BBC World Service not too happy about WLIB format change...

[BiggJawn]

I was listening to "Carribean Magazine" today and they had an "eulogy" of sorts for WLIB, "New York has lost it's Carribean Voice", stuff like that. Advertisers now don't have a place to advertise their unique goods and services, etc.

And it's all that big, bad Al Franken's fault.

Definite flavour of "Rich white people stomping on the little brown people again just to make a buck".

Well, welcome to Murka. Wonder if they would have noticed if WLIB had changed to a Gush Pfleghmball flagship station?

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. BBC's ear-share for actual news...

...in this country is non-negligible, and a viable Air America would threaten that.

[BiggJawn]

2. Like they have anyone but themselves to blame for that.

Oh, sure, they did their studies and determined that they cover enough of the US through re-broadcast deals with Public Radio stations, XM, and internet streaming, but y'know what?

I get them the OLD FASHIONED way. With a shortwave radio.
I'm too cheap to buy XM, I have a 56k dial-up that makes streaming a real JOY to listen to <sarcasm> and my local NPR outlet carries "Newshour" between 3 and 4, 6 days a week.

they want American Ears, they need to do something to show they really want them. Having to pull them out of the static, and then getting news for Africa or Kitts doesn't cut it sometimes.

[Davis_X_Machina]

3. There was a day...

...not too long ago when there was a 59+ World Service signal out of Antigua and Sackville, NB (the latter I can get on groundwave) on 5957, 6175, 9915, 11750, 12070, etc. 24/7.

Now the coverage is crap. I have a latest-generation ham tranceiver, complete with DSP, that makes it tolerable to listen....barely.

But the XM and NPR deals make the Beeb money, and SW is a dead loss financially.