Radio Sawa
Encyclopedia
Radio Sawa is a 24-hour 7-day-a-week Arabic language
radio station broadcasting in the Arab world
. The station is a service of the
Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. and is publicly funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the U.S. Congress. The word "sawa" means "together" in many Spoken Arabic
dialects.
Preexisting attitudes and concurrent reality of opinions towards the United States led to the creation of Radio Sawa. It seeks to effectively communicate with the youthful population of Arabic-speakers in the Middle East.The station's goal is to promote pro-American attitudes to youth in the Arab World
. Radio Sawa's first broadcast was on March 23, 2002. Its newscasts are broadcast live on air from its studios in Washington, DC and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Radio Sawa also has news bureaus and reporters throughout the Middle East.
effort in the Middle East
. Their stated mission is to "improve America’s image in the Middle East and win the hearts and minds of the Arab people.”
Radio Sawa was first launched in early 2002, initially in Jordan
, West Bank
, Kuwait
, UAE(Abu Dhab
), Qatar
and Bahrain
and eventually in the rest of the Arab World (see below for full list).
Radio Sawa replaced Voice of America
’s Arabic service, which had not been successful in attracting large audiences. The initiator of radio Sawa is American media mogul Norman Pattiz. He found that more than 60% of the Arab population was under the age of 30, which is why he decided to develop programming that would target the younger generation. Pattiz believed that the best way to reach the young people was with music. This is why the majority of the radio’s programming consists of American and Arab pop music
.
Radio Sawa is controlled by the Broadcasting Board of Governors
(BBG), the Federal agency responsible for all U.S. international civilian broadcasting. The BBG founded the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), a non-profit news and information organization, to run Radio Sawa and Al Hurra TV.
radio broadcasts in the region which it replaced, Radio Sawa blends news with contemporary music, arts and lifestyle and other light programming. Radio Sawa’s programming consists of roughly 20-25% news and 75-80% pop music.
and Spanish
songs so as to attract the Arabic listener.
Radio Sawa has also been criticized for its poor quality control and for its resistance to any outside review of its programming.
was severely critical of the station. Experts cited in the report concluded that “Radio Sawa failed to present America to its audience.”
The station’s emphasis on popular music has led critics to question if music alone is enough to convey America’s message. Some critics point out that what matters is “not just how many people are tuning in, but how many people are affected by a broadcast’s content.”
Alongside the mainstream Radio Sawa broadcasts, there are various regional streams targeted to specific regions/countries including:
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
radio station broadcasting in the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
. The station is a service of the
Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. and is publicly funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the U.S. Congress. The word "sawa" means "together" in many Spoken Arabic
Varieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
dialects.
Preexisting attitudes and concurrent reality of opinions towards the United States led to the creation of Radio Sawa. It seeks to effectively communicate with the youthful population of Arabic-speakers in the Middle East.The station's goal is to promote pro-American attitudes to youth in the Arab World
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
. Radio Sawa's first broadcast was on March 23, 2002. Its newscasts are broadcast live on air from its studios in Washington, DC and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Radio Sawa also has news bureaus and reporters throughout the Middle East.
History
Radio Sawa and its sister-network, Al Hurra TV, are part of a larger U.S. Public DiplomacyPublic Diplomacy (U.S.)
Public Diplomacy is that "form of international Political Advocacy in which the civilians of one country use legitimate means to reach out to the civilians of another country in order to gain popular support for negotiations occurring through diplomatic channels."- America :1917-1919 - President...
effort in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Their stated mission is to "improve America’s image in the Middle East and win the hearts and minds of the Arab people.”
Radio Sawa was first launched in early 2002, initially in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, UAE(Abu Dhab
Abu Dhabi (emirate)
Abu Dhabi, officially the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, , is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates . It is the capital of UAE and is the largest emirate by area , and second-largest by population , accounting for approximately 86% of the total land area of the UAE...
), Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
and Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
and eventually in the rest of the Arab World (see below for full list).
Radio Sawa replaced Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
’s Arabic service, which had not been successful in attracting large audiences. The initiator of radio Sawa is American media mogul Norman Pattiz. He found that more than 60% of the Arab population was under the age of 30, which is why he decided to develop programming that would target the younger generation. Pattiz believed that the best way to reach the young people was with music. This is why the majority of the radio’s programming consists of American and Arab pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
Radio Sawa is controlled by the Broadcasting Board of Governors
Broadcasting Board of Governors
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government. It was previously a department within the United States Information Agency until 1999.-Origins:Starting in...
