RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

Delauzun ,

Graham Mytton

and

Carol Forrester,

BBC World Service

INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING; A VOICE IN THE DESERT?

INTRODUCTION Most broadcasting is in some way international, since radio waves cross national frontiers. This paper, however, confines itself to radio broadcasts aimed at listeners outside the national boundaries of the originating country. Such internationai radio broađcasts are as old as radio itseif and have always been part of the broadcasting environment as a whole . After reviewing recent trends in the development of international radio broadcasts , we will iook at their market, then at the size , prof ile anđ motivations of their audience . There are five types of international radio broadcaster . First anđ most important are those which are state funđed (and usually state controlled) . Worldwide , over 80 countries support broadcasting services addresseđ to listeners outside their national boundaries. Table 1 gives the estimated programme hours per week as at June 1988 for major state external broadcasters , with comparative figures illustrating the growth that has taken place during the past four decades . Some countries operate more than one service . For example, the United States has the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe (RFE) and Rađio Liberty (RL). The USSR has two main international stations , Radio Moscow and Radio Peace and Progress as well as a number of regional stations which broadcast internationally. Secondly there are the commercial international stations . Radio Luxembourg is well known in Europe . There are other similar operations in Africa (Africa Number One) , the Middle East (Radio Monte Carlo Middle East) , the Caribbean (Radio Antilles ) and South Asia (Sri Lanka's All Asia Service) . Some of these commercial international broadcasters attract very large audiences . They are usually in the lead in апу table of audiences for international broađcasters in immediate target areas . Religious broadcasters are another important category . Almost all such stations are Christian . The earliest was Radio Vatican which was establisheđ a уеаг before the BBC's first international