GLENN HAUSER'S SHORTWAVE/DX REPORT 99-84, Dec 31, 1999

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OUR NEW YEAR'S EVE MONITORING - Part I - all times UT

0935	drag out of bed to set up videotaping

0940 PBS coverage starts - it is certainly preferable over ABC, being 
non-commercial and almost non-interrupted. But too fragmented, too 
much inane talkingover. Sound badly out of sync with video, painfully 
obvious when banging bells or animated singers. Surely there is more 
to national identity than folk dancing, choral groups, or rock 
concerts. But watching this later in smaller doses should be 
enjoyable.

0943 RNZI check 17675 - it is propagating fairly well with music 

0950 BBC WS coverage starts, plugging some specific programmes later 
on. 

0950 ABC TV coverage starts. I am rolling tape on second VCR and may 
sometime skip thru all the commercials and local breaks which detract 
from the event. Stupid ballgame in Shreveport Friday night will make 
this less than 24 hours straight, at least in OK.

0955 Check R. Kiribati on 9810 - nothing, as usual. They've missed 
their chance for a Millennial mark, and will just have to make do 
with worldwide TV coverage

0959 BBCWS Mil coverage rudely interrupted by KMUW Wichita relay with 
usual taped ID at 0959:30; then switched to World Update instead. On 
SW, 6195 and 5965 continued with Mil show.

1002 Check 6105 where RNZI is about to QSY - oops, something strong 
in Spanish music

1006 RNZI comes up on 6105 with 1/2 speed bell bird a minute after 
closing 17675. Almost zero-beat with other station, which I guess is 
WYFR; by 1015 had Spanish preacher. I think at this very moment 
(midnight in the Chathams) RNZI lost the feed from there. The clash 
made RNZI unusable till 1100. If the early move to 6105 was for our 
benefit, one might have checked whether WYFR or anyone else was 
normally on 6105 during that hour. Meanwhile, I noticed that 9700 was 
unoccupied.

1100 RNZI mentioned it was running 24 hours of NZ-only music. I had 
to doze

1300 NY in UT+11 zone of Australia, noted on RA 9580

1400 NY in UT+10 zone of PNG, audible on 4890, then ALS

1410+ NHK Warudo had its usual live song concert (contest?) with lots 
of animation, best via RCI on 11705 tho VOA English co-channel under. 
Around 1445 NHK switched to the much more solemn ceremony of bell 
ringing. Just as the climax at 1500 was approaching, 11705 cut off as 
per usual schedule. Quickly retuned to 9505 where R. Japan direct was 
opening English with wrong tape saying ``next English broadcast will 
be at 1400'', but began 1500 with a brief Happy New Year, and news.

1505 BBC with Focus on Africa, even to NAm on 17840 et al. BBC is 
merging its three streams for Dec 31-Jan 1-Jan 2, as made clear on 
pages 14-15 of Jan BBC On Air via Chris Hambly (still with some 
variations for Africa, but the only vars shown for Asia and Americas 
are Play of the Week on Sunday.) We rather wish they would forget to 
separate them again on Jan 3 

1525 CRI on 7405 to NAm switches from normal programming to live 
coverage of ceremonies in Beijing at the new China Central Monument 
(maybe it loses something in translation). The commentary in English 
was well done and seemed to capture the moment more spontaneously 
than the Macao gobbleup a few days ago. 

1553 I am wondering if ABC and PBS are ever going to Beijing; 1555 
ABC shows the Bund in Shanghai, 1557 finally Beijing but at that very 
minute, PBS switches to Pres. Clinton remarking on the resignation of 
Yeltsin - did he time this to rain on China's parade?

1559 CRI keeps 7405 on the air after a few seconds pause, thru local 
midnite. English finally wraps up at 1610, then Chinese and some 
music till transmitter off at 1615.

[not much on radio available from UT+7 and UT+6 zones, so I take a 
break]

1828 Inexperienced PBS announcer thinks live coverage from India is 
half an hour delayed, incomprehending their wacky half-hour time 
zone.

1830 The heterodynous Doctor Gene Scott ruins already poor reception 
of AIR on 13750 at local midnight; 11620 audible, consisting mostly 
of flutter and RTTY

The Pax TV network really has egg on its face. This week's TV Guide, 
listings ending Dec 31, and thus the most likely day to be outdated, 
had a Closeup which says:

``MILLENNIUM LIVE: HUMANITY'S BROADCAST, starting Friday 1100 UT for 
24 hours. A Global Party. Pax marks the millennium with an ambitious 
entertainment-driven extravaganza showcasing New Years' Eve 
celebrations from the world's 24 [sic] time zones, beginning in Fiji 
and Tonga, and concluding in Hawaii... more than 40 music acts have 
been signed, including `N Sync, Sting, Phil Collins and Aerosmith.''

The only trouble is, it is not happening. Our Pax affiliate, KOPX 62 
in OKC has continued with normal programming consisting mostly of 
infommercials, altho they are plugging a one- or two-hour Millennium 
entertainment special on Monday(?) night, which is apparently what 
their grandiose plans have been reduced to. Online listings under 
msn.com just rechecked show Pax with Humanity's Broadcast Friday at 
2000-2100 UT (but not on: movie on KOPX continues), and UT Sat at 
0200-0300, 0500-0530; no times listed on local Saturday or early 
Sunday.

