ABC Radio Australia

Type	Radio network
Country	Australia
Availability	International
Owner	Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Key people	Hanh Tran (CEO)
Website http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/

ABC Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia's public broadcaster.

History

Shortwave services from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation were inaugurated in December 1939 by Prime Minister Robert Menzies.^[1]

One of the functions of Australian shortwave broadcasting was to counter Axis, particularly Japanese propaganda. However, the ABC's transmitters were much weaker than the Japanese or German services. The transmitter of Analgamated Wireless Australia near Sydney had 10 kilowatts of power, and stations VLR and VLW had 2 kW each. ^[2] In 1941, following consultation between the British and Australian governments, a transmtter site in Shepparton, Victoria, was selected, in part because of a flat landscape and soil conductivity. The site was completed in 1944 with two 100 kW and one 50 kW transmitters. The station was formally named Radio Australia then. ^[3]

It had a considerable range of broadcasts to the Asian region in the 1970s and 1980s, however in the late 1990s political influence on its broadcasting range and programming limited its Asian spread.

In recent years Radio Australia programs have also become available via web streaming.

Target areas

Radio Australia's signal is primarily aimed at the Asia-Pacific region. It broadcasts in several languages - English, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Khmer and Tok Pisin (a pidgin commonly spoken in Papua New Guinea). A daily Pacific news bulletin is podcast in French.

Though Radio Australia does not directly target North America or Europe via shortwave, some of its transmissions can be heard in these areas [1].

Sources of RA programming

Radio Australia's English language programs consist of material produced by Radio Australia and also other ABC radio networks such as ABC Local Radio and Radio National.

Radio Australia's programming output (1950-1996)

For a comparison of RA to other broadcasters see

Estimated total direct programme hours per week of some external radio broadcasters
Broadcaster	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	1996[1]
VOA, RFE/RL & Radio Marti	497	1,495	1,907	1,901	2,611	1,821
China Radio International	66	687	1,267	1,350	1,515	1,620
BBC World Service	643	589	723	719	796	1,036
Radio Moscow / Voice of Russia[2]	533	1,015	1,908	2,094	1,876	726
Deutsche Welle	0	315	779	804	848	655
Radio Cairo / ERTU	0	301	540	546	605	604
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting	12	24	155	175	400	575
All India Radio	116	157	271	389	456	500
NHK World Radio Japan	0	203	259	259	343	468
Radio France Internationale	198	326	200	125	379	459
Radio Netherlands	127	178	335	289	323	392
Israel Radio International	0	91	158	210	253	365
Voice of Turkey	40	77	88	199	322	364
Radio Pyongyang / Voice of Korea	0	159	330	597	534	364
Radio Bulgaria	30	117	164	236	320	338
Radio Australia	181	257	350	333	330	307
Radio Tirana	26	63	487	560	451	303
Radio Romania International	30	159	185	198	199	298
Radio Exterior de España	68	202	251	239	403	270
Radiodifusão Portuguesa Internacional	46	133	295	214	203	226
Radio Havana Cuba	0	0	320	424	352	203
Radio RAI International	170	205	165	169	181	203
Radio Canada International	85	80	98	134	195	175
Radio Polonia	131	232	334	337	292	171
Radio RSA / Channel Africa	0	63	150	183	156	159
Sveriges Radio International	28	114	140	155	167	149
Magyar Rádió	76	120	105	127	102	144
Radio Prague[3]	119	196	202	255	131	131
Voice of Nigeria[4]	0	0	62	170	120	127
Radio Belgrade	80	70	76	72	96	68
Source: International Broadcast Audience Research, June 1996 The list includes about a quarter of the world's external broadcasters whose output is both publicly funded and worldwide. Among those excluded are Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea and various international commercial and religious stations. Notes: 1996 figures as at June; all other years as at December. Before 1991, broadcasting for the former USSR. Before 1996, broadcasting for the former Czechoslovakia. Nigeria's external service is now off air.

References

External links

• Radio Australia Website (English) (Chinese) (Indonesian) (Vietnamese) (Khmer) (French)