WRS news conference
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - World Radio Switzerland (WRS), public radio in English, moves to 101.7 on the FM band 8 December, in the Geneva region, the station announced 3 December. Change your settings before next Tuesday! The move does not affect listeners who pick up WRS via online streaming, satellite, cable or DAB.
WorldRadio Switzerland, 101.7FM
The move is the result of musical chairs, or in this case FM slots, ordered by Ofcom, the federal telecommunications regulatory body. Radio Lausanne FM was awarded a license to start broadcasting in the Geneva area, but since it currently broadcasts on 88.4 in Lausanne a new slot had to be found for it: 88.4FM in Geneva, which WRS currently uses. WRS moves up as a result, to 101.7FM, currently used by Espace 2, also a member of the RSR public radio group in the region.
The changes for the three stations, in the Geneva area, will not occur at the same time:
- Thursday 3 December, Espace 2 stops using 101.7 and moves to 100.7FM
- Tuesday 8 December at midnight, WRS stops using 88.4 and moves to 101.7FM
- Tuesday 15 December, Lausanne FM starts broadcasting in the Geneva area on 88.4FM
WorldRadio Switzerland provides a mix of locally-produced news, information, entertainment and music to people who live in Switzerland. The BBC is its partner for international news and some additional programming.
Links to stations’ sites: Espace 2, Lausanne FM, WRS
British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson lashed out at media mogul Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, in a speech in the British parliament Wednesday 2 December. He accused Murdoch of having a stranglehold on TV-for-pay, of trying to weaken media regulatory body Ofcom and also of ruining British media traditions by bringing rightwing Fox News-style reporting to the UK. Murdoch came in for criticism from some observers Wednesday after the announcement that Google bowed to pressure from News Corporation and agreed not to allow news-for-pay to be displayed in full. Google’s new protection tools came out this week.
The speech could indicate that the British government, like the Australian, will now be going after News Corporation for avoiding capital gains taxes, the Guardian suggests.
Links to other sites: Forbes, Fox TV News, Guardian, Telegraph and background, Independent (12 November)
Swiss TV news on computer
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s federal communications office (Ofcom) director, Martin Dumermuth, told the Berner Zeitung newspaper Thursday that he plans to propose in January a change to the current license fee regulations. Owners of television sets and radios are subject to fees, but Dumermuth would like to include computer and cell phone owners. He was quick to point out that the goal is not to increase license fee revenue: the same amount would be collected, but spread among a larger group, reducing the fee for each type of equipment.
