[HCDX] After 27 years, FEBC shutting down Saipan station for good

["Zacharias Liangas " <greekdx@xxxxxxxxx>]

After 27 years, FEBC shutting down Saipan station for good
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=112098
By Clarissa David
Reporter

Far East Broadcasting Company general manager Bob Springer, center, talks about their 
plans to decommission their radio station that broadcasts from Saipan for 27 years the 
gospel of Jesus Christ, by the end of the year during the Saipan Rotary Club meeting 
yesterday. Looking on is Rotary president Pete Igitol, left, and vice president Pete Shilling, 
right. (Clarissa V. David) Far East Broadcasting Co., a non-profit, non-denominational 
missionary organization that broadcasts the gospel of Jesus Christ to many parts of Asia, will 
decommission its radio station on Saipan by the end of the year, after 27 years of 
broadcasting on island.

Bob Springer, FEBC general manager, attributed their decision to government deregulation 
and advances in communications technology that he said have significantly reduced the 
demand for shortwave broadcasting.

Shortwave broadcasting is a long distance broadcasting mechanism that allows a radio 
station to broadcast up to 4,000 miles.

"In the last two and a half years, FEBC has studied the trends in technology in the audience 
listening habits and the conclusion of this exhaustive study has been we should cease 
broadcast from Saipan while continuing shortwave broadcast from our facilities in the 
Philippines," Springer said.

Founded in 1945, FEBC began with a vision of starting a radio station in China and 
constructing programming studios in Shanghai. But with the Nationalist government's 
concern about the Communist takeover, FEBC wasn't given a license to operate a station 
there.

"That was sought in the Philippines, have to get property, get a license to broadcast from the 
Philippines into China," said Springer. "The first station went on the air just three months 
before China fell to the Communists and it's been broadcasting to China ever since."

With the ministry's rapid growth, FEBC started broadcasting from Okinawa to China in 1957 
and Korea in1971.

In 1975, FEBC initially came to Saipan "to explore the possibilities of building a station here." 
In 1978, FEBC created KSAI to serve the Commonwealth.

"While we were operating KSAI in those early years, negotiations went on for land to build a 
shortwave station and in 1981, a lease was signed in the Marpi area to build the station 
where we're located," said Springer, adding that FEBC officially went on air in 1984 with four 
transmitters broadcasting to Russia, China, and Southeast Asia.

At the height of its broadcasting efforts, FEBC broadcasted to about 15 different countries in 
24 different languages and dialects, including that of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, 
and the Ukraine.

Springer disclosed that they receive tens of thousands of letters every month from people 
responding to the gospel they broadcast.

Having lived on Saipan "longer than anywhere else that I've ever lived," Springer said he 
feels sorry to go.

"While we've enjoyed the 27 years that we've been able to operate here on Saipan, the 
government and the commercial side of things here on Saipan has been very good to us and 
we've appreciated that. But we can see the time and we know that that's the thing we need to 
do," added Springer. 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
________________________
http://zlgr.multiply.com (radio monitoring site plus audio clips ) MAIN SITE 
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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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