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China Radio International now heard in Canberra

June 8th, 2009 at 01:40pm

Further cluttering the already somewhat overpopulated lower end of the FM spectrum in Canberra, is China Radio International, now heard on 88FM, a frequency which at one stage was home to a rather interesting tourist information station.

Programming from the state-owned China Radio International (CRI) is now being heard in Canberra with the launch of radio station FM88.

The new Canberra station is the latest in a Chinese-language media empire in Australia which includes eight Chinese-language newspapers across Australia as well as radio stations in Melbourne (1341 kHz) and Perth (104.9 MHz). Attending the radio station’s launch in Canberra were Wang Gengnian, president of CRI, and the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Zhang Junsai.
[..]
The radio stations include programming from CRI as well as Chinese-language content from BBC and the Voice of America but also include locally-produced content such as talkback.

Leading the organisation in Australia is Melbourne-based Tommy Jiang, a former soccer player who relocated to Australia 21 years ago. Mr Jiang said that the local Chinese communities “love to talk and find out about Australian politics, about relations with China, about lifestyle issues – including of course restaurants and real estate”.
[..]
The radio stations also broadcast programs that teach Chinese.

I wonder if Kevin Rudd will find the Chinese lessons helpful? Perhaps he could get a job on the station when he eventually leaves politics.

Given the frequency allocation and the commercial nature of some of the station’s content, I’m assuming that it’s a narrowcaster. Sadly ACMA’s somewhat outdated website doesn’t provide any information about the Canberra station, however it does confirm that the Melbourne station is a narrowcaster.

Samuel

Entry Filed under: Canberra Stories,TV/Radio/Media

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