RSID: <<2026-04-16T23:31Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>
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Welcome to program 445 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:

  1:43 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:53 MFSK32: BBC longwave 198 kHz will close
  7:16 MFSK64: Testimony to Approprations Committee about VOA
11:35 MFSK64: This week's images
27:08 MFSK32: Closing announcements

 

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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Announcement from the BBC:

Closure of Radio 4 on Long Wave (LW)

15 April 2026

Radio 4 Long Wave (LW)

Radio 4’s Long Wave (LW) service will be closing later this year.
Before the service ends, listeners will receive at least two
months’ notice. We will also broadcast daily on-air reminders to
help everyone switch to other ways of listening.

Why the LW service is closing

The company that owns and operates the LW broadcast equipment has
confirmed that the system is reaching the end of its life. As LW
is an older broadcasting technology, recent years have seen a
decline in listener numbers, with the majority now opting for FM
and DAB digital platforms. Given these factors, investing in
upgrading the LW equipment is not considered a cost-effective
solution for licence fee-funded services.

Supporting listeners through the change

To facilitate this transition away from LW and ensure it is as
smooth as possible, we will be producing comprehensive guidance
on alternative ways to listen through our website and helpline,
outlining alternative methods for accessing BBC Radio 4 content.

Information for users of RTS electricity meters

Some older electricity meters use a system called the Radio
Teleswitching Service (RTS) that is carried within the LW signal.
This service is run by the energy industry, not the BBC. If you
need advice about replacing or upgrading an RTS meter, please
contact your energy supplier or the relevant energy regulator.
The BBC does not manage or control the RTS system.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/work-warning/news/radio4lw

Kim's note: The BBC transmits on longwave 198 kHz from Droitwich,
England.

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Image: The Droitwich longwave transmitting facility in 1962. The
technicians are wearing ties! ...


Sending Pic:304x221;




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Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...


 

RSID: <<2026-04-16T23:37Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

I was asked to prepare testimony for the US House of
Representatives Committee on Apporpriations, Subcommittee on
National Security, Department of State, and Related
Programs, which is considering the budget for the Voice of
America for Fiscal Year 2017.

Here is that testimony (submitted for the Record; I won't be
appearing at a hearing):


Testimony of Kim Andrew Elliott, retired Voice of America
audience research analyst and producer of a weekly VOA program
about international media. I was employed at VOA
1985-2017.

This testimony concerns the United States Agency for Global
Media, specifically the USAGM entity Voice of America. VOA’s FY26
budget was $200 million. I recommend that it stays at that level.


Until March 15, 2025, the Voice of America was one of only two
news organizations in the world providing an _independent_ news
service, supported by a network of bureaus and correspondents,
providing content in multiple (49) languages. It was supported by
a global system of radio transmitters and satellite transponders,
important when the internet is disrupted, as has occurred lately
in Iran.

The only other news organization with this combination of assets
is BBC World Service, available in 43 languages. Why not just
leave it to BBC World Service to inform the world? Serious news
consumers prefer to have at least two reputable sources of news,
to confirm each other and to add perspective. Do we really want
to rely exclusively on the BBC to report on America’s
international activities and domestic institutions?

Furthermore, the BBC in general and World Service specifically
have been experiencing budget pressures. This could reduce World
Service language services and newsgathering capabilities. The
world is in danger of becoming a news desert.

Chinese and Russian international media are also available in
multiple languages. They have some correspondents around the
world and increasingly sophisticated production capabilities. But
these organizations lack journalistic independence. Their product
is neither useful nor credible. Radio and television stations in
the developing world would prefer to relay the more independent
and authoritative reports of VOA and BBC, but if only Chinese and
Russian content is available, that is what they will use.

In the private sector, companies such as CNN and the New York
Times have extensive networks of correspondents around the world.
But their content is available only in English and a small number
of other languages. (Machine translations are now available, but
those of us who make use of this resource know that it can be
clunky and unsatisfying.)

Among USAGM entities, VOA is, or was, the only full-service news
operation, providing news about its audiences’ countries, about
the United States, and about the world in general, with
correspondents in all those places. In my decades of
international broadcasting audience research, I have rarely
encountered survey respondents interested only in news only about
one part of the world to the exclusion of the rest of the world.
The proportions of VOA news coverage can be adjusted to suit the
circumstances of the target country and of world events.

It is often suggested, especially lately, that the Voice of
America should specifically support the policies of the United
States, through commentaries and selective news coverage. The VOA
Charter, U.S Law since 1977, states that “VOA will present the
policies clearly and effectively.” The most _effective_ way to
present U.S. policies is by way of news and current affairs
coverage, because that is what audiences are seeking, rather than
by something that sounds like a propaganda talk, which is what
audiences abroad are seeking to escape.

For the advocacy of U.S. government international policies, the
State Department has outlets in multiple languages. Its Share
America operation has content in eleven languages. VOA and U.S.
public diplomacy each provide necessary but complementary
functions, most effectively implemented by separate agencies.
Requiring VOA to advocate for US policies would create
duplication between VOA and the State Department’s public
diplomacy.

Also in the VOA Charter: “The long-range interests of the United
States are served by communicating directly with the people of
the world.” The “long-range” recalls the promise during VOA’s
first broadcast in 1942: “The news may be good or bad, we shall
tell you the truth." This means that the United States is
confident that its policies and actions abroad will stand the
test of time and the scrutiny of a free press. A complete,
independent and credible news service will draw audiences, and,
long range, support the international affairs of the United
States.

Throughout the world, the only way to achieve a government-funded
but independent news service is by way of a multi-partisan board,
insulating the journalism from political control. Only a few
uncommonly wise nations know the value of funding such a news
service. In Washington, this protection is necessary whichever
party is in control.

Well-informed audiences are equipped to withstand misinformation
and disinformation. Well and fully informed citizenries are
necessary to develop and to maintain democracies. They can resist
the schemes of dictators, terrorists and other global
malefactors.

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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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Jinling's photo of a neighborhood redbud tree, where some blooms
emerge from the bark of branches ...

Sending Pic:141x211C;

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A shopper selects hand-decorated Easter eggs on Orthodox Good
Friday at a market in Belgrade, Serbia. tinyurl.com/26a2re6z ...

Sending Pic:199x131C;
 

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A container ship in the Mediterranean off Marseilles, France.
tinyurl.com/27j2qzdu ...

Sending Pic:261x306;
 

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Families come to the Morton Arboretum near Chicago to see ...
maintenance vehicles. tinyurl.com/2xknrfyt ...

Sending Pic:209x130C;

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View of the Columbia River gorge from the Portland Women's Forum
State Scenic Viewpoint in Oregon. tinyurl.com/27dbl8bc ...

Sending Pic:197x136C;


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An early spring red maple at the Belmonte Arboretum in
Wageningen, the Netherlands. tinyurl.com/2csz8yqm ...

Sending Pic:198x147C;

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Fire engine red Aloe maculata in bloom at the Los Angeles County
Arboretum. tinyurl.com/27sfwklo ...

Sending Pic:145x200C;

https://x.com/jollyrogermania/status/1398433575150698498

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An Abutilon pictum at the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving
Point, Utah's only butterfly conservatory and insectarium.
tinyurl.com/27ouqkx8 ...

Sending Pic:140x197C;
 

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Our painting of the week is "Forsythia 1" (1997) by Alex Katz
(American, b. 1927). tinyurl.com/235wbjuf ...

Sending Pic:157x211C;


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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...


 

RSID: <<2026-04-16T23:57Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...


Transmission of Shortwave Radiogram is provided by:

WRMI, Radio Miami International, http://wrmi.net

and

WINB Shortwave, http://winb.com


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.


 

RSID: <<2026-04-17T11:30Z MFSK-64 @ 15770000+1500>>

🇬🇧
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Ronald Wycherley, aka Billy Fury, was born on April 17, 1940.
He died in 1983.

Sending Pic:170x240;
 

🇬🇧
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Fury

Please report your decode to themightykbc@gmail.com and
tune in Shortwave Radiogram.

https://www.facebook.com/RadioCarpathia

Radio Carpathia #27

Tune in to the latest Radio Carpathia program on Channel292 tomorrow,

11.04.2026, at 11:00 CEST on 9670 kHz, and at 20:00 CEST on 6070 kHz.

WRMI listeners will be able to hear this program in two halves, each one running for approximately three weeks starting April 16th at 0200 UTC on 5850 kHz.