Kari Lake nominated to head Voice of America.

[gr8oldies]

I entered a couple of those! Didn't win, though, which was probably a good thing since doing so might have earned me an FBI or CIA dossier. Come to think of it, I probably have one as a result of receiving a copy of Mao's "little red book" and several issues of Peking Review from Radio Peking in the late '60s. In 1970, I was one of the half-dozen winners of a letter-writing contest held by Radio Canada's "Listeners' Corner" mailbag program. I got several LPs of Canadian music (folk and classical) and the thrill of hearing my letter read on 9625 khz!

Yes, Earl Fisher with Listener's Corner. That must have been how I copped the Procol Harum album. I did get Peking Review and China Pictorials.but no Little Red Book.

 

[kevtronics]

VOA is already cleaning house, because they recently auctioned off their entire "legacy media" collection of thousands of LPs, 45s, CDs, books, and magazines:

https://ppms.gov/auctions/preview/285945

This collection consists of physical analogue assets including approximately 83,569 vinyl record albums and 34,500 45's that span the years of the 1920's-1990's. This collection includes genres from jazz, classical, Americana, Ethic and various long play and popular music of this time period. The collection also includes a Compact Disc Library of approximately 77,749 CD's spanning from at least 1950's to 2020 time period. The CD collection includes various genres of popular, classical, jazz, R&B, Hip Hop, and production music. Accompanying the vinyl record collection are 10 card catalog cabinets containing information about much of the older non-computerized vinyl media records. There is also a compilation of approximately 1,053 musical reference books and magazines from various time periods.

 

[RadioFan2J3]

VOA is already cleaning house, because they recently auctioned off their entire "legacy media" collection of thousands of LPs, 45s, CDs, books, and magazines:

https://ppms.gov/auctions/preview/285945

Kev,

I am wondering if the sale is because of the move from the Cohen Building? Buy selling off the collection, VOA would not have to move it and make room in the new building for the collection?

Would the sale include all the cabinets?

 

[kevtronics]

Would the sale include all the cabinets?

Apparently not, because it's now stored in cardboard boxes:

 

[TheBigA]

VOA is already cleaning house, because they recently auctioned off their entire "legacy media" collection of thousands of LPs, 45s, CDs, books, and magazines:

It's an interesting collection, because at one time, the VOA was a place where people around the world could hear "uniquely American music," which for most of the 50s and 60s was jazz, as presented by the great Willis Conover.

Willis Conover | Jazz Music, Voice of America & Cold War | Britannica

Willis Conover was an American radio broadcaster and jazz promoter who was the longtime host of the Music USA program on the Voice of America (VOA). His voice was perhaps the best known overseas of any American of his era. After winning a talent contest while a university student, Conover became a

www.britannica.com

From an archival point of view, it might be best for this collection to go to one of many great jazz archives, such as the Institute For Jazz Studies or even the Smithsonian. From what I can see, it will instead go to a personal collector.

 

[davideduardo]

From the age of 11 onwards I received all kinds of material from places that would have been considered adversaries of the U.S., including many communist bloc countries. I figured even then that corresponding with such stations probably earned me a FBI and/or CIA file. Did I ever care about that? NO!!!😛🤣

Oh, yeah. they watched. When I was 16, I traveled through Central America, Colombia and Venezuela and visited hundreds of radio stations where I took about 2000 pictures.

Within a month or two of my return, I had written about the trip in one of the AM DX member bulletins. Soon after that, I had a typical government gray car with no whitewalls and an adjustable spotlight show up at my mother's house. After chatting for a while, I was invited to Laurel to show all the pictures and narrate my observations about attitudes, etc., at each station.

That was followed by an offer of a full ride to college in exchange for joining The Company.

Yes, they watch.

 

[RadioFan2J3]

Apparently not, because it's now stored in cardboard boxes:

Thanks for that link. Will have to view it.

 

[CTListener]

That was followed by an offer of a full ride to college in exchange for joining The Company.

I suppose you could tell us whether you accepted that offer, but then they'd have to kill you.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I entered a couple of those! Didn't win, though, which was probably a good thing since doing so might have earned me an FBI or CIA dossier. Come to think of it, I probably have one as a result of receiving a copy of Mao's "little red book" and several issues of Peking Review from Radio Peking in the late '60s. In 1970, I was one of the half-dozen winners of a letter-writing contest held by Radio Canada's "Listeners' Corner" mailbag program. I got several LPs of Canadian music (folk and classical) and the thrill of hearing my letter read on 9625 khz!

