Radio Sweden ( sv, Sveriges Radio International) is
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
's official
international broadcasting station. It is a non-commercial and politically independent public service broadcasting company.
History
SR International is part of
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
(SR), Sweden's non-commercial public-radio broadcasting organization. The service was founded in 1938, at the approach of
World War II, as a way of keeping Swedes living abroad informed of happenings in Sweden and of Swedish opinion. Programming was at first in
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
only, but in 1939
English- and
German-language broadcasts were added.
After the war, further language services were added: in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Portuguese,
Russian, and
Spanish. At the close of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the services in French, Portuguese, and Spanish were gradually phased out and replaced by new services in
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
and
Latvian. The latter services were withdrawn once
Estonia and
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
had developed their own independent media and joined the
European Union.
Radio Sweden also operated a service in
Belarusian
Belarusian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Belarus
* Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent
* A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus
* Belarusian language
* Belarusian culture
* Belarusian cuisine
* Byelor ...
between 2004 and 2009.
In the 1990s Radio Sweden was merged with SR's Immigrant Languages Department to form the SR International channel. For a while, immigrant language services, such as those in
Arabic and
Kurdish, were additionally carried on
shortwave
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...
.
Programming in other languages
The Radio Sweden English Service seeks to provide a window on the diverse perspectives and issues in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
today.
Its programs and website offer a ”
smörgåsbord” of news and current affairs, science and technology, lifestyle, and culture.
In the beginning of 2016, the international service underwent a major reorganization. English language news about Sweden for overseas listeners were moved to a 30 minutes-a-week show on P2 and to social media. Minority languages service was further focused on those minorities living in Sweden and integrated with Swedish language services.
Service in languages of the oppressed nations, such as Somali, were moved to an independent organization. News for overseas listeners in foreign languages other than English, such as Russian and German, has been canceled.
There have been several foreign-leagugaes services in the history of Radio Sweden. The German Program was discontinued after 76 years of service.
[https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2108&artikel=6379933 German Service of SR]
Former programs
''Sweden Calling DXers''
One of the most popular programs on Radio Sweden was ''
Sweden Calling DXers
Sweden Calling DXers was a radio program on Radio Sweden, founded in 1948 by Arne Skoog. He reasoned that shortwave listening or DXing was a very young hobby, and that by providing information in a weekly program for shortwave listeners about thei ...
'', founded in 1948 by
Arne Skoog. He reasoned that
shortwave listening or
DXing was a very young hobby, and that by providing information in a weekly program for shortwave listeners about their hobby, Radio Sweden was teaching its own audience about how to listen better. While the first program was based solely on Arne's own listening, listeners were encouraged to write in with their own news, and soon virtually all of the program was based on listener's letters (an early example of interactivity).
The program was carried on Tuesdays in all of Radio Sweden's services except Swedish.
When Arne Skoog retired in connection with the program's 30th anniversary in 1978, the program was taken over by
George Wood, a member of the Radio Sweden English Service. After a number of years, as media changed, it began to cover less about shortwave, and more about satellite radio and television. Later coverage was extended to the Internet, the focus was shifted to concentrating on Swedish media, and the name of the English version of the program was changed to "MediaScan". "MediaScan" was the first English-language radio program in Europe (and the second overall in Europe) to post audio on the Internet (on the ftp sites
ftp.funet.fi and
ftp.sunet.se, as well as via Internet Multicasting).
In 2001 the program was discontinued, but remains in a somewhat sporadic form on the Radio Sweden website.
''The Saturday Show''
Another popular Radio Sweden program was ''
The Saturday Show'', with
Roger Wallis
Roger Wallis (8 August 1941 – 22 January 2022) was a British-born Swedish musician, journalist and researcher.
Life and career
Wallis was a resident of Sweden from 1963, and was an adjunct professor of multimedia at the Royal Institute of ...
and Kim Loughran, which ran from 1967 to 1981. The program was launched to showcase Swedish rock and pop music in a world dominated by American and British rock. Using Radio Sweden's relatively high-powered medium wave transmitter on 1179 kHz, the entire program was 90 minutes in length, and featured many satirical sketches, often political and sometimes controversial. A 30-minute segment of the entire broadcast was the Radio Sweden shortwave program on Saturdays.
End of radio broadcasting
On October 20, 2010, Radio Sweden ceased broadcasts on shortwave and medium wave, as Swedish Radio's management decided that the Internet had matured enough to support international broadcasts. At the same time the English Service was extended to national broadcasts on FM, but programming on weekends was discontinued. Services in English also continue on satellite, both using Sveriges Television's satellite and the
World Radio Network
WRN Broadcast, formerly known as World Radio Network, is an international broadcast services company based in the United Kingdom that works with television channels and radio broadcasters, media owners and brands enabling them to deliver content t ...
.
See also
*
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
, the Swedish publicly funded radio broadcaster
References
External links
SR International - Radio Sweden website (Romani)
{{DEFAULTSORT:SR International - Radio Sweden
Sveriges Radio
International broadcasters
Radio stations in Sweden
International broadcasting
Radio stations established in 1938
State media
Publicly funded broadcasters
Government-owned companies of Sweden
1938 establishments in Sweden