and Analytics (P) Ltd), which gives out yesterday’s ratings today. Now, the television ratings market is set to witness some more action in the future. The I&B Ministry recently expressed the possibility of allowing more agencies to get into the act of measuring viewership and viewing patterns in Indian TV homes. I&B Minister, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, on December 8, in reply to a question raised in the Lok Sabha had said that his Ministry was open to the idea of ensuring more coverage and allowing more sample surveys to make TRPs a complete exercise.
-Exchange4media 26/12
***Government announces 1st list of FM Radio probables
One hundred companies had expressed their intent to start FM radio operations in India, but 30 seem to have either fallen by the way side or are yet to fully satisfy the authorities. The government today announced the first list of 70 applicant companies that have qualified for financial bids for the second phase of FM Radio, which was outlined earlier this year.
-Indiantelevision.com 27/12
***FM Rainbow radio channel launch
The "FM Rainbow" radio channel for the twin-cities would be launched by Prasar Bharati. It could be tuned at 101.9 MHz. Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer K.S. Sarma who is here for the launch, told reporters on that the channel aimed to meet the changing needs of urban youth in an exclusively entertaining and interpersonal style. Hyderabad would be the thirteenth centre in the country to have FM Rainbow radio channel run by All India Radio.
-The Hindu 25/12
***Indian TV channels go off air in Pak
Pakistan has recently banned 35 entertainment channels, a majority of which are Indian, including Sony and Star. Indian news channels had been blanked out ever since Kargil war. The latest provocation was that local channels were found broadcasting cricket matches through South African channels instead of Ten Sports that has the exclusive rights to broadcast international cricket matches in Pakistan.
-Times of India 26/12
***Bidding for frequency
Business houses everywhere are going radio ga-ga, and who can blame them? With the government having invited bids for 338 FM stations across 91 cities for a period of 10 years, corporates are in hectic parleys for tie-ups and business plan evaluations. Once the ministry of information and broadcasting readies the final list of bidders for the radio stations, the financial bid is likely to begin on January 15. It will go on till February 3 in a phased-out manner.
-Business Standard 28/12
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
T.Jaisakthivel, Editor,
Dxers Guide. [Annual Subscription 5 IRC or Rs. 45/-]
www.dxersguide.blogspot.com
Address for Communication:
T.Jaisakthivel,
No: 3, First Floor,
21, Nathens Arcade,
Malaviya Avenue,
L.B Road, chennai-600041,
Tamil Nadu,
India.
Germany-based Siemens Telecommunications is in talks with all major Indian telecom service providers, including Reliance, Bharti, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, to launch its Surpass Home Entertainment Solution (HES) technology, which will enable users to watch digital TV, surf the Internet and at the same time make telephone calls.
-Exchange4media.com 22/12
***Recovery brings Smile back to Asia Pacific TV
Brand-hungry shoppers with increasingly fat wallets are fuelling double-digit, year-on-year growth in advertising spend around the Asian region, with emerging markets leading the charge. Total ad spend across 12 Asia-Pacific markets (excluding Japan) was US$61 billion last year, up 21 per cent on the previous year, according to figures compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the year 2004-2005.
-Televisionpoint.com 22/12
***Tara TV plans separate channel for North-east
THE Rathikant Basu-promoted Tara TV is planning to tap the North-eastern markets by extending its channel brand to cater to this region. Mr Rathikant Basu, Chairman, Broadcast Worldwide, told Business Line, "There is a business plan and we are looking at the North-eastern States with intentions of starting a channel. We have been approaching TV producers and software providers to start a channel for the region, which comprises six States."
-Business Line 22/12
***High Court bans adult films on TV
The Bombay high court restrained cable operators and service providers from showing any film with an ‘A’ (adults only) certificate on television. A division bench comprising Justice RM Lodha and Justice DG Karnik passed the interim order on a public interest petition by social activist Pratibha Naithani.
-Dnaindia.com 22/12
***INSAT 4A to herald new era in satellite television broadcast Marking a major milestone in the Indian space programme, the fourth generation communication satellite, INSAT 4A successfully launched from Kourou in French Guyana will herald a new revelotion in Television broadcasting in India, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair said.
-Newkerala.com 22/12
***ATN Launching NDTV News Channel in English on Rogers Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN), the largest broadcaster of South Asian programming in Canada (TSX-SAT) is delighted to announce the launch of India's finest television news channel NDTV 24/7 (New Delhi Television), on Rogers Digital Cable, Canada's largest digital cable service provider.
-Newswire.com 22/12
***Doordarshan Automates Graphics With VertigoXmedia Doordarshan, India's national television service, has purchased the Xmedia Suite for graphics automation and a VertigoXG system to play out graphics for its programming, broadcast throughout India and reaching nearly 90 percent of the country's residents. With Vertigo's Xmedia Suite, Doordarshan will have access to a robust suite of tools for automatically creating, managing, and playing out real-time, dynamic broadcast graphics.
-Broadcastbuyer.tv 21/12
***Govt to examine TRAI's suggestions
The government is examining the recommendations of broadcast regulator TRAI on digitalisation of cable television that envisages to put in place a national plan from 2006-2010. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had in September given its recommendations on digitalisation of cable television for framing a national plan from April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2010, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said in a written reply.
-Economic Times 22/12
***Private channels owe DD Rs 4.54 crore
Private channels owe Prasar Bharati a sum of Rs 4.54 crore for taking DD signal in respect of the India-Pak cricket series, the House was informed. “Some private channels have contested the bills by Prasar Bharati and the matter is sub judice,” information and broadcasting minister PR Dasmunshi said in a written reply. He said so far the amount received by Prasar Bharati for the purpose stood at Rs 12,000 from CNBC.While NDTV 24X7 owed Rs 82.44 lakh, NDTV India had outstanding dues of Rs 68.04 lakh, the minister said.
-Screenindia.com 24/12
***Doordarshan News to go in mobile mode from New Year
Come New Year and television viewers in Delhi and Chennai will have the luxury of watching DD News channel while traveling in their vehicles. This follows Prasar Bharati’s decision to convert Doordarshan’s Digital Terrestrial Transmitter (DTT) service in Delhi and Chennai into mobile reception mode. Currently, Doordarshan is operating DTT from four metros – Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata – benefiting its five channels, including DD News, DD-1, DD Sports, DD India and regional service.
-Exchange4media.com 24/12
***Cyprus co buys 7.9 % stake in NDTV
A European Investments has picked up 7.9 per cent stake in New Delhi Television Ltd. GA European, a company incorporated in Cyprus, acquired 48,36,000 shares aggregating to 7.954 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital of NDTV, the New Delhi-based electronic media company informed the National Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The Cyprus company acquired the shares from Shyam Cellular Infrastructure Projects, it said.
-The Economic Times 21/12
***A book on media's role in India
The Oxford University Press has published a book titled ‘Making News: A Handbook of Media in Contemporary India’ edited by Uday Sahay with a foreword by Robin Jeffrey. This book contains 36 articles written by the top names among the Indian media persons, media academics, PR and media marketing professionals in India. It has representations from the Print Media, the Electronic media, the Internet and the Radio.
-Agencyfaqs.com 26/12
***Industry welcomes the possibility of more research agencies in the fray to measure TRPs
The Rs 4,800-crore television industry in India avails the services of TAM for gauging their TRP ratings. However, though TAM is the widely accepted tool to measure TRP ratings, the market today has another player, aMap (Audience Measurement and Analytics (P) Ltd), which gives out yesterday’s ratings today. Now, the television ratings market is set to witness some more action in the future. The I&B Ministry recently expressed the possibility of allowing more agencies to get into the act of measuring viewership and viewing patterns in Indian TV homes. I&B Minister, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, on December 8, in reply to a question raised in the Lok Sabha had said that his Ministry was open to the idea of ensuring more coverage and allowing more sample surveys to make TRPs a complete exercise.
-Exchange4media 26/12
***Government announces 1st list of FM Radio probables
One hundred companies had expressed their intent to start FM radio operations in India, but 30 seem to have either fallen by the way side or are yet to fully satisfy the authorities. The government today announced the first list of 70 applicant companies that have qualified for financial bids for the second phase of FM Radio, which was outlined earlier this year.
-Indiantelevision.com 27/12
***FM Rainbow radio channel launch
The "FM Rainbow" radio channel for the twin-cities would be launched by Prasar Bharati. It could be tuned at 101.9 MHz. Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer K.S. Sarma who is here for the launch, told reporters on that the channel aimed to meet the changing needs of urban youth in an exclusively entertaining and interpersonal style. Hyderabad would be the thirteenth centre in the country to have FM Rainbow radio channel run by All India Radio.
-The Hindu 25/12
***Indian TV channels go off air in Pak
Pakistan has recently banned 35 entertainment channels, a majority of which are Indian, including Sony and Star. Indian news channels had been blanked out ever since Kargil war. The latest provocation was that local channels were found broadcasting cricket matches through South African channels instead of Ten Sports that has the exclusive rights to broadcast international cricket matches in Pakistan.
-Times of India 26/12
***Bidding for frequency
Business houses everywhere are going radio ga-ga, and who can blame them? With the government having invited bids for 338 FM stations across 91 cities for a period of 10 years, corporates are in hectic parleys for tie-ups and business plan evaluations. Once the ministry of information and broadcasting readies the final list of bidders for the radio stations, the financial bid is likely to begin on January 15. It will go on till February 3 in a phased-out manner.
-Business Standard 28/12
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
T.Jaisakthivel, Editor,
Dxers Guide. [Annual Subscription 5 IRC or Rs. 45/-]
www.dxersguide.blogspot.com
Address for Communication:
T.Jaisakthivel,
No: 3, First Floor,
21, Nathens Arcade,
Malaviya Avenue,
L.B Road, chennai-600041,
Tamil Nadu,
India.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
CVC Christmas Quiz Comp Results
Thanks to everyone who entered the Christmas Quiz Competition during December.
We held 3 prize draws from all the electronic entries we received (i.e. through the website, email and SMS text messages) and congratulations to our three Christmas Prize Pack winners:-
Oluoch Orwa from Kenya
Elijah Bassey from Nigeria
Zhiya Xia from China
There are still three more prize draws to be held from all the correct postal entries we receive. We'll draw them at the end of January to give our snail mail contestants plenty of time to get their answers in! So send your entries now and keep listening to see if you're a winner with CVC.
Click here to see if your answers were correct.
We held 3 prize draws from all the electronic entries we received (i.e. through the website, email and SMS text messages) and congratulations to our three Christmas Prize Pack winners:-
Oluoch Orwa from Kenya
Elijah Bassey from Nigeria
Zhiya Xia from China
There are still three more prize draws to be held from all the correct postal entries we receive. We'll draw them at the end of January to give our snail mail contestants plenty of time to get their answers in! So send your entries now and keep listening to see if you're a winner with CVC.
Click here to see if your answers were correct.
Your Top 30 Comp by CVC
On February 4th & 5th the Planet 30 is going to countdown Your Top 30 most requested songs as voted by you, our listeners.
Plus whenever you send in a vote, you’ll go into the draw for a fantastic prize pack containing:-
A triple music CD set
A Video
A CD Rom
A CVC T-Shirt
A Bunch of CVC stickers
An Aussie Plush Toy
Some booklets
We'll give away 5 packs in mid January and another 5 at the end of January.
Send in your vote now along with your full name and address
To enter you can:-
Write to P.O. Box 6361 Maroochy BC 4558 Queensland Australia and clearly write the word “Comp” at the top of your letter.
Send an SMS text message to 61 416 905 878 But remember, you must enter the code word “COMP” spelt C*O*M*P, first in the message screen.
Send an email to our brand new competition email address… comp@cvc.tv
You can vote as many times as you like - the more votes you send in, the greater the chance that your favourite song will make it into Your Top 30 countdown on the planet 30 in early February and the greater your chances of winning a prize!
... email >>> comp@cvc.tv
Plus whenever you send in a vote, you’ll go into the draw for a fantastic prize pack containing:-
A triple music CD set
A Video
A CD Rom
A CVC T-Shirt
A Bunch of CVC stickers
An Aussie Plush Toy
Some booklets
We'll give away 5 packs in mid January and another 5 at the end of January.
Send in your vote now along with your full name and address
To enter you can:-
Write to P.O. Box 6361 Maroochy BC 4558 Queensland Australia and clearly write the word “Comp” at the top of your letter.
Send an SMS text message to 61 416 905 878 But remember, you must enter the code word “COMP” spelt C*O*M*P, first in the message screen.
Send an email to our brand new competition email address… comp@cvc.tv
You can vote as many times as you like - the more votes you send in, the greater the chance that your favourite song will make it into Your Top 30 countdown on the planet 30 in early February and the greater your chances of winning a prize!
... email >>> comp@cvc.tv
New frequency trial
New frequency trial for English broadcasts to North America for the winter schedule October 2005 - March 2006
For the winter period 2005-2006 Radio Prague is extending its shortwave broadcasts in English for central and western parts of North America, with a new time and frequency relayed via Sackville in Canada:
UTC kHz m kW Area
ENGLISH 0400-0427 6100 49 250 Sackville, Canada
Please note that this trial frequency changed with the beginning of the winter schedule on 30th October 2005.
To let us know how the signal is reaching you, please send us your reception reports, either by email or traditional snail-mail.
For the winter period 2005-2006 Radio Prague is extending its shortwave broadcasts in English for central and western parts of North America, with a new time and frequency relayed via Sackville in Canada:
UTC kHz m kW Area
ENGLISH 0400-0427 6100 49 250 Sackville, Canada
Please note that this trial frequency changed with the beginning of the winter schedule on 30th October 2005.
To let us know how the signal is reaching you, please send us your reception reports, either by email or traditional snail-mail.
RTI is planning to visit India and Bangladesh!
The English service is planning to have a get-together with listeners in India and Bangladesh. Our tentative plan is to travel to New Delhi on 2/18, Kolkata (Calcutta) on 2/20, and Dhaka on 2/22. If you are interested in our visit or have any suggestions, please contact us at paula@rti.org.tw.
Tell us how you achieved a new year's resolution!
Global Exchange January Topic
Every month, we pose a new question to listeners as part of our Global Exchange segment. If we choose your letter to read on the air, you will receive a special RTI souvenir.
January topic:
Tell us how you achieved a new year's resolution!
Send entries to natalie@rti.org.tw or to PO Box 24-38/ Taipei, Taiwan.
Every month, we pose a new question to listeners as part of our Global Exchange segment. If we choose your letter to read on the air, you will receive a special RTI souvenir.
January topic:
Tell us how you achieved a new year's resolution!
Send entries to natalie@rti.org.tw or to PO Box 24-38/ Taipei, Taiwan.
RTI Monitors in 2006
The English service is pleased to announce that it has chosen 9 monitors for the year of 2006. They are: Richard Chen (Trinidad & Tobago), Swopan Chakroborty (India), Don Rhodes (Australia), Gianluigi Naj (Italy), Douglas North (CA, USA), Anne Fanelli (NY, USA), Lee Silvi (Ohio, USA), Hector Frias (Chile), and Venancio J. Victoria (the Philippines).
Monitors are required to send us at least three reception reports per month.
As a small token of appreciation, each one of them will get two bottles of locally-grown black tea.
Monitors are required to send us at least three reception reports per month.
As a small token of appreciation, each one of them will get two bottles of locally-grown black tea.
First list of companies qualifying for financial bidding for FM Radio
The Government has short listed 70 companies who can put in their financial bids in the second round of auction for setting up FM radio stations in the country. Among the prominent companies that feature in the list include Adlabs Films Ltd., Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd., HT Media Ltd. and TV Today Network Ltd.
The 70 companies will be vying with each other to set up FM stations in 91 cities in the Phase II of FM radio expansion by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The list may be further expanded, the I&B Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.
"The financial bids would be obtained and opened in January-February 2006 as per the schedule already notified in the tender document. The applicant companies are also being informed individually", the I&B Ministry said.
The Ministry had invited pre-qualification bids for 338 FM stations in 91 cities for Phase II expansion of FM radio broadcasting services on September 21. The deadline ended on November 11.
The Government has formally allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 20% in FM radio companies, following up on the liberalized investment policy announced on June 30.
One hundred companies had expressed their intent to start FM radio operations in India, but 30 seem to have either fallen by the way side or are yet to fully satisfy the authorities.
The government today announced the first list of 70 applicant companies that have qualified for financial bids for the second phase of FM Radio, which was outlined earlier this year.
A notable absentee in today's list is an existing radio operator that has received the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's clearance for investment up to 20 per cent by a British broadcaster.
Yet another existing FM player Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd. (MBPL), which runs the brand Radio City, is also absent from the list. When quizzed on this, the company's official spokesperson says,"It is too premature to comment. Only the first list of probables for the second phase is out."
Prominent among those who have qualified for financial bidding in the second phase are Subhash Chandra's Pan India Network Infravest Pvt Ltd, HT Music and Entertainment company, Asianet Communications, Malayala Manorama and Bag Infotainment. Another major player set to make a foray into the FM radio sector is Anil Ambani whose Adlabs Films has qualified for the bid.