I've gotten mail from Pyongyang twice in the last decade.

If I had been alive during the heyday of SW i wouldve absolutely been on "a list" as im sure id have been getting mail from china, russia, etc etc

 

[CTListener]

I've gotten mail from Pyongyang twice in the last decade.

If I had been alive during the heyday of SW i wouldve absolutely been on "a list" as im sure id have been getting mail from china, russia, etc etc

I don't think I ever logged Pyongyang during my SWLing days. Being on the East Coast didn't help. On the other hand, 25 to 49 meters were chock full of European, Middle Eastern and African signals every evening. The only European that consistently eluded me was Poland, which supposedly had an English service to North America but somehow never made it into my speaker. I had QSLs, souvenirs and literature from just about everywhere else in Europe, including Communist East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania, Ukraine, and of course, Russia -- both Radio Moscow and its sister station, Radio Station Peace & Progress, which billed itself as "the voice of Soviet public opinion," but, of course, broadcast the same opinions as Radio Moscow did!

It was fascinating for a teenager like me to hear the Cold War (and a few hot wars) play out on shortwave in the '60s and '70s. My most vivid memories are of Kol Yisrael during the Six Day War, Radio Prague during the Soviet invasion, and the Voice of Nigeria during that country's civil war with the breakaway province of Biafra. Each broadcast from Lagos would end with the slogan "To keep Nigeria one is a job that must be done!" Shortwave's last hurrah for me was in the early 1990s -- the first Gulf War and the end of apartheid in South Africa with the freeing of Nelson Mandela. It's a shame that so many nations have left shortwave in this millennium, but looking at it objectively, there is no way governmental shortwave broadcasting can be justified now. I still listen, but only for the occasionally interesting, occasionally infuriating and occasionally simply bizarre conversations on the ham bands.

 

[TheBigA]

I am wondering if the sale is because of the move from the Cohen Building?

I hadn't heard about this move, but yes, it was announced in September:

USAGM signs lease to new Downtown DC HQ, initiating a move that will save the agency millions

Today, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) awarded a new lease, cementing 1875 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW as its future headquarters and the home of Voice of America (VOA) – the oldest of the five broadcast entities the independent federal agency oversees. The agency's move to a modern...

www.usagm.gov

The article says it will save the agency money.

USAGM and VOA’s move from the Wilbur J. Cohen Building will allow the agency to operate more efficiently and secure significant cost savings that can be reinvested in technology and infrastructure to expand its reach to key markets where malign influence and censorship pervade. Further, the move to a more efficient space echoes a broader push to reimagine federal workspaces across Washington, D.C.

You can bet the incoming administration will take credit for this.

 

[gr8oldies]

I don't think I ever logged Pyongyang during my SWLing days. Being on the East Coast didn't help. On the other hand, 25 to 49 meters were chock full of European, Middle Eastern and African signals every evening. The only European that consistently eluded me was Poland, which supposedly had an English service to North America but somehow never made it into my speaker. I had QSLs, souvenirs and literature from just about everywhere else in Europe, including Communist East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania, Ukraine, and of course, Russia -- both Radio Moscow and its sister station, Radio Station Peace & Progress, which billed itself as "the voice of Soviet public opinion," but, of course, broadcast the same opinions as Radio Moscow did!

It was fascinating for a teenager like me to hear the Cold War (and a few hot wars) play out on shortwave in the '60s and '70s. My most vivid memories are of Kol Yisrael during the Six Day War, Radio Prague during the Soviet invasion, and the Voice of Nigeria during that country's civil war with the breakaway province of Biafra. Each broadcast from Lagos would end with the slogan "To keep Nigeria one is a job that must be done!" Shortwave's last hurrah for me was in the early 1990s -- the first Gulf War and the end of apartheid in South Africa with the freeing of Nelson Mandela. It's a shame that so many nations have left shortwave in this millennium, but looking at it objectively, there is no way governmental shortwave broadcasting can be justified now. I still listen, but only for the occasionally interesting, occasionally infuriating and occasionally simply bizarre conversations on the ham bands.

