Voice of Russia: Foreign program broadcasts from Ticino
Starting March 1, Voice of Russia will broadcast from Monte Ceneri. The multilingual international program will be available on medium wave in Ticino and northern Italy.
The Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) has granted the public broadcaster a license for this service, as it announced on Wednesday, according to SDA. Voice of Russia’s target audience consists of Russian citizens and foreign listeners with an interest in Russia or the Russian language. Produced in Moscow, the program is broadcast in Russian, English, German, and Italian.
There are five medium-wave frequencies in Switzerland, but they have not been in use since last December, as René Wehrlin of Bakom explained in response to an inquiry from the news agency. A needs assessment conducted in the fall of 2008 revealed that the Swiss media industry had lost interest in medium-wave broadcasting. The last popular medium-wave station, Musigwälle 531, which broadcast from the national transmitter in Beromünster, was shut down in 2008. «The Russians apparently see an audience for these frequencies,» said Wehrlin. They are not required to justify this interest.
Voice of Russia will be the only foreign radio broadcaster in Switzerland. Like all broadcasters, it is subject to content oversight by the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI) and general oversight by Bakom. According to Wehrlin, medium-wave stations are still widespread abroad. (SDA)
