NASWA Notes, December 1999
Season’s greetings! It seems like 1999 began only a few short months ago and here we are closing out the year. I hope your favorite overpriced toy or gizmo will make its way into your possession during this time of the year. If not, you may have to hold your breath for another 12 months. Holiday greetings to all members.
Not all news is joyous this holiday season. From long time friend and DX associate Anker Petersen we learn that Jens Frost, the popular editor of the World Radio TV Handbook (“WRTH”) for some many years, passed away suddenly on October 18, 1999 after a heart stroke. Anker had just spoken to him only a few days prior to his passing where Jens confirmed his participation in the EDXC Conference on November 6th in Copenhagen. Jens would have been 80 years this month. He was Assistant Editor of WRTH 1961-1963, Editor-in-Chief 1964-1986, and Editor Emeritus 1987-1999. Letters of condolences can be sent to his daughter and son-in-law, Sonja Frost & Per Soerensen, Engvaenget 18, DK 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark.
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Easy Listening, December 1999
How Do We Want our Shortwave to Sound?
English is not the main language for most broadcasters we listen to on shortwave. While English is widely spoken in many Western European countries (France a notable exception), this is certainly not the case most places. As such, we can’t expect as lively nor as smooth a presentation as we hear on our local public radio stations, and pronunciation, grammar, and usage won’t be up to our usual expectations. Nor will broadcast styles necessarily match up with domestic content, as international services cannot assume its listeners would understand or appreciate nuances of interest to a largely domestic audience.
For that reason, I tend to focus on the actual content of shortwave programs, not so much the presentation styles. I’m frankly more interested in presentation styles for such stations as Radio Australia, BBC World Service, Radio Canada International, Radio New Zealand International, and the VOA-stations where English is the home country’s first language. With that preamble, should we appreciate stations such as Radio Netherlands, having a very “American” sound? Would we rather hear more of a Dutch sound? That’s one reason Radio Netherlands may be featuring more domestic content, specifically in the new Sunday 0053 program, Dutch Horizons. A review appears a bit later. What are your thoughts on how a station should sound?
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