GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The latest figures for radio audiences in French-speaking Switzerland show that WRS, the English-language station, had a slight dip in numbers during the second half of 2012, compared to the first half of the year, but that listeners are staying tuned nearly three times longer than in early 2011. WRS and Radio [...]
WRS gets a new bidder: WRS, but with a foundation under it!
November 5, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The cat is out of the bag: our mailbox has just been bombarded with messages from excited World Radio Switzerland (WRS) fans who’ve received a message from the station to its listeners and supporters that “we have submitted a project to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC/SSR/SRG) to cede WRS to a charitable [...]
Regional radio news update, WRS and Radio Zones
August 25, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – English-language World Radio Switzerland (WRS, at 101.7FM)) this week won the annual Swiss Radio Day award for the greatest audience increase in French- and Italian-speaking regions, up 40 percent. Swiss-German region radio winner was Radio 105. WRS had the following listener figures for second semester 2011 and first semester 2012 for French-speaking [...]
Geneva’s English radio future: private. Switzerland’s? open question
June 28, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The announcement on the World Radio Switzerland web site Thursday afternoon is brief and to the point: “The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) has decided to transfer WRS into private ownership. “A number of interested parties have reportedly already expressed an interest in picking up the service. “The SBC board of directors decided [...]
The editor was right: there really are more than half a million of us speaking English
June 19, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – In fact, I, the editor was too cautious! For the past six years I have been insisting, with everyone I meet, that GenevaLunch exists because of a strong need for news in English in the Lake Geneva region and the rest of Switzerland because there are at least half a million people [...]
WRS temporarily down: transmitter under repairs
May 4, 2012 by
Down but not out GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – For those who are asking why WRS radio is not currently on the air, it is simply a temporary problem with the SSR transmitter, which is being repaired as quickly as possible. The station, which has been threatened with closure or sale by its parent, Swiss Public Broadcasting, [...]
Fans rally behind WRS radio
April 20, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – WRS public radio faces a decision in June by its parent SSR (Swiss Public Broadcasting) to either close it or sell it, but the station’s fans don’t intend to let it die without a fight. A private group has launched a petition-signing campaign, Save WRS, to at least give voice to the [...]
WRS radio’s future up in the air (update)
April 4, 2012 by
Update 12:15 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – WRS, World Radio Switzerland, says Wednesday morning 4 April, that SSR (Swiss public broadcasting, also known as SRG), its parent company, is considering the possibility of selling the station and privatizing it or closing it down. The station cites SSR chief executive officer Roger de Weck as saying English-language radio [...]
Newcomer swells ranks of regionally-produced English services
May 16, 2011 by
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Radio Frontier is about to go live, at least on the web, offering English speakers in the Lake Geneva region a new music and information service with a voice that will be familiar to many: Mark Butcher, who for several years hosted The Breakfast Show on WRG and later WRS radio, [...]
Swiss public broadcasting streamlines administration
November 4, 2010 by
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Public Broadcasting Corporation, SSR, will be tightening its belt in January by streamlining its administrative structure. The company will be acting on the advice of Roger de Weck, who takes over in January as chief executive officer, to reduce the senior management team from nine members with four “paticipants” to [...]