Among the existing operators, Radio Today Broadcasting has also made it to the list.
The financial bids would be obtained and opened for scrutiny in January/February 2006 as per a schedule already notified in the tender document.
The government had invited pre-qualification bids on 21 September, 2005 for expansion of FM Radio broadcasting services through private companies in 90 cities for over 300 frequencies.
The bids have been evaluated as per eligibility criteria, the information and broadcasting ministry said today.
1 M/s Malayalam Communication Ltd.
2 M/s Raj Television Network Ltd.
3 M/s Creamline Dairy Products Ltd.
4 M/s Gwalior Farms Pvt. Ltd.
5 M/s Swar Sudha Cassettes Industries Pvt. Ltd.
6 M/s PCR Warehousing Ltd.
7 M/s Neutral Publishing House Ltd.
8 M/s Tarun Bharat Multigraphics Pvt. Ltd.
9 M/s Eastern Media Limited
10 M/s Indogo Mass Communications
11 M/s Arya Communications & Electronics Services Pvt. Ltd.
12 M/s Pan India Network Infravest Pvt. Ltd.
13 M/s Charhdikala Publications Private Limited
14 M/s Noble Broadcasting Corporation Pvt. Ltd.
15 M/s CMR Agro & Broadcasting Services Pvt. Ltd.
16 M/s Purvy Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.
17 M/s Oral Metronet Limited
18 M/s HT Music and Entertainment Co. Pvt. Ltd.
19 M/s Ananda Offset Private Limited
20 M/s Adlabs Films Ltd.
21 M/s Pudhari Publications Private Limited
22 M/s The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd.
23 M/s Sanmarg Pvt. Ltd.
24 M/s Sri Adhikari Brothers Media Limited
25 M/s Sri Adhikari Brothers Films Division Ltd.
26 M/s Kal Radio Pvt. Ltd.
27 M/s South Asia FM Pvt. Ltd.
28 M/s Adi Shakti Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
29 M/s Century Communication Ltd.
30 M/s Rajasthan Telematics Ltd.
31 M/s Shri Puran Multimedia Ltd.
32 M/s Santa Banta.com Ltd.
33 M/s Sapad Holdings Limited
34 M/s Rancka Fincom Private Ltd.
35 M/s Jay Bee Energy Pvt. Ltd.
36 M/s Ushodaya Enterprises Ltd.
37 M/s Asianet Communications Ltd.
38 M/s Malar Publications Pvt. Ltd.
39 M/s Shaf Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.
40 M/s Devyani Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
41 M/s BAG Infotainment Private Limited.
42 M/s Rajasthan Patrika Private Limited
43 M/s Plasmix (P) Ltd.
44 M/s Radio Today Broadcasting Pvt. Ltd.
45 M/s PGH International Pvt. Ltd.
46 M/s Life Style Impex (P) Ltd.
47 M/s Associated Broadcasting Co. Pvt. Ltd.
48 M/s Lewis Natural Food Ltd.
49 M/s Sambhaav Media Ltd.
50 M/s ITM Software and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
51 M/s Seaward Exports Pvt. Ltd.
52 M/s PCM Cement Concrete Pvt. Ltd.
53 M/s Endeavour Industries Ltd.
54 M/s Agniban Publications Ltd.
55 M/s Muthoot Finance Pvt. Ltd.
56 M/s Delhi Press Patra Prakashan Pte. Ltd.
57 M/s The Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd.
58 M/s Rai Bahadur Kishor Chand & Sons (Prop) Pvt. Ltd.
59 M/s Commercial Drug House (I) Pvt. Ltd.
60 M/s Entertainment Network (India) Ltd.
61 M/s Jamkash Vehicleades Pvt. Ltd.
62 M/s Chinar Circuits Ltd.
63 M/s Positiv Radio Pvt. Ltd.
64 M/s Writers and Publishers Ltd.
65 M/s Bhaskar Denim Ltd.
66 M/s Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd.
67 M/s Hitkarini Prakashan Ltd.
68 M/s Subhamangal Traders Pvt. Ltd.
69 M/s Avanti Media Pvt. Ltd.
70 M/s Syntech Informatics Pvt. Ltd.
The 70 companies will be vying with each other to set up FM stations in 91 cities in the Phase II of FM radio expansion by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The list may be further expanded, the I&B Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.
"The financial bids would be obtained and opened in January-February 2006 as per the schedule already notified in the tender document. The applicant companies are also being informed individually", the I&B Ministry said.
The Ministry had invited pre-qualification bids for 338 FM stations in 91 cities for Phase II expansion of FM radio broadcasting services on September 21. The deadline ended on November 11.
The Government has formally allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 20% in FM radio companies, following up on the liberalized investment policy announced on June 30.
One hundred companies had expressed their intent to start FM radio operations in India, but 30 seem to have either fallen by the way side or are yet to fully satisfy the authorities.
The government today announced the first list of 70 applicant companies that have qualified for financial bids for the second phase of FM Radio, which was outlined earlier this year.
A notable absentee in today's list is an existing radio operator that has received the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's clearance for investment up to 20 per cent by a British broadcaster.
Yet another existing FM player Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd. (MBPL), which runs the brand Radio City, is also absent from the list. When quizzed on this, the company's official spokesperson says,"It is too premature to comment. Only the first list of probables for the second phase is out."
Prominent among those who have qualified for financial bidding in the second phase are Subhash Chandra's Pan India Network Infravest Pvt Ltd, HT Music and Entertainment company, Asianet Communications, Malayala Manorama and Bag Infotainment. Another major player set to make a foray into the FM radio sector is Anil Ambani whose Adlabs Films has qualified for the bid.
Among the existing operators, Radio Today Broadcasting has also made it to the list.
The financial bids would be obtained and opened for scrutiny in January/February 2006 as per a schedule already notified in the tender document.
The government had invited pre-qualification bids on 21 September, 2005 for expansion of FM Radio broadcasting services through private companies in 90 cities for over 300 frequencies.
The bids have been evaluated as per eligibility criteria, the information and broadcasting ministry said today.
1 M/s Malayalam Communication Ltd.
2 M/s Raj Television Network Ltd.
3 M/s Creamline Dairy Products Ltd.
4 M/s Gwalior Farms Pvt. Ltd.
5 M/s Swar Sudha Cassettes Industries Pvt. Ltd.
6 M/s PCR Warehousing Ltd.
7 M/s Neutral Publishing House Ltd.
8 M/s Tarun Bharat Multigraphics Pvt. Ltd.
9 M/s Eastern Media Limited
10 M/s Indogo Mass Communications
11 M/s Arya Communications & Electronics Services Pvt. Ltd.
12 M/s Pan India Network Infravest Pvt. Ltd.
13 M/s Charhdikala Publications Private Limited
14 M/s Noble Broadcasting Corporation Pvt. Ltd.
15 M/s CMR Agro & Broadcasting Services Pvt. Ltd.
16 M/s Purvy Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.
17 M/s Oral Metronet Limited
18 M/s HT Music and Entertainment Co. Pvt. Ltd.
19 M/s Ananda Offset Private Limited
20 M/s Adlabs Films Ltd.
21 M/s Pudhari Publications Private Limited
22 M/s The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd.
23 M/s Sanmarg Pvt. Ltd.
24 M/s Sri Adhikari Brothers Media Limited
25 M/s Sri Adhikari Brothers Films Division Ltd.
26 M/s Kal Radio Pvt. Ltd.
27 M/s South Asia FM Pvt. Ltd.
28 M/s Adi Shakti Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
29 M/s Century Communication Ltd.
30 M/s Rajasthan Telematics Ltd.
31 M/s Shri Puran Multimedia Ltd.
32 M/s Santa Banta.com Ltd.
33 M/s Sapad Holdings Limited
34 M/s Rancka Fincom Private Ltd.
35 M/s Jay Bee Energy Pvt. Ltd.
36 M/s Ushodaya Enterprises Ltd.
37 M/s Asianet Communications Ltd.
38 M/s Malar Publications Pvt. Ltd.
39 M/s Shaf Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.
40 M/s Devyani Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
41 M/s BAG Infotainment Private Limited.
42 M/s Rajasthan Patrika Private Limited
43 M/s Plasmix (P) Ltd.
44 M/s Radio Today Broadcasting Pvt. Ltd.
45 M/s PGH International Pvt. Ltd.
46 M/s Life Style Impex (P) Ltd.
47 M/s Associated Broadcasting Co. Pvt. Ltd.
48 M/s Lewis Natural Food Ltd.
49 M/s Sambhaav Media Ltd.
50 M/s ITM Software and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
51 M/s Seaward Exports Pvt. Ltd.
52 M/s PCM Cement Concrete Pvt. Ltd.
53 M/s Endeavour Industries Ltd.
54 M/s Agniban Publications Ltd.
55 M/s Muthoot Finance Pvt. Ltd.
56 M/s Delhi Press Patra Prakashan Pte. Ltd.
57 M/s The Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd.
58 M/s Rai Bahadur Kishor Chand & Sons (Prop) Pvt. Ltd.
59 M/s Commercial Drug House (I) Pvt. Ltd.
60 M/s Entertainment Network (India) Ltd.
61 M/s Jamkash Vehicleades Pvt. Ltd.
62 M/s Chinar Circuits Ltd.
63 M/s Positiv Radio Pvt. Ltd.
64 M/s Writers and Publishers Ltd.
65 M/s Bhaskar Denim Ltd.
66 M/s Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd.
67 M/s Hitkarini Prakashan Ltd.
68 M/s Subhamangal Traders Pvt. Ltd.
69 M/s Avanti Media Pvt. Ltd.
70 M/s Syntech Informatics Pvt. Ltd.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
DW Current Affairs Quiz December 2005
Make sure you enter this month and a brand new short-wave radio could be yours!
This month sees the sixth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation. We want to know where it's being held. Is it
1. Brussels
2. Vienna
3. Cairo or
4. Hong Kong
Send your answer on a postcard please, postmarked no later than December 31st 2005, to "Deutsche Welle English Service, postcode 53110 Bonn, Germany" or email us at newslink@dw-world.de. The winner will receive a
shortwave radio and there are consolation prizes for the first five runners up. Good luck!
This month sees the sixth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation. We want to know where it's being held. Is it
1. Brussels
2. Vienna
3. Cairo or
4. Hong Kong
Send your answer on a postcard please, postmarked no later than December 31st 2005, to "Deutsche Welle English Service, postcode 53110 Bonn, Germany" or email us at newslink@dw-world.de. The winner will receive a
shortwave radio and there are consolation prizes for the first five runners up. Good luck!
Best Listeners' and monitors' 0f 2005
Dear Listener,
We're nearing the end of 2005. Listeners' and monitors' reception reports, comments and suggestions over the course of the year have helped bring about improvements to both our broadcast and program quality. Thanks for making 2005 such a success here at China Radio International (CRI). To show our appreciation, we've chosen some especially good listeners and sent one small gift to each of them. The list is printed below. Happy New Year from CRI, and let's work together to make 2006 our best year ever!
CRIENGLISH.com
Best Listeners
Hannu.Kiiski, Finland
Jacques.Augustin, France
Zdzislaw.Gomulka, Poland
Dmitriy Kutuzov, Russia
Olli-Jukka Paloneva, Finland
Jouke Van Der Galien, The Netherlands
Brian.Stokoe, New Zealand
Ian Cattermole, New Zealand.
Andrew McKean, Australia
Lu Derming, Australia
T.Jaisakthivel, India
S.Selvam, India
Aaquib Nehal Khan, India
Md. Salahuddin Dolar, Bangladesh
Faramarz Bahramloo, Iran.
Mogire O Machuki, Kenya
Tiaweh Tyee, jr., Liberia
Oyesanmi Oyedotun, Nigeria.
George J. Poppin, USA
Franz. Schwartz, USA
Bill Watters, USA
Melvin. Williams, USA
Gordon Blom, USA
Eric Walton, Canada
Jeff Bowes, U.K.
David.Ansell, U.K.
Peggy Meadows, U.K.
David.Gray, U.K.
Ron. Haynes, U.K.
NG. Wing Yuen, U.K.
Roger Tidy, U.K.
Alastair Pamphilon, U.K.
Nick Sharpe, U.K.
Gunter.Kastner, Austria
Gerd. Wedemeyer, Germany
Günter Jacob, Germany
Gifts include: a Snuff Bottle, a Waistcoat, a Fish-shaped Bag,
a Cushion Cover, or a Sweat Band
Best Monitors
Mike Peraaho, USA
Roger R. Roussel, Canada
Brian Kendall, U.K.
Christer Brunstrom, Sweden
Azam Ali Soomro, Pakistan.
A. Balakrishnan, B.Com., India
Md. Azizul Alam Al-Amin, Banglade
Mrefe Akpotu, Nigeria
Gifts include: a Waistcoat and a Fish-shaped Bag
We're nearing the end of 2005. Listeners' and monitors' reception reports, comments and suggestions over the course of the year have helped bring about improvements to both our broadcast and program quality. Thanks for making 2005 such a success here at China Radio International (CRI). To show our appreciation, we've chosen some especially good listeners and sent one small gift to each of them. The list is printed below. Happy New Year from CRI, and let's work together to make 2006 our best year ever!
CRIENGLISH.com
Best Listeners
Hannu.Kiiski, Finland
Jacques.Augustin, France
Zdzislaw.Gomulka, Poland
Dmitriy Kutuzov, Russia
Olli-Jukka Paloneva, Finland
Jouke Van Der Galien, The Netherlands
Brian.Stokoe, New Zealand
Ian Cattermole, New Zealand.
Andrew McKean, Australia
Lu Derming, Australia
T.Jaisakthivel, India
S.Selvam, India
Aaquib Nehal Khan, India
Md. Salahuddin Dolar, Bangladesh
Faramarz Bahramloo, Iran.
Mogire O Machuki, Kenya
Tiaweh Tyee, jr., Liberia
Oyesanmi Oyedotun, Nigeria.
George J. Poppin, USA
Franz. Schwartz, USA
Bill Watters, USA
Melvin. Williams, USA
Gordon Blom, USA
Eric Walton, Canada
Jeff Bowes, U.K.
David.Ansell, U.K.
Peggy Meadows, U.K.
David.Gray, U.K.
Ron. Haynes, U.K.
NG. Wing Yuen, U.K.
Roger Tidy, U.K.
Alastair Pamphilon, U.K.
Nick Sharpe, U.K.
Gunter.Kastner, Austria
Gerd. Wedemeyer, Germany
Günter Jacob, Germany
Gifts include: a Snuff Bottle, a Waistcoat, a Fish-shaped Bag,
a Cushion Cover, or a Sweat Band
Best Monitors
Mike Peraaho, USA
Roger R. Roussel, Canada
Brian Kendall, U.K.
Christer Brunstrom, Sweden
Azam Ali Soomro, Pakistan.
A. Balakrishnan, B.Com., India
Md. Azizul Alam Al-Amin, Banglade
Mrefe Akpotu, Nigeria
Gifts include: a Waistcoat and a Fish-shaped Bag
Thursday, December 15, 2005
The Voice of Russia presents a new quiz - RUSSIAN REGIONS.
We welcome you to a fascinating journey into Russia - a vast
territory that occupies one third of Eurasia stretching from the Baltic Sea to
the Pacific Ocean. Ten time belts separate the country’s east from
west. And the huge area is dotted with regions, each remarkable for its
history, nature, climate, traditions, economy and customs and famous for
remarkable personalities.
The quiz RUSSIAN REGIONS will unfold in five stages, each stage
lasting two months, during which we will be introducing you to a region on
which you’ll have to answer one question. Listen attentively and you’ll
get the answer right.
Each stage will be followed by a month-long pause to sum up the
results. The winners will get souvenirs from the regions’ administrations.
And the winners of the whole project will get an invitation to visit
one of the regions.
PROGRAM 1. THE YAROSLAVL REGION
PROGRAM 2. KARELIA
PROGRAM 3. THE TVER REGION
PROGRAM 4. THE CHUVASH REPUBLIC
PROGRAM 5. THE RYAZAN REGION
PROGRAM 6. CHUKOTKA
http://www.vor.ru/Quiz_Region/index_eng.html
ABID HUSSAIN SAJID
PAKISTAN
territory that occupies one third of Eurasia stretching from the Baltic Sea to
the Pacific Ocean. Ten time belts separate the country’s east from
west. And the huge area is dotted with regions, each remarkable for its
history, nature, climate, traditions, economy and customs and famous for
remarkable personalities.
The quiz RUSSIAN REGIONS will unfold in five stages, each stage
lasting two months, during which we will be introducing you to a region on
which you’ll have to answer one question. Listen attentively and you’ll
get the answer right.
Each stage will be followed by a month-long pause to sum up the
results. The winners will get souvenirs from the regions’ administrations.
And the winners of the whole project will get an invitation to visit
one of the regions.
