The purpose of this article is to explain the process and means of international broadcasting in a non-technical manner.

International broadcasting is broadcasting that is deliberately aimed at a foreign, rather than a domestic, audience. It usually is broadcast by means of longwave, mediumwave, or shortwave radio, but in recent years has also used direct satellite broadcasting and the Internet as means of reaching audiences. Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Mediumwave radio transmissions serves as the most common band for broadcasting. ... A solid-state, analog shortwave receiver Shortwave radio operates between the frequencies of 3 MHz (3,000 kHz) and 30 MHz (30,000 kHz) [1] and came to be referred to as such in the early days of radio because the wavelengths associated with this frequency range were shorter than... This article is about artificial satellites. ...

Although radio and television programs do travel outside national borders, in many cases reception by foreigners is accidental. However, for purposes of propaganda, transmitting religious beliefs, keeping in touch with colonies or expatriates, education, improving trade, or increasing national prestige, broadcasting services have operated external services since the 1920s. 1967 Chinese propaganda poster from the Cultural Revolution. ...

Reasons for international broadcasting

Broadcasters in one country have several reasons to reach out to an audience in other countries. The examples given below are not meant to be exhaustive, but are illustrative.

One clear reason is for ideological, or propaganda reasons. Many government-owned stations portray their nation in a positive, non-threatening way. This could be to encourage business investment and/or tourism to the nation. Another reason is to combat a negative image produced by other nations or internal dissidents, or insurgents. Radio RSA, the broadcasting arm of the apartheid South African government, is an example of this. A third reason is to promote the ideology of the broadcaster. For example, a program on Radio Moscow from the 1960s to the 1980s was What is Communism? 1967 Chinese propaganda poster from the Cultural Revolution. ... Radio RSA was the international broadcasting service of the Republic of South Africa. ... A 1969 Radio Moscow QSL card Voice of Russia is the Russian governments international radio broadcasting service. ...

Other reasons include broadcasting news which might be censored, or at least of little interest, in a nation. The BBC World Service and the Voice of America have emphasized news broadcasts. In addition to these services, during the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, Radio Free Europe served as a surrogate domestic service for nations "behind the Iron Curtain." The BBC World Service is one of the most widely recognised international broadcasters, transmitting in 33 languages to many parts of the world through multiple technologies. ... Voice of America logo Voice of America (VOA), is the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. ... This article is about the radio broadcast service. ...

In the case of emergencies, a nation may broadcast special programs overseas to inform listeners what is occurring. During Iraqi missile strikes on Israel during the 1991 Gulf War, Kol Israel relayed its domestic service on its shortwave service. Kol Yisrael (The Voice of Israel) is the name of Israels public domestic and international radio service. ...

Besides ideological reasons, many stations are run by religious broadcasters and are used to provide religious education, religious music, or worship service programs. For example, Vatican Radio, established in 1927, broadcasts such programs. Another station, such as HCJB International or Trans World Radio will carry brokered programming from evangelists. In the case of the Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both governmental and religious programming is provided. Administration building and radio masts at Vatican City Vatican Radio is the official broadcasting service of the Vatican. ... HCJB is one of the most popular and far-reaching radio networks in the world. ... Trans World Radio (TWR) is a multinational evangelistic broadcaster. ...

Stations also broadcast to international audiences for cultural reasons. Often a station has an official mandate to keep expatriates in touch with the home country. Many broadcasters often relay their national domestic service on shortwave for that reason. Other reasons include teaching a foreign language, such as Radio Exterior de España's Spanish class, Un idioma sin fronteras, or the Voice of America's broadcasts in Special English. In the case of major broadcasters such as the BBC World Service or Radio Australia, there is also an educational outreach. Special English is a simplified version of the English language first used on October 19, 1959 and presently employed by the United States broadcasting service Voice of America in daily broadcasts. ... The BBC World Service is one of the most widely recognised international broadcasters, transmitting in 33 languages to many parts of the world through multiple technologies. ... ABC Radio Australia is the international shortwave radio service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australias public broadcaster. ...