I remember hearing The Voice of Vietnam in various languages in our mornings (contrary to the U.S. media, there was no such thing as "Radio Hanoi"). Probably the most interesting was Iran could be well-received during U.S. daylight hours on 15084. I had a DX friend who loved the Iranian music, and there were commercials (I could make out "Pepsi"). After the Shah fell, even with no understanding of the language, I could tell that people were operating the station that had no idea what they were doing.
I tuned Radio Moscow when the coup that nearly toppled Gorbachev took place. Moscow reported that Gorbachev's condition was "grave" which, of course it wasn't.
Radio Clarin in the Dominican Republic (4850 I think) brought in one Rudy Espinal to promote tourism to the DR in English. There was some type of coup or revolution, and it was up to Rudy to tell the world everything was fine and proceed with your visit.

 

[davideduardo]

I suppose you could tell us whether you accepted that offer, but then they'd have to kill you.

The next Spring, I went to Ecuador and built my first station... without the help of the spooks.

It is an interesting story, particularly the trip to Langley where I was taken into a deep basement room that was insulated and on floaters to present my slides of radio stations.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I don't think I ever logged Pyongyang during my SWLing days. Being on the East Coast didn't help. On the other hand, 25 to 49 meters were chock full of European, Middle Eastern and African signals every evening. The only European that consistently eluded me was Poland, which supposedly had an English service to North America but somehow never made it into my speaker. I had QSLs, souvenirs and literature from just about everywhere else in Europe, including Communist East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania, Ukraine, and of course, Russia -- both Radio Moscow and its sister station, Radio Station Peace & Progress, which billed itself as "the voice of Soviet public opinion," but, of course, broadcast the same opinions as Radio Moscow did!

It was fascinating for a teenager like me to hear the Cold War (and a few hot wars) play out on shortwave in the '60s and '70s. My most vivid memories are of Kol Yisrael during the Six Day War, Radio Prague during the Soviet invasion, and the Voice of Nigeria during that country's civil war with the breakaway province of Biafra. Each broadcast from Lagos would end with the slogan "To keep Nigeria one is a job that must be done!" Shortwave's last hurrah for me was in the early 1990s -- the first Gulf War and the end of apartheid in South Africa with the freeing of Nelson Mandela. It's a shame that so many nations have left shortwave in this millennium, but looking at it objectively, there is no way governmental shortwave broadcasting can be justified now. I still listen, but only for the occasionally interesting, occasionally infuriating and occasionally simply bizarre conversations on the ham bands.

I can hear Pyongyang on SW in my teeth! Ok not quite, but the 11735/13760 service in english to latin america at 0400.. its shortest path puts the dead center middle just 125 miles north of me.. and in the world of HF thats like throwing a baseball across the street

Radio Nacional Amazonais form Brazil is still a legit fun listen and very well audible in north america despite their target being, well, the amazon

 

[KilowattKat]

Would receiving QSL cards from Radio Moscow, Radio Kiev, and Radio China International, trigger anything from the US government, circa the late 70's?

 

[CTListener]

New Zealand bucks the trend, invests in shortwave!

RadioToday — The World's Radio Community

Connect with radio professionals, find jobs, share news and build your career in broadcasting worldwide.

radio.today

 

[Mediafrog+]

New Zealand bucks the trend, invests in shortwave!

RadioToday — The World's Radio Community

Connect with radio professionals, find jobs, share news and build your career in broadcasting worldwide.

radio.today

Which really only replaces a problem-plagued older transmitter from 1990. This gets RNZ back to where it was a few years back, restoring the ability to simulcast in AM and DRM.

 

[davideduardo]

Would receiving QSL cards from Radio Moscow, Radio Kiev, and Radio China International, trigger anything from the US government, circa the late 70's?

I doubt that QSLs from SW stations or even hams from Russia or anywhere in the USSR would have triggered any interest back then.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

New Zealand bucks the trend, invests in shortwave!

RadioToday — The World's Radio Community

Connect with radio professionals, find jobs, share news and build your career in broadcasting worldwide.

radio.today

Im pretty sure Spain said something similar recently.... recommitting to their international shortwave service, Radio Exterior Espana... sometimes a simulcast of RNE but often with its own content in portuguese,spanish, french, Sefardi/Judaeo Spanish, Russian, English and Arabic

 

[KeithE4]

Would receiving QSL cards from Radio Moscow, Radio Kiev, and Radio China International, trigger anything from the US government, circa the late 70's?

It didn't with me. I was checked out for a Secret Clearance with DOD in 1978, when I started working for a defense contractor. The subject never even came up, and I had quite a few "Commie" QSLs, both hams and broadcasters, back then.