Dopo 72 anni chiude le onde corte anche Radio Sweden

Lentamente (neanche tanto) ma inesorabilmente, le onde corte come mezzo di comunicazione oltrefrontiera - verso gli ascoltatori di altre nazioni e verso i propri espatriati - vengono messe in pensione forzata. L'ultima ad annunciare la chiusura delle trasmissioni in onde corte e in onde medie (il glorioso trasmettitore su 1179 kHz), è Radio Sweden, che continuerà a trasmettere verso l'estero solo via Internet. Sverige Radio dispone anche di un corposo apparato redazionale per la trasmissione di programmi e notiziari rivolti agli immigrati di varie etnie, ma quelle riguardano le trasmissioni locali. Ci saranno tagli anche per loro perché notiziari in lingue come il serbocroato, l'assiro-siriaco e il bosniaco non ci saranno più. La politica di Sverige Radio in materia è ben chiara: le comunità di immigrati vengono supportate fino a quando il loro livello di apprendimento dello svedese non consente loro di capire i notiziari in lingua locale.
Con il prossimo ottobre Radio Sweden saluterà dunque le onde corte, sulle quali era presente da oltre 70 anni, dal 1938. Ho trovato l'intervista alla responsabile della programmazione Elle-Kari Höjeberg, traducendola con Google (è abbastanza comprensibile). La Höjeberg sostiene che ormai gli ascoltatori di questi specifi contenuti di nicchia preferiscono utilizzare Internet e quando l'intervistatore domanda chi andrà a colmare le necessità informative quando Internet non sarà disponibile in caso di disastro o censura, lei ribatte che sarebbe impossibile tenere in piedi impianti di trasmissione tanto onerosi solo per coprire le eventuali emergenze. Il discorso non fa una grinza: già i soldi destinati all'emittenza pubblica sono risicati, una nazione così piccola non può giustificare uno sforzo il cui risultato viene comunque recepito da un pubblico di nicchia benestante ed evoluto, che utilizza Internet correntemente. Altro discorso sarebbe un tipo di programmazione con destinatari diversi, in aree geografiche più povere e non infrastrutturare, ma anche in questi casi sembrano non esserci più argomenti che tengono contro l'imparante obiettivo della riduzione dei costi. Giusto così? Secondo me non del tutto, le onde corte continuano ad avere una loro ratio. Ma non sono io che devo decidere o far quadrare i bilanci. Ascoltando ieri il programma inglese (in mp3...) ho appreso che la squadra di curling svedese ha sconfitto quella italiana alle Paralimpiadi e che a Göteborg è in mostra un dipinto di Leonardo Da Vinci riscoperto di recente. E ho scoperto anche che avrei potuto sapere le stesse cosa seguendo il canale di Radio Sweden su Twitter. Non sarà mai, mai la stessa cosa.

SR cease broadcasting abroad

Transmission of short-and medium wave ending (next) October. Expatriate Swedes and Sweden-interested parties may then rely on the Internet to get news from Sweden. Thus (ends) a more than 70-year-old radio era.

"We see it as that we stand at a crossroads"

It was 1938 Swedish Radio started with short-wave to the first Swedes abroad and over the years, the Swedish Radio's international programs Radio Sweden sent in eleven languages abroad.

Cost reasons is an argument for the abandonment of foreign broadcasts, but also to new and better techniques are now taking over, "says Elle-Kari Höjeberg manager in radio management for Radio Sweden.

- We see it as that we stand at a crossroads where we have an old form of distribution, short and medium wave, and a new one which is through the Internet. And the audience chooses increasingly to listen to us over the Internet even when they are abroad.

It is said to be around half a million Swedes abroad and many have listened to Radio Sweden via short wave and medium wave and continue to do so. Perhaps there is a generational issue here, too, in terms of radio listening today.

Elle-Kari Höjeberg again:

- Of course there are people who have grown up with the short and medium wave and still uses it as an opportunity to hear when they go abroad, but my impression is when I look at the reactions to us what people are listening to and what people listen to online , so there are many people who appreciate that they can get the range of SR is online. It may weigh one against the other and when we believe that it is not justifiable to keep this cost further.

Radio's ability to reach listeners abroad also in various types of disasters and wars, in which the Internet can let knocked out, is no argument for keeping kortvågsdistributionen, "said the officer Elle-Kari Höjeberg:

- The times when it occurs, major disasters, it is clear that the Swedish Radio's international broadcasts have sometimes been extremely significant. We know from eg tsunami, but we can not build an entire broadcasting means exist for it to be for when the disaster occurs. It is not possible.

Elle-Kari Höjeberg, responsible for SR's broadcasts on short and medium wave radio in Sweden, which broadcasts in English, German and Russian continues on the Internet. Many other broadcasting companies in Europe have also scaled down the use of short-wave as a medium. The digitization of short-and medium wave has not had the impact that many had hoped for.

SR International, Radio Sweden is a part, have also broadcasts in Sweden in many languages of immigrant communities. Transmission occurs in P2, and on FM 89.6 in Stockholm This also makes it from the autumn changes. The editors currently broadcasting in Albanian, Assyrian / Syriac and Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian closure.

They have been under the editorial head of the SR International Ingemar Löfgren done its part to provide immigrants with these backgrounds, news and knowledge about Swedish society. Today the need to replace more resources be put on consignment to the new large immigrant and refugee communities from Somalia and Afghanistan, "said Ingemar Löfgren:

- Like, maybe not favored because we have retained the old language, too. For so here it has always been on time. We have the best possible way to be flexible to the world and what happens there.

Yes, language has come and gone over the years, such as Spanish, Turkish and Greek and has been replaced by new ones which do not reflect policy changes in the world and the refugees as they brought with them. And these priorities will continue to head the editorial says Ingemar Löfgren, and even of cultural conservation purposes are maintained an immigrant language:

- It may not go that far, I think we are just cultural preservation for which it is mixed together with minority languages. These languages we broadcast on the Swedish Radio - Finnish, tower sharing Finnish, Sámi and Romany, also. But they have another task. They will be cultural preservation. For all other languages, we have only the task of being a news service. We should give them the news and current affairs in their own language until they speak Swedish so well that they can keep up with the Swedish news bulletins.