If you want a radio with DRM, HD Radio and so forth, you will measure
its battery life in hours and not weeks or months. When the majority
of people buying shortwave radios live on very small incomes in very
VERY rural areas, these digital schemes stop making any sense. If you
want to see how countries are making their voice heard in the
post-shortwave world, look at the RT and Al Jazeera Youtube channels.
Much less trouble to operate, far fewer staff to retain, and you can
even censor the comments.

If there is ever another big war, shortwave may become popular again.
Then again, maybe not - the state-run media here in the USA is
blatantly obvious in their attempts to manipulate the public at large,
and extremely successful as well. People like being told what they
like to hear and expect to hear, and what they have been trained to
hear. This isn't the old days.