Swiss Radio International to stop broadcasting

Bern (ots/PROTEXT 27.10.2004) - swissinfo/Swiss RadioInternational (SRI) is to broadcast its last shortwave andsatellite radio programmes on October 30, 2004. As SRI goes offthe air after nearly 70 years, a chapter in Swiss radio historycomes to an end. swissinfo/SRI will in future focus exclusivelyon its multimedia news and information platform,www.swissinfo.org, which is available in nine languages.

Swiss Radio International first broadcast to the world onshortwave in 1935. The station made a name for itself as aneutral voice of authority during the Second World War andthroughout the Cold War. Programmes were broadcast in ninelanguages (German, French, Italian, Romansh, English, Spanish,Portuguese, Arabic and Esperanto). During this time, SRIestablished itself as one of the most high-profile and popularinternational radio broadcasters.

The end of the Cold War, coupled with the advent of satellitetechnology and the internet revolution, spelled the end of theshortwave era. At the end of the 1990s, and following astrategic change of direction which was approved by the Swissgovernment in 1999, swissinfo/SRI started to transform itselfinto a multimedia enterprise. The decision was taken to phaseout radio output and develop an online presence, although audioreports and interviews are still available on the website. Themultimedia news and information platform www.swissinfo.org waslaunched in March 1999. Today it is available in nine languages(German, French, Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic,Japanese and Chinese). The change of strategy has paid off:today, www.swissinfo.org registers around 8.5 million page viewseach month.

Nicolas Lombard, the director of swissinfo/Swiss RadioInternational, admits that radio cannot be replaced. But withour internet platform, www.swissinfo.org, we can offer a rangeof information that was simply not possible on the air. What weprovide today is a wide range of news and stories from and aboutSwitzerland, presented in a way which was unthinkable in thepast, said Lombard.

As radio broadcasts come to an end, SRI will be broadcastinga variety of special programmes. The German Department is airinga selection of archive interviews with well-known Swiss, such asMax Frisch and Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Swiss living abroad arealso being given the chance to have their say on air. For thelast Arabic programme, most of the departments journalists willgather around a microphone. And you can listen again tohighlights from our extensive archive of programmes in Englishby visiting www.swissinfo.org and clicking on the Multimediabutton.

For more information: Nicolas D. Lombard, Directorswissinfo/Swiss Radio International (SRI) Giacomettistrasse 1 CH-3000 Bern 15 E-mail: nicolas.lombard@swissinfo.ch Tel. +41/31/3509510

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