Radio New Zealand is celebrating 60 years of international shortwave broadcasting and as part of their observances, they have an informative program by David Riquish, regarding the future of SW radio in the Pacific (audio at http://www.radionz.co.nz/specialfeatures/RNZI60) , which I heard on September 30, on 15720. I found the second half of the program to be the most interesting, as David was talking to a Frequency Manager.
Found out that they no longer need reception reports from listeners, as they have remote monitoring receivers on various island that they can tune in via the Internet/computer to hear firsthand how their signal is heard and they will be adding even more of these monitoring receivers to different new locations in the Pacific. They also are part of the partnership with IBB, a branch of VOA, which provides access to even more remote controlled receivers in even more distant locations around the world.
The comment was made that SW was still needed for maybe 15-20 years in the Pacific, until the Internet is more firmly established. The observation was made that "crisis radio" was still very much needed in the event local radio stations went off due to cyclones. Overall an excellent presentation!
Ron Howard
Monterey/Asilomar Beach, CA