History of international broadcasting

1914-1933

International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I, when Central Powers and Allied stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code. For example, the station in Nauen, Germany became a fully commercial telegraph station in 1911, with a 260 m high antenna and a spark-gap transmitter running 100 kW of power. During World War I, with the severing of Germany's undersea cables, Nauen was the sole means of long-distance communication of Germany. The US Navy Radio Service radio station in New Brunswick, Canada, transmitted the Fourteen Points by wireless to Nauen in 1917.^[1]. In turn, Nauen station broadcast the news of the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on November 10, 1918. ^[2] “The Great War ” redirects here. ... 1922 Chart of the Morse Code Letters and Numerals Morse code is a method for transmitting telegraphic information, using standardized sequences of short and long elements to represent the letters, numerals, punctuation and special characters of a message. ... Nauen is a German town west of Berlin. ... Wilhelm II of Prussia and Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern (January 27, 1859 - June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia from 1888 - 1918. ...

Following experiments in the shortwave frequencies in 1925 from Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, radio station PCJ began broadcasting to the Indonesia on March 11, 1927. ^[3]

The BBC followed this with the BBC Empire Service on December 19, 1932, with transmissions aimed towards Australia and New Zealand.^[4] For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... radio programming, transmitting in 43 languages to around 150 million people throughout the world. ...

Other notable early international broadcasters included Vatican Radio (February 12, 1931), Radio Moscow, the official service of the Soviet Union which began broadcasting on long-wave in 1923 (this has since been renamed the Voice of Russia, following the collapse of the Soviet Union). is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A 1969 Radio Moscow QSL card Voice of Russia is the Russian governments international radio broadcasting service. ... A 1969 Radio Moscow QSL card Voice of Russia is the Russian governments international radio broadcasting service. ...

Clarence W. Jones started transmitting on Christmas Day, 1931 from Missionary Radio Station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador. HCJB is one of the most popular and far-reaching radio networks in the world. ... For other uses, see Quito (disambiguation). ...

Shortwave broadcasting from Nauen to the USA, Central and South America, and the Far East began in 1926. A second station, Zeesen, was added later. ^[5] In January 1932, the German Reichpost assumed control of the Nauen station and added to its shortwave and longwave capacity.^[6]

Broadcasting in South Asia was launched in 1922 in Ceylon - Radio Ceylon, now the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation is the oldest in the region. Radio Ceylon is the oldest radio station in Asia. ... The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) (Tamil:இலங்கை ஒளிபரப்பு ஸ்தாபனம்) came into existence on January 5th 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. ...

1934-1939

Shortwave programming was a low priority in the Weimar Republic. Once Hitler assumed power in 1933, shortwave, under the Rundfunk Ausland (Foreign Radio Section), was regarded as a vital element of Nazi propaganda. German shortwave hours were increased from two hours a day to 18 per day, and eventually twelve languages were broadcast on a 24-hour basis, including English. A 100 kilowatt transmitter and antenna complex was built at Zeesen, near Berlin. Specialty target programming to the United States began in 1933, to South Africa, South America, and East Asia in 1934, and South Asia and Central America in 1938. Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen Germany during the Weimar period, with the Free State of Prussia (in blue) as the largest state Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1918-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann(first)  - 1933 Kurt von Schleicher (last) Legislature... The kilowatt (symbol: kW) is a unit for measuring power, equal to one thousand watts. ...

In the 1930s, international broadcasting was a key means of promoting Nazi Germany foreign policy. German propaganda was organized under Joseph Goebbels, and played a key role in the German occupation of Austria and the Munich Crisis of 1938. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... 1967 Chinese propaganda poster from the Cultural Revolution. ... Paul Joseph Goebbels (German pronunciation: IPA: ; English generally IPA: ) (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) was a German politician and Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda during the National Socialist regime from 1933 to 1945. ...

Mediumwave transmitters on the periphery of the Third Reich provided specialty programs to listeners in neighboring countries. Nevertheless, the Germans always had a problem staffing their foreign services with announcers who were both technically competent and loyal to Nazi ideas.^[7]

In 1936, the International Radio Union recognized Vatican Radio as a "special case" and authorized its broadcasting without any geographical limits. On December 25, 1937, a Telefunken 25-kW transmitter and two directional antennas were added. Vatican Radio broadcast over 10 frequencies.^[8].

During the Spanish Civil War, the Nationalist forces received a powerful Telefunken transmitter as a gift of Nazi Germany to aid their propaganda efforts, and until 1943 Radio Nacional de España collaborated with the Axis powers to retransmit in Spanish news from the official radio stations of Germany and Italy. Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ... Radio Nacional de España (RNE) is the Spanish national radio service which, since 1973, has formed part of the public media organisation Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) which also includes Televisión Española (TVE). ...

World War II

During the Second World War, Russian, German, British, and Italian international broadcasting services expanded. In 1942, the United States initiated its international broadcasting service, the Voice of America. In the Pacific theater, General Douglas MacArthur used shortwave radio to keep in touch with the citizens of the Japanese-occupied Philippine Islands. Voice of America logo Voice of America (VOA), is the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. ... This article is about the American general; for the municipality in the Philippines, see General MacArthur, Eastern Samar. ...

Several announcers who became well-known in their countries included British Union of Fascists member William Joyce, who was one of the two "Lord Haw-Haw"s; Frenchmen Paul Ferdonnet and Andre Olbrecht, called "the traitors of [Radio] Stuttgart"; and Americans Frederick William Kaltenbach, "Lord Hee-Haw", and Mildred Gillars, one of the two announcers called "Axis Sally". Listeners to German programs often tuned in for curiosity's sake--at one time, German radio had half a million listeners in the U.S.--but most of them soon lost interest. The flag of the British Union of Fascists showing the Flash and Circle symbolic of action within unity The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a political party of the 1930s in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the Second World War propagandist. ... Lord Haw-Haw was the nickname of several announcers on the English language propaganda radio programme Germany Calling, broadcast by Nazi German radio to audiences in Great Britain on the mediumwave station Radio Hamburg and by shortwave to the United States. ... Paul Ferdonnet, (1901-1945) by the french press the Stuttgart traitor (le traître de Stuttgart) was a french journalist. ... Frederick William Kaltenbach (1895 - 1945?) was an American of German descent who served the Nazis as wartime radio broadcaster known as Lord Hee Haw. ... Axis Sally was a female radio personality during World War II. Born Mildred Elizabeth Sisk in Portland, Maine on November 29, 1900 she took the name Mildred Gillars as a small child after her mother remarried. ... Axis Sally was a female radio personality during World War II who made propaganda broadcasts for Radio Berlin to Allied troops. ...

For details of German propaganda themes, see propaganda. 1967 Chinese propaganda poster from the Cultural Revolution. ...

During World War II, Vatican Radio's news broadcasts were banned in Germany. During the war, the radio service operated in four languages.^[9]. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The British launched Radio SEAC from Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) during World War II. The station broadcast radio programs to the allied armed forces across the region from their headquarters in Ceylon. Radio SEAC is the war time radio station operated by the Allied Forces who took over the operations of Colombo Radio, the Ceylonese radio station was launched in 1925. ... The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (ශ්රී ලංකා in Sinhala / இலங்கை in Tamil) (known as Ceylon before 1972) is a tropical island nation off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent. ...

