BERN, Switzerland, October 27 /PRNewswire/ -- swissinfo/Swiss Radio
International (SRI) is to broadcast its last shortwave and satellite radio
programmes on October 30, 2004. As SRI goes off the air after nearly 70
years, a chapter in Swiss radio history comes to an end.
swissinfo/SRI will in future focus exclusively on its multimedia news and
information platform, http://www.swissinfo.org, which is available in nine languages.
Swiss Radio International first broadcast to the world on shortwave in
1935. The station made a name for itself as a neutral voice of authority
during the Second World War and throughout the Cold War. Programmes were
broadcast in nine languages (German, French, Italian, Romansh, English,
Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Esperanto). During this time, SRI established
itself as one of the most high-profile and popular international radio
broadcasters.
The end of the Cold War, coupled with the advent of satellite technology
and the internet revolution, spelled the end of the shortwave era. At the end
of the 1990s, and following a strategic change of direction which was
approved by the Swiss government in 1999, swissinfo/SRI started to transform
itself into a multimedia enterprise. The decision was taken to phase out
radio output and develop an online presence, although audio reports and
interviews are still available on the website. The multimedia news and
information platform http://www.swissinfo.org was launched in March 1999. Today it
is available in nine languages (German, French, Italian, English, Spanish,
Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese and Chinese). The change of strategy has paid
off: today, http://www.swissinfo.org registers around 8.5 million page views each
month.
Nicolas Lombard, the director of swissinfo/Swiss Radio International,
admits that radio cannot be replaced. "But with our internet platform,
http://www.swissinfo.org, we can offer a range of information that was simply not
possible on the air. What we provide today is a wide range of news and
stories from and about Switzerland, presented in a way which was unthinkable
in the past," said Lombard.
As radio broadcasts come to an end, SRI will be broadcasting a variety of
special programmes. The German Department is airing a selection of archive
interviews with well-known Swiss, such as Max Frisch and Friedrich
Durrenmatt. Swiss living abroad are also being given the chance to have their
say on air. For the last Arabic programme, most of the department's
journalists will gather around a microphone. And you can listen again to
highlights from our extensive archive of programmes in English by visiting
http://www.swissinfo.org and clicking on the Multimedia button.
For more information:
Nicolas D. Lombard, Director
swissinfo/Swiss Radio International (SRI)
Giacomettistrasse 1
CH-3000 Bern 15
E-mail: nicolas.lombard@swissinfo.ch
Tel. +41-31-350-95-10
SOURCE swissinfo
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CONTACT:
For more information: Nicolas D. Lombard,
Director , swissinfo/Swiss Radio International (SRI),
Giacomettistrasse 1, CH-3000 Bern 15, E-mail:
nicolas.lombard@swissinfo.ch, Tel. +41-31-350-95-10
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