PROGRAM 1. THE YAROSLAVL REGION
PROGRAM 2. KARELIA
PROGRAM 3. THE TVER REGION
PROGRAM 4. THE CHUVASH REPUBLIC
PROGRAM 5. THE RYAZAN REGION
PROGRAM 6. CHUKOTKA
http://www.vor.ru/Quiz_Region/index_eng.html
ABID HUSSAIN SAJID
PAKISTAN
Bhutan Broadcasting Service to get new TV centre, shortwave transmitter
Bhutan's national television - Bhutan Broadcasting Service Television (BBS TV) - expects to undergo a major professional facelift with the construction of Nu. 56.4 million television center.
BBS TV is looking at better news broadcast, quality programmes and a nationwide coverage when the TV center will be equipped with the latest broadcasting equipment and a 100-Kilo Watt (KV) Short Wave (SW) transmitter and have a link up with an Indian satellite.
The 1,600 square metre-center, to be constructed with Indian assistance, will house a master control room, news and production control rooms, a voice-over booth, a set maintenance shed, a graphics and creative unit, and office space for engineers, journalists, cameramen, and producers all of which was absent so far.
“The urgent need to separate the radio and TV was long felt,” said BBS managing director, Mingbo Dukpa. “Besides helping improve the quality of TV programmes, the center will enhance the professionalism of the staff.”
BBS TV was hastily launched in June 1999 with minimal infrastructure and merged with BBS radio for want of space to house a separate TV studio. Thus, BBS TV broadcast began from a small 30 square metre-studio adjacent to the 50 KW short wave transmitter at Sangaygang in Thimphu. Due to strong transmission interference from the SW transmitter, the radio transmission had to be shut down daily by 5 pm to allow TV transmission which affected the radio broadcast.
“In January, 2003, a 100 square metre room inside the radio station in Chubachu was converted into the present TV studio,” said Mingbo Dukpa. “This temporarily took care of some of the problems enabling both radio and television transmission to go on air simultaneously.”
Besides, BBS, over past two years, increased its airtime for both radio and TV. This further aggravated the space crunch at the present radio station with about 200 regular staff squeezed in single building. BSS TV also lacked trained and skilled journalists, according to the managing director.
BBS chief engineer, Sonam Tobgyal, said the present complex was meant for radio only, and all essential things for TV broadcast were missing.
However, once the center is in place BBS will have separate editorial and production department for radio and TV.
Apart from the capital, which remained the sole recipient of live service for a couple of years, BBS TV today goes live to Phuentsholing and Paro through Bhutan Telecom's fibre optic network.
The management says that BBS TV will go live nationwide latest by February, 2006, once the satellite link is up.
The government of India has also made additional commitment of procuring Nu. 119.0 million worth of equipment for the new TV center, purchasing and installing a Nu. 86.0 million 100 KW transmitter and providing an additional Nu. 18.0 million for hiring of a satellite for three years. The total assistance comes to about Nu. 280 million.
BBS today has about 205 staff including 40 technical personnel, 20 journalists, and 65 producers. This year alone it recruited about 50 people to fill in as journalists and producers as part of strengthening its professional staff for both radio and TV.
The sa-lang (ground breaking) ceremony for the TV center was done on December 11.
By Gopilal Acharya
gopiacharya@kuensel.com.bt
BBS TV is looking at better news broadcast, quality programmes and a nationwide coverage when the TV center will be equipped with the latest broadcasting equipment and a 100-Kilo Watt (KV) Short Wave (SW) transmitter and have a link up with an Indian satellite.
The 1,600 square metre-center, to be constructed with Indian assistance, will house a master control room, news and production control rooms, a voice-over booth, a set maintenance shed, a graphics and creative unit, and office space for engineers, journalists, cameramen, and producers all of which was absent so far.
“The urgent need to separate the radio and TV was long felt,” said BBS managing director, Mingbo Dukpa. “Besides helping improve the quality of TV programmes, the center will enhance the professionalism of the staff.”
BBS TV was hastily launched in June 1999 with minimal infrastructure and merged with BBS radio for want of space to house a separate TV studio. Thus, BBS TV broadcast began from a small 30 square metre-studio adjacent to the 50 KW short wave transmitter at Sangaygang in Thimphu. Due to strong transmission interference from the SW transmitter, the radio transmission had to be shut down daily by 5 pm to allow TV transmission which affected the radio broadcast.
“In January, 2003, a 100 square metre room inside the radio station in Chubachu was converted into the present TV studio,” said Mingbo Dukpa. “This temporarily took care of some of the problems enabling both radio and television transmission to go on air simultaneously.”
Besides, BBS, over past two years, increased its airtime for both radio and TV. This further aggravated the space crunch at the present radio station with about 200 regular staff squeezed in single building. BSS TV also lacked trained and skilled journalists, according to the managing director.
BBS chief engineer, Sonam Tobgyal, said the present complex was meant for radio only, and all essential things for TV broadcast were missing.
However, once the center is in place BBS will have separate editorial and production department for radio and TV.
Apart from the capital, which remained the sole recipient of live service for a couple of years, BBS TV today goes live to Phuentsholing and Paro through Bhutan Telecom's fibre optic network.
The management says that BBS TV will go live nationwide latest by February, 2006, once the satellite link is up.
The government of India has also made additional commitment of procuring Nu. 119.0 million worth of equipment for the new TV center, purchasing and installing a Nu. 86.0 million 100 KW transmitter and providing an additional Nu. 18.0 million for hiring of a satellite for three years. The total assistance comes to about Nu. 280 million.
BBS today has about 205 staff including 40 technical personnel, 20 journalists, and 65 producers. This year alone it recruited about 50 people to fill in as journalists and producers as part of strengthening its professional staff for both radio and TV.
The sa-lang (ground breaking) ceremony for the TV center was done on December 11.
By Gopilal Acharya
gopiacharya@kuensel.com.bt
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Winners' List of the CRI Quiz on Mysterious Tibet
The CRI English Service Survey and Quiz of Mysterious Tibet finally concluded. The quizzes attracted thousands of listeners, some of whom not only gave their answers to the questions, but also raised issues, gave suggestions and made comments. We'd like to thank all of those who devoted their time and efforts to write to us. Here is the list of winners. Congratulations to those who have won, and thank you to all participants. We hope you'll continue to actively take part in CRI quizzes. Next time you might be the lucky one!
Winners' List of the Quiz on Mysterious Tibet
First Prize:
Prize: a MP3, a Radio or a Cushion Cover
James West £¬USA
Hector Frias£¬Chile
Gerry Neumann£¬England
Qi Chen£¬Australia
Yasir Ishfaq Qurashi£¬Pakistan
Isuru Hapuarachchi£¬Sri Lanka
Second Prize:
Prize: a Waistcoat£¬a Chinese Style Bag£¬or a Snuff Bottle
Hui Zhou£¬USA
Anthony Stratton£¬USA
K-J. Kar¨¦n£¬ Finland
Roland Sigge£¬Sweden
Hans Verner Lollike£¬Denmark
Pantelis Paizanis£¬Greece
Zenka Dyulgjarova£¬Bulgaria
Bessarab Milana£¬ Russia
Maria do Socorro Silva Almeida£¬Brazil
Carmelo Mintoff£¬Malta Malik Ameer Bakhsh, Pakistan
Abid Hussain Sajid£¬Pakistan
Muhammad Yasir Khan£¬ Pakistan
Shaikh Muhammad Younis£¬Pakistan
Nazir Ahmad Chaudhry£¬Pakistan
P. V. Ramana Rao£¬India
Mukesh Kumar, India
Ashik Eqbal Tokon, Bangladesh
Eric Douglas£¬Tanzania
Bezazel Feraht Ben Rabah£¬Algeria
Third Prize:
Prize: a Scarf£¬a Fish-Shaped Bag£¬or a Sweat Band
Mamnoon Kazmie£¬USA
Harry Werlitz£¬Canada
Gilles Letourneau£¬Canada
Karim Turay£¬Finland
Andy Martynyuk, Russia
Johan Olivier, Belgium
Sergey M. Kolesov£¬Ukraine
Wayne Bastow, Australia
Ray Davey, New Zealand
Al-Suleimann Ibrahim£¬Jordan
Mitsunori Kawazoe£¬Japan
A. K. M. Nuruzzaman£¬Bangladesh
Sujan Parajuli, Nepal
Mariz kay M. Flores£¬Philippines
Chin Fok Min, Malaysia
Mubashir Hussain£¬Pakistan
Salisu M. Dawanau, Nigeria
Enobong Gibson John, Nigeria
Mohammad Elabd£¬Egypt
Hhjia Hadiza, Ghana
Winners' List for English Service Survey£¨16£©
Prize: a Small Bell Bag or a Bag for Storing Letters
Victor Prieto£¬USA
John Brutza£¬USA
Josh N. Wolfenbarge£¬USA
Daniel Say£¬Canada
Patrlck Flaherty£¬ U.K.
Peter Lawes£¬ U.K.
H M Holmden£¬ U.K.
Eddie Steadman, Ireland Andreas Marschall£¬Germany
Eldred Francis£¬Australia
Stephen Hogan, Australia
Khatri Shakeel Ahmed£¬Pakistan
Ravind Kumar Shukl£¬India
Herculean Mascarenhas£¬India
Kadri Selim Kovan£¬Turkey
Peter Toit£¬South Africa
CONGRATULATION ALL THE LISTENERS AND DXERS
Winners' List of the Quiz on Mysterious Tibet
First Prize:
Prize: a MP3, a Radio or a Cushion Cover
James West £¬USA
Hector Frias£¬Chile
Gerry Neumann£¬England
Qi Chen£¬Australia
Yasir Ishfaq Qurashi£¬Pakistan
Isuru Hapuarachchi£¬Sri Lanka
Second Prize:
Prize: a Waistcoat£¬a Chinese Style Bag£¬or a Snuff Bottle
Hui Zhou£¬USA
Anthony Stratton£¬USA
K-J. Kar¨¦n£¬ Finland
Roland Sigge£¬Sweden
Hans Verner Lollike£¬Denmark
Pantelis Paizanis£¬Greece
Zenka Dyulgjarova£¬Bulgaria
Bessarab Milana£¬ Russia
Maria do Socorro Silva Almeida£¬Brazil
Carmelo Mintoff£¬Malta Malik Ameer Bakhsh, Pakistan
Abid Hussain Sajid£¬Pakistan
Muhammad Yasir Khan£¬ Pakistan
Shaikh Muhammad Younis£¬Pakistan
Nazir Ahmad Chaudhry£¬Pakistan
P. V. Ramana Rao£¬India
Mukesh Kumar, India
Ashik Eqbal Tokon, Bangladesh
Eric Douglas£¬Tanzania
Bezazel Feraht Ben Rabah£¬Algeria
Third Prize:
Prize: a Scarf£¬a Fish-Shaped Bag£¬or a Sweat Band
Mamnoon Kazmie£¬USA
Harry Werlitz£¬Canada
Gilles Letourneau£¬Canada
Karim Turay£¬Finland
Andy Martynyuk, Russia
Johan Olivier, Belgium
Sergey M. Kolesov£¬Ukraine
Wayne Bastow, Australia
Ray Davey, New Zealand
Al-Suleimann Ibrahim£¬Jordan
Mitsunori Kawazoe£¬Japan
A. K. M. Nuruzzaman£¬Bangladesh
Sujan Parajuli, Nepal
Mariz kay M. Flores£¬Philippines
Chin Fok Min, Malaysia
Mubashir Hussain£¬Pakistan
Salisu M. Dawanau, Nigeria
Enobong Gibson John, Nigeria
Mohammad Elabd£¬Egypt
Hhjia Hadiza, Ghana
Winners' List for English Service Survey£¨16£©
Prize: a Small Bell Bag or a Bag for Storing Letters
Victor Prieto£¬USA
John Brutza£¬USA
Josh N. Wolfenbarge£¬USA
Daniel Say£¬Canada
Patrlck Flaherty£¬ U.K.
Peter Lawes£¬ U.K.
H M Holmden£¬ U.K.
Eddie Steadman, Ireland Andreas Marschall£¬Germany
Eldred Francis£¬Australia
Stephen Hogan, Australia
Khatri Shakeel Ahmed£¬Pakistan
Ravind Kumar Shukl£¬India
Herculean Mascarenhas£¬India
Kadri Selim Kovan£¬Turkey
Peter Toit£¬South Africa
CONGRATULATION ALL THE LISTENERS AND DXERS
NEW EDITION OF BROADCASTS IN ENGLISH
A new edition of Broadcasts in English is available now from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). Compiled by Dave Kenny, it has been completely revised and updated for the current Winter 2005-2006 (B05) season and includes details of all currently known international broadcasts in English on shortwave and mediumwave for the B05 schedule period. The 32-page booklet is in time order throughout and covers all
target areas. It gives a round the clock, hour by hour guide to what English broadcasts you can tune into and on what frequencies.
Transmitter sites are indicated where known. It also includes a comprehensive guide to DX and Media Programmes; schedules for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) transmissions and World Radio Network in English to Europe.
Copies are available at the following prices (postage included):
United Kingdom - 2 pounds sterling
Overseas - 6 International Reply Coupons; 5 Euros or 5 US Dollars
Sterling payments by cheque/postal order to "British DX Club" Dollar or Euro payments in cash. We also can now accept Paypal - please email for details. Bdxc @ bdxc.org.uk
All orders/enquiries to:
British DX Club, 10 Hemdean Hill, Caversham, Reading RG4 7SB, UK
Or visit the BDXC-UK web site at http://www.bdxc.org.uk
(Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK via DXLD)
target areas. It gives a round the clock, hour by hour guide to what English broadcasts you can tune into and on what frequencies.
Transmitter sites are indicated where known. It also includes a comprehensive guide to DX and Media Programmes; schedules for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) transmissions and World Radio Network in English to Europe.
Copies are available at the following prices (postage included):
United Kingdom - 2 pounds sterling
Overseas - 6 International Reply Coupons; 5 Euros or 5 US Dollars
Sterling payments by cheque/postal order to "British DX Club" Dollar or Euro payments in cash. We also can now accept Paypal - please email for details. Bdxc @ bdxc.org.uk
All orders/enquiries to:
British DX Club, 10 Hemdean Hill, Caversham, Reading RG4 7SB, UK
Or visit the BDXC-UK web site at http://www.bdxc.org.uk
(Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK via DXLD)
PAKISTAN: SEMINARIES RUNNING OVER 90 ILLEGAL FM RADIO STATIONS IN BORDER AREA
Text of report by Ghafar Ali
"90 illegal FM radio stations in NWFP"
by Pakistani newspaper Daily Times website on 8 December
Peshawar: Seminaries are illegally running more than 90 FM radio stations to broadcast their teachings in various districts of the North West Frontier Province, a source told Daily Times on Tuesday [6 December].
The source said the channels often disturbed police wireless transmissions because they operate at frequencies reserved for security agencies. He said the channels had not been allocated frequencies by the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) but they were
using frequencies allocated for security agencies to circumvent the issue.
According to the source, 27 channels are operating illegally in Swabi district alone. The actual number could be much higher than these, which were detected by intelligence agencies. "These channels are very popular among residents as people know the religious scholars," said a Swabi resident, wishing not to be named. The source said that certain individuals in Swabi had also installed FM radio transmitters in hujras (religious gathering areas). He provided data showing that the broadcasting range was from half a kilometre to 29 kilometres radius.
Transmitters are locally manufactured and cost between Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000, and Swabi district is the main market, he added.
The source said that an FM transmitter was also installed in MNA [Member of National Assembly] Maulana Muhammad Qasim's Darul Uloom at Shergarh in Mardan, and religious sermons were aired between Fajr (morning prayers) and Isha (evening prayers). Talking to Daily Times, Naqeeb Ahmad, personal assistant to Maulana Qasim, confirmed a transmitter was installed. But he added, "We broadcast Koranic translation and ulema's speeches. We do not use the transmission to promote religious hatred."
Sources in Malakand confirmed such channels and said that sectarian leaders from different sects were using the medium to promote religious hatred against each other's sects. They added that various Sunni sects were illegally transmitting their sermons and no Shia sect was using this medium. Source: Daily Times website, Lahore, in English 8 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? Outside 88-108 apparently (gh)
Very similar story: PAK SEMINARIES BECOME TECH SAVVY, RUN ILLEGAL FM
RADIO STATIONS Lahore | December 08, 2005 5:06:32 PM IST
http://www.netindia123.com/showdetails.asp? id=185300&cat=Asia&head=Pak+seminaries+become+tech+savvy%2C+run+illegal+FM+radio+stations
(via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD)
"90 illegal FM radio stations in NWFP"
by Pakistani newspaper Daily Times website on 8 December
Peshawar: Seminaries are illegally running more than 90 FM radio stations to broadcast their teachings in various districts of the North West Frontier Province, a source told Daily Times on Tuesday [6 December].
The source said the channels often disturbed police wireless transmissions because they operate at frequencies reserved for security agencies. He said the channels had not been allocated frequencies by the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) but they were
using frequencies allocated for security agencies to circumvent the issue.
