UNESCO Praises Sputnik Radio Marathon

A special radio marathon, held by Sputnik News Agency and Radio to celebrate UNESCO World Radio Day 2017, has come to a close in nine cities across the world.

EDINBURGH (Spuntik) — During the 24-hour marathon, Sputnik hosts spoke with experts about the role of radio broadcasting in the age of social media.

Participants included media analysts and other specialists from the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, Syria, Iraq, China, Lebanon, France, and Russia. 

The marathon ended with a live broadcast from the Sputnik France studio, where speakers included Richard Labeviere, RFI former editor-in-chief, Lea Nacache, assistant project officer for the Freedom of Expression and Media Development office at UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector, and Francois-Bernard Huyghe, an information and communication sciences researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS).

“Your well-developed network is very interesting, as [is its] multilingualism. In terms of helping humanity, I would say that we are talking about increasing access to information, about multilingualism, and about keeping isolated communities informed. At the same time, you must take into account and respect every region’s and every area’s unique culture,” Lea Nacache said.

Before the marathon, Sputnik conducted a special poll among users of global social networks, asking them what devices they use to listen to the radio. The survey was conducted in Sputnik groups on Facebook and Twