Programs

 

“Experimental” Joins Omnibus / Radio Newark

Created in 2011, the Experimental Podcast was conceived out of the Banff Science Communications program as a way for career science communicators to continue creating interesting content while practicing their writing, editing and audio recording / editing skills. Each podcast is three to seven minutes in length and covers a popular science topic of interest. There have been numerous contributors to the podcast, but it is produced, directed and hosted by Scott Unger.

The material covered on Experimental ranges from natural science (as in “Flirty Monkeys Throw Stones at Males To Get Their Attention”) to stuff that’s just plain interesting.  (See “Human Yawning Makes Dogs Yawn Too!”)  What makes these segments notable is that they are STORIES.  There is a well-crafted beginning, middle, and end to what plays out, with great sound effects and bed music throughout each piece.

Executive Producer Scott Unger does a great job of keeping the production values very high.  The material is lively, of interest to many, and relies on a number of expert science communicators for content, so there are different views and different voices from week to week.  Altogether “good stuff” as you’ll soon see.

Experimental will be making its debut on Radio Newark / Omnibus in March, 2014.  Let me know what you think!

Branding Problem SOLVED

Once upon a time, there was NO HOPE for getting a radio station license for Newark, Delaware, so we went online with “Radio Newark.”  Who knew, back in 2010, that the FCC would open a Filing Window for the Low-Power FM Radio service?  (In November, 2013.)

Three bright minds looked at the entire FM dial in 2009, looking for ANY POSSIBLE WAY to jam an LPFM radio station into Newark, Delaware.  But with the co-channel, first-adjacent, second-adjacent, and THIRD-ADJACENT rules the way they were, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.  It literally took an Act of Congress to get the rules changed over at the FCC.  Several Acts, in fact, and it took several years for all the new rules to be implemented.

In the meantime, Radio Newark built up quite a little following.

The station — the Internet station you hear today — changed a lot over the years.  We saw right away that many of our listeners were coming from overseas.  That forced us to rethink our programming, and we scrapped dayparts because we were broadcasting to listeners in forty time zones around the world simultaneously.  Our weather reports went from being local, to national, then we dropped them altogether to concentrate on programming of interest to ALL.

But the new FM station needs to concentrate of the listeners of Newark.

And we think its name should reflect Newark, too.

So over the next few months, our current science-focused Internet radio station is going to become “Omnibus.”  The programming will NOT be changed, other than to continue our pattern of adding fascinating new content sources as soon as we have agreements signed.  The focus on science, education, and self-development will never change, as that is one of our unique features.  Omnibus will replace Radio Newark as the name, but everything else will remain just about the same.

This has been a consideration of ours for quite a while.  In fact, I even registered an “Omnibus Radio” domain for a few years but we never changed over.

Now we are.

We do this so that in a year or so, we’ll be back online with a localized version of Radio Newark that is much more of a reflection of my hometown.  This will coincide with the launch of our FM staion WIZU 99.9 MHz right here in Newark, Delaware.

I’m fuzzy on the timing of all of this, but that’s OK.  It’ll all work out.

Thank you for riding with us through this transitional time.

Radio Newark Affiliates With the Voice Of America!

It is an honor to have great friends.

In the case of Radio Newark, we have been greatly favored in this regard.  Our friends are luminaries, geniuses, broadcast professionals, fabulous media producers.

Most recently we have been favored by the Broadcasting Board of Governors — the ‘parent company’ of the Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe, Radio Marti, and the Voice of America.

The Board of Directors of Newark Community Radio is astonished and very proud to announce that —

Radio Newark is the newest affiliate of the Voice of America!

Radio Newark is the ONLY domestic (US) affiliate of the Voice of America — but that will change soon, hopefully, as other stations with a strong International outreach make room in their schedules for VOA material.

Yes!  New material covering science, news, and international affairs will be coming our way.  In addition to the VOA News Now programs currently being heard, we will be adding Voice of America science, news, and international affairs segments within our normal ‘short attention span’ format.

(Format?  What format…?!  A friend once told me, “Your station is the only one that surprises me.  I never know what will be coming next!”)

Not just a milestone on the road to broadcast excellence (which it certainly is) this new relationship opens up an entirely new media organization.  The research, journalistic objectivity, character and professionalism of VOA producers and broadcasters are known world-wide, which is why their material can be found on thousands of overseas affiliates.  We are thrilled that this new library of material is available to us (you!) and will be working over the next couple of weeks to integrate more VOA programming into our rotation.

Woohoo, to say the least!

Now, to those of you outside of the US — thank you for making this happen.  You have told your friends, family members and co-workers about the station.  You’ve added entries for Radio Newark in your local search engines and Internet radio directories.  You’ve tweeted and blogged and Liked us and I am extremely grateful.  Truly, it is your international support that has made our VOA affiliation possible.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

To our friends at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, thank you for your assistance.  Thank you for your programming.  And thank you for representing the many dimensions of the United States of America so well.  It is an honor to be your first domestic affiliate.  We look forward to a very long and mutually beneficial relationship.

With gratitude,

Steve Worden for the Newark Community Radio Board of Directors

 

Vatican Radio is the official voice of the Catholic Church, headed by Pope Francis.  And because Catholics are found in every country, Vatican Radio maintains a huge footprint.  Programming is produced by over two hundred journalists located in 61 different countries totaling more than 42,000 hours of simultaneous broadcasting covering international news, religious celebrations, in-depth programs, and music.

According to VR’s website, “The main task of Vatican Radio is to proclaim the Christian message freely, faithfully and efficiently and keeping the center of Catholicism in contact with the different countries of the world by:

– communicating the voice and the teachings of the Roman Pontiff;
– informing about the activities of the Holy See;
– giving information about the life and the activities of the Catholic Church in the world;
– helping the faithful to evaluate today’s problems in the light of the Teachings of the Church.”

Although Vatican Radio is a gigantic service, we carry only two newscasts per day, each of which are rebroadcast once.  There is a very human, caring touch to these newscasts which reflect the personality of the new Pope, who has been noted “for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths.”  (Wikipedia)

It is an honor to be counted as an affiliate of Vatican Radio.  We are very grateful for this interesting perspective.  Listen with an open mind and see if you learn something new.

We broadcast a heavy schedule of International News here at Radio Newark.  We are affiliated, officially, with a number of the world’s great international news sources — Deutsche Welle, Vatican Radio, Radio France International, Feature Story News, Industrial Info Resources, and China Radio International (CRI).  We also carry Voice of America newscasts with their knowledge, but no formal affiliation.  Each of these A-List broadcasters provide vast resources for news gathering, field reporting, story editing, audio (and video) production, communication infrastructure and so on.

Furthermore, we are most fortunate to bring you Feature Story News, CATEX News from the Catastrophe Risk Exchange, World Business News from Industrial Info Resources, and financial news from Money Matters by Marc Cuniberti.  Brilliant insight from unique points-of-view.

We believe it borders on the miraculous that we are able to bring you such a fantastic variety of excellent International News broadcasts.

International News Broadcasts

Every disaster, from Bhopal to Fukushima, whether man-made or Acts of God, has a price tag.  And Mr. Frank Fortunato, co-founder and CEO of CATEX, The Catastrophe Risk Exchange, Inc., can tell you their exact cost.  This newscast covers natural and man-made disasters from the insurance / re-insurance industry’s point of view.  FASCINATING and truly insightful.  Thank you, CATEX!  Read More…>

China Radio International is the official voice of the People’s Republic of China.  Naturally, CRI programming reflects the national government’s stance on political issues like Taiwan and the Daioyu Islands.  The English Language Division of CRI has a large, dedicated news staff “which provides global audiences with news, reports, and feature programs with a distinctive Chinese flavor.”  Read More…>

The external broadcasting organization for the Federal Republic of German is Deutsche Welle, “German Wave.”  We are very grateful to be DW affiliates, enabling you to receive their latest English-language newscasts, Digital Europe updates, and other features.  Read More…>

Feature Story News is a commercial news service with news desks on every major continent.  I really like the way the editors, producers, and presenters manage the limited time available for the broadcast (just five minutes for news that covers the globe…!).  And, of course, and I love the accents.  FSN is an independent entity, so their newscast is focused on what the listener wants.  Read More…>

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a global research and analysis business that covers large-scale industrial construction projects — “gathering, confirming, disseminating and updating information about industrial plants around the world.”  The service covers electrical power generation and transmission, mines, metals, and minerals, oil and gas terminals, and so on.  This unique broadcast provides updates on thousands of projects with worldwide impact.  Read More…>

Radio France International

Vatican Radio is the broadcasting station of the Holy See, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, and is based in the Vatican City State.  It is one of the principal modes of communication and evangelization serving the Pope’s ministry.  We have two daily news summaries from RV, seven days per week.  The newscasts include information on the Pope’s activities, thoughts, teachings, and prayers.  Read More…>

The Voice of America (VOA) is the external voice of the United States government.  The VOA charter requires that the VOA “serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.”  At the same time, part of the VOA’s mission is to promote freedom and democracy.  Read More…>

 

 

CRI English News Coming to Radio Newark

Radio Newark, the Science Station, is thrilled to announce our affiliation with China Radio International.  You will be hearing the CRI English newscasts beginning this week.  Permission from the English Language Department came through just a few days ago. Thank you Peter Smith and Xu Yang for all your help!

Sign up for the Radio Newark Newsletter!

Over 40% of us (Radio Newark listeners) are from China, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.  I’ve long desired (and worked!) to get an Asian-originating newscast. I am so thankful that we secured a relationship with what is probably the most important voice in the region, China Radio International.

CRI joins our excellent lineup of unique, independent news sources — Catex News, Deutsche Welle, Feature Story News, Industrial Information Resources, Marc Cuniberti / Money Matters, New Tang Dynasty, Vatican Radio and the Voice of America.

Welcome, CRI, to Radio Newark!