The World Zionist Organization information department is recommending that Israel’s shortwave radio transmissions to North and South America be phased out and the resources channelled into television broadcasts via satellite and video cassettes and taped radio shows. A final decision will be taken jointly by the Foreign Ministry, the WZO and the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
The WZO information department said surveys show that audiences listening to the shortwave programs are miniscule. Medium wave broadcasting of Israeli material through local American stations would be much more effective, the department believes, and resources saved could also be used for TV programs especially made for showing in America.
The cutback in short wave transmissions is contemplated, the department stressed, only for the Western hemisphere, not for Europe (especially Eastern Europe) where, it is felt, they still have an important role to play.
Meanwhile, a commercial TV and film studio in Herzliya is embarking on an effort to sell Israeli television programs to the U.S. market. Initially, shows specially put together here (in English), comprising news, views, culture and sports, will be screened by Channel 47 in New York City.
Subsequently, the studio hopes, the shows will be transmitted via satellite or cassettes to other stations in the U.S., particularly in areas of large Jewish population concentrations.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