According to the source, 27 channels are operating illegally in Swabi district alone. The actual number could be much higher than these, which were detected by intelligence agencies. "These channels are very popular among residents as people know the religious scholars," said a Swabi resident, wishing not to be named. The source said that certain individuals in Swabi had also installed FM radio transmitters in hujras (religious gathering areas). He provided data showing that the broadcasting range was from half a kilometre to 29 kilometres radius.
Transmitters are locally manufactured and cost between Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000, and Swabi district is the main market, he added.
The source said that an FM transmitter was also installed in MNA [Member of National Assembly] Maulana Muhammad Qasim's Darul Uloom at Shergarh in Mardan, and religious sermons were aired between Fajr (morning prayers) and Isha (evening prayers). Talking to Daily Times, Naqeeb Ahmad, personal assistant to Maulana Qasim, confirmed a transmitter was installed. But he added, "We broadcast Koranic translation and ulema's speeches. We do not use the transmission to promote religious hatred."
Sources in Malakand confirmed such channels and said that sectarian leaders from different sects were using the medium to promote religious hatred against each other's sects. They added that various Sunni sects were illegally transmitting their sermons and no Shia sect was using this medium. Source: Daily Times website, Lahore, in English 8 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? Outside 88-108 apparently (gh)
Very similar story: PAK SEMINARIES BECOME TECH SAVVY, RUN ILLEGAL FM
RADIO STATIONS Lahore | December 08, 2005 5:06:32 PM IST
http://www.netindia123.com/showdetails.asp? id=185300&cat=Asia&head=Pak+seminaries+become+tech+savvy%2C+run+illegal+FM+radio+stations
(via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD)
NEW ETON SW PORSCHE RADIOS
Hi, all! Just got a new Sharper Image catalog in the mail yesterday.
Oddly enough, it does NOT include the new Eton E1-XM radio, though
most of the people who now have one of those seem to have bought
theirs through Sharper Image. But it DOES include an Eton SW (& XM)
radio I had never seen before, a "Porsche Design P'7131" model. I went
to the Eton website and found this page:
http://www.etoncorp.com/US/porschedesign/product_specs.aspx?specs=true&prodID=1&subID=1
Note that this shows two new radios, the P'7131 and P'7136. But there
are specs (sort of) only on the larger P'7131. And these so-called
"specs" don't give any details of the SW coverage.
It appears that this is aimed at the designer/appearance-is-what-
matters market; Sharper Image is selling this toy at $349.95, plus $50
for the XM-antenna add-on VX300 unit (& of course the XM subscription
cost).
That brings up another question. The picture of the VX300 unit, which
I cannot find on the Eton site but only on the Sharper Image site, at
http://www.sharperimagebest.com/vx300.html
does NOT exactly match the image of the XM-antenna add-on unit that is
pictured with the Eton E1 image all over the net. THAT is by Audiovox,
the CNP-1000; here is a picture of that XM antenna unit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009GE7G8/ref=e_deav_acc_1_1/102-7785761-1430500?%5Fencoding=UTF8
I find this odd. Why would Eton (& Sharper Image) want to handle two
different XM-antenna units? Are they really interchangeable or not?
The mind reels.
Anyway, I look forward to finding out more about these new Porsche-
designed Eton SW radios. If anyone finds more-detailed specs, and
especially performance evaluations, please post! Could this P'7131
really be worth $350? It IS physically small for something supposedly
a non-portable ((6" High X 5" Wide X 8.5" Deep) and has a remote.
Maybe you want to add that to your Christmas want-list? :-) If it
performs decently on SW, the wife-acceptance-factor could be higher
than for many other radios... 73, (Will Martin, Dec 7, dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
Ray, I'll address only the antenna question. If XM is like Sirius,
then the antenna units are interchangeable within their intended
function. The two examples you show are the antennas for a home
installation; they would optimally be set on a windowsill or on the
roof. I have mine snugged under a couple roof shingles to give it more
vertical visibility.
While this is just my opinion, $350 seems expensive, without knowing
more about its technical performance specs. Based on the rather sparse
description at the website, I personally wouldn't buy one. I'd rather
save my money for an E1XM which has received very favorable reviews.
You should contact Eton and volunteer to review one for the hobby
community, and sell that review to Monitoring times (Richard Cuff /
Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD)
Caution! The antenna "module" for the E1XM and the P-7131 is different
from the antenna unit provided with the plug and play units. See:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0101cnp.html
A number of "XM-Ready" receivers are coming on market that require
only the "antenna module" (and a subscription, of course) in order to
become functional (John Figliozzi, ibid.)
So that means the antenna module contains the digital decoder chip,
not the radio? (Rich Cuff, ibid.) Yeah, I think you're right about
that (John Figliozzi, ibid.)
Oddly enough, it does NOT include the new Eton E1-XM radio, though
most of the people who now have one of those seem to have bought
theirs through Sharper Image. But it DOES include an Eton SW (& XM)
radio I had never seen before, a "Porsche Design P'7131" model. I went
to the Eton website and found this page:
http://www.etoncorp.com/US/porschedesign/product_specs.aspx?specs=true&prodID=1&subID=1
Note that this shows two new radios, the P'7131 and P'7136. But there
are specs (sort of) only on the larger P'7131. And these so-called
"specs" don't give any details of the SW coverage.
It appears that this is aimed at the designer/appearance-is-what-
matters market; Sharper Image is selling this toy at $349.95, plus $50
for the XM-antenna add-on VX300 unit (& of course the XM subscription
cost).
That brings up another question. The picture of the VX300 unit, which
I cannot find on the Eton site but only on the Sharper Image site, at
http://www.sharperimagebest.com/vx300.html
does NOT exactly match the image of the XM-antenna add-on unit that is
pictured with the Eton E1 image all over the net. THAT is by Audiovox,
the CNP-1000; here is a picture of that XM antenna unit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009GE7G8/ref=e_deav_acc_1_1/102-7785761-1430500?%5Fencoding=UTF8
I find this odd. Why would Eton (& Sharper Image) want to handle two
different XM-antenna units? Are they really interchangeable or not?
The mind reels.
Anyway, I look forward to finding out more about these new Porsche-
designed Eton SW radios. If anyone finds more-detailed specs, and
especially performance evaluations, please post! Could this P'7131
really be worth $350? It IS physically small for something supposedly
a non-portable ((6" High X 5" Wide X 8.5" Deep) and has a remote.
Maybe you want to add that to your Christmas want-list? :-) If it
performs decently on SW, the wife-acceptance-factor could be higher
than for many other radios... 73, (Will Martin, Dec 7, dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
Ray, I'll address only the antenna question. If XM is like Sirius,
then the antenna units are interchangeable within their intended
function. The two examples you show are the antennas for a home
installation; they would optimally be set on a windowsill or on the
roof. I have mine snugged under a couple roof shingles to give it more
vertical visibility.
While this is just my opinion, $350 seems expensive, without knowing
more about its technical performance specs. Based on the rather sparse
description at the website, I personally wouldn't buy one. I'd rather
save my money for an E1XM which has received very favorable reviews.
You should contact Eton and volunteer to review one for the hobby
community, and sell that review to Monitoring times (Richard Cuff /
Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD)
Caution! The antenna "module" for the E1XM and the P-7131 is different
from the antenna unit provided with the plug and play units. See:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0101cnp.html
A number of "XM-Ready" receivers are coming on market that require
only the "antenna module" (and a subscription, of course) in order to
become functional (John Figliozzi, ibid.)
So that means the antenna module contains the digital decoder chip,
not the radio? (Rich Cuff, ibid.) Yeah, I think you're right about
that (John Figliozzi, ibid.)
WRTH 1947 to 1958 REPRINT
Twelve editions with fully text search function on a CD! This is a joint venture between the WRTH Co. and ADDX on the occasion of the 60th edition of the WRTH! The rare old copies of the first editions of the WRTH occasionally can be found at eBay auction. Thus the 1949 edition was sold this summer for 750 U.S. Dollars! The first twelve editions have now been scanned and are sold on a CD which I have had a look at. It is very easy to work with and highly recommendable to all people interested in broadcast radio history.
More at http://www.addx.de/Service/CDreprint.php
Until Jan 31, 2006, it is sold for 40 Euro including postage. After that date the CD will cost 50 Euro. Send your order and payment directly to ADDX, Scharsbergweg 14,
D-41189 Moenchengladbach, Germany. Bank transfer to ADDX-Konto Nr. 8686800 at Deutschen Bank, Duesseldorf, BLZ 30070024 (IBAN: DE 7030 0700 1000 0868 6800, BIC: DEUT DE DB DUE). (Schmitz and Petersen) ( Anker Peterson via DX-Window No. 287)
More at http://www.addx.de/Service/CDreprint.php
Until Jan 31, 2006, it is sold for 40 Euro including postage. After that date the CD will cost 50 Euro. Send your order and payment directly to ADDX, Scharsbergweg 14,
D-41189 Moenchengladbach, Germany. Bank transfer to ADDX-Konto Nr. 8686800 at Deutschen Bank, Duesseldorf, BLZ 30070024 (IBAN: DE 7030 0700 1000 0868 6800, BIC: DEUT DE DB DUE). (Schmitz and Petersen) ( Anker Peterson via DX-Window No. 287)
Thursday, December 08, 2005
A visit to AIR Tutucorine
STATION PROFILE
A visit to AIR Tutucorine
Tutucorine is a district Head Quarters in Tamil Nadu state of South India. It was pronounced in Tamil as Thoothukkudi. Major industries such as SPIC, Chemical Industries, Heavy water plant and Thermal plant are located here. It is also called “Pearl city” in the view of the pearl fishing being conducted periodically.
The city is also famous for the production of salt. Sri Sankara Rameshwarar Temple and one Sri Vaikundapathy Temple built by the Pandya King Sankara Pandyan. I went Tutucorine for present one program to AIR Tutucorine on the topic of “Radio: Yesterday, Today and tomorrow”. It was the 6th AIR Station that I visited and here are some of the details of the station.
All India Radio, Tutucorine was inaugurated on May 31, 1994 with a 2 x 100 KW. Its offices and studios are located at Millarpuram, about 5 Kms away from the town.
The present studio block was inaugurated on 1994 May 31 and consists of Talk, playback and Music studios. There are three transmissions daily viz in the morning, noon and evening/night. The morning broadcasts start at 05.30 am (0000 UTC) and night broadcast close down at 09.00 pm (15.30 UTC).
The Morning transmitter starts with External service of Tamil to South East Asia (SEA) starts at 05.30 to 06.15 relays from AIR Delhi. 06.15 to 06.45 Sinhala language relay from AIR Delhi. AIR chennai relay for news at 06.45 to 06.55 and 08.10 to 0815 (Special News bulletin to SEA). AIR Tutucorine programs start from 06.55 to 09.00.
The second transmitter start at 03.30 to 04.30 pm with General Overseas Service from AIR Delhi, 04.30 to 04.45 AIR Tutucorine program and again the SEA Tamil starts at 04.45 to 0545 pm. It is relay from AIR chennai. Then again AIR Tutucorine broadcast from 05.45 to 06.30. The evening Sinhala Service starts at 06.30- 08.30 pm relays from AIR Delhi. In night again the original production of AIR Tutucorine start from 08.30 to 09.00 pm.
The target area of this station transmitter is the South East Asian countries. But mainly concentrate on Sri lanka. Most of the programs are in the Sinhala and Tamil. “Thirai Kadal Adivarum Tamizh Natham” (The name of the External Service Tamil) morning transmitter relayed from Delhi and the Evening transmitter from Chennai.
The recording and playback equipment consists of Turntables, Spool tapes and CD players. There is also facility for phone in program. Most of the allied equipment is made by Keltron and Meltron.
The transmitting station is at a little remote area called Meelavittan, about 15 Kms away from the studios. The transmitter is a 2 X 100 KW BEL HMB 140, which was commissioned on 31, may 1994. The antenna is a self-radiating mast 130 meters high. The studio to transmitter link is via UHF link operating on 1440 Mhz.
In the transmitter site they monitor with SONY ICF 7600 DS (1989 Model). The station operates on 1053 KHz. The postal address is All India Radio, Millarpuram, Tutucorine – 8, Tel: 0461 2310 228.and the Transmitter site address is Asst. Station Eng., All India Radio, Meelavittan, Tutucorine – 628 002.
A visit to AIR Tutucorine
Tutucorine is a district Head Quarters in Tamil Nadu state of South India. It was pronounced in Tamil as Thoothukkudi. Major industries such as SPIC, Chemical Industries, Heavy water plant and Thermal plant are located here. It is also called “Pearl city” in the view of the pearl fishing being conducted periodically.
The city is also famous for the production of salt. Sri Sankara Rameshwarar Temple and one Sri Vaikundapathy Temple built by the Pandya King Sankara Pandyan. I went Tutucorine for present one program to AIR Tutucorine on the topic of “Radio: Yesterday, Today and tomorrow”. It was the 6th AIR Station that I visited and here are some of the details of the station.
All India Radio, Tutucorine was inaugurated on May 31, 1994 with a 2 x 100 KW. Its offices and studios are located at Millarpuram, about 5 Kms away from the town.
The present studio block was inaugurated on 1994 May 31 and consists of Talk, playback and Music studios. There are three transmissions daily viz in the morning, noon and evening/night. The morning broadcasts start at 05.30 am (0000 UTC) and night broadcast close down at 09.00 pm (15.30 UTC).
The Morning transmitter starts with External service of Tamil to South East Asia (SEA) starts at 05.30 to 06.15 relays from AIR Delhi. 06.15 to 06.45 Sinhala language relay from AIR Delhi. AIR chennai relay for news at 06.45 to 06.55 and 08.10 to 0815 (Special News bulletin to SEA). AIR Tutucorine programs start from 06.55 to 09.00.
The second transmitter start at 03.30 to 04.30 pm with General Overseas Service from AIR Delhi, 04.30 to 04.45 AIR Tutucorine program and again the SEA Tamil starts at 04.45 to 0545 pm. It is relay from AIR chennai. Then again AIR Tutucorine broadcast from 05.45 to 06.30. The evening Sinhala Service starts at 06.30- 08.30 pm relays from AIR Delhi. In night again the original production of AIR Tutucorine start from 08.30 to 09.00 pm.
The target area of this station transmitter is the South East Asian countries. But mainly concentrate on Sri lanka. Most of the programs are in the Sinhala and Tamil. “Thirai Kadal Adivarum Tamizh Natham” (The name of the External Service Tamil) morning transmitter relayed from Delhi and the Evening transmitter from Chennai.
The recording and playback equipment consists of Turntables, Spool tapes and CD players. There is also facility for phone in program. Most of the allied equipment is made by Keltron and Meltron.
The transmitting station is at a little remote area called Meelavittan, about 15 Kms away from the studios. The transmitter is a 2 X 100 KW BEL HMB 140, which was commissioned on 31, may 1994. The antenna is a self-radiating mast 130 meters high. The studio to transmitter link is via UHF link operating on 1440 Mhz.
In the transmitter site they monitor with SONY ICF 7600 DS (1989 Model). The station operates on 1053 KHz. The postal address is All India Radio, Millarpuram, Tutucorine – 8, Tel: 0461 2310 228.and the Transmitter site address is Asst. Station Eng., All India Radio, Meelavittan, Tutucorine – 628 002.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
60th anniversary of WRTH
This year is the 60th anniversary of the bestselling directory of world broadcasting on LW, MW, SW and FM.
An Extended Features section includes special anniversary articles on The History of WRTH, 60 Years of Reception, 50 years of DXing, 60 Years of Technology and The Future of Radio
The remaining pages are, as usual, full of information on:
• National and International broadcasts and broadcasters
• Clandestine and other target broadcasters
• MW and SW frequency listings
• Equipment reviews and articles
• TV by country
• Extensive Reference section
What is WRTH?
World Radio TV Handbook or WRTH is now in its 60th edition. It is the most accurate and complete guide to the world of radio on LW, MW, SW and FM, available in any form.
It is divided into the following sections
Features - This section is in full colour and contains reviews of receivers and ancillary equipment, articles on topical issues such as digital radio, interviews with broadcasters , reception conditions, colour maps showing the location of SW transmitters, and other topics of interest to Listeners and DXers.
National Radio - This section covers the world's domestic radio services. The listings are by country and include all stations broadcasting on LW, MW and SW, together with contact details, and most stations broadcasting on FM.
International Radio - Full details of all broadcasters transmitting internationally are given in this section and are listed by country. The schedules shown are the 'A' or 'winter' SW frequencies as supplied by the broadcasters and confirmed by monitoring, together with any LW or MW frequencies used. It also contains a new sub-section showing Clandestine and Other Target Broadcasters arranged by target country. The 'B' or 'summer' schedules, along with updates to broadcaster details, are available as a pdf download from this website in May each year.
Frequency Lists - This section contains MW frequency lists grouped by frequency within regions, lists of international and domestic SW broadcasts in frequency order, and international SW broadcasts in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish shown by UTC.
Television - The TV section has details of the main national broadcasters, and large regional networks, arranged alphabetically by country.
Reference - This section has tables and listings of Transmitter sites, Standard Time and Frequency Transmissions, DX Club information, Internet resources and other essential information.
