Radio Angela To Cease Broadcasts May 31

[Shortwave_Listener]

``Press Release: Radio Angela To Cease Broadcasts May 31

WBCQ's Radio Angela, which began broadcasting a little over a year
ago, was a bold experiment in quality programming. It carried world
music (including the last Greek music on shortwave after Greece itself
stopped broadcasting on the sw bands), great literature read aloud,
new music releases by independent artists, some of the best vintage
music on any radio band, science and comedy. It avoided the political
and religious programming about which so many shortwave listeners love
to complain but which are also the bread and butter that keep most
private shortwave stations alive. The production standards were
frequently nearly public radio quality even when not sourced from
public radio. We also brought several new voices from around the world
onto the shortwave bands who had never been there before.

It was known from day one that its long term success would depend upon
attracting an adequate amount of both listener contributions and
program buyers outside of regular core hours.

Critically and artistically, Radio Angela was a great success, and
many thanks to all who gave us public and/or private support of any
kind. Financially, however, this has not proven to be viable. The
airtime buyers didn't come, and neither did enough donors.
Consequently, Radio Angela's last transmission as Radio Angela will be
May 31 (June 1 0200-0412 UTC).

Some individual programs are likely to continue in some form on the
WBCQ grid; my own individual flagship programs (From the Isle of Music
and Uncle Bill's Melting Pot) will be going on hiatus for a least a
month, possibly longer, on both 5130 and 7490, and my other shows will
be discontinued altogether. This is a purely financial matter, and if
we could find a nice wealthy philanthropist who loves shortwave,
perhaps this wouldn't need to happen.

This is hardly the first quality venture on radio or tv to end this
way - Radio Angela had more weekly broadcasts than the original Outer
Limits television series  to name but one example, and the roads of
radio generally are littered with the corpses of worthy broadcasting
concepts and stillborn projects. My thanks to Angela and Allan Weiner
for going out on a limb and backing the project, to all the content
providers for their hard work and excellence, to the technical staff,
some of whom are no longer with us, and to those of you who cared that
we were on the air.

Those who lament the religious and political programming that keep
private shortwave stations alive are welcome to consider us a case
study in what is likely to happen without those dollars. I obviously
lack the right answer, but I have learned a great deal about the right
questions. 73,

William "Bill" Tilford, Owner/Producer
Tilford Productions, LLC
809 S. 20th ST
Lafayette, IN 47905-1551
email: bill@tilfordproductions.com
phone: 773.267.6548
website: www.tilfordproductions.com``