(BBG), the Federal agency responsible for all U.S. international civilian broadcasting. The BBG founded the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), a non-profit news and information organization, to run Radio Sawa and Al Hurra TV.
Funding
Radio Sawa is a United States Congress-funded public relations endeavor that has enjoyed significant recent popularity in the Middle East. It falls under the same umbrellaed organization, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, as Al-Hurra Television. there are a few people who know the exact trail of who and what funds Radio Sawa.Programming
In contrast to the Voice of AmericaVoice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
radio broadcasts in the region which it replaced, Radio Sawa blends news with contemporary music, arts and lifestyle and other light programming. Radio Sawa’s programming consists of roughly 20-25% news and 75-80% pop music.
News
Most non-music content is presented in the rubric “The World Now,” which includes news, interviews, sports, etc.Music
The station's playlist includes popular Arabic, EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
songs so as to attract the Arabic listener.
Reception
Radio Sawa has been subject to criticism from various observers, who question its effectiveness in conveying America’s message to the Arab world. Radio Sawa is commonly seen as terms of a solution to public relations crisis during the time of its launch as a form of public diplomacy, 'suggesting by implication that American media efforts do have the power to transform opinion if only implemented in a different form'.Arab World
A study published in 2006, which surveyed college students at universities in five Arab countries, found that the students’ attitudes towards U.S. foreign policy had actually worsened since they started listening to Radio Sawa and watching Al Hurra TVRadio Sawa has also been criticized for its poor quality control and for its resistance to any outside review of its programming.
US
A 2004 draft report prepared by the State Department's inspector generalInspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
was severely critical of the station. Experts cited in the report concluded that “Radio Sawa failed to present America to its audience.”
The station’s emphasis on popular music has led critics to question if music alone is enough to convey America’s message. Some critics point out that what matters is “not just how many people are tuning in, but how many people are affected by a broadcast’s content.”
Transmission
Radio Sawa is broadcast free across the region, using a combination of:- Medium wave (AMAmplitude modulationAmplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
) transmitters - Frequency modulationFrequency modulationIn telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
(FM) transmitters - Digital audio satellite broadcasting (EutelsatEutelsatEutelsat S.A. is a French-based satellite provider. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, it is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues.Eutelsat’s satellites...
, NilesatNilesatNilesat is an Egyptian company, and the name of a series of Egyptian communications satellites. It was established in 1996 with the purpose of operating Egyptian satellites and their associated ground control station and uplinking facilities...
, Arabsat) - Online internet streaming
Alongside the mainstream Radio Sawa broadcasts, there are various regional streams targeted to specific regions/countries including:
- Radio Sawa Jordan (Levant)
- Radio Sawa Gulf
- Radio Sawa Sudan
- Radio Sawa Iraq
- Radio Sawa Egypt
- Radio Sawa Morocco
- Radio Sawa Lebanon
Radio Sawa on FM Transmission
Names of the cities next to them the broadcast frequency of FM in MHz.- Abu Dhabi - 98.7
- Agadir - 101.0
- Akkar, North Lebanon - 98.7
- Amman/West Bank - 98.1
- Amara - 91.6
- Baghdad - 100.4
- Basra - 107.0
- Beirut - 87.7
- Bekaa Valley /Western - 98.7
- Bethlehem/Ramallah - 94.2
- Casablanca - 101.5
- Djibouti - 100.8
- Doha - 92.6
- Dubai - 90.5
- Erbil - 106.6
- Fes - 97.9
- Hebron/Gaza-100.2
- Hilla - 90.4
- Jenin - 93.5
- Khartoum - 97.5 FM
- Kirkuk - 98.8
- Kuwait - 95.7
- Manama - 89.2
- Marrakech - 101.7
- Meknes - 91.9
- Mosul - 106.6
- Najaf - 105.8
- Nasiriya - 103.6
- Northern Jordan - 107.4
- Rabat - 101.0
- Ramadi 97.6
- Samawa - 95.6
- Sidon - 87.7
- Sulimaniyah - 88.0
- Tangier - 101.8
- Tikrit - 97.1
- Tripoli, Lebanon - 87.7
- Zahle - 87.7
Radio Sawa on AM Transmission
- Radio Sawa on Medium Wave Egypt-Levant - 990 kHz
- Iraq and The Gulf - 1548 kHz
- Sudan & Yemen - 1431 kHz