Following the war and German partition, each Germany developed its own international broadcasting station: Deutsche Welle, using studios in Cologne, West Germany, and Radio Berlin International (RBI) in East Germany. RBI's broadcasts ceased shortly before the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, and Deutsche Welle took over its transmitters and frequencies. This article is about the German international broadcaster. ... Cologne (German: , IPA: ; local dialect: Kölle ) is Germanys fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than... A Radio Berlin International QSL card This media has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

The Cold War Era (1945-1991): modern practices, modern technology

The Cold War led to increased international broadcasting, as Communist and non-Communist states attempted to influence each other's domestic population. Some of the most prominent Western broadcasters were the Voice of America, the BBC World Service, and the (covertly) CIA-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The Soviet Union's most prominent service was Radio Moscow (now the Voice of Russia) and China used Radio Peking (then Radio Beijing, now China Radio International). In addition to the U.S.-Soviet cold war, the Chinese-Russian border dispute led to an increase of the numbers of transmitters aimed at the two nations, and the development of new techniques such as playing tapes backwards for reel-to-reel recorders. The BBC World Service is one of the most widely recognised international broadcasters, transmitting in 33 languages to many parts of the world through multiple technologies. ... This article is about the radio broadcast service. ... Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a radio and communications organization which is funded by the United States Congress. ... A 1969 Radio Moscow QSL card Radio Moscow was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... China Radio International (CRI), (Chinese: 中国国际广播电台, Pinyin: Zhōng Guó Guó Jì Guǎng Bō Diàn Tái) the former Radio Beijing and originally Radio Peking, is one of the two state-owned national radio broadcasting networks in the Peoples Republic of China. ...

West Germany resumed regular shortwave broadcasts using Deutsche Welle on May 3, 1953. Its Julich transmitter site began operation in 1956, with eleven 100-kW Telefunken transmitters. The Wectachtal site was authorized in 1962 and began with four 500-kW transmitters. By 1989, there were 15 transmitters, four of which relayed the Voice of America. ^[10]. Meanwhile in East Germany, the Nauen site began transmitting Radio DDR, later Radio Berlin International, on October 15, 1959.^[11]

In addition to the superpower states, international broadcast services grew in Europe and the Middle East. Under the presidency of Gamal Nasser, Egyptian transmitters covered the Arab world; Israel's service, Kol Yisrael, served both to present the Israeli point of view to the world and to serve the Jewish diaspora, particularly behind the Iron Curtain. Kol Yisrael (The Voice of Israel) is the name of Israels public domestic and international radio service. ... Warsaw Pact countries to the east of the Iron Curtain are shaded red; NATO members to the west of it — blue. ...

Radio RSA, as part of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, was established in 1966 to promote the image of South Africa internationally and reduce criticism of apartheid. ^[12]. It continued in 1992, when the post-apartheid government renamed it Channel Africa. Channel Africa is the international broadcasting service of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. ...

Ironically, the isolationist Albania under Enver Hoxha, virtually a hermit kingdom, became one of the most prolific international broadcasters during the latter decades of the Cold War, with Radio Tirana one of the top five broadcasters in terms of hours of programming produced (Although Radio Tirana's programming was almost universally regarded as insufferably dull). This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hermit kingdom is a term applied to any country or society which walls itself off (metaphorically or physically) from the rest of the world. ... Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) is the state broadcaster in Albania, founded in 1938 under Italian rule and operated from Tirana. ...

Post Cold War to today

At the end of the Cold War, many international broadcasters cut back on hours and foreign languages broadcast, or reemphasized other language services. For example, in 1984, Radio Canada International broadcast in English, French, German, Spanish, Czech/Slovak, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. In 2005, Canada broadcast in English, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, and Spanish There is a trend towards more TV (e.g. BBC World, NHK World, CCTV-9), and news websites. Some services, such as Swiss Radio International, left shortwave altogether and exist in Internet form. In addition, new standards, such as Digital Radio Mondiale, are being introduced, as well as sending programs over the Web to be played back later, as "podcasts." Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) is a set of digital audio broadcasting technologies designed to work over the bands currently used for AM broadcast, particularly shortwave. ... A podcast is a series of digital-media files which are distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and computers. ...

