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[HCDX] World Radio TV Handbook 2012
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World Radio TV Handbook 2012
Published on : 22 December 2011 - 2:20pm | By Andy Sennitt (Photo:clipart.com)
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/world-radio-tv-handbook-2012
The 2012 edition of the World Radio TV Handbook (WRTH) was published in early
December 2011. The appearance and format have not changed much over recent years, but
the content certainly has.
Although the WRTH has been known for decades as the "DXers' Bible", there are several
signs in this edition that the publisher will not make the mistake some other publishers made
of pretending that shortwave is still the only platform for international broadcasting.
In particular, the venerable George Jacobs, who has reached his 50th year writing the annual
high frequency (HF) propagation predictions, says
"With my experience gained during 50 years of reporting, I do not question, and I strongly
agree, that the future for international broadcasting is the continued dramatic rise of the
satellite and internet platforms. I believe, however, that HF broadcasting will continue to have
an important role to play far into the future, albeit as a complement to these newer platforms."
Mr Jacobs knows what he is talking about, as he has been in the international broadcasting
business for 65 years, including a period as Chief Engineer at the Voice of America. So
perhaps we at RNW are not as stupid as some non-experts have claimed we are in recent
years!
Internet
The WRTH editorial includes the following:
"In view of the rise of the internet as an outlet for international broadcasters, we have decided
to include details of languages available on the Internet in the international section."
This a welcome change, as it ensures that stations such as Radio Sweden can still be
included, rather than ignored as if it doesn´t exist. Having said that, I was surprised that
Swissinfo, formerly Swiss Radio International and one of the first international broadcasters
to switch off shortwave - also a key partner of RNW - has not been included, even though it
is part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.
The WRTH still devotes most of its 672 pages to traditional over-the-air broadcasting, and
there is still a shortwave receiver review section. Of course, the bulk of the book is devoted to
listing thousands of radio and TV stations worldwide.
TV section
I note that the amount of space devoted to TV has stayed at around 40 pages for many
years, and this distorts the relative importance of different stations and networks. China, for
example, is compressed into just over a third of a page, about the same as Denmark.
But of more concern, I could not find any reference to some of the big international satellite
TV networks such as China´s CCTV News and Iran´s Press TV. These networks are
international broadcasters, but seem to have fallen into a hole between international radio
and domestic TV. Anyone buying the WRTH who doesn´t know they exist will be none the
wiser.
I would suggest that, for international broadcasting, the editors give serious thought to
including these international TV networks in the same section as radio and internet. This
would give a better idea of the relative importance of the different platforms. I would argue
that, in many cases, the satellite TV services that are not listed reach many more people than
some of the radio services from the same country. They certainly cost a bigger proportion of
the budget!
A must-have publication
Small quibbles aside, the WRTH is a must-have publication for all who work in international
broadcasting, and those who like to hear or see broadcasts from outside their own country.
Some may wonder if a printed book is still needed in an age when so much information can
be found on the internet. But anyone who has tried listening to a weak radio signal with the
computer switched on close to the receiver will know how much noise a computer can
produce. So having access to printed information is still very useful.
The WRTH does have computerised information too - I reviewed the WRTH Bargraph
Frequency Guide earlier in 2011, and new editions will be produced in January 2012 and later
in the year for the summer schedules. There are also regular updates drawing attention to
significant changes to the listings. More information on the WRTH website.
Publisher: Nicholas Hardyman
No. of pages: 672
Publisher's address: WRTH Publications Limited, PO Box 290, Oxford, OX2 7FT, United
Kingdom
Order Fax: +44 (0)1865 514405
Web (secure online ordering): www.wrth.com
E-mail: sales@xxxxxxxx
Cover price: £24.95 including airmail postage worldwide.
ISBN: 978-0-9555481-4-7
Distributed in the USA by Innovative Logistics, 575 Prospect St, Lakewood, NJ 08701. Web:
www.innlog.net.
Distributed in Germany by Gert Wohlfarth GmbH, Stresemannstrasse 20-22, D-47051
Duisburg. E-mail: info@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ISBN: 978-3-87463-504-2.
(
Martyn Williams 22 December 2011 - 7:52pm / USA
* reply
Andy,
Do you have any idea of the readership of WRTH? If it's people using it as a guide to
listening to international broadcasts then the inclusion of some of the TV stations would make
sense.
But if the audience is DXers then I wonder if there would be interest? Typically, satellite
transmissions are either there or not. There isn't much technique involved in receiving them,
unless you count alignment and dish tweaks but those improvements bring in all broadcasts,
not just the international stations.
Back in the 90s the WRTH listed satellite broadcasts but I guess they were dropped for
space reasons.
It seems the biggest competitor to the book are the numerous online schedule sites and lists
like EiBi and Aoki.
I wish the WRTH could offer an online database with updated schedules year round. Right
now I get the book in late December and by April the international section is already out of
date.
It's still a must-have book though.
Martyn
Standard rig : ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser
Please read and distribute this 15 year research article http://tinyurl.com/5vzg7e
Please read my article on SINPO at http://tinyurl.com/yt7qjd
________________________
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Zacharias Liangas , Thessaloniki Greece
greekdx @ otenet dot gr ---
Pesawat penerima: ICOM R75 , Lowe HF150 , Degen 1102,1103,108,
Tecsun PL200/550, Chibo c300/c979, Yupi 7000
Antenna: 16m hor, 2x16 m V invert, 1m australian loop
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