New year 2004 marks the end of shortwave transmissions by public
broadcasters in three European countries. Radio Telefis Éireann (RTÉ) in
Ireland, Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK) in Norway, and the Danish Danmarks
Radio (DR) are closing their shortwave services on December 31, 2003. Aiming
to cut costs and saying that shortwave is history, the stations are urging
their listeners to continue to tune in via satellite or on the internet.

Radio Telefis Éireann (RTÉ) has announced that it will end its daily
half-hour shortwave broadcasts on January 1, 2004. According to a press
release from RTÉ, this is the "first step in the re-alignment of its
distribution platforms, both at home and abroad." RTE will increase its
transmissions over the World Radio Network (WRN) and will provide, free of
charge, a Worldspace satellite receiver to some of its isolated listeners in
Africa. RTÉ began shortwave transmissions in 1995 and has been buying
airtime from outside Ireland.

In Denmark, Radio Denmark (Danmarks Radio) declares that "an era in
radio's history is over." The foreign service, Radio Denmark, has been
broadcasting in Danish via Norway's shortwave transmitters. Denmark closed
its own shortwave site in Herstedvester already in 1990. Programs will
continue to be available abroad on mediumwave, internet, telephone, CD
recordings and telephone.

Norway's public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK) will air its
last shortwave transmission on December 31 after broadcasting to the world
for 55 years. "Shortwave is a big and important part of NRK's history. At
the same time you have to be realistic. Shortwave transmissions are not the
future," says NRK's distribution chief Petter Hox on the station website.
Programs are now offered via mediumwave, satellite, internet and telephone.

Also in Europe, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is ending
broadcasts in seven languages. Services broadcasting to Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia will close on December
31, 2003, under a directive from the White House and the Broadcasting Board
of Governors (BBG), RFE/RL's oversight body.

(DXing.info, December 25, 2003)

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