Category: World
Service
Date: 14.02.2005
Printable version
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service has partnered with Washington DC's public radio station
WETA 90.9FM as the station repositions itself in the market.
The public radio station is introducing a news and information format
from 28 February which will be anchored by programmes from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World
Service and the United States' National Public Radio (NPR).
The new format will highlight international news coverage that puts
world events in focus and examines their relevance to Washingtonians.
WETA's new schedule will offer news reports from around the world.
It includes live coverage from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service at key times, with
Newshour at 9.00am and World Briefing at 10.00am.
Washington DC listeners are already exposed to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service programming
on WETA and other public stations serving the city as well as satellite
radio, but this is the first time they will have access to over 10 hours
of World Service programming on FM every weekday.
"We are delighted to be able to offer listeners to WETA access
to independent eyewitness news coverage from the largest team of news
reporters in the world," says Nigel Chapman, Director of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World
Service.
"The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ can call on a newsgathering strength of 250 correspondents
reporting from 50 bureaux around the world; a global network of specialist
news correspondents, reporters and stringers, often working in dangerous,
demanding circumstances to ensure objective and impartial coverage."
Lucio Mesquita, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service Head of Americas Region, says: "ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
World Service specialises in going behind the headlines, interviewing
the news-makers and bringing depth and detail to the stories which shape
our world.
"We aim to equip listeners to WETA with the information they need
to form a view on the issues of the day."
Dan DeVany, Vice President and General Manager of 90.9 FM, says: "Our
station has evolved as our community has evolved.
"To be a news station in the epicentre of world news requires a partner
such as ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.
"Few news organizations can boast the reach of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, and its
commitment to the highest journalistic standards makes WETA proud to
be associated with these professionals."
Notes to Editors
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service programming is also available in Washington via WAMU
88.5 FM and the digital satellite radio services XM and Sirius.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World News television bulletins can be seen in Washington DC each
weekday morning and evening through the PBS television network on WFPT,
and on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ America digital entertainment channel.Ìý
Ìý
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World News, whichÌýis available globally to 258 million households,
isÌýalso co-presented from Washington DCÌýat 11.00pm and midnight GMT
(6.00 and 7.00pm EST) each weekday, with Katty Kay in the US capitalÌýand
Mike Embley in London.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service is funded through Grant in Aid from the UK Foreign
Office. The grant for 2004/5 is £225m.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service has a weekly audience of 146 million listeners each
week around the globe.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service broadcasts in 43 languages including English.
The other languages are: Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Bulgarian,
Burmese, Caribbean-English, Cantonese, Croatian, Czech, French, Greek,
Hausa, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Kazakh, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kyrgyz,
Macedonian, Mandarin, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian,
Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovene, Somali, Spanish, Swahili,
Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek and Vietnamese.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service is available on short wave; on FM in 140 capital cities;
and selected programmes are carried on almost 2,000 FM and MW radio
stations around the world.
High quality reception of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service programmes is available
via satellite in Europe and North America.
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service website - bbc.co.uk/worldservice - contains extensive,
interactive news services available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi,
Persian, Portuguese for Brazil, Russian, Spanish and Urdu, with audiostreaming
available in 42 languages.
It also contains detailed information about World Service broadcasts,
schedules and frequencies in all languages.