Daily developments are followed in Radio Netherlands' Media Network blog [1]. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Means to reach an audience

Because of this many broadcasters are discovering they can reach a wider audience through other methods (particularly the internet and satellite television) and are cutting back on (or even entirely dropping) shortwave.

An international broadcaster has several options for reaching a foreign audience:

• If the foreign audience is near the broadcaster, high-power longwave and mediumwave stations can provide reliable coverage.
• If the foreign audience is more than 1,000 kilometers away from the broadcaster, shortwave radio is reliable, but subject to interruption by adverse solar/geomagnetic conditions.
• An international broadcaster may use a local mediumwave or FM radio or television relay station in the target country or countries.
• An international broadcaster may use a local shortwave broadcaster as a relay station.
• Neighboring states, such as Israel and Jordan, may broadcast television programs to each other's viewing public.

An international broadcaster such as the BBC, Radio France International or Germany's Deutsche Welle, may use all the above methods. Several international broadcasters, such as Swiss Radio International, have abandoned shortwave broadcasting altogether, relying on Internet transmissions only. Others, such as the BBC World Service, have abandoned shortwave transmissions to North America, relying on local relays, the Internet, and satellite transmissions SRG SSR idée suisse is the business name of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation -- in German: Schweizerische Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft (SRG), in Romansh Societad svizra da radio e televisiun, in Italian: Società svizzera di radiotelevisione (SSR), in French: Société suisse de radiodiffusion et télévision (SSR). ...

Mediumwave and longwave broadcasts

Most radio receivers in the world receive the mediumwave band (530 kHz to 1710 kHz), which at night is capable of reliable reception from 150 to 2,500 km distance from a transmitter. Mediumwave is used heavily the world over for international broadcasting on a formal and informal basis. Mediumwave radio transmissions serves as the most common band for broadcasting. ...

In addition, many receivers used in Europe and Russia can receive the longwave broadcast band (150 to 280 kHz), which provides reliable long-distance communications over continental distances. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Shortwave broadcast

Yet other receivers are capable of receiving shortwave transmissions (2,000 to 30,000 kHz or 2 to 30 MHz). Depending on time of day, season of year, solar weather and Earth's geomagnetic field, a signal might reach around the world. A solid-state, analog shortwave receiver Shortwave radio operates between the frequencies of 3 MHz (3,000 kHz) and 30 MHz (30,000 kHz) [1] and came to be referred to as such in the early days of radio because the wavelengths associated with this frequency range were shorter than...

This sort of map is used by radio engineers to determine the best frequencies to reach international audiences on shortwave bands. In this case, a transmitter is sited in the Southern Vancouver Island, using a frequency of 12095 kHz and transmitting at the 500 kw power level. The picture shows a good signal over the Southern Pacific. The signal fades out as it approaches Australia's East Coast.'.
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (885x672, 25 KB) I have done some extensive computations on the feasability of an RCI SW relay station in British Columbia, this image is the result of some of my calculations. ...

In previous decades shortwave (and sometimes high-powered mediumwave) transmission was regarded as the main (and often the only) way in which broadcasters could reach an international audience. In recent years the proliferation of technologies such as satellite broadcasting, the Internet, and rebroadcasts of programming on AM and FM within target nations has meant that this is no longer necessarily the case.

Transmitter output power has increased since 1920. Higher transmitter powers do guarantee better reception in the target area. Higher transmitter power in most cases counteracts the lesser effects of jamming. Radio jamming is the (usually deliberate) transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. ...

• 1950s : 100 kW
• 1960s : 200 kW, early 1960s (2 x 100 kW 'twinned')
• 1970s : 300 kW, but many 250 kW transmitters sold
• 1980s : 500 kW sometimes transmitters were "doubled up" to produce 1000 Kw output
• 1980s-Present: 600 kW single, 1200 kW from twinned transmitters.