To see what other people think of WRTH please read the comments made about WRTH 2005, or go right ahead and order a copy of WRTH 2006.
An Extended Features section includes special anniversary articles on The History of WRTH, 60 Years of Reception, 50 years of DXing, 60 Years of Technology and The Future of Radio
The remaining pages are, as usual, full of information on:
• National and International broadcasts and broadcasters
• Clandestine and other target broadcasters
• MW and SW frequency listings
• Equipment reviews and articles
• TV by country
• Extensive Reference section
What is WRTH?
World Radio TV Handbook or WRTH is now in its 60th edition. It is the most accurate and complete guide to the world of radio on LW, MW, SW and FM, available in any form.
It is divided into the following sections
Features - This section is in full colour and contains reviews of receivers and ancillary equipment, articles on topical issues such as digital radio, interviews with broadcasters , reception conditions, colour maps showing the location of SW transmitters, and other topics of interest to Listeners and DXers.
National Radio - This section covers the world's domestic radio services. The listings are by country and include all stations broadcasting on LW, MW and SW, together with contact details, and most stations broadcasting on FM.
International Radio - Full details of all broadcasters transmitting internationally are given in this section and are listed by country. The schedules shown are the 'A' or 'winter' SW frequencies as supplied by the broadcasters and confirmed by monitoring, together with any LW or MW frequencies used. It also contains a new sub-section showing Clandestine and Other Target Broadcasters arranged by target country. The 'B' or 'summer' schedules, along with updates to broadcaster details, are available as a pdf download from this website in May each year.
Frequency Lists - This section contains MW frequency lists grouped by frequency within regions, lists of international and domestic SW broadcasts in frequency order, and international SW broadcasts in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish shown by UTC.
Television - The TV section has details of the main national broadcasters, and large regional networks, arranged alphabetically by country.
Reference - This section has tables and listings of Transmitter sites, Standard Time and Frequency Transmissions, DX Club information, Internet resources and other essential information.
To see what other people think of WRTH please read the comments made about WRTH 2005, or go right ahead and order a copy of WRTH 2006.
“GAMBIRA KURALON” S.Ganeshwaran Died on 07.12.2005
Ceylon Radio Announcer Mr S.Ganeshwaran is a popular announcer since 1980. He is called by his fans as “GAMBIRA KURALON(Majestic Voice)”. He is not only an announcer but also a script writer, director, singer, and cine actor. His versatility and knowledge is now well shown in “THENDRAL“ (SLBC), Colombo International Radio, Ceylon Asian Service. He died on the live show itself on 07.12.2005. [Thanks to Mr.Attur Viyaram A.Kannan, Mobile:98946 70004. For more details visit http://www.vijayramonline.com/kannan-page/index2.htm]
Monday, November 28, 2005
2005 Top Ten Taiwan News Stories contest by RTI
PrizesSpecial prize: an i-pod worth NT$6,000(3 winners)
First prize:Ÿ a digital camera worth NT$4,500 (4 winners)
Second prize:Ÿa digital radio worth NT$3,000 (5 winners)
Third prize:Ÿ a pen holder worth NT$500 (40 winners)
Commemorative prize: an RTI T-shirt worth NT$300Ÿ (200 winners)
How to participate
1. Online>>>2. Mail to P.O. Box, 24-38, Taipei, Taiwan (regular mail only)3. Email to: topten@rti.org.tw4. Fax to 886-2-2886-2294 or 886-2-2885-00055. The competition ends on December 28th (Online entry ends at noon December 30th). For speedy processing, please email or fax your entries.
Results
◎ The results will be available on December 30th, 2005. ◎ The draw for the prizes will be held on January 23, 2006.
2005 Top Ten Taiwan News Stories
The direct, two-way chartered flights for the Chinese Lunar New Year began on January 29th, a historic moment in Taiwan-China links.
The United Microelectronics Corporation is under investigation for allegedly transferring its technology, investment and manpower to China.
On March 26th, President Chen Shui-bian and Premier Frank Hsieh joined a mass rally to protest against China's "anti-secession law."
President Chen went to the Vatican to attend the funeral of late Pope John Paul II, the first such trip made by a Taiwan leader in 63 years.
The National Assembly is abolished; "single constituency, two-vote" system adopted; legislative seats halved, referendum included in constitution.
The High Court rejected the opposition's appeal to nullify last year's presidential elections results.
Taiwan's fishery disputes with Japan continue as the 15th fishery talks held in July between the two sides failed to reach any consensus.
Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou was elected chairman of the KMT in August. Ma is the first directly elected chairman.
Protests held by rioting Thai workers in August triggered investigations into wrongdoing and profiteering involving high-ranking government officials.
Opposition leaders visited China in April and May. Independent lawmaker Lee Ao visited China in September.
Japan grants Taiwanese tourists visa-free entry since (September 26th).
The Grand Justices ruled in September that the government's plan to implement a compulsory fingerprinting ID plan is illegal.
The legal exchange of Taiwan dollars for Chinese RMB began on October 3rd in Kinmen and Matsu, with a maximum of 20,000 RMB.
A Tokyo court ruled that the Japanese government should compensate Taiwan's leprosy victims; but Japan later said it would appeal the case.
Wang Jian-ming, a Taiwanese pitcher with the New York Yankees, is called the "Glory of Taiwan."
Smuggled birds from China were found to be infected with the H5N1 virus. Taiwan called on Roche to allow this country to produce Tamiflu.
The legislature passed the bill creating the National Communications Commission in October. The legislature controls membership of the media watchdog.
Taiwan severed diplomatic ties with Grenada and Senegal in Jan and Oct respectively. Taiwan forged ties with Nauru in May. Taiwan now has 25 allies.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
.jpg)
Friday, November 25, 2005
Sarvadesavanoli November 2005
In this November Issue..
DRM and DAB SPECIAL
* Digital Radio Mondial – An Introduction
www.drm.org
* DRM FAQ
* Digital Audio Broadcasting – An Introduction
* Radio Veritas Thamizh Pani 2005 Winners list
* Time Table of International Tamil Radios
[with Freq., Meter and Broadcasting dates]
* Survey Letter by Pollachi DX Club
· Mobile: 98650 16402
* Radio Guide
- Pulam Peyarntha Thamizharkalum
Yazh Suthakar Pathilkalum
yazhsuthakar@yahoo.co.in
* Digital Page:
Kchibo DRM11
www.kchibo.com/drm
* Short Wave -An Introduction
Morse Key and the using table
* Radio in Newspaper
* Radio Competition details
* Radio Taipei International
· natalie@rti.org.tw
* Radio Prague
· english@radio.cz
- Radio Veritas Asia
DRM and DAB SPECIAL
* Digital Radio Mondial – An Introduction
www.drm.org
* DRM FAQ
* Digital Audio Broadcasting – An Introduction
* Radio Veritas Thamizh Pani 2005 Winners list
* Time Table of International Tamil Radios
[with Freq., Meter and Broadcasting dates]
* Survey Letter by Pollachi DX Club
· Mobile: 98650 16402
* Radio Guide
- Pulam Peyarntha Thamizharkalum
Yazh Suthakar Pathilkalum
yazhsuthakar@yahoo.co.in
* Digital Page:
Kchibo DRM11
www.kchibo.com/drm
* Short Wave -An Introduction
Morse Key and the using table
* Radio in Newspaper
* Radio Competition details
* Radio Taipei International
· natalie@rti.org.tw
* Radio Prague
· english@radio.cz
- Radio Veritas Asia
tamil@rveritas-asia.org
* DX Club News
* Dxing Q&A
DRM details
Worldspace details
* On the Short Waves
· * This is 4 U..
* Free: DRM Sticker
* DX Club News
* Dxing Q&A
DRM details
Worldspace details
* On the Short Waves
· * This is 4 U..
* Free: DRM Sticker
Sarvadesavanoli October 2005
In this October Issue..
K.S RAJAH SPECIAL - 2
* K.S. Rajah a legend
Valliyur A.P.S.Ravindran [9443358400]
Pathamadai Kanndasamy [0462-2330096]
Pathamadai Kanndasamy [0462-2330096]
* K.S.Rajah Fan thoughts- Yazh Suthakar [044-55855702]
http://www.ksrajah.blogdrive.com/
* K.S.Rajah Interview
http://www.ksrajah.blogdrive.com/
* K.S.Rajah Interview
* Radio Guide- National Radio Club AM Log Book
* Digital Page:Philips RL 146 Panasonic RB-11
* Short Wave -An Introduction How to use Morse Key
* Radio in Newspaper
* Radio Competition details
- Voice of GermanyInside Europe Quiz europe@dw-world.de
Current affairs quiz newslink@d-world.de
- Radio Veritas Asia tamil@rveritas-asia.org
Monthly QuizAnnual Quiz
- China Radio International
Tamil Service Quiz Answers tamil@cri.com.cn
English Service Quiz crienf@cri.co.cn
* DX Club News
* Dxing Q&ADRM detailsWorldspace details
* On the Short Waves* This is 4 U..* Free: IBC Tamil Sticker
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
IBC Tamil Service freq. change
SRI LANKA [non]. GERMANY: Additional DTK T-Systems changes:IBC Tamil Service in Tamil from Nov. 18:0000-0100 NF 7110 (not 7105) WER 250 kW / 090 deg to SoAs, ex 6055 to avoid REE (Observer, Bulgaria, Nov 22 via DXLD)
Passport to World Band Radio 2006
The 2006 of Passport to World Band Radio was published in October 2005. Described on the cover as "World's #1 Selling Shortwave Guide", there is no doubt about the focus of this annual publication. Its core content and format have not changed much since it was first published 22 years ago, and it does an excellent job of introducing new listeners to what's on the dial between 2 and 30 MHz. Its coverage of that part of the broadcast spectrum is excellent, and we were pleased to see that digital shortwave (DRM) is prominently featured in the receiver review section.
This year's special feature covers China and Tibet. Interestingly, in addition to profiling China Radio International, author Manosij Guha has included considerable detail about China's jamming of some shortwave broadcasts. This may help ensure that pressure will be maintained on the Chinese authorites in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics. Plaudits to Passport for taking the opportunity to raise awareness of an issue which is too infrequently mentioned in the mainstream press.
For newcomers to shortwave listening, Passport contains a 34-page section called "Compleat [sic] Idiot's Guide to Getting Started". Despite its facetious name, there is a good deal of useful information, including a selection of English programmes from international broadcasters called 'Ten of the Best', which again this year includes two from Radio Netherlands - the Research File and Wide Angle (now part of Saturday Connection).
Passport's focus on programming as well as frequencies and receivers is very much appreciated by the producers at the international broadcasters. A comprehensive section called 'Hour by Hour - What's on Tonight?' fills 60 pages, and there's also a section for expatriates called 'Voices from Home' which tells them how to tune into the broadcaster from their homeland in their native language. Finally, there's a comprehensive listing of Worldwide Broadcasts in English.
But for many regular readers, the twin attractions of Passport are the graphical listings of all shortwave broadcasts by frequency, and the comprehensive equipment reviews. The frequency listings have always been controversial amongst shortwave hobbyists. Passport's editorial deadline comes well before many of the broadcasters have finalised their winter schedules, and frequency planning for next summer has barely started. So some of the information in the so-called Blue Pages is, by the editors' own admission, "creatively opined". But the editors do point out, quite correctly, that they have decades of experience, and every year some of the "creatively opined" information turns out to be remarkably accurate. Of course, they cannot predict changes resulting from political decisions, budget cuts and the like.
In conjunction with the Blue Pages, the Addresses Plus section gives full contact information for all the stations in the listings. For the international broadcasters, websites and e-mail addresses are also given. 'How to Choose a World Band Radio' is the equipment section with over 140 pages containing reviews of receivers and antennas. The writing style of Passport's Editor-in-Chief, Larry Magne, ensures that it never becomes dull. Larry is very authoritative, but also has a sense of humour, and is not afraid to tell it like it is. The review of the cheap Coby CX-CB91 is typical, concluding: "With tuning so hopeless and earpiece audio that can be unexpectedly painful, this Chinese model is unfit for human consumption."
On the other hand, those receivers worthy of serious consideration get several pages to themselves, with clear and easy-to-understand explanations of their strengths and weaknesses. The only disconcerting thing is that the ratings are now indicated as 1-5 stars, sometime followed by a figure such as 5/8. A different system (for example points out of 100) might be a better way of indicating minor differences in overall ratings.
Edited in the USA and printed in Canada, Passport to World Band Radio 2006 is very North America-focused, but is valuable to anyone around the world who wants a good reference to shortwave broadcasting in English and other major languages. Its binding enables the book to be opened flat while bandscanning, enhancing the usefulness of the Blue Pages. All in all, the 2006 edition is well up to the standard of previous editions, and we highly recommend it.
This review was compiled by the staff of 'Media Network', the English language Webzine of Radio Netherlands. The review was done independently of the author and publisher. Radio Netherlands has no financial connection with either and provides the information above in good faith.This year's special feature covers China and Tibet. Interestingly, in addition to profiling China Radio International, author Manosij Guha has included considerable detail about China's jamming of some shortwave broadcasts. This may help ensure that pressure will be maintained on the Chinese authorites in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics. Plaudits to Passport for taking the opportunity to raise awareness of an issue which is too infrequently mentioned in the mainstream press.
For newcomers to shortwave listening, Passport contains a 34-page section called "Compleat [sic] Idiot's Guide to Getting Started". Despite its facetious name, there is a good deal of useful information, including a selection of English programmes from international broadcasters called 'Ten of the Best', which again this year includes two from Radio Netherlands - the Research File and Wide Angle (now part of Saturday Connection).
Passport's focus on programming as well as frequencies and receivers is very much appreciated by the producers at the international broadcasters. A comprehensive section called 'Hour by Hour - What's on Tonight?' fills 60 pages, and there's also a section for expatriates called 'Voices from Home' which tells them how to tune into the broadcaster from their homeland in their native language. Finally, there's a comprehensive listing of Worldwide Broadcasts in English.
But for many regular readers, the twin attractions of Passport are the graphical listings of all shortwave broadcasts by frequency, and the comprehensive equipment reviews. The frequency listings have always been controversial amongst shortwave hobbyists. Passport's editorial deadline comes well before many of the broadcasters have finalised their winter schedules, and frequency planning for next summer has barely started. So some of the information in the so-called Blue Pages is, by the editors' own admission, "creatively opined". But the editors do point out, quite correctly, that they have decades of experience, and every year some of the "creatively opined" information turns out to be remarkably accurate. Of course, they cannot predict changes resulting from political decisions, budget cuts and the like.
In conjunction with the Blue Pages, the Addresses Plus section gives full contact information for all the stations in the listings. For the international broadcasters, websites and e-mail addresses are also given. 'How to Choose a World Band Radio' is the equipment section with over 140 pages containing reviews of receivers and antennas. The writing style of Passport's Editor-in-Chief, Larry Magne, ensures that it never becomes dull. Larry is very authoritative, but also has a sense of humour, and is not afraid to tell it like it is. The review of the cheap Coby CX-CB91 is typical, concluding: "With tuning so hopeless and earpiece audio that can be unexpectedly painful, this Chinese model is unfit for human consumption."
On the other hand, those receivers worthy of serious consideration get several pages to themselves, with clear and easy-to-understand explanations of their strengths and weaknesses. The only disconcerting thing is that the ratings are now indicated as 1-5 stars, sometime followed by a figure such as 5/8. A different system (for example points out of 100) might be a better way of indicating minor differences in overall ratings.
Edited in the USA and printed in Canada, Passport to World Band Radio 2006 is very North America-focused, but is valuable to anyone around the world who wants a good reference to shortwave broadcasting in English and other major languages. Its binding enables the book to be opened flat while bandscanning, enhancing the usefulness of the Blue Pages. All in all, the 2006 edition is well up to the standard of previous editions, and we highly recommend it.
Larry Magne, et al.
No of pages: 592
Publisher: IBS North America,
P.O. Box 300,
Penns Park, PA 18943,
USA. Tel: +1 (215) 598 9018.
Fax: +1 (215) 598 3794.
E-mail: mktg@passband.com
Web: http://www.passband.com/ (online ordering available)
Price: US$22.95 including fast priority mail shipping free in the US
US$25.95 to Canada & Mexico by global priority airmail
US$27.95 to the UK by global priority airmail
Other countries: see Web site for details.
Also available at up to 30% discount from some online bookstores!
Thanks to http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/passport.html?view=Standard
Indiantelevision.com's interview with Prasar Bharati chief executive officer KS Sarma
As a career bureaucrat, KS Sarma is neither a stranger to the Indian political system nor the opportunities that it throws up if one wants to do something worthwhile. Stints in various ministries in Delhi, apart from the state government of Andhra Pradesh, have given Sarma ample scope to display his talents. His critics at times have termed it histrionics. But such things have never deterred this suave South Indian who finds himself at ease even in the hurly-burly snooty world of the Capital and north India.
If his stay in the human resources development ministry, when he was in charge of pre-college level education at regional level, is termed as "enriching" by him, his stint at Prasar Bharati as the CEO of the world's largest public service broadcaster has been "challenging."
