Matthew’s Workbench

I was saddened to learn that Radio Netherlands is ending shortwave transmissions to North America, effective October 26, 2008. Radio Netherlands was one of the first shortwave stations I ever heard and I have spent many enjoyable hours over the years listening to their programs.

I’m sure this makes sense as a business decision for Radio Netherlands, just as I’m sure it made sense for the BBC to drop shortwave broadcasts to North America. Obviously there is no station with a large enough budget to broadcast everywhere and it only makes sense to allocate limited resources to areas considered to be most important.

But it always bothers me when such a decision is presented as being best for the listeners. For instance, the Radio Netherlands site states:

"BBC World News" is a fixture on PBS stations in the United States, and it has been for a number of years. WLIW-TV, the US distributor for the program, has chosen not to renew their contract with the BBC. The new distributor is KCET-TV from Los Angeles. Now WLIW-TV is preparing their own international new [...]

According to this article in the Guardian, the BBC is engaged in a rebranding campaign for its news services. The changes involve new sets, a new logo (a red globe symbol), and new station identifications (often called "idents"). The domestic news channel, BBC News 24, is being renamed BBC News and the international news channel, [...]