International stations generally use special directional antennas to aim the signal toward the intended audience and increase the effective power in that direction. Use of such antennas for international broadcasting began in the mid 1930s and became prominent by the 1950s. By using these antennas a station may achieve tens of millions of Watts of radio power today. // What are HRS type antennas The curtain antenna is a dipole array, consisting of rows and columns of dipoles. ... In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power (ERP) is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains to the actual electrical power output of a transmitter. ... Watts may refer to: Watt, the SI derived unit of power Watts and Co. ...

Listeners

An international broadcaster may have the technical means of reaching a foreign audience, but unless the foreign audience has a reason to listen, the effectiveness of the broadcaster is in question.

One of the most common foreign audiences consists of expatriates, who cannot listen to radio or watch television programs from home. Another common audience is radio hobbyists, who attempt to listen as many countries as possible and obtain verification cards or letters (QSLs). A third audience consists of journalists, government officials, and key businesspersons, who exert a disproportionate influence on a state's foreign or economic policy. Shortwaves can be heard using a cheap world band receiver. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ...

A fourth, but less publicized audience, consists of intelligence officers and agents who monitor broadcasts for both open-source intelligence clues to the broadcasting state's policies and for hidden messages to foreign agents operating in the receiving country. The BBC started its monitoring service in Caversham, Reading in 1936 (now BBC Monitoring). In the United States, the DNI Open Source Center (formerly the Central Intelligence Agency's Foreign Broadcast Information Service) provides the same service. Copies of OSC/FBIS reports can be found in many U.S. libraries that serve as government depositories. In addition, a number of hobbyists listen and report "spook" transmissions. Open source intelligence or OSINT refers to an intelligence gathering discipline based on information collected from open sources, i. ... The BBC Monitoring divisions logo BBC Monitoring is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation that monitors the mass media worldwide and acts as the British Governments provider of open source intelligence (OSINT). ... The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is the United States government official subject to the authority, direction and control of the President of the United States who is responsible under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 for: Serving as the principal adviser to the President of the... The Open Source Center, based at CIA, is intended to improve the availability of open sources of information to the all-source analysts who normally deal largely with secrets alone. ... CIA redirects here. ... Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) is an open source intelligence component of the CIAs Directorate of Science and Technology that monitors, translates, and disseminates within the US Government openly available news and information from non-US media sources. ...

Without these four audiences, international broadcasters face difficulty in getting funding. In 2001, for example, the BBC World Service stopped transmitting shortwave broadcasts to North America, and other international broadcasters, such as YLE Radio Finland, stopped certain foreign-language programs.

However, international broadcasting has been successful when a country does not provide programming wanted by a wide segment of the population. In the 1960s, when there was no BBC service playing rock and roll, Radio Television Luxembourg (RTL) broadcast rock and roll, including bands such as the Beatles, into the United Kingdom. Similar programming came from an unlicensed, or "pirate" station, Radio Caroline, which broadcast from a ship in the international waters of the North Sea. RTL Group (LuxSE: RTL) is Europes largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Radio Caroline is a European radio station that started transmissions on Easter Sunday 1964 from a ship anchored in international waters off the coast of Felixstowe, Suffolk England. ...

Restricting reception

In many cases, governments do not want their citizens listening to international broadcasters. In Nazi Germany, a major propaganda campaign, backed by law and prison sentences, attempted to discourage Germans from listening to such stations. The practice was made illegal in 1939.^[13]In addition, the German government sold a cheap, 76-Reichsmark "People's Receiver", as well as an even cheaper 35-Reichsmark receiver,^[14] that could not pick up distant signals well.^[15]. A 100 Reichsmark banknote from Germany of 1935 (http://www. ... The Volksempfänger (German for: Peoples radio or Peoples receiver) was radio receiver developed by Otto Griessing on request of Joseph Goebbels. ...