In this interview with Indiantelevision.com's Anjan Mitra, Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma holds forth on a wide range of subjects, at times quite frankly, and at times in his inimitable diplomatic style, on a day when he's working late in the office, which must have stretched further as an official meeting with the information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi had been scheduled.
Excerpts:
How would you assess Prasar Bharati’s performance as 2005 nears an end?It is turning out to be decent year and hopefully the financial year (ending 31 March, 2005) would also help us meet raised revenue targets.
Both Doordarshan and All India Radio are trying to make themselves more seen and heard amongst people and that, I feel, is a good sign of some aggressiveness. We also have TAM data that indicates DD’s viewership in cable and satellite homes has grown by 18 per cent in one year’s time. What’s satisfying is that such growth has not come for any other single channel in the same period.
However, the progress also signals that we’d have to work harder to keep the momentum going, which is the tougher part of the game. Especially when an organization like Prasar Bharati is put under a scanner for even the smallest of things. We are criticized continuously for not living up to the image of a public broadcaster, while on the other hand, the organization is also expected to be self-sufficient. But that, I presume, is part of Prasar Bharati’s life, which has always had so much of potential and still continues to do so.
What are the challenges before Prasar Bharati at this juncture when satellite TV has become a predominant supplier of entertainment and Indian politicians increasingly want more control over DD and AIR?We are seized with the issue of improving our content, especially on DD channels. This, please remember, we have to do while keeping in mind Prasar Bharati’s role as a public broadcaster that also has to provide wholesome entertainment to the masses of India. The task is not as easy as many will think it to be. For example, DD has strict programming codes, which forbids it from airing many types of shows that are a staple for satellite entertainment channels.Another challenge is to do efficient marketing of our programmes that used to be outsourced to third parties. From this year we have decided to do our own marketing whether it’s cricket, serials or movies.
We are also trying to fine tune the self-financing scheme relating to serials, which was introduced earlier this year. This scheme helps us not only to sell airtime more effectively, but gives DD the ownership of programmes produced by outsiders. In the past, the rights of some of DD’s best programming, especially serials and popular shows, used to remain with producers as they bought time on DD channels. We have done away with the sponsored slots now.
However, the biggest challenge, which can also be called an achievement, is to change the mindset of people working in Prasar Bharati. The outlook has become more commercial, while keeping the public service broadcaster’s image in mind. I agree, we cannot change set notions and perceptions at one go, but a more concerted effort is being made to revitalize the manpower, which will bear fruit in times to come.
What is this self-financing scheme all about?The self financing scheme (SFS) puts a stop to sponsored programmes where outside producers used to buy time slots on DD after paying an amount and in return got a fixed amount of commercial time, depending on the amount of time bought. This free commercial time used to be hawked in the market by the producers who also retained the rights over the programmes. Most of the time intense competition compelled these producers to undercut prices (advertising rates) to fill up inventory, which spoiled the market for DD programmes.
Under SFS, in short, Doordarshan appraises programmes and pays outside producers a certain amount factoring in a profit margin for them. Not only do the rights lie with DD now, but the on-air life of such programming is linked to ratings. If a certain programme is not delivering the desired ratings, we take it off air after giving it due notice.
Wasn’t farming out marketing of programmes to third parties an indication of Prasar Bharati’s lack of confidence in itself for which it has been continuously taken for a ride?I wouldn’t agree with the first part of your observation because DD did not have the requisite wherewithal for undertaking complex marketing activities. Or, so the thinking went in DD. We are still ironing out some marketing shortcoming, but the experience of doing it on our own has taught us many a lesson.
However, the second part of the question is quite true. We realised that there were hundreds of people out there in the market trying to sell our programmes and, in the process, underselling the product in an effort to upstage competing sellers (for shows on DD itself and on other TV channels). So we decided to do our own marketing and that is showing results.
First of all, most marketing agencies led us up the garden path and later found all sorts of excuses for not paying us our due. I would not like to take names, but there have been some big names involved. We are still in the process of getting back monies owed to us from marketing agencies.
Do you foresee in-house marketing initiatives bearing fruit this financial year (ending March 2006) or would the results start reflecting from next year?Oh, yes! The marketing and programming initiatives are bearing fruit as are other strategies to tap other sources of revenue. We have been doing quite well this financial year (April-March) and expect to close our books in March 2006 with Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) in total revenue. End October figures tell me that we have mopped up revenues worth about Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion).(In the FY 2004-05 fiscal, Prasar Bharati raked in revenues in the region of Rs 7.88 billion. DD’s share being approximately Rs 6.53 billion and AIR’s Rs 1.35 billion.)
What are the other sources of revenue that Prasar Bharati is tapping that had not been done so far?Our marketing on the government front has got more aggressive. I made a presentation to the information and broadcasting ministry where the underlying theme was that if a government diktat says all government employees should fly (state-controlled) Indian Airlines in an effort to boost its revenues, all advertising related to the government and its agencies should be given to DD and AIR. If not all, at least 70 per cent of such ad spend should come to Prasar Bharati.
Gaining from our experience last year where we undertook big projects for some ministries like agriculture and family welfare and health, this year too we are doing so. For example, we do a project of narrowcasting for the agriculture ministry where important information related to agriculture is disseminated to farmers through our terrestrial low-powered transmitters. This DD and AIR project, worth Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion), was important for the ministry as India is primarily an agrarian economy.
From broadcasting to narrowcasting is quite a way traveled. How much do such activities contribute to the coffers of the world’s largest public broadcaster?We are in the process of concluding deals with the ministries of science & technology, human resources development and environment. While these ministries have huge funds for such activities, Prasar Bharati has the reach through its TV and radio networks. The combination works well.
I would imagine that government and government department-related work should contribute at least Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) this financial year, signifying an upswing from last year.
Revenue generation seems to be the latest mantra in Prasar Bharati. Is that why the organization lobbied hard with the government to have laws favouring it where sports content, especially cricket, is concerned?Why not? Prasar Bharati’s reach amongst the masses, which is the target for the government, is maximum amongst all broadcasters present in India. And, what’s the big issue with cricket? That cricket is a big revenue earner for us is a big misconception. Moreover, the laws that you are referring to have been enacted by the government so that a huge chunk of the population that does not have access to cable and satellite TV gets to see quality sports, which may include cricket.
You seem to be deliberately downplaying the cricket aspect. Why this sudden aversion to cricket?As I said, there’s a misconception about cricket on DD. Let me give you an example. In the four years (up to 2004) that DD had the telecast rights to domestic cricket, it invested approximately Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) in rights fee and production and other sundry costs. At the end of four years, DD’s net returns were just Rs 600 million. From the present one-day cricket series against Sri Lanka and South Africa, DD’s net gains will be approximately Rs 350 million after paying the rights fee. So, what’s the big deal about cricket?
However, cricket helps DD in retaining viewership for other programmes. The chances of a viewer sticking around after a cricket match to check out the programme following it, is high. Feedback from TAM has indicated this and we are trying to capitalize on this.
Such pathetic returns from cricket has been due to inefficient or manipulated marketing of events. Moreover, new media laws will get Prasar Bharati cricket matches at nominal cost. Your comments.When did I say we haven’t suffered from outsourcing marketing to other agencies? That’s why, we have taken to marketing all programmes on DD in-house. Still, as we are on the learning curve, give us some more time to sharpen our marketing skills.As far as going out and bidding for cricket is concerned, there are so many restrictions on Prasar Bharati that it becomes difficult to behave in way as a private sector channel. Every paise that we spend is scrutinized by various agencies.
Tell us about some other initiatives that Prasar Bharati is undertaking.We hope to launch by early January (target is New Year’s Day) in Chennai and Delhi news on mobile vehicles as part of our digital terrestrial transmission move. Later, we plan to take this unique service to Mumbai and Kolkata.Then, as we complete digitalization of our libraries and the transmission process, we’ll have some surplus infrastructure to rent to others. For instance, private FM radio players would be using Prasar Bharati transmission towers for co-locating their own transmitters in various cities.
We are also in the process of introducing scrolling advertisements on our local transmitters for region-specific channels that’ll compete with cable operators’ video channels very effectively.
Has the proposal to make forays in other countries been nixed by the government?We have concluded deals with distributors in the US for four DD channels --- DD India (the international channel), DD News, DD Punjabi and DD Bengali --- for a period of five years. The channels will be distributed on the EchoStar platform. Prasar Bharati gets $ 3 million for DD India, $ 2 million for DD News, $ 1 million for DD Punjabi and $ 300,000 for the Bengali channel. Two radio channels too will be distributed in the US.
We are also in the process of floating tenders for distribution rights in places like Canada and the Middle East. In the future, we’ll increase the number of channels to places like the US.
The finance ministry, however, hasn’t cleared our proposal to enter the UK on the BSkyB platform. I would say, the issue is in the melting pot still.
How’s the DTH service is doing and are there any plans to book separate ads for channels on DD Direct + platform?On last count, five million boxes of DD Direct+ have been sold by various box manufacturers. Though our target is to reach 10 million households by December 2006, which is a decent number of subscribers, there are no plans at present to separately sell airtime for DD channels on the DTH platform.
AIR has always been the unsung sibling of DD. How’s it doing?Not bad at all. AIR is expected to cross the Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) mark this year in terms of revenue.
Do you think the strident employees’ unions of Prasar Bharati will allow a proposed financial restructuring of the organization?The restructuring will be good for the organisation and the employees' unions (that had petitioned the Prime Minister earlier this year to dismantle Prasar Bharati's existing autonomous structure) too is supporting the move now. They were afraid of their salaries and perks, but have realized a restructuring will make Prasar Bharati fighting fit, allowing it also to tap the capital market and other institutions for funds.
What are the other benefits of the financial restructuring of Prasar Bharati being proposed by the government?First and foremost, such a restructuring enables an organization to tap the various sources of funds as government backing would lessen over a period of time as part of recommendations made in the 10th Five-Year Plan, which is likely to be included in the next Plan period also.
The restructuring will also help Prasar Bharati go public if the need be. But don’t ask me how and when because such issues can only be addressed when the time comes.
As you near the end of your tenure as the CEO of Prasar Bharati in July 2006 having reached the age limit of 62 years, how would you term your four-year stint?An eventful one. There have been ups and downs, but it has been challenging to work in Prasar Bharati, an organization with great potential, but limitations also. I have tried in my own little way in contributing towards the organisation’s betterment.
(As the CEO, Sarma has worked with four I&B ministers, while the tally goes up to eight if one takes into account his long tenure as a bureaucrat having served in various capacities in the I&B ministry, amongst others.)
Lastly, do you think that Prasar Bharati can ever make profit and be in the black?I certainly do. Over the next five years or so, Prasar Bharati has the potential of becoming a profitable organization, if managed professionally. After all, BBC did not become what it is today in one day and even there the British government has a lot of say in the running of its affairs.
Pictures by SANJAY SHARMA/Indiapix Network
http://www.indiantelevision.com/interviews/y2k5/executive/ks_sarma.htm
Sunday, November 13, 2005
AIRs 24X7 Music Channel from Trichy and Lucknow Hyderabad
A 24-hour channel in Hindustani and Carnatic Music will be launched shortly by All India Radio (AIR), which also plans concerts at prominent open public places to popularise classical music in the country. Lucknow for Hindustani classical and Trichy for Carnatic music would be the hub of the 24X7 music channels, which would be launched ''anytime'', AIR Deputy Director General (South Zone) G Jayalal told the media here today. AIR, in collaboration with the New Delhi Municipal Corporation, proposed to hold classical music concerts at public gardens and prominent open spaces, for which the Prasar Bharati (PB) Board had given its consent recently. Flanked by Hyderabad Station Director Dr Gopalakrishna and Programmer Ms Vedavathi, AIR's Southern Chief said Archives (South) would release on November 13 Audio Cassettes and Audio Compact Discs of four popular Telugu plays. The plays - ''Kanyasulkam'', the all time socially relevant play by Gurajada Appa Rao, ''Varavikrayam'', another play on dowry written by Kallakuri Narayan Rao, ''Ganapathi'' rated as the best literary comedy by Chilakamarthi Laxminarasimham Panthulu and ''Pandavudyoga Vijayalu'', penned by Tirupathi Venkata Kavulu - would be released on the occasion of ''Broadcasting Day''. Union Information Minister S Jaipal Reddy and K S Sarma, the CEO of PB, would be present on the occasion. The event would be recorded due to the national mourning and relayed by Akashvani Centres from December 17 to January 23,
[November 13, 2005 1:36:03 AM IST 2006]http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=160754&cat=India
---------------------------- Alokesh Gupta New Delhi, India.
The first majorpodcasting convention to be held in the US
Podcasts are changing the content of radio
Hundreds of podcasters from 22 countries have gathered at the Portable MediaExpo and Podcasting Conference in Ontario, California, for the first majorpodcasting convention to be held in the US.It is a mark of how mainstream podcasting is becoming world-wide that one ofthe attendees from the UK, Ewan Spence, is nominated for a Scottish Baftafor his series of podcasts from the Edinburgh festival.But does podcasting spell the death of radio?The answer that seems to be emerging from this conference is that it dependson the type of radio in question.Adam Curry, widely credited as the "podfather" for his part in thedevelopment of podcasting, has attracted millions of dollars in venturecapital funding for his Podshow and Podsafe Music Network businesses.But he is convinced there remains space for traditional radio, particularlyin the sphere of news."If we find Osama Bin Laden, don't go running to the iPod - you'll beseverely disappointed," Mr Curry told the BBC.News radio is somewhat insulated from the effect of podcasting by the needto cover major events live. But many feel podcasting is challengingcomplacent broadcasters, who have allowed quality and audiences to decline.Leo Laporte, a talk radio host in Los Angeles and the creator of the hitpodcast This Week in Tech, thinks podcasters are changing radio for thebetter."Radio has been moribund for a couple decades, podcasting is reviving thisart of radio - it's a complete renaissance."One aspect of this renaissance is "narrowcasting" or "microcasting" -broadcasts targeted at niche audiences.It is radio that focuses on particular interest groups. Examples include"The Mommycast: a podcast for mommies everywhere", or "The Good Beer Show",which offers reviews of micro-brewed beer hosted from a tavern in Indiana."We're talking about a million different niches," said JD Lassica, a pioneerin the field of citizen-produced media.Many at the conference predict the greatest effect of podcasting ontraditional radio will be in music broadcasting.Given copyright restrictions, podcast music shows are limited to so-called"podsafe music", where the musicians publish under licences that allowinternet downloading.Most bands that produce "podsafe music" are unsigned bands, independent ofthe major record labels.Mr Curry, a former MTV presenter, believes that is bad news for the majorrecord labels."The end result will be that podcast music is going to route around theentire [music] industry," he said."The music business itself is heading for a meltdown because all the toolsare available for any artist to sell directly to the consumer."But there are signs that traditional broadcasters are waking up to podsafemusic.At the recent Pod Con UK conference held in London, Virgin Radio announcedthat it would be including podsafe music in some of its podcasts.As podcasting changes the content of radio, the way we listen to radio ischanging too.Tech-geeks like to speak of "convergence", of the coming together of thedifferent ways to listen to radio as broadband and wireless technologybecome more prevalent.There are already mobile phones that enable you to download podcasts - ineffect, turning your phone into a radio tuner - that has the money-meninterested."We think there's a huge a market, that will allow podcasting to be extendedto the 2bn wireless phones across the world today," Adrian Smith of VentureCapital firm Ignition Partners said."In a pretty short number of years ring-tones have become a hugemulti-billion dollar market and that suggests podcasting could be a verylarge market indeed."Despite the emphasis on new technologies and ways of making money frompodcasts, there is broad agreement that the key to success in podcasting andin traditional radio is the same.As Mr Curry says, however clever the technology, "you need this wonderful piece in the middle which is the guy talking about something he's passionateabout". [By Chris VallanceBBC News, Ontario, California]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4432464.stm
Sony ICFSW7600GR on ebay.in for Rs. 8000
Check these links for Sony ICF7600GR on ebay.in :
Features
FM/LW/MW/SW Multi-Band Reception
PLL Synthesizer Tuner
100-Station Memory Presets
4-Way-Tuning (Direct / Auto Scan /
Manual /Station Memory Preset)
Sleep Function
Dual Clock (World\ Local)
190x118.8x35.3 mm-Dimensions (w/h/d)
608 (including batteries)-Wt. (g)
Available for Rs.8000http://cgi.ebay.in/Sony-ICFSW7600GR-Digital-Tuning-World-Band-Receiver_W0QQitemZ5828061204QQcategoryZ15051QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
A Gurgaon based seller is offering for Rs 9990http://cgi.ebay.in/Sony-ICF-SW7600GR-AM-FM-Shortwave-World-Band-Receiver_W0QQitemZ5827976590QQcategoryZ294QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
A mumbai based seller offering for Rs 11275http://cgi.ebay.in/New-Sony-FM-World-Band-Receiver-Radio-ICF-SW7600GR_W0QQitemZ5829792008QQcategoryZ15051QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Sony India website still lists at Rs.14999http://www.sonyindia.co.in/sonyindia/products/DisplayProduct.jsp?modelNumber=ICF-SW7600GR
-Alokesh GuptaNew Delhi, India.
