Shortwave-radio era looks short-lived

Doreen Carvajal paints a grim picture for shortwave radio in the International Herald Tribune.

Next month, Germany's public broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, will end its German-language shortwave broadcasts aimed at Canada and the United States.

The Japanese public broadcaster, NHK, and the Korean Broadcasting System are also reducing shortwave services.

The leading international broadcaster, the BBC World Service, is pursuing a diversification strategy that regards the future in stark terms. "Audience needs are changing and technology is moving rapidly," reads the news service's explanation of its strategy through 2010. "Shortwave is also declining at a fast pace and if we don't change, we will die."

Today, mostly the poor use the world's most reliable frequencies, as richer nations divert money to jammable communications such as television or the internet.