International Radio of Serbia

International Radio of Serbia
Type Radio network
Country  Serbia
Availability International
Owner Radio Television of Serbia
Launch date
 March 8, 1936
Dissolved June 30, 2015
Former names
 Free Yugoslavia, Radio Yugoslavia
Official website
 www.glassrbije.org

The International Radio of Serbia (Serbian: Међународни радио Србија) is the official international broadcasting station of Serbia.

The International Radio of Serbia broadcasts to all parts of the world, in twelve languages: English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Albanian, Greek, Italian, Hungarian, Chinese and Serbian.

According to reports, the service is to close June 30, 2015, after 79 years of broadcasting.[1]

History

The broadcasting of the program for foreign countries from this region started on March 8, 1936, in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and an immediate reason of the establishment of a short-wave radio was the need to confront the fascist propaganda. In November, 1941, during the occupation of Belgrade in the Second World War, a Free Yugoslavia radio station started its work and it broadcast its program until 1945, from the city of Ufa on the Ural River (Russia). From 1945, the program intended for foreign listeners throughout the world was broadcast within the scope of Radio Belgrade. Radio Yugoslavia was established by a resolution of the Federative People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, and was working in that status until January, 1954, when Radio Belgrade took over the broadcasting of the program for foreign listeners, again. A Decree on the establishment of the informative working organization of Radio Yugoslavia was rendered on January 26, 1977, and the radio started broadcasting on February 2, 1978, as a separate institution.

From 1951, the foreign program for the world had been broadcast through Stubline Transmission Center, located in the vicinity of Belgrade, and a new center beside Bijeljina (the Republika Srpska) was completed in 1987. In 1992, due to war operations in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, two transmitters were moved from Bijeljina center to the short-wave center in Stubline. During the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the main building of Stubline transmission center was destroyed, along with all transmitters.

Current broadcasts

Radio Yugoslavia – the International Radio of Serbia has got its Internet web site since March, 1997. The radio station web site offers a possibility of daily listening to the program in six languages: Serbian, English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, or a follow-up in writing, in thirteen languages: Serbian, English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Albanian, Greek, Bulgarian, Italian, Hungarian, Chinese.

Beside the program intended for foreign listeners abroad, since 1991, Radio Yugoslavia alias - the International Radio of Serbia has been broadcasting a local program at JU RADIO, on 100.4 MHz.

The station maintains regular contacts with listeners from the country and from abroad. Several thousands of letters are received annually from all over the world. About 190 staff-members take part in the program realization.

Comparison

Estimated total direct programme hours per week of some external radio broadcasters for 1996
Broadcaster 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1996[2]
United States VOA, RFE/RL & Radio Martí 497 1,495 1,907 1,901 2,611 1,821
China China Radio International 66 687 1,267 1,350 1,515 1,620
United Kingdom BBC World Service 643 589 723 719 796 1,036
Russia Radio Moscow / Voice of Russia[1][3] 533 1,015 1,908 2,094 1,876 726
Germany Deutsche Welle 0 315 779 804 848 655
Egypt Radio Cairo (ERTU) 0 301 540 546 605 604
Iran IRIB World Service / Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran 12 24 155 175 400 575
India All India Radio 116 157 271 389 456 500
Japan NHK World Radio Japan 0 203 259 259 343 468
France Radio France Internationale 198 326 200 125 379 459
Netherlands Radio Netherlands Worldwide[1] 127 178 335 289 323 392
Israel Israel Radio International[1] 0 91 158 210 253 365
Turkey Voice of Turkey 40 77 88 199 322 364
North Korea Radio Pyongyang / Voice of Korea 0 159 330 597 534 364
Bulgaria Radio Bulgaria[1] 30 117 164 236 320 338
Australia Radio Australia 181 257 350 333 330 307
Albania Radio Tirana (RTSH) 26 63 487 560 451 303
Romania Radio Romania International 30 159 185 198 199 298
Spain Radio Exterior de España[5] 68 202 251 239 403 270
Portugal RDP Internacional[1] 46 133 295 214 203 226
Cuba Radio Havana Cuba 0 0 320 424 352 203
Italy Rai Italia Radio[1] 170 205 165 169 181 203
Canada Radio Canada International[1] 85 80 98 134 195 175
Poland Radio Polonia[1] 131 232 334 337 292 171
South Africa Radio RSA / Channel Africa 0 63 150 183 156 159
Sweden Sveriges Radio International[1] 28 114 140 155 167 149
Hungary Magyar Rádió[1] 76 120 105 127 102 144
Czech Republic Radio Prague[4] 119 196 202 255 131 131
Nigeria Voice of Nigeria 0 0 62 170 120 127
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Radio Belgrade / International Radio of Serbia 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:
  1. Does not broadcast on shortwave as of 2014.
  2. 1996 figures as at June; all other years as at December.
  3. Before 1991, broadcasting for the former USSR.
  4. Before 1996, broadcasting for the former Czechoslovakia.
    5.
  5. REE ceased all shortwave broadcasts in October 2014 but announced in December that it would resume shortwave transmission in Spanish only for four hours a day in order to accommodate Spanish fishing trawlers who were otherwise unable to receive REE at sea.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.ca/2015/04/international-radio-serbia.html

External links