Russian Service closure on medium wave - your reactions
This week we have your views on news on the World Service, exploring the options for listeners to the Russian service as a result of the changes to the way the World Service is being transmitted.
Hilary Milne contacted us on the subject:
"I was able to have the radio in the kitchen and listen to ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service in Russian for part of the day and in English for the rest on medium wave. However since the Russian language service was pulled there is nothing on the frequency at all. It is dead and the kitchen quiet. Why did the English language broadcasting stop as well? I am unable to access World Service now as I can't find it on my shortwave radio and the computer in the kitchen is not very convenient. I really miss the programmes so where can I find them."
We invited Sarah Gibson, the head of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Russian Service to discuss Hilary's points and she explained that listening through medium wave frequency in Moscow is no longer possible as that frequency has closed.
So that means the internet on the computer is the remaining option for listening - likewise in Russia the only way to access in Russia is through the internet.
However, interestingly, the majority of listening was through the website already as the internet is very important in Russia.
Turning to the Middle East, over the last few weeks of the Arab Spring there has been a lot of discussion of the use of social media.
Syria is now attracting attention - at first Twitter was banned, but now pro-government commentators as well as the protestors are using it.
Abdallah al-Salmi from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Monitoring came into the Over to You studio to explain how he has been tracking the use of social media since the protests began.
He has noticed how the twitterati have used Twitter to mobilize protestors and how there are also many on the government side using Twitter in a counter media campaign. Abdallah said that the function of Twitter in Syria is about information, as the Syrian authorities did not hide that protests took place.
It is one more example of how new media is at the heart of events that are shaping that part of the world.
Until next week, keep your emails, calls - and tweets - coming.
Rajan Datar is the presenter of Over To You.
Over To You is your chance to have your say about the ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service and its programmes. It airs at 00:40, 03:40 and 12:40 every Sunday (GMT).
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