BBC World...on the radio?

I occasionally go looking for new additions to the roster of public radio stations rebroadcasting the World Service in their HD services, in part because these might provide helpful live streaming alternatives.

I noted that Kansas Public Radio carries an hour's worth of audio from the "BBC World" TV service weekdays from 1700 to 1800 UT.

Visit http://kansaspublicradio.org and click on "KPR2".

Richard

BBCWS special programming Saturday: "London: Open City"

This came in my weekly e-mail yesterday from the BBC.

"Throughout this week, various BBC World Service News & Current Affairs programs have been broadcasting live from around London. They've been looking at aspects of London as a global city, bringing the diversity and vibrancy of the city to the airwaves and finding out why people want to live and work there. Specially-commissioned features from the BBC's non-English language services have also been broadcast, giving a flavor of the rich cultural mix of the city. This special weekend program sums up the best of the week's reports."

Air times: Shortwave (west Africa stream) Sat 1332 rpt 1832 UTC; live webcast, Sat 1132 rpt Sun 0732.

There doesn't appear to be an on-demand archive of this summary program, though individual clips can be streamed online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/166_london_calling/index.shtml.

--
Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA

BBC has slightly enhanced their podcast offerings

A recent visit to the BBC's podcasting page yields a couple new entries of interest to fans of international broadcasting. Crossing Continents -- a regular Radio 4 documentary series that explores single issues in-depth around the world -- is now offered as a podcast. In many ways, Crossing Continents is similar to the World Service program Assignment.

Meanwhile, the BBC has started podcasting a daily updating sampling of various items taken from domestic and global news programs -- including the World Service, Five Live, and Radio 4. This podcast, entitled Newspod, looks to run 30-40 minutes each day. I find it a bit better than Newshour because there is less emphasis on instant analysis -- instead, there's a mix of current news as well as more in-depth analysis.

BBCWS 24/7 via additional HD public radio stations

Digital FM ("HD") listeners in Wichita, KS will be able to hear the BBC World Service 24/7 soon as KUMW adds HD2 and HD3 channels; the HD3 channel will carry the BBC World Service.

You can also add Vermont Public Radio to this list. The BBC World Service airs 24/7 on the HD3 channel of WVPS out of Burlington, VT.

Minnesota Public Radio's KSJN also offers the BBC World Service 24/7 on its HD3 service.

It looks like other stations are creating "News and Information" HD channels that retransmit the BBC World Service much of the time.

Keep me posted if you see other mentions of the BBC World Service and HD radio -- this may get the BBC closer to its goal of 24/7 access in major world cities.

CBC repeating "Spin Cycles" this summer in "The Sunday Edition"

The second hour of CBC Sunday Edition -- the long-running Sunday morning news magazine -- features a re-airing of the six-part documentary series on the "...creepy concatenations of politics, big business, advertising, and public relations" that pervades today's news gathering and reporting industries.

I highly recommend this series if you want to better understand why news- and current affairs-oriented programming has changed over the past 30 years (give or take); the series has implications for both domestic news coverage as well as international broadcasting.

If you don't want to wait for Sunday mornings, the series audio is available for on-demand listening.

The website set up for this special series:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/spincycles/index.html