Traditional shortwave broadcasting is on the defensive and several international broadcasters have been reducing their shortwave programming.
The most recent and spectacular case has been Radio Austria International. But there are occasions when shortwave comes back into its own and
reminds us that as a flexible, cheap and easily accessible medium, it still has a significance role to play. The Iraq war has been one such case. For
troops stationed in the Gulf it is not always easy to pick up satellite (or internet) radio and television, especially if they are looking for programmes
in a language like Czech. But nothing is easier than tuning into a small worldband radio.
There are several hundred Czech soldiers stationed in Kuwait, members of the Czech-Slovak anti-chemical weapons unit; they will soon be
joined by a Czech field hospital. With the aim of creating a radio bridge between these soldiers and their homeland, Radio Prague has established
special shortwave broadcasts to the Gulf. Because the anti-chemical weapons unit is a joint Czech and Slovak operation and there are also
Slovak soldiers in Kuwait, part of our special broadcast is prepared by Slovak Radio.
The initial feedback was mixed, because the troops did not have suitable shortwave receivers and most had little
experience with tuning in to worldband radio. For this reason Radio Prague has sent several portable shortwave
receivers to Kuwait, and has also begun distributing the programme to Czech and Slovak troops in text form. This
has born fruit, and the radio bridge is now working well in both directions.
This project has been a timely reminder of the role of shortwave radio. It is also an example of fruitful cooperation
between public service broadcasters – from the two countries that once made up Czechoslovakia. Of course, it is not
just at times of crisis that cross-border cooperation between stations is important. For the smaller stations in particular,
mutual support and cooperation has a central role to play in developing their future role. The work of WRN, along
with multi-national co-productions such as “Radio E” and the Central European magazine “Insight Central Europe”
are important steps in that direction, enabling stations to pool resources and skills
in order to offer more broadly
attractive and in-depth programming on the international radio marketplace.
By invitation
Radio Prague -
shortwave revival in the Iraq war
Miroslav Krupièka is Director of Radio Prague, the Czech Republic’s
international radio broadcaster, a Member of the AIB. Here he explains the
importance that is attached to shortwave broadcasts at a time of crisis.
Czech soldiers at work in the Gulf
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