Media Network

Media Network was a weekly radio program broadcast on Radio Netherlands Worldwide from 7 May 1981 until 26 October 2000.^[1] The program concentrated on communications topics with particular reference to shortwave broadcasting, but also went on to cover mediumwave and longwave, television, satellite, internet, reviews of shortwave receivers and other electronic devices. It was produced and presented by Jonathan Marks, who was joined around 1994 by colleague Diana Janssen who co-hosted the show until shortly before its end. Media Network ran for over 1000 editions.

Early history

Jonathan Marks, an English radio presenter who had formerly worked at Radio Austria International and the BBC, arrived in the Netherlands in 1980 and immediately went to work as the new host of the "DX Jukebox" program that had been running since the 1960s. That show's content also revolved around shortwave broadcasting, giving information on schedules for various other stations as well as a variety of details on improving reception. As the name suggested, a portion of the show was devoted to music.

It was decided that the show needed to be updated to reflect a new era. The music was removed and a name change was also suggested, with Media Network being the chosen name. Marks wanted the new style of program to be not just about when and on what frequency one could listen to a given station on shortwave, but also about why one should listen.^[2]

During the early 1980s, a time when international telephony was still of a potentially mediocre sound quality (making it unsuitable for shortwave broadcasts), Media Network went against the established wisdom and decided to make use of the telephone. Calls were made to the show's various contributors. On many occasions where telephone quality was deemed too poor for broadcast, a tape recording was made at both ends of the line, then the person with whom Marks was speaking would post the tape to the Netherlands. The two recordings were subsequently edited together resulting in a conversation with good sound quality.

Show Format

Over the years the show had many regular contributors who provided valuable information on stations that went on or off the air, radio propagation conditions, new communications technology and other related information. Listeners were also encouraged to telephone an answer line and leave their comments and questions. Often, these messages were played back on the air.

The show prided itself on being less predictable than its predecessor by creating specials from time to time instead of simply repeating a regular format.^[3] Specials covered historic events as conveyed by the media, such as the Gulf War, the Falklands War and propaganda during World War II and in more recent conflicts. There were also many DXpeditions or media safari documentaries to profile stations in a given part of the world.

Series Conclusion

After Diana Janssen left the show in September, 2000 to pursue another career, Jonathan Marks (who was also employed as Director of Programs) made the decision to end the show, citing the increasingly demanding task of fulfilling a corporate role at Radio Netherlands combined with producing a show of a "high standard that we strive for and you deserve".^[4] The following four editions were replays of popular specials with a finale on 26 October 2000. The editorship of the program was handed over to Andy Sennitt (a frequent contributor also working at Radio Netherlands) who continues the brand as a weblog.

In February, 2010, Jonathan Marks began a project called the Media Network Vintage Vault which allows the general public to download studio quality editions in Mp3 format. As at 30 August 2011, well over 100 editions have been digitized and made available. Some other programs made (partly or entirely) by Jonathan Marks have also been uploaded to the same website, such as "The Hitchhiker's Guide to DXing", a comedic spoof of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which had shortwave radio as its basis.^[5]

References

1. ^ About Media Network, Radio Netherlands Worldwide blog
2. ^ Jonathan Marks on the history of Media Network 25th Anniversary vodcast (Copyright Critical Distance b.v.)
3. ^ Jonathan and Diana discuss the show's history
4. ^ Media Network edition broadcast 21st September, 2000
5. ^ Media Network Vintage Vault The vault for complete Media Network shows taken from the collection 1981-2000

External links

• Media Network blog
• Media Network Vintage Vault