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You may not have heard some of the most interesting radio in the world.
It's not like regular radio - it’s radio from America that's for the
rest of the world. It's been around in one form or another since 1942,
and you may remember it from the Cold War, when Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty broadcast programs into Warsaw Pact member nations. But RFE/RL
represents just a small part of the work done under the auspices of
the US International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). Together with the Voice
of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and the Worldnet Television
and Film Service, the IBB broadcasts in 52 languages around the world.
And soon, you'll be hearing a lot more about MERN - the Middle East
Radio Network.
MERN is radio with a mission. Norman Pattiz, US Broadcasting Board Governor
and Founder/Chairman of Westwood One Radio, describes that mission
as follows: "We are committed to making sure people can hear America's
voice and better understand our country and what it stands for." MERN
started broadcasting on March 23rd, under the name of Radio Sawa (the
Arabic word for together). Targeted at the 25 and under crowd, Radio
Sawa is a fascinating mix of news, opinion pieces, sports, weather,
music and information. People who tune into MERN in the Middle East
are in for an unusual mix of programming that shifts from the Arabic
pop of George Wasouf to the Western pop of Britney Spears, and in between
they might hear excerpts from a speech by President Bush, or talk-radio
shows where people are encouraged to call in and ask questions about
the United States, its government and its people.
Like other Voice of America broadcasts, MERN’s Radio Sawa cannot be broadcast
to the United States - in the interest of not competing with the domestic
radio market. Right now you can’t hear the MERN broadcasts on the Internet.
But that may change soon - especially when you look through the other
Voice of America programs available on-line. MERN’s goal is to have
unbiased, objective Voice of America type programs broadcast 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. By presenting the complexity of American
society in its many voices and faces, MERN hopes to affect the ways
in which young people in Middle Eastern countries view the US and its
people. Based on information gathered from focus groups in Cairo, Amman,
and the Persian Gulf, MERN found that young people in the Middle East
share a lot of the same interests as their peers in the West. According
to Mr. Pattiz, they want to hear features on marriage, dating, health,
finance, the Internet and computers.
If MERN is successful at setting up this sort of radio dialogue, it could
pave the way for greater understanding between the Western World and
the Middle East - and that’s the power of radio.
Useful links for more information:
www.ibb.gov - The US International Bureau of Broadcasting
www.radiosawa.com - MERN’s Radio Sawa
www.voa.gov - The Voice of America
www.rferl.org - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
www.ibb.gov/worldnet - Worldnet Television and Film Service
www.bbg.gov - The Broadcasting Board of Governors
As always, please e-mail me with any questions,
comments or article suggestions you might have. If you have a customer service question, please
e-mail them at ccraneco@aol.com or call 1-800-522-8863.
If you are interested in using C. Crane's articles on your own Web site,
please let me know. I'd be happy to take a look at your Web site and
see what we can do. Good-bye for now, Carlos. About
the author.
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