Now the hype over the internet revolution is behind us, the real benefits to businesses and to broadcasters are shining through,” declared then BBC World Service Director Mark Byford when he delivered the 2001 Cornwall Lecture. “Digital technology has undoubtedly come of age. The official reason the BBC World Service moved away from shortwave (although not entirely) was because the web was where most 21st century listeners were going. “The clever Chinese strategy seems to have been to wait for all the major western shortwave players to leave the scene, and then move in to fill the vacuum, making China Radio International virtually the only shortwave show in town.” Radio Canada International’s Sackville, New Brunswick transmission facility now demolished. Classic information and entertainment are also practically nonexistent,” he added. “Today, there is very little uncensored information available on shortwave. However, events since then have proved that to have been a false (and even foolish) notion.” “It was based on what many believed to be the end of the Cold War. “In my opinion, the abandonment of shortwave for international broadcasting was a mistake,” said Zanotti. But this time, many of the powerful international voices that brought Western news and views to nondemocratic countries are now only found on the web - where adversarial governments can easily block them. Now it is 2019, and another Cold War has resumed with the West on one side and Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea on the other. Radio Moscow 50th anniversary commemorative stamp. Renamed Voice of Russia in 1993 (and Radio Sputnik in 2014), this Eastern European powerhouse left the shortwave bands for good on April 1, 2014. Later, others like Radio Netherlands, Radio Sweden, Deutsche Welle and Austrian Radio followed suit.” So did Radio Canada International, Radio Australia, Radio Budapest, Radio Portugal, Radio Finland, Radio Denmark and even Radio Moscow. “Swiss Radio International accepted this uncritically and was the first to announce the complete closure of its shortwave operations. (He now runs the English-language Swiss information webcaster BBC World Service antennas in Akrotiri, Cyprus. “It is my understanding that it was the BBC that started to spread the notion that shortwave was dying or already dead,” said Bob Zanotti co-host of Swiss Radio International’s popular “Listener Mailbag” show “The Two Bobs” from 1970 to 1994. This is why the BBCWS ceased shortwave transmissions to North America and Australia in 2001 and Europe in 2008, while retaining SW broadcasts in less-developed parts of the globe. The leader among them, the BBC World Service (BBCWS), trumpeted the web and webcasting as modern, cost-effective alternatives to expensive shortwave broadcasting (along with satellite radio and leasing local FM airtime in the countries they used to broadcast to). In the seeming peace that followed, many governments no longer saw the sense in spending millions on multi-megawatt transmitters and vast antenna farms to keep broadcasting their messages globally. Bob Zanotti at the microphone today, webcasting via Credit. Then 1991 arrived, and the Cold War apparently ended with the fall of the Soviet Union and the destruction of the Berlin Wall. The eastern bloc’s de facto team captain was the USSR’s Radio Moscow (with its unique hollow, echoing sound), supplemented by broadcasters in Soviet satellite countries (like East Germany’s Radio Berlin International) and allies like Fidel Castro’s Radio Havana Cuba. SWISS RADIO INTERNATIONAL SHORTWAVE FREEThe western bloc’s advocates were led by the BBC World Service, and included Voice of America, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, Radio Canada International and a host of influential European broadcasters. A QSL card sent to SW listeners confirming their reception of “The Two Bobs” on Swiss Radio International. OTTAWA - During the height of the Cold War (1947–1991), the shortwave radio bands were alive with international state-run broadcasters transmitting their respective views in multiple languages to listeners around the globe.
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