Obit: Charles Wick at 90...started VOA's Radio Marti & Worldnet

[CrankyYankee]

Wick was the longest-serving director of the United States Information Service. He also was producer of the TV detective program, "Frances Langford Presents" in 1959.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/us/24wick.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin

 

[Bongwater]

Wick was the longest-serving director of the United States Information Service. He also was producer of the TV detective program, "Frances Langford Presents" in 1959.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/us/24wick.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin

Radio Marti (1180 kHz) was an experiment of the Reagan administration. It replaced the VOA's Spanish service on that frequency (beamed directly at Cuba from Marathon, FL.) The first few years, Cuban listeners didn't particularly like it. Radio Marti was more of a throwback to the '40s, with radio dramas and sitcoms that replaced the current music that the VOA service played. But when it did sign on in 1986 (to great fanfare), Castro fired back, blasting propaganda and cranking up transmitters to 500,000 watts or more on 1180, wiping out every station on 1180 and adjacent frequencies clear into the Midwest. At night in Seattle, they were as loud - if not louder than locals with almost no ionospheric skip. They quit their hijinx in a few days. But Florida really got blasted.

The lesson? NEVER announce to Castro any format changes....

The station improved over time, but it's still constantly jammed.....

 

[CrankyYankee]

Here's a link to an interesting "memory" of Mr. Wick from John Whitney, a former director-general of the Independent Broadcasting Authority.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4424581.ece

 

[davideduardo]

[Radio Marti (1180 kHz) was an experiment of the Reagan administration. It replaced the VOA's Spanish service on that frequency (beamed directly at Cuba from Marathon, FL.) The first few years, Cuban listeners didn't particularly like it. Radio Marti was more of a throwback to the '40s, with radio dramas and sitcoms that replaced the current music that the VOA service played.

Martí, in 1985-1986, was hardly a throwback to anything. It was a news and talk station in the tradition of such stations in Cuba and the Caribbean. Martí was much more Cuba-centered than anything the VOA had provided, and was particularly strong in news, providing hours of information and commentary a day.

The information available, in 1986 after the first year of Martí operation, indicated that the goal of providing news about Cuba that was not available inside Cuba was being met and exceeded (per the Congressionally mandated annual outside audit of programming and operations).

But when it did sign on in 1986 (to great fanfare), Castro fired back, blasting propaganda and cranking up transmitters to 500,000 watts or more on 1180,

By1985, Cuba had only one transmitter of 300,000 wats, a Czech dinosaur from the mid-60's, which they moved to 1180 and ran at an estimated 150 kw to block Marti. There was never a 500 kw transmitter in Cuba.

wiping out every station on 1180 and adjacent frequencies clear into the Midwest. At night in Seattle, they were as loud - if not louder than locals with almost no ionospheric skip. They quit their hijinx in a few days. But Florida really got blasted.

The only way a 150 kw signal from Cuba could reach the Pacific Northwest is by 100% ionospheric skip. There is no way groundwave of any power could reach there.

The station improved over time, but it's still constantly jammed.....

It's jammed by the same transmitter as jammed it in 1985.