Prasar out of tune: 100 stations run without directors
Almost 100 All India Radio (AIR) stations are currentlyrunning without a station director even as over 200 eligible AIR officialsawait promotions because of non-existent recruitment and promotion policies.While ministry of information and broadcasting continues to fund PrasarBharti, it has no role in matters related to promotions and recruitment,sources said.In the programme cadre, the recruitment process stopped in 1991 once thePrasar Bharti Act was formulated. There have not been any recruitments orpromotions since then.There are 219 AIR stations in India out of which over 100 are run by lowergrade employees, who also look after administration. "Because there are noclear guidelines for recruitment and promotions, we are serving at lowerranks and we are not motivated to work now," said an official who has beenon the same post for 20 years.In all, there are about 52,000 employees on the rolls, of which almost 3,000employees are retiring each year only to be hired again. "Because of this,we have 70-year-olds working in newsrooms of AIR on late night shifts. Someof them cannot walk properly," sources added.The programme staff association of AIR and DD says the matter is lined upfor hearing in Supreme Court but since Prasar Bharti is not interested, itkeeps taking time from the court
[ASHISH SINHAPosted online: Monday, November 14, 2005 at 0000 hours ISTNEW DELHI, NOV 13: .http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=108503]
-------------------Alokesh GuptaNew Delhi, India.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Contest, Contest, Contest ...
Blake and Monty's Guilty Pleasures, LOTW, DiscoOn this week's program, check out our new contest!! We've got great prizes for great letters, you'll hear some of them on this week's MLMB. Listener Blake Poppelwell shares his guilty pleasure with us on this week's edition of the "Sweetspot." Spotlight host Marc Montgomery joins us with a few guilty pleasures of his own. Vivaldi helps us with your letters and Terry has a special LOTW from Tennessee. Disco here and disco there, plus much more!!
The Maple Leaf Mailbag Radio Canada International P.O.Box 6000 Montreal, CANADA H3C 3A8
For listeners from India: The Maple Leaf Mailbag Canadian High Commission P.O.Box 5207, Chanakyapuri New Delhi 110 021, INDIA
For listeners from Pakistan: The Maple Leaf Mailbag P.O.Box 3390 Islamabad, PAKISTAN
Host and producer: • Ian Jones Production Assistant: • Roman Michael Pitt
The Maple Leaf Mailbag Radio Canada International P.O.Box 6000 Montreal, CANADA H3C 3A8
For listeners from India: The Maple Leaf Mailbag Canadian High Commission P.O.Box 5207, Chanakyapuri New Delhi 110 021, INDIA
For listeners from Pakistan: The Maple Leaf Mailbag P.O.Box 3390 Islamabad, PAKISTAN
Host and producer: • Ian Jones Production Assistant: • Roman Michael Pitt
RTI will honor it's top letter-writing listeners!
At the beginning of 2006, RTI will pick ten listeners who have sent us the most letters this year. Then, from among those ten listeners, we will choose one as our best listener of the year! This top letter-writing istener will receive a beautifully designed book, featuring the black-faced spoonbill, an endangered bird species that makes Taiwan its home. Published by Taiwan’s Post Office, the book, written both in Chinese and English, also comes with beautiful stamps. So write to us and tell us your suggestions and comments about our shows. The more letters you send to us by the end of this year, the better your chances of being chosen as our best listener!
Our mailing address is P.O. Box, 24-38,Taipei, Taiwan ROC.
Or email us at prog@rti.org.tw.
Our mailing address is P.O. Box, 24-38,Taipei, Taiwan ROC.
Or email us at prog@rti.org.tw.
RTI is looking for new monitors for 2006
RTI's English Service will be selecting nine new monitors for 2006. Eachmonitor will be given an official certificate and gift as an expression ofour appreciation. Monitors for 2005 received a porcelain from the renownedNational Palace Museum.Responsibilities: Monitors will be responsible for writing threecomprehensive and clearly-written reception reports each month for one yearfrom January 1-December 31.Qualificiations: Monitors will be selected based upon quality of receptionreports, dedication, and geographical location. The final qualification isto assure that we have monitors in different locations.Application: All interested applicants should email as soon as possible to:paula@rti.org.twOr send a letter to: English Service, P.O. Box 24-38, Taipei, TAIWAN ROCMonitors will be announced: on the Internet and in "Mailbag Time" in lateDecember, 2005 http://english.rti.com.tw/Content/WhatsNewSingle.aspx?ContentID=1506&BlockID=30
Monday, October 10, 2005
Radio Polonia Quiz
Radio Polonia want to know this month is this: Which of the following has never been the President of Poland. Is it: a) Aleksander Kwasniewski b) Marek Belka or c) Lech Walesa Just answer a, b, or c and send it in to RP without delay via email at english.section@radio.com.pl
OR Radio Polonoa,50M, Shanti path, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021, India. Get you answer in by October 26 and you might just possibly be the proud owner of a Radio Polonia Goodiebag…so good its gets everyone’s vote….
OR Radio Polonoa,50M, Shanti path, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021, India. Get you answer in by October 26 and you might just possibly be the proud owner of a Radio Polonia Goodiebag…so good its gets everyone’s vote….
Radio Prague's competition
"RP are looking for the name of a Czech-born rock musician - guitarist and songwriter. He was born in Prague in 1948 but in the 1960s he left for New York with his parents. At the legendary New York club CBGB's he met the ambitious and talented Patti Smith and the two of them started collaborating. Over the years, he played alongside some other influential rock artists, including Iggy Pop and John Cale. After the fall of the communist regime, he returned to his native Prague. At present, he is a songwriter, film composer and a sought-out producer." Please, send us your answers by the end of October, to Radio Prague, 12099, Prague, Czech Republic or english@radio.cz. OR Radio Prague, 50M, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021
Electronics Quiz
In November 2005, the eetasia.com Network - Asia's primary online destination for design engineers - rolls out a dedicated website for engineers in India: www.eetindia.com.
Here's how it works:
After registering, just enter the e-mail addresses of your friends and colleagues in the referral form.
Each successful referral earns you one point. If the person you referred registers at eetindia.com, you earn one additional point.
At the end of the promo period, the registered user with the highest number of points will win corresponding prizes:
First prize: 4GB iPod miniSecond prize: 1GB iPod ShuffleThird prize: 512MB iPod Shuffle
The more colleagues you refer, the more points you earn, the greater your chances of winning the iPod.
Here's how it works:
After registering, just enter the e-mail addresses of your friends and colleagues in the referral form.
Each successful referral earns you one point. If the person you referred registers at eetindia.com, you earn one additional point.
At the end of the promo period, the registered user with the highest number of points will win corresponding prizes:
First prize: 4GB iPod miniSecond prize: 1GB iPod ShuffleThird prize: 512MB iPod Shuffle
The more colleagues you refer, the more points you earn, the greater your chances of winning the iPod.
Radio Havana Cuba, Quiz
AMECA (CMA) 2005
The Caribbean Medical Association has created the "120 Years Club"which brings together those persons who wish to live that long with asatisfactory quality life. Radio Havana Cuba, Cubana Airlines, Cuba's HotelNacional and the CMA, invite you to participate in this contest whosequestion is as follows:WHAT WOULD YOU PROPOSE TO MODIFY OR INCORPORATETO THE PRESENT LIFE STYLES IN ORDER TO PRESERVE OR ACHIEVE AN EXCELLENTLONGEVITY?The winner of the first prize will have the opportunity to travel to Cubafree of cost and to participate in the XI CMA Congress slated for Havana inApril 2006. Besides, ten Mentions will be awarded consisting in certificatesand souvenirs.Deadline is March 31st, 2006. Send your correspondence to:Radio Havana CubaP. O. Box 6240Havana, CubaFax (537) 8365810
Radio Havana Cuba Sports Contest
The International Olympic Committee has granted Cuba the venue of the "11th World Congress Sports for All", to be held in Havana from October 31st to November 3rd, 2006. The central theme will be "Physical Activity: Benefits and Challenges." Radio Havana Cuba, the Cuban Olympic Committee and the Cuban Ministry of Tourism invite you to participate in this contest by answering the following questions:
1) HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR THE THE PEOPLES THAT THE MASSIVE PRACTICE OF SPORTS BE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE?
2) WHERE AND WHEN WERE THE PREVIOUS "WORLD CONGRESSES SPORTS FOR ALL", ORGANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HELD?
The winners of the first two prizes will be awarded all expenses paid trips to Cuba to attend the 11th World Congress Sports for All? Ten mentions will be awarded as well. Contest deadline is August 31st, 2006. Send you answers to: Radio Havana Cuba, Apartado 6240, La Habana, Cuba, E-Mail: rhc@radiohc.cu. Radio Havana Cuba, E-1/9, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi – 110057.
1) HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR THE THE PEOPLES THAT THE MASSIVE PRACTICE OF SPORTS BE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE?
2) WHERE AND WHEN WERE THE PREVIOUS "WORLD CONGRESSES SPORTS FOR ALL", ORGANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HELD?
The winners of the first two prizes will be awarded all expenses paid trips to Cuba to attend the 11th World Congress Sports for All? Ten mentions will be awarded as well. Contest deadline is August 31st, 2006. Send you answers to: Radio Havana Cuba, Apartado 6240, La Habana, Cuba, E-Mail: rhc@radiohc.cu. Radio Havana Cuba, E-1/9, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi – 110057.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Inside Europe Monthly Quiz
Test your knowledge on international distress signals
Let’s face it: If you were lost at sea, sending out a message in a bottle probably wouldn’t save you. Fortunately, a far more reliable distress signal was introduced internationally this month back in 1906. Still in use today, the SOS signal, or "Save Our Souls", was first transmitted in 1909. But it wasn't until the Titanic sank in 1912 that laws were passed stipulating that large ships should have radio contacts. DW want to know how you send an SOS signal in morse code? You can email your answer to DW. The address is europe@dw-world.de. Or simply write to DW via snail mail at European Desk, Deutsche Welle, Bonn, Germany. Or Voice of Germany, P.O Box:5211, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021. DW has got 5 Deutsche Welle prizes to give away and DW will ll announce the winners next month.
New Competition online...New Competition online...Listen
It’s competition time once again on Radio Polonia… As you might have noticed, it’s also election time in Poland with General and Presidential Elections taking place within a couple of weeks of each other. What we want to know this month is this: Which of the following has never been the President of Poland.
Is it:
a) Aleksander Kwasniewski
b) Marek Belka or
c) Lech Walesa
Just answer a, b, or c and send it in to us without delay via email at english.section@radio.com.pl Get you answer in by October 26 and you might just possibly be the proud owner of a Radio Polonia Goodiebag…so good its gets everyone’s vote….
Thursday, September 29, 2005
தமிழோசையைப் பிரிகிறார் ரமேஷ்
தமிழோசையில் கடந்த ஐந்தாண்டு காலத்துக்கும் மேலாக பணியாற்றிவரும் நமது ரமேஷ் தமிழோசையிலிருந்து விலகுகிறார்.
ரமேஷ் செய்தி
லண்டனிலிருந்து இயங்கும் அனைத்துலக அபயஸ்தாபனம், அம்னஸ்டி இண்டர்னேஷனல் நிறுவனத்தில் பணிபுரிய அவர் செல்கிறார்.
பிபிசி தமிழோசையில் பணிபுரிந்த கடந்த சில ஆண்டுகளில் அன்றாட நடப்பு செய்தி நிகழ்ச்சிகளில் மட்டுமல்லாமல், அனைவர்க்கும் அறிவியல் நிகழ்ச்சியிலும் தமது முத்திரையைப் பதித்தவர் ரமேஷ்.
அவர் தயாரித்து வழங்கிய விண்ணும் வசப்படும், அணுசக்தி உலகம் அறிவோம் போன்ற அறிவியல் நிகழ்ச்சிகளும், தென்னிந்திய இசையில், மேலைநாட்டு இசைக்கருவிகள் போன்ற கலை கலாச்சார நிகழ்ச்சிகளும் நமது நேயர்களின் வரவேற்பைப் பெற்றிருந்தன.
2005 செப்டம்பர் 29ஆம் தேதியுடன் தமிழோசையில் தனது பணியை முடித்துக்கொள்ளும் ரமேஷ் நேயர்களுக்கான தனது செய்தியில், இலங்கையிலும் இந்தியாவிலும் வேறுபல இடங்களிலும் வாழும் எண்ணற்ற தமிழ் நெஞ்சங்களை தமிழோசை மூலம் எட்டிவந்தது மறக்கமுடியாத அனுபவம் என்று கூறுகிறார்.
தமிழோசை குடும்பத்துடன் இணைந்து பணியாற்றியது மகிழ்ச்சிகரமானது என்கிறார் அவர்.
விரைவில் இலங்கையில் நிலையான சமாதானம் உருவாக வேண்டும் என்று மனதார விரும்புவதாகவும் அவர் தெரிவிக்கிறார்.
தமிழோசைக் குடும்பத்திலிருந்து விடைபெறும் ரமேஷுக்கு நமது வாழ்த்துக்களை நேயர்கள் சார்பாக தெரிவித்துக்கொள்கிறோம்.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Sarvadesavanoli September 2005
In this September Issue..
K.S RAJAH SPECIAL
* We can’nt forget K.S. Rajah
Viyaram A Kannan www.viyaramonline.com
* K.S.Rajah Interview
- Dinamalar Varamalar
* Radio Vativan Listeners Meet review
Vannai K Raja k_raja123123@yahoo.co.in
* Radio Vatican Sis.Therasa Interview
Vannai K Raja, Baskar Nepolian
* Radio Guide
- Receiving Antenna handbook
* Digital Page:
Philips RL 146 www.philips.co.in
* Short Wave -An Introduction
Easy way to memorize the Morse code
* Radio in Newspaper* Radio Competition details
- Voice of Germany
Inside Europe Quiz europe@dw-world.de
Current affairs quiz newslink@d-world.de
- Radio Singapore International
Jingle Quiz rwww.mediacorpradio.com/jinglecompetition/form.hm
- Radio Veritas Asia tamil@rveritas-asia.org
Monthly Quiz
Annual Quiz
- China Radio International
Tamil Service Quiz Answers tamil@cri.com.cn
English Service Quiz crienf@cri.co.cn
* DX Club News* Dxing Q&A
DRM details
Worldspace details* On the Short Waves* This is 4 U..* Free: Anna 90.2 Sticker
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Prasar Bharati crosses another milestone
FOCUS: PRASAR BHARATI
Dedicated to the public good
B.S. PADMANABHAN
Prasar Bharati crosses another milestone as its two media units, All India Radio and Doordarshan, enter the digital era.
THE inauguration of a new Broadcasting House and Tower B of Doordarshan in New Delhi recently is an important milestone in the history of public broadcasting in India as it marks its entry into the digital era. The 75-year-old All India Radio (AIR) and its 40-year-old sister organisation, Doordarshan, are now equipped with state-of-the-art technology to compete effectively with private networks in meeting the wide-ranging requirements of the increasing number of listeners and viewers.
The occasion was also significant for another reason: as it seemed to reinforce the fact that public broadcasters continued to be relevant in a developing country like India. As Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting S. Jaipal Reddy said while inaugurating the new buildings, Prasar Bharati, the umbrella organisation under which AIR and Doordarshan function, has not lost its relevance with the advent of satellite television. He rightly pointed out that every developed country with a multi-channel television system had a vibrant public broadcasting service. India was no different, he said.
In fact, a few years ago, a Review Committee headed by N.R. Narayana Murthy underlined the importance of Prasar Bharati in providing high quality media content in order to empower and enlighten citizens. In the opinion of the committee, the programmes should inform, educate and entertain even while ensuring a sizeable audience and reach. In the light of the committee's report, Prasar Bharati sought to reorient its growth strategies and succeeded in making its presence felt as a vibrant and socially relevant public broadcasting organisation. Going digital is the latest manifestation of this trend.
With a network of 215 radio stations, AIR today covers 92 per cent of the country's geographical area and almost the entire population. With a network of over 1,400 terrestrial transmitters, Doordarshan covers 90 per cent of the population and is way ahead of the reach of all the satellite channels put together. Moreover, as the Review Committee envisioned, Doordarshan's channels telecast a healthy mix of entertainment and socially relevant programmes reflecting the varied cultures and languages of the nation.
AIR's studio in New Delhi is the biggest in Asia. It has 26 fully-automated transmission studios and all recording, editing and playback equipment, including mixing consoles and master routers, are in digital mode. Each transmission studio has a digital audio workstation, two compact disc players and a digital mixer. As many as 10 transmission studios have digital phone-in units with the facility to have conference with up to 12 callers on ISDN and PSTN lines. The newsroom has been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. For the first time in the long history of the radio newsroom the editor will be able to edit news agency copies and compile a bulletin entirely by using the computer network.
The new software system would enable a central server to receive the news from different sources, besides sound bites from television, and make them available to editors on individual workstations. In the studios, instead of reading from paper sheets, newsreaders will now read off computer monitors, where the story will keep getting updated electronically. Sound bites, which used to be manually inserted into bulletins, will now be livening up all the AIR bulletins. The audio quality would also improve since it will be recorded on hard disc, instead of the decades-old tape spools, and transmitted digitally. The digital newsroom will eventually network all the 45 regional news units, making it possible to transfer text and voice across the country at the flick of a button. This will, in turn, improve the response time of AIR to breaking news, and the quality of news bulletins aired from regional bureaus.
Doordarshan has acquired state-of-the-art facilities for production and transmission of programmes. The new Tower B with 11 storeys has four studios besides a large technical area, rehearsal rooms and a film preview theatre. The post-production facility comprises 25 non-linear edit suites, 25 A/B roll edit suites and extensive computer graphics facility. The newsroom has workstations for 75 journalists backed by an integrated automation system.
THE entry of AIR and Doordarshan into the digital era is not a sudden development, but the culmination of a series of technological advancements over the past few years. In line with its mandate as a public broadcaster, AIR has been expanding the radio coverage to reach people who were hitherto outside its network, especially those in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern India and the islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar. In Srinagar, a 300 kW MW transmitter has been installed in place of the existing one with a capacity of 200 kW. Relay stations have been set up at Naushera, Kupwara, Rajouri, Diskit, Khalsi, Nyoma, Drass, Tiesuru and Padum. At Kargil, a 200 kW MW transmitter has been installed to strengthen radio coverage in the border areas. In the northeastern region, FM channels with stereo playback facilities have been set up at Kohima and Itanagar. Port Blair now has an FM channel. AIR has upgraded the captive earth stations at Guwahati, Itanagar and Shillong with digital systems. New digital uplink stations have been added to the AIR network at Jalandhar, Raipur and Ranchi, while nine existing analogue stations at Guwahati, Itanagar, Shillong, Lucknow, Srinagar, Jaipur, Shimla, Patna and Cuttack too have been upgraded with digital systems. The project to expand FM transmission to cover 50 per cent of the country's people is in progress.
A new stereo studio for Leh has been planned. Computer-based recording, editing and playback systems that ensure high quality digital recording and facility for linear as well as non-linear editing have already been installed in 76 stations and more are being brought under the system in a phased manner. Captive earth stations with digital uplink capabilities are being set up in Kolkata, Tiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Bhopal. The downlink facilities are being digitised in phases. Until March, 53 stations had been provided with digital downlinks. Digitisation of the Akashvani Sound Archives is at an advanced stage and out of the 43,000 compact discs to be prepared 35,000 are ready.
Another significant development is that a dozen AIR channels in different regional languages broadcast from various State capitals are now available all over the country through the Ku-band Direct to Home (DTH) platform of Prasar Bharati. Software has been developed for information exchange and improvement of efficiency in the working of various AIR units. They include online processing software such as AIRNET, archive management information system, document management system, and stand alone software such as library management information system, and proforma accounts system. The AIR news-on-phone service is now operational in five cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Chennai and Hyderabad. The plan is to introduce it at 11 more stations soon. This facility enables callers to listen to news highlights of the hour by dialling a designated number.
The Tenth Five-Year Plan's proposals for Doordarshan focus on digitisation. Currently, 20 out of Doordarshan's 25 channels are digital. Digital earth stations have already been set up in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Patna, Jallandhar, Chennai, Thiruvananthpuram, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Shillong and Aizawl. Engineers of Doordarshan put up, in record time, the Ku-band transmission facility at Todapur, near New Delhi, for broadcasting DD Direct Plus, the Direct-To-Home (DTH) broadcast service. Ku-band transmission, which ensures near total coverage, is a cost-effective alternative to terrestrial transmission. Doordarshan has distributed 10,000 DTH receiver systems and 200 cable head-ends in select States of north, central and northeastern India, where television coverage is below the national average. One of the compelling reasons for introducing DTH is to ensure that programmes of AIR and Doordarshan reach every household in the country. The DTH service would help Doordarshan and AIR expand their reach with investment much lower than that required for increasing the number of transmitters.
Mere expansion of facilities without improvement in the content of the programmes can hardly help public broadcasters survive in a competitive environment. From all accounts, both AIR and Doordarshan are conscious of this and have taken fruitful initiatives to make the programmes attractive, educative and purposeful. The public broadcasters have an added responsibility to avoid the pitfalls associated with commercialisation of programmes. Their mandate includes upholding the values enshrined in the Constitution, promoting national integration and social justice, facilitating socio-economic development, empowering women, children and other vulnerable groups. To fulfil this mandate, with all the financial and administrative constraints associated with public sector enterprises, is no easy task. But both AIR and Doordarshan have been able to strike a balance between their responsibilities as agents of social change and their need to become financially viable without depending too much on budgetary support.
AIR, for instance, has launched agricultural programmes called Kisan Vani, broadcast from 96 stations. It has been regularly broadcasting programmes on land and water conservation, sustainable agriculture, biotechnology, environment protection, disaster management and so on. More than 15,000 programmes on various aspects of health and family welfare are broadcast every month. These are in addition to extensive and in-depth coverage of political developments and international affairs. Similarly, Doordarshan has been focussing on development communication. In fact, it has a Development Communication Division (DCD) exclusively devoted to the production of special programmes on development-oriented topics. The DCD has produced over 900 special programmes for six Ministries. One of these, Kalyani I & II, won the prestigious Gates Malaria Award of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association.
Doordarshan has been quite successful in promoting coverage of important sports events. Recently, it unveiled a new scheme for live coverage of sports events under which a sports federation staging an event has to pay only the actual expenditure incurred by Doordarshan in broadcasting the event live or deferred live. The first memorandum of understanding under this scheme was signed in June between Doordarshan and the Squash Rackets Federation of India. Several sports federations have evinced interest in this facility. Doordarshan has done away with the earlier practice of payment of rights fees. The new system provides for arranging sponsors for the tournaments by the sports federation concerned or through the Prasar Bharati's marketing divisions.
There is a view that AIR and Doordarshan would be able to compete effectively with the private networks only if they are freed from the clutches of the government and allowed greater autonomy to function as commercial organisations. On the face of it, this view appears reasonable, but a deeper analysis shows that autonomy may make AIR and Doordarshan vulnerable to market forces, which would lead to the neglect of their mandate. The need to compete for advertisement revenue should not make them deviate from the mandate. They cannot follow the example of unregulated satellite sectors dominated by big media players. In this context, it is encouraging to note that the revenues of both AIR and Doordarshan have been rising over the past three years.
Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati employees are concerned that their status and service conditions would be affected in the event of autonomy. Jaipal Reddy has assured the employees that their interests would not be compromised in any way when Prasar Bharati is granted more autonomy. He urged them to work with commitment and a sense of mission to produce quality programmes. The present job structure shows that in Doordarshan engineering and administration personnel outnumber the programme staff, who account for just 17 per cent. There is thus scope for increasing the staff strength in the programme section.
In fact, the Standing Committee of Parliament on Information and Broadcasting in a recent report expressed concern over the acute shortage of staff faced by AIR and Doordarshan. It pointed out that Prasar Bharati could not focus on the quality and content of programmes owing to the many vacancies at various levels. It noted that trained persons had migrated to private networks. [Frontline Volume 22 - Issue 19, Sep 10 - 23, 2005]
Dedicated to the public good
B.S. PADMANABHAN
Prasar Bharati crosses another milestone as its two media units, All India Radio and Doordarshan, enter the digital era.
THE inauguration of a new Broadcasting House and Tower B of Doordarshan in New Delhi recently is an important milestone in the history of public broadcasting in India as it marks its entry into the digital era. The 75-year-old All India Radio (AIR) and its 40-year-old sister organisation, Doordarshan, are now equipped with state-of-the-art technology to compete effectively with private networks in meeting the wide-ranging requirements of the increasing number of listeners and viewers.
The occasion was also significant for another reason: as it seemed to reinforce the fact that public broadcasters continued to be relevant in a developing country like India. As Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting S. Jaipal Reddy said while inaugurating the new buildings, Prasar Bharati, the umbrella organisation under which AIR and Doordarshan function, has not lost its relevance with the advent of satellite television. He rightly pointed out that every developed country with a multi-channel television system had a vibrant public broadcasting service. India was no different, he said.
In fact, a few years ago, a Review Committee headed by N.R. Narayana Murthy underlined the importance of Prasar Bharati in providing high quality media content in order to empower and enlighten citizens. In the opinion of the committee, the programmes should inform, educate and entertain even while ensuring a sizeable audience and reach. In the light of the committee's report, Prasar Bharati sought to reorient its growth strategies and succeeded in making its presence felt as a vibrant and socially relevant public broadcasting organisation. Going digital is the latest manifestation of this trend.
With a network of 215 radio stations, AIR today covers 92 per cent of the country's geographical area and almost the entire population. With a network of over 1,400 terrestrial transmitters, Doordarshan covers 90 per cent of the population and is way ahead of the reach of all the satellite channels put together. Moreover, as the Review Committee envisioned, Doordarshan's channels telecast a healthy mix of entertainment and socially relevant programmes reflecting the varied cultures and languages of the nation.
AIR's studio in New Delhi is the biggest in Asia. It has 26 fully-automated transmission studios and all recording, editing and playback equipment, including mixing consoles and master routers, are in digital mode. Each transmission studio has a digital audio workstation, two compact disc players and a digital mixer. As many as 10 transmission studios have digital phone-in units with the facility to have conference with up to 12 callers on ISDN and PSTN lines. The newsroom has been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. For the first time in the long history of the radio newsroom the editor will be able to edit news agency copies and compile a bulletin entirely by using the computer network.
The new software system would enable a central server to receive the news from different sources, besides sound bites from television, and make them available to editors on individual workstations. In the studios, instead of reading from paper sheets, newsreaders will now read off computer monitors, where the story will keep getting updated electronically. Sound bites, which used to be manually inserted into bulletins, will now be livening up all the AIR bulletins. The audio quality would also improve since it will be recorded on hard disc, instead of the decades-old tape spools, and transmitted digitally. The digital newsroom will eventually network all the 45 regional news units, making it possible to transfer text and voice across the country at the flick of a button. This will, in turn, improve the response time of AIR to breaking news, and the quality of news bulletins aired from regional bureaus.
Doordarshan has acquired state-of-the-art facilities for production and transmission of programmes. The new Tower B with 11 storeys has four studios besides a large technical area, rehearsal rooms and a film preview theatre. The post-production facility comprises 25 non-linear edit suites, 25 A/B roll edit suites and extensive computer graphics facility. The newsroom has workstations for 75 journalists backed by an integrated automation system.
THE entry of AIR and Doordarshan into the digital era is not a sudden development, but the culmination of a series of technological advancements over the past few years. In line with its mandate as a public broadcaster, AIR has been expanding the radio coverage to reach people who were hitherto outside its network, especially those in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern India and the islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar. In Srinagar, a 300 kW MW transmitter has been installed in place of the existing one with a capacity of 200 kW. Relay stations have been set up at Naushera, Kupwara, Rajouri, Diskit, Khalsi, Nyoma, Drass, Tiesuru and Padum. At Kargil, a 200 kW MW transmitter has been installed to strengthen radio coverage in the border areas. In the northeastern region, FM channels with stereo playback facilities have been set up at Kohima and Itanagar. Port Blair now has an FM channel. AIR has upgraded the captive earth stations at Guwahati, Itanagar and Shillong with digital systems. New digital uplink stations have been added to the AIR network at Jalandhar, Raipur and Ranchi, while nine existing analogue stations at Guwahati, Itanagar, Shillong, Lucknow, Srinagar, Jaipur, Shimla, Patna and Cuttack too have been upgraded with digital systems. The project to expand FM transmission to cover 50 per cent of the country's people is in progress.
A new stereo studio for Leh has been planned. Computer-based recording, editing and playback systems that ensure high quality digital recording and facility for linear as well as non-linear editing have already been installed in 76 stations and more are being brought under the system in a phased manner. Captive earth stations with digital uplink capabilities are being set up in Kolkata, Tiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Bhopal. The downlink facilities are being digitised in phases. Until March, 53 stations had been provided with digital downlinks. Digitisation of the Akashvani Sound Archives is at an advanced stage and out of the 43,000 compact discs to be prepared 35,000 are ready.
Another significant development is that a dozen AIR channels in different regional languages broadcast from various State capitals are now available all over the country through the Ku-band Direct to Home (DTH) platform of Prasar Bharati. Software has been developed for information exchange and improvement of efficiency in the working of various AIR units. They include online processing software such as AIRNET, archive management information system, document management system, and stand alone software such as library management information system, and proforma accounts system. The AIR news-on-phone service is now operational in five cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Chennai and Hyderabad. The plan is to introduce it at 11 more stations soon. This facility enables callers to listen to news highlights of the hour by dialling a designated number.
The Tenth Five-Year Plan's proposals for Doordarshan focus on digitisation. Currently, 20 out of Doordarshan's 25 channels are digital. Digital earth stations have already been set up in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Patna, Jallandhar, Chennai, Thiruvananthpuram, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Shillong and Aizawl. Engineers of Doordarshan put up, in record time, the Ku-band transmission facility at Todapur, near New Delhi, for broadcasting DD Direct Plus, the Direct-To-Home (DTH) broadcast service. Ku-band transmission, which ensures near total coverage, is a cost-effective alternative to terrestrial transmission. Doordarshan has distributed 10,000 DTH receiver systems and 200 cable head-ends in select States of north, central and northeastern India, where television coverage is below the national average. One of the compelling reasons for introducing DTH is to ensure that programmes of AIR and Doordarshan reach every household in the country. The DTH service would help Doordarshan and AIR expand their reach with investment much lower than that required for increasing the number of transmitters.
Mere expansion of facilities without improvement in the content of the programmes can hardly help public broadcasters survive in a competitive environment. From all accounts, both AIR and Doordarshan are conscious of this and have taken fruitful initiatives to make the programmes attractive, educative and purposeful. The public broadcasters have an added responsibility to avoid the pitfalls associated with commercialisation of programmes. Their mandate includes upholding the values enshrined in the Constitution, promoting national integration and social justice, facilitating socio-economic development, empowering women, children and other vulnerable groups. To fulfil this mandate, with all the financial and administrative constraints associated with public sector enterprises, is no easy task. But both AIR and Doordarshan have been able to strike a balance between their responsibilities as agents of social change and their need to become financially viable without depending too much on budgetary support.
AIR, for instance, has launched agricultural programmes called Kisan Vani, broadcast from 96 stations. It has been regularly broadcasting programmes on land and water conservation, sustainable agriculture, biotechnology, environment protection, disaster management and so on. More than 15,000 programmes on various aspects of health and family welfare are broadcast every month. These are in addition to extensive and in-depth coverage of political developments and international affairs. Similarly, Doordarshan has been focussing on development communication. In fact, it has a Development Communication Division (DCD) exclusively devoted to the production of special programmes on development-oriented topics. The DCD has produced over 900 special programmes for six Ministries. One of these, Kalyani I & II, won the prestigious Gates Malaria Award of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association.
Doordarshan has been quite successful in promoting coverage of important sports events. Recently, it unveiled a new scheme for live coverage of sports events under which a sports federation staging an event has to pay only the actual expenditure incurred by Doordarshan in broadcasting the event live or deferred live. The first memorandum of understanding under this scheme was signed in June between Doordarshan and the Squash Rackets Federation of India. Several sports federations have evinced interest in this facility. Doordarshan has done away with the earlier practice of payment of rights fees. The new system provides for arranging sponsors for the tournaments by the sports federation concerned or through the Prasar Bharati's marketing divisions.
There is a view that AIR and Doordarshan would be able to compete effectively with the private networks only if they are freed from the clutches of the government and allowed greater autonomy to function as commercial organisations. On the face of it, this view appears reasonable, but a deeper analysis shows that autonomy may make AIR and Doordarshan vulnerable to market forces, which would lead to the neglect of their mandate. The need to compete for advertisement revenue should not make them deviate from the mandate. They cannot follow the example of unregulated satellite sectors dominated by big media players. In this context, it is encouraging to note that the revenues of both AIR and Doordarshan have been rising over the past three years.
Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati employees are concerned that their status and service conditions would be affected in the event of autonomy. Jaipal Reddy has assured the employees that their interests would not be compromised in any way when Prasar Bharati is granted more autonomy. He urged them to work with commitment and a sense of mission to produce quality programmes. The present job structure shows that in Doordarshan engineering and administration personnel outnumber the programme staff, who account for just 17 per cent. There is thus scope for increasing the staff strength in the programme section.
In fact, the Standing Committee of Parliament on Information and Broadcasting in a recent report expressed concern over the acute shortage of staff faced by AIR and Doordarshan. It pointed out that Prasar Bharati could not focus on the quality and content of programmes owing to the many vacancies at various levels. It noted that trained persons had migrated to private networks. [Frontline Volume 22 - Issue 19, Sep 10 - 23, 2005]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)