The idea was copied by Stalin's Soviet Union, which had a nearly identical copy manufactured in the Tesla factory in Czechoslovakia.^[16] In North Korea, all receivers are sold with fixed frequencies, tuned to local stations.

The most common method of preventing reception is jamming, or broadcasting a signal on the same frequencies as the international broadcaster. Germany jammed the BBC European service during the Second World War. Russian and Eastern European jammers were aimed against Radio Free Europe, other Western broadcasters, and against Chinese broadcasters during the nadir of Sino-Soviet relations. In 2002, the Cuban government jammed the Voice of America's Radio Marti program and the Chinese government jammed broadcasts made by adherents of Falun Gong. Radio jamming is the (usually deliberate) transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. ... This article is about the radio broadcast service. ... Voice of America logo Voice of America (VOA), is the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Falun Gong, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Practice of the Wheel of Law) also known as Falun Dafa, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; lit. ...

North Korea restricts most people to a single fixed frequency mediumwave receiver; those who met political requirements and whose work absolutely required familiarity with events abroad were allowed shortwave receivers. ^[17] Another method of reaching people with government radio programming, but not foreign programming, is the use of radio broadcasting by direct broadcasting to loudspeakers.^[18] David Jackson, director of the Voice of America, noted "The North Korean government doesn't jam us, but they try to keep people from listening through intimidation or worse. But people figure out ways to listen despite the odds. They're very resourceful."^[19]

Yet another method of preventing reception involves moving a domestic station to the frequency used by the international broadcaster. During the Batista government of Cuba, and during the Castro years, Cuban medium-wave stations broadcast on the frequencies of popular South Florida stations. In October 2002, Iraq changed frequencies of two stations to block the Voice of America's Radio Sawa program. Radio Sawa is an Arabic language radio station, funded by the United States government. ...

Jamming can be defeated by using very powerful transmitting antennas, carefully choosing the transmitted frequency, changing transmitted frequency often, using Single Sideband, and properly aiming the receiving antenna. Single-sideband modulation (SSB) is a refinement of the technique of amplitude modulation designed to be more efficient in its use of electrical power and bandwidth. ...

For a list of international broadcasters, see List of international broadcasters.

References

Books cited in this article

Graef 2005

Graef, Robert. Bicycling to Amersfoort: A World War II Memoir. 2005, iUniverse. ISBN 0595346219

Horwitz 2001
Horwitz, Robert Britt. Communication and Democratic Reform in South Africa. 2001, Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521791669.

Hughes and Mann 2002
Hughes, Matthew, and Chris Mann. Inside Hitler's Germany: Life Under the Third Reich. 2002, Brassey's. ISBN 1574885030

Levillain 2002
Levillain, Philippe. The Papacy: An Encyclopedia. Translated by John O'Malley. Routledge, 2002. ISBN 0415922283

Martin 2006
Martin, Bradley K. Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. 2006, Macmillan. ISBN 0312322216

Wood 2000
Wood, James. History of International Broadcasting. 2000, IET. ISBN 0852969201

Related links

• SWLing.com A simple, step-by-step, beginner's guide to Shortwave Listening (SWLing). Designed to teach individuals and families about SWLing.
• Hard-Core-DX - serious information about shortwave/AM radio stations
• [2] American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Newington, CT.
• Shortwave
• Shortwave bands
• FTA Receiver
• Mediumwave - MW broadcasts generally don't travel as far as shortwave broadcasts, but MW is still used for international broadcasting, particularly to neighboring countries
• englishradio.co.uk Cataloguing and reviewing every English language radio station
• SWDXER ¨The SWDXER¨ - with general SWL information and radio antenna tips.
• Easy-to-construct "interference-reducing" antennas for shortwave portables: U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau and K3MT (the "Villard antenna")
• World Radio TV Handbook The Bible of International Broadcasting