Radio Romania to end shortwave broadcasts?
It looks as though Radio Romania International may be planning to end broadcasts on shortwave according to a press release from the Romanian Syndicate of Journalists MediaSindA translation of a press release reads:
The Romanian Syndicate of Journalists MediaSind, through the Radio Romania Branch, expresses its concern at the intention of the SRR president-general director, Georgică Severin, to suspend the shortwave broadcast of the Radio Romania International station.
Due to the superficiality with which the responsible factors of the institution treated the problem of the allocated budget, the Romanian Broadcasting Society lost, at the last rectification, 10 million lei, an amount without which the good functioning of the company cannot be ensured.
In order to cover this consistent deficit, according to some public statements of the President - General Manager, the expenses with the shortwave transmitters owned by Radiocom, which broadcasts Radio Romania International (RRI) programs in 13 languages, would be cut. dialects.
The 'solution' to closing the shortwave emission, even if it is the most handy, having immediate effect, is a totally wrong one. Indeed, as hypocritically motivated by the Georgica Severin decision, these transmitters are not useful in the country, with the expansion of the FM network.
The gravity of the decision of the Radio management is, however, a huge one, undermining even the national interest, with which even Georgică Severin has no right to play. Let us not forget that Romania has the second diaspora in the world, as a percentage of the population, after Syria. From the recent estimates of the Ministry for Romanians Everywhere, around the country live about 9.7 million countrymen whom we have to treat as Romanians with full rights, who have the right to information, including by Radio Romania International.
The head of the SRR, Georgică Severin, had to make energetic and repeated requests from the Government in order to obtain sufficient funds for the good functioning of the institution, including for the antennas, taking into account the future presidential elections of 2019 and parliamentary from 2020. Why Is the main means of transmitting messages to Romanians abroad exactly during this pre-election period being abolished? Should we consider this gesture merely as a sign of disrespecting the diaspora?
On the other hand, it should be noted that RRI issues programs for the Aromanian communities in the world, as well as for foreigners, in general, interested in Romania and the geographical area in which we are, RRI being thus an efficient polyglot software soft diplomacy .
Let us not forget then that the shortwave broadcast has a strategic character, because, in case of necessity, of disasters, of calamities, but also of suspension, by hostile decisions of Romania, of the Internet, the Romanian state can communicate with the Romanians from abroad and with the world at large. As it is known, the Internet is extremely vulnerable to political decisions. Also, in the case of catastrophic floods, earthquakes, conflicts, short waves remain the only reliable way to communicate with the world.
Therefore, the idea of stopping the shortwave broadcast, coupled with another simplistic idea that RRI will successfully broadcast on the Internet, can produce serious effects, jeopardizing Romania's national security.
Exiting the Internet only means, in fact, closing the RRI station, which is in contravention of Law 41. According to art. 1 of the law, SRR makes programs for abroad, not online content; broadcast means radio broadcast, not online!
The exit of the RRI from the shortwave frequencies (this is a heritage of about 7,000 frequencies that are traded biannually by international broadcasters) will result in the loss of frequencies in favor of other countries. At the same time, Radiocom stations in Ţigăneşti, Săftica and Galbeni, where the 5 stations used for RRI are located, will be closed and Radiocom employees will be relocated or even fired. And as according to a harmful Romanian tradition, any provisional decision becomes final, it is hard to believe that it will return to the previous situation, to the issuance on short waves, even if the Government would allocate the necessary funds.
Closing the shortwave transmitters, without offering other means of transmission in exchange, would practically equate to the disappearance of the station; radio means broadcast on radio waves, analog or digital; a station on the Internet is no longer radio, it's just a multimedia product.
The next logical step, after a possible shutdown of the shortwave emission at RRI, will be the personnel restructuring. See the unhappy experience with Radio3Net station, which is only online and experimentally on DAB, in Bucharest, which has under-sized staff, even under the conditions of online production.
We consider that giving up the short wave, in whole or in part, is not a decision that falls within the competence of a president-general director because it concerns Romania's strategic interests. In this situation, the CSAT opinion should be requested and, in the Parliament, the Law on the organization and functioning of the SRR should be changed. Or, Georgică Severin is far from having the agreement of these institutions.
The role of RRI has been and is very important: promoting the country abroad and spreading Romania's opinions worldwide. By giving up any transmitter, whether from long, short or medium waves, the main object of activity of the SRR is affected, which is the realization and dissemination of programs (according to art. 15 of law 41).
Taking into account the serious situation that could arise as a result of the decision of the head of SRR, MediaSind Radio Romania requests the Parliament of Romania to intervene in an emergency regime to stop the destruction of the Radio Romania International station.
Communication Department MediaSind
Bucharest, August 26, 2019
Source
https://www.agerpres.ro/stiri/2019/08/26/comunicat-de-presa-mediasind--360115