Msn.com listings indicate CNN (domestic) and Fox News Channel are 
also continuous with Millennium coverage. (Glenn Hauser, OK)

Bloomers 

Sadly, some planned Millennium media spectaculars will not go ahead - 
but for reasons that have nothing to do with Y2K bugs. A planned 24-
hour multimillion dollar broadcast of millennium celebrations around 
the world, involving 130 broadcasters and intended to rival the BBC's 
"2000 Today", was called off after the US organizer, Los Angeles-
based Millennium Television Network, failed to raise sufficient 
capital. But the company plans to be ready in a year's time, in time 
for the "true millennium", its spokesman said. And one internet site 
with a name to die for appears to have missed its big moment on 31st 
December 1999. The message today on the web site 
http://www.millennium.com states: "This site is currently under 
construction. Please visit us again in a few days." Source: 
Monitoring research 31 Dec 99 ((C) BBC Monitoring, excerpted by 
Hauser)

Maybe the above was the thing Pax had planned to carry? And whatever 
became of the Barbra Streisand concert, which was big news a semi-
year ago? I saw her visage briefly on some TV channel, so maybe it is 
still on.

** ANGOLA. News Media Minister Pedro Hendrick Vaal Neto announced 
that a department would soon be created to deal with the private 
media's editorial and technical issues.... A shortwave transmitter 
will be installed in Huambo, and Angola Public Television centres 
will be established in various parts of the country.... 
Source: Radio Nacional de Angola, Luanda, in Portuguese 1200 gmt 30 
Dec 99 (via BBC Monitoring, excerpted by Hauser) 

** AUSTRIA. ORF normally broadcast a live New Year Concert from the 
Vienna Philharmonic around 1000-1200 UT Jan 1, but I have not heard 
them say anything about it this time, nor the last time I checked 
their website was there anything about it to be found. This used also 
to be on NPR and PBS later on New Years Day, but not scheduled here 
until UT Sun 0200 on OETA, and not clear if that is an old or a new 
one (Hauser)

** CANADA. FYI... Members of the STARF union (acronym for "Syndicat 
des technicien(ne)s et artisan(e)s du reseau français") in the 
province of Québec and at Moncton went on strike around 0330 UTC on 
31 December. This will affect programming on Radio-Canada, CBC and 
RCI originating in these areas. (It will not affect the operations at 
Sackville, as they are on a different union.) 

Here at RCI, management personnel are running the studios and the 
technical controls...so if you hear slip-ups, fill music, etc., 
you'll know what's happening. 

On CBC Radio One, the "Daybreak" programme from Montréal was going on 
as usual...but it was running throughout the whole province. The 
"Quebec AM" show, which normally originates in Québec City, and runs 
on Radio One outlets outside Montréal, was cancelled this morning. On 
CBC Radio Two, programming was continuing pretty much as normal, 
since most of it originates outside Québec. However, the local cut-
ins after the newscasts, for weather and local arts stuff, were not 
running. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, Dec 31) 

** CANADA. CHAMPAGNE, MOOSE AND MAPLE SYRUP: 
***PRE-EMPTS C'EST LA VIE AND OUTFRONT IN SOME LOCATIONS, ALONG WITH 
THIS MORNING TONIGHT, IDEAS, THE ARTS TODAY, THAT TIME OF THE NIGHT, 
CBC OVERNIGHT, LOCAL WKND MORNING SHOW, THE HOUSE, BASIC BLACK, 
QUIRKS, DNTO*** 

CBC Radio One's greets the New Year with Champagne, Moose and Maple 
Syrup, an extraordinary 20-hour live program, starting tonight and 
ending tomorrow morning. The program features live concerts, 
documentaries, essays, interviews, comedy and drama. Reporters will 
be out in the midst of all the celebrations: from cozy kitchen 
parties to limo-laden formal affairs. CBC Radio hosts Shelagh Rogers 
and Bernie McNamee get things rolling. Then Avril Benoit and Bernard 
St. Laurent, followed by Tom Allen and then Dick Gordon in the wee 
small hours. Don't miss Champagne, Moose and Maple Syrup, New Year's 
Eve starting at 9:30 (ET) on CBC Radio One. (CBC Hotsheet) 

Check also 9625 for relay of CBC Radio One on the Quebec Northern 
Service. (Joe Buch, swprograms)

** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI propagation to WEu on the 49 Metre Band came up 
trumps 31 Dec '99 re ringing in of NZ New Year. It was good to hear 
anything from NZ in WEu, albeit with QRM and QRN, at Special early 
timeslot for RNZI 6105 kHz. The bewitching Y2K hour in NZ was of 
course 1100 UT, but that's just mid-morning for my location in 
Ireland, 0000 UT Time Zone. After several spot-checks, a further 
check at 1055 UT revealed a much cleaner signal, so that the lead-in 
with bells and pips to NZ New Year was a relatively easy catch with 
an outdoor antenna. Not so bad either with an indoor whip. Seemed to 
me that the radio presenter was away from the mic for nigh on three 
minutes while the noise from a fireworks display mixed with the QRN 
just after the pips. You wouldn't want to have spot-checked the 
frequency during that time in my part of the N. Hemisphere. You just 
might have been fooled by all the celebratory fireworks' static mixed 
with the real thing into thinking that 6105 was a washout. Far from 
it, there was fine decipherable chat again by 1103, including reports 
of festivities from Auckland and Dunedin, plus song "Now Is The Hour" 
at 1116 UT. Grand listening for a chilly, drizzly Winter's morning in 
Ireland. (Finbarr O'Driscoll.....Ireland) 

** SOUTH AFRICA. Hi all SWL, The details for the phone in programme 
are :- [cf 99-83]
Time 09:00 to 10:00 UTC 2 Jan 2000 
Frequency 21530 & 9750 
Tel. no. +27-13-765-6565 international; (013) 765-6565 South Africa 
This tel. no. will not be active before the time. 73, André du Toit 
(ZR6FM) (via hard-core-dx)  

** U S A. NPR has a Capitol Steps NY comedy special, 0000 UT Sat; and 
Century to Century, a jazz show starting at 0100 UT Sat, on KROU 
105.7 OK (Hauser)               ###