‘Radio Oz’ Plans Pacific Changes

The shortwave service moves to increase its audience,

by Robin Bromby

AUSTRALIA is conchanges to its South service that could include the introduction of a special English language program for the region. No details of the proposed changes have yet been made public, but it seems some Radio Australia programmers feel a need for transmissions with high Pacific content in addition to the general world service on shortwave (Pacific islanders currently hear the same English language program that is also beamed to Asia, Europe and North America).

It is understood that the proposal will not be taken any further until Radio Australia, the external service of the Australian Broadcasting Cor poration, completes a listener survey m the region.

The survey has been completed in all the smaller island states, including Micronesia, but not in Papua New Guinea or in New Caledonia.

One trend to emerge from the listener survey is that shortwave listen ing climbs steadily in times of political crisis: the coups in Fiji, Kanak troubles in New Caledonia and political tension

in Vanuatu have each led to a rush on shortwave-capable radios in local shops as the public tries to tune in to Radio Australia and other internation al broadcasters for news and informa tion not available on local stations.

At other times, however, shortwave listening in the islands does not reach the proportions it has in Asia. Most island stations broadcast on the medium wave (except in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands).

Listeners just do not turn to shortwave as they do in Indonesia and China, where Radio Australia’s phenomenal

audience figures are explained by the

fact that much local broadcasting is on the shortwave bands because of the great distances the signals must travel.

In the Pacific, most radio stations car ry local announcements such as boat arrivals, cyclone warnings and deaths and the majority of islanders rely on this form of communication for all their news.

One problem for the Radio Austra lia survey is that most English speaking South Pacific broadcasters relay programs from Melbourne; some respondents were unable to dis

tinguish between listening to direct broadcasts from Radio Australia and

hearing a relayed transmission

through their local station.

The Pacnews system has allowed is land broadcasters access to news from other Pacific states, thus diminishing the need to tune to Radio Australia to hear regional news. But the Australian broadcaster does offer a level of inter national coverage not available on loc al stations. Advocates of a more spe cialised English-language program for the region feel such a service will bring listeners back to Radio Australia.