internet resources John H. Barnett Global voices, global visions International radio and television broadcasts via the Web

he world is calling—are you listening? used international broadcasting as a method of THere’s how . . . Internet radio and tele­ communicating news and competing ideologies vision—tuning into information, feature, during the Cold War. and cultural programs broadcast via the In more recent times, a number of reli­ Web—piqued the interest of some educators, gious broadcasters have appeared on short­ librarians, and instructional technologists in wave radio to communicate and evangelize the 1990s. A decade ago we were still in the to an international audience. Many of these early days of multimedia content on the Web. media outlets now share their programming Then, concerns expressed in the professional and their messages free through the Internet, literature centered on issues of licensing, as well as through shortwave radio, cable copyright, and workable business models.1 television, and podcasts. In my experiences as a reference librar­ This article will help you find your way ian and modern languages selector trying to to some of the key sources for freely avail­ make Internet radio available to faculty and able international Internet radio and TV students, there were also information tech­ programming, focusing primarily on major nology concerns over bandwidth usage and broadcasters from outside the United States, audio quality during that era. which provide regular transmissions in What a difference a decade makes. Now English. Nonetheless, one of the benefi ts of with the rise of podcasting, interest in Web tuning into Internet radio and TV is to gain radio and TV programming has recently seen access to news and knowledge of perspec­ resurgence. Additionally, the prevalence of tives you might not normally encounter from global issues and area studies in the academic American media outlets. This guide also offers curriculum has made international perspec­ some starting points for discovering differing tives of greater value to higher education. viewpoints on global issues, as well. Programming in language instruction, politics, To listen to these broadcasts, you will need religion, history, literature and the arts, busi­ a variety of plug­ins and software loaded into ness and economics, and the sciences are your computer—namely, Windows Media available just a few clicks from your com­ Player, Real Player, QuickTime, Octoshape, puter—if you know where to look. Flash, and iTunes. International broadcasting began in the 1920s and 1930s, with Radio Netherlands and Getting started the British Broadcasting Corporation’s World • Passport to World Band Radio. Service (then known as the Empire Service) Penn’s Park, PA: International Broadcast- among the early adopters, transmitting pro­ ing Services, 1988– . Published annually. grams around the globe via the shortwave ra­ dio spectrum. Both the Soviet Union (through Radio Moscow and Radio State Peace and John H. Barnett is assistant director, PALCI: Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc., e-mail: barnett@palci. Progress) and the United States (through the org Voice of America and Radio Free Europe) also © 2008 John H. Barnett

C&RL News March 2008 162 • World Radio TV Handbook: The The broadcasters Directory of Global Broadcasting. Milton • ABC Radio Australia. ABC Radio Keynes, UK: WRTH Publications Limited; Australia provides impressive coverage of New York, NY: Watson­Guptill Publications, Australian, Asian, and Pacific region affairs, 1947– . Published annually. economics, culture, and society. The interna­ These two sources represent the “old tional service of the Australian Broadcasting school” way of approaching the topic—print Corporation (ABC) provides programming directories that provide detailed informa­ 24/7 in English and numerous Southeast tion on programming by international radio Asian languages, live via the Web, audio on broadcasters (Passport to World Band Radio) demand, and podcast. Some programs are and broadcast schedules and frequency and repeats from Radio National, ABC’s domestic channel guides for tuning into broadcasts radio network, but much is generated from (World Radio TV Handbook). While nowa­ ABC’s studios in Melbourne for an interna­ days we often don’t approach a topic this tional audience. Programming is diverse, way, these guides still represent two of the including Australian history, indigenous more authoritative sources for information on issues, Asian business and Pacifi c develop­ international radio and TV. If you’re intent ment, health, education, and more. Access: about finding broadcasts and using them http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/. for educational and informational purposes, • All India Radio (AIR). India’s national the two resources are essential for getting broadcaster features extensive domestic and you an overview of the breadth and depth international programming in English and available. national languages. Unfortunately, while • RadioStationWorld: Your Global AIR has broadcast via the Internet in the Radio Station Directory. Formerly known past (and its Web site continues to advertise as TVRadioWorld, this free, Web­based re­ the availability of live audio and on­demand source has been in existence since 1996. programming), broadcasts are not avail­ RadioStationWorld provides a directory of able as of this writing. Access: http://www. domestic and international radio broadcast­ allindiaradio.org/. ers—organized by continent, country, and • BBC World Service. The “crown jewel” community—with links to the many that of all international broadcasting services, BBC transmit via the Internet. Upkeep is done by World Service transmits programming in 33 freelance contributors from around the globe. languages and features round­the­clock ser­ Access: http://radiostationworld.com. vices in English and Spanish. BBC provides • World Radio Network (WRN). Don’t the latest in world news and information, have time to look around for stations or along with feature and documentary pro­ figure out which is the best programming gramming on British, European, and global to tune into? No worries. WRN has done it arts, culture, and society; the sciences and all for you, providing access to some of the the environment; and business, development, most well­known and highly regarded inter­ and economic issues. Recent documentary national public radio programming available programs include “Fading Traditions,” a series from Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle on ancient ways of life in the modern world; East, Asia, and Australia. Here you can select “Pain: Body, Mind, and Culture”; “Maids: individual radio broadcasts to listen to or tune The Untold Story,” a look at the challenges into one of WRN’s livestreams, which features and horrors women who work overseas continuous programming in English from as maids often face; and “Freetown Rap,” stations as diverse as the Israel Broadcasting an examination of the use of images and Authority, Channel Africa, Radio Sweden, music from American rap culture during the Radio Australia, and KBS World Radio from Sierra Leonean civil war. In essence, BBC Korea. Access: http://www.wrn.org. World Service lives up to its name, being

March 2008 163 C&RL News truly global in content, which it has done for ing service from the Islamic Republic of Iran more than 75 years. Access: http://www.bbc. (also commonly referred to as Radio Tehran) co.uk/worldservice. represents one of the few English­language • Channel Africa. Channel Africa is the sources for information emanating directly international broadcasting service of the South from the Middle East. Access: http://english. African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and irib.ir/. covers not only South African news, affairs, and • Israel Broadcasting Authority. Navigat­ society, but also features reporting on continent­ ing this site can be a challenge as the text is wide affairs, making it one of the few media chiefly in Hebrew with a hard­to­fi nd English­ outlets based in Africa with an international language menu to the side. Even then, determin­ audience. Listeners can listen to livestreams, ing where to look for actual broadcasts can be download audio files of previous broadcasts, perplexing. Nonetheless, when you connect, and even watch SABC video on demand. Access: you’ll find a sampling of on­demand broadcasts http://www.channelafrica.org. of TV and radio news in English—one of the few • China Radio International (CRI). such sources from inside the Middle East. Access: Formerly known as Radio Beijing and known http://www.iba.org.il/; an easier to navigate site to toe the official party line, CRI now offers is available at http://www.israelradio.org. more diversified programming in English and • NHK World/Radio Japan Online. NHK other languages around the clock, both live and World is the international broadcasting service on­demand. Content includes news, business of NHK, Japan’s sole public broadcaster. As information, and cultural features on China, as expected, NHK provides engaging coverage well as international affairs and development of Japanese news, current affairs, science, issues. And don’t forget the Chinese language business, technology, and culture, as well as lessons! They’re available as well. Access: http:// lessons in Japanese language. Compared with english.cri.cn/. other international broadcasters, NHK World’s • Deutsche Welle (DW). DW broadcasts TV online programming is slightly limited, with and radio programming from its headquarters broadcasting via shortwave radio and cable TV in Cologne, Germany, in both English and Ger­ still predominant. Nonetheless, NHK provides man on a 24­hour basis, as well as in 30 other radio broadcasts live and on­ demand and TV languages. DW excels at news, current affairs, programming on­demand. Access: http://www. and cultural programming, especially from the nhk.or.jp/english/. nations that comprise the European Union, but • Radio Canada International/CBC Radio also provides significant coverage of Asian news One. America’s northern neighbor provides and affairs. Radio broadcasts are available live superior, engaging coverage on Canadian or on demand; TV broadcasts are available in society and Canadians’ interrelationships with the United States only on­demand. the world and one another through its regular One highlight of DW’s online services is news and current affairs programs, such as “The its German language instruction, which is of­ Link.” In addition, the Canadian Broadcasting fered at beginner, intermediate, and advanced Corporation’s domestic radio service, CBC Radio levels. Programming includes audio lessons, One, available in livestream from regional cities, downloadable texts, and teacher’s instructional features extensive current affairs and feature guides. In addition, DW broadcasts regularly programs, including at present a radio serial, in slowly spoken German to assist language “Afghanada,” following the lives of soldiers learners’ comprehension. Access: http://www. serving in Canada’s peacekeeping forces in dw­world.com. Afghanistan. Access: http://www.rcinet.ca/ • IRIB World Service. Given the current for Radio Canada International; http://www. diplomatic climate, the political, religious, and cbc.ca/radio for CBC Radio One. anti­American rhetoric is high (you can’t say • Radio France Internationale/Radio you weren’t forewarned), but this broadcast­ France (RFI). RFI broadcasts to the world

C&RL News March 2008 164 in English, French, and more than 15 addi­ in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the tional languages; programs can be listened Middle East, and Asia. Access: http://radio. to on­demand or downloaded as podcasts. un.org/. Coverage of French affairs and culture is, • Vatican Radio. Advertising itself as “the naturellement (excellent), but RFI also voice of the Pope and the Church in dialogue features significant coverage of African and with the World,” Vatican Radio broadcasts Asian affairs. Similar to Deutsche Welle, RFI news and features on social and religious also offers French language lessons both in issues in 40 languages, including English. audio and print, as well as news spoken Radio is available live and on demand; some in français facile for easy understanding. video features are also available. Access: Radio France is the domestic service of http://www.vaticanradio.org. French national radio and broadcasts live • Voice of Russia. Formerly known as Ra­ via the internet networks such as “Musique,” dio Moscow during the Soviet era, the Voice “Culture,” “Info,” and others. Access: http:// of Russia continues to open a window from www.rfi.fr for Radio France Internationale; Russia to the world via programming in Eng­ http://www.radiofrance.fr for the domestic lish on Russian and world affairs. Old habits services of Radio France. die hard, though. While today’s broadcasts • Radio Netherlands. One of shortwave are more entertaining and less propagandistic radio’s earliest broadcasters, Radio Netherlands than they were during the Cold War, the Voice continues to make its programming available of Russia still exposes its state­run media via the Internet, live, and via podcast to a roots. Access: http://www.vor.ru. global audience. The broadcaster gives ex­ cellent coverage of international issues, such Podcasts as development, poverty, global warming, There are various sources for podcasts human rights, immigration, and international and downloadable audio and video direct law. Though government­funded, Radio from broadcasters, such as the BBC World Netherlands has a strong policy of editorial Service, Deutsche Welle, and Radio France independence and a reputation for objective, Internationale, as well as through content progressive reporting. Access: http://www. providers like the World Radio Network rnw.nl. and iTunes. • RTVE: Radio Televisión Española. Via iTunes, you can subscribe to radio RTVE broadcasts live audio and video 24 and TV broadcasts from the BBC, CBC hours a day, 7 days a week, in Spanish to an Radio, Deutsche Welle, NHK World, Radio international audience via radio, cable, and France, Radio Sweden, and many others. the Internet. While there appears to be no These programs are free (for now) and can English­language programming at this time, be viewed through iTunes or downloaded RTVE is a leading broadcaster to Latin Amer­ to portable devices. Programming is lim­ ica and, thus, is an excellent source, along ited, though, generally consisting of much with BBC Mundo, for news and information of the same domestic and international on the Spanish­speaking world. Additionally, services found on the broadcasters’ Web it is one of the few broadcasters that allows sites. In other words, you won’t fi nd the you to view its 24­hour TV service free via the full offerings of BBC TV—you’ll still have Internet. Access: http://www.rtve.es. to tune in to BBC America, or take a trip • United Nations Radio. Programs from across the pond for that. UN Radio focus on subjects such as peace and security, development and human rights, Notes conflict resolution, elections, health, poverty, 1. Michael O’Leary, “Internet radio: lis­ education, and climate change, among oth­ tening to the Web,” Online 23 (July/August ers. There is also news coverage of events 1999): 69–70.

March 2008 165 C&RL News