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Welcome to program 403 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

  1:42 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:55 MFSK32: Papua New Guinea to reintroduce shortwave*
  5:52 MFSK64: VOA shutdown hits harder in Turkey*
11:01 MFSK64: This week's images*
24:53 MFSK32: Closing announcements

* with image(s)

 

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on Bluesky now: SWRadiogram.bsky.social

And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram.
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From Radio New Zealand

PNG's national broadcaster moves to reintroduce shortwave radio
for nationwide coverage by 2030

24 May 2025

Papua New Guinea's National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) is
aiming to reintroduce shortwave radio to achieve the government's
goal of 100 percent broadcast coverage by 2030.

This week, the state owned broadcaster hosted a workshop on the
reintroduction of shortwave radio transmission, bringing together
key government agencies and other stakeholders.

NBC managing director Kora Nou said the proposed reintroduction
of shortwave radio can only be achieved through a collaborative
effort.

He said it is important because it ensures remote communities
have access to timely news and information.

NBC's executive director (engineering) Seloka Lewangu explained
the importance of shortwave, while making a comparison with
Frequency Modulation [FM], Shortwave, and Mediumwave
transmission.

"FM is line of sight. If you see the tower, you receive the
signal. If you don't see the tower, you don't receive the
signal," he said.

"Medium Wave has a wider coverage compared to FM. Coverage for FM
is more for cities and towns.

"When you talk about medium wave, you talk regional now.

"When you talk shortwave, you talk countrywide. That's why we are
talking. If shortwave can do it for us, with all our rugged
mountains and scattered islands."

This transition is timely and important for wider coverage, as it
will enable broader and more reliable broadcast reach across the
country's rugged terrain.

NBC also believes this shift will reduce dependency on costly
hardware, making maintenance and upgrades easier while ensuring
improved emergency communication and public awareness.

https://tinyurl.com/2yga7bv3



Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...

 

RSID: <<2025-05-29T23:35Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
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From Deutsche Welle ...


US public media shutdown hits harder in Turkey

Cengiz Ozbek
May 25, 2025

President Trump's shutdown of Voice of America is particularly
tough on countries like Turkey, where press freedom is
decreasing. It was one of the only places to get balanced
coverage of Turkish-US relations, users say.

US President Donald Trump's shutdown of US media outlet Voice of
America, or VOA, has had a particularly strong impact in
countries like Turkey where press freedom has long been under
threat.

As a result of the Trump administration's defunding of the US
government-funded international news service on March 14, the
organization has effectively ceased operations. News websites in
all languages have not been updated for more than two months.
Broadcasts on television and radio have either stopped completely
or switched to music-only programming.

Before suspending service, VOA, which was often one of the rare
sources of uncensored news in countries like Turkey, broadcast in
49 languages to a weekly audience estimated at 354 million people
worldwide.

Banned in Turkey

Turkey, where approximately 90% of major media outlets are
government-controlled, banned access to the Turkish-language
website of VOA in 2022, alongside all language versions of
Deutsche Welle, or DW. Since then, VOA had been trying to reach
its audience in Turkey via a "mirror" website that reproduced the
content of the original platform — until Trump shuttered the
broadcaster completely in mid-March.

Media rights group Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, ranks
Turkey 159th out of 180 countries in its 2025 World Press Freedom
Index, citing ongoing repression of journalists. There are
currently 17 journalists in prison in Turkey.

RSF Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu told DW that
international media organizations like VOA, the BBC and DW have
emerged as "constructive" role models in recent years, as the
country's increasingly polarized press environment has seen a
significant decline in quality and freedom.

The Turkish-language services of international broadcasters
gained prominence as independent media in Turkey have diminished.
Their newsrooms are based abroad but the language services also
employ a small number of reporters within the country.

"VOA has also played an important role in opening the voice of
Turkey's civil society movement and journalism community to the
outside world and breaking the effects of isolation," Onderoglu
said.

VOA Turkish was one of the most important sources for audiences
in Turkey, especially regarding developments between Ankara and
Washington.

"Whenever there was a development in the US that could put the
Erdogan government in a difficult position — for instance, an
allegation that could lead to sanctions on Turkey over Iran — the
first website I would check was VOA's," one of VOA's Turkish
audience told DW.

Journalists at risk

Following Trump's decision to halt federal funding to the parent
agency of VOA, most of the Washington-based news service's
roughly 1,300 staffers were placed on administrative leave as a
first step toward termination.

A group of VOA employees affected by the March executive order
has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing
the president of executive overreach. A federal appeals court in
early May blocked a ruling that had ordered the Trump
administration to put VOA employees back to work.

Following the appeal court's decision on World Press Freedom Day,
the Trump administration has accelerated efforts to carry out the
layoffs.

Nearly 600 contractors, who received termination notices on May
15, were instructed to return their press credentials, badges and
other VOA property by May 30. Some affected employees are J-1
visa holders and face imminent deportation, with only 30 days to
leave the US.

VOA Director Michael Abramowitz, also one of the plaintiffs in
the court case, said that many of those journalists "have escaped
tyranny in their home countries to tell America's story of
freedom and democracy."

On Thursday, Abramowitz noted that the May 3 decision remained in
effect after the appeals court rejected a request for an en banc
review — a full reconsideration by all eleven judges — and warned
that the Trump administration could push for further layoffs.

An unwanted 'voice' silenced

Speaking to DW, a Turkey-based VOA employee recalled the day the
broadcaster abruptly shut down operations: "Our colleagues in
Washington were asked to vacate their offices during working
hours. Their badges were seized. They didn't even wait for the
end of the day. News operations came to a sudden halt. We
couldn't even complete the reports we were working on."

The journalist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that
VOA stood out in a media environment increasingly under pressure
from "an authoritarian regime."

"It was perceived as a threat by the ruling party, facing both
access bans and smear campaigns by pro-government outlets
targeting VOA staff. In that sense, it's likely that the
government welcomed the shutdown of VOA," they said.

The VOA has also produced broadcasts critical of the US
governments, they pointed out: "For example, when experts
criticized the US in analyses of Turkish-American relations, such
comments were never censored."

Trump's 'war' on journalism

Antoine Bernard, director of advocacy and strategic litigation at
RSF, told DW that Trump's attempts to shut down VOA must be
understood in the larger context of "his war on the press."

"He has targeted public media funding, launched politically
motivated investigations into media he doesn't like, and banned
journalists from the White House for refusing to use the exact
words he wants them to use. Quite simply, he does not tolerate
independent media", he said.

RSF recently warned of "an alarming deterioration in press
freedom" in the US under President Trump. The organization
highlighted how Trump exacerbated already difficult conditions by
cutting off US financial support for state-funded broadcasters
such as VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

Earlier this month, Trump signed yet another executive order
seeking to slash funding for the US' Public Broadcasting Service,
or PBS and National Public Radio, or NPR. The Trump
administration also launched Federal Communications Commission
investigations into major media outlets, including ABC News, CBS
News, PBS and NPR.

https://www.dw.com/en/us-public-media-shutdown-hits-harder-in-turkey/a-72661761
 

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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

This week's images ...
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The installation "Error" during the annual Vivid Sydney festival
in Australia. tinyurl.com/25yxnfel ...

Sending Pic:201x135C;
 

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The sun setting from the Well-Safe Guardian oil rig in the
Cromarty Firth, Invergordon, Scotland. tinyurl.com/222umt9h ...

Sending Pic:200x136C;


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Sunrise from Jersey City, New Jersey, with the Empire State
Building in New York City in the background and the Lackawanna
Clock Tower in Hoboken, Jersey, in the foreground.
tinyurl.com/23rlmcxq ...

Sending Pic:130x202C;

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Former (now for hikers) and still-used railroad bridges near
Conemaugh Dam near Clarksburg, Pennsylvania, May 26.
tinyurl.com/2agluyna ...

Sending Pic:149x195C;
 

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Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wears Adidas Gazelles as he
waits for King Charles to deliver a speech in the Canadian
Senate, Ottawa, May 27. tinyurl.com/282kvgcm ...

Sending Pic:152x186C;
 

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Summer Tanager in Caddo Lake State Park, Texas.
tinyurl.com/2croqctd ...

Sending Pic:203x139C;
 

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Heartleaf Arnica (Arnica cordifolia) in Fields Spring State Park,
Washington. tinyurl.com/25nq2698 ...

Sending Pic:202x142C;

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Our painting of the week is "Venice, Early Morning" by S M
Shahrokni. tinyurl.com/26qngu55 ...

Sending Pic:140x208C;
 

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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...




 

RSID: <<2025-05-29T23:54Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>


This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...


Transmission of Shortwave Radiogram is provided by:

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and

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Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

http://swradiogram.bsky.social

X/Twitter (for now): @SWRadiogram

I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave
Radiogram.
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Kermit the Frog delivered the "kermencement" address at the
University of Maryland, May 23. tinyurl.com/ynrura7k ...

Sending Pic:160x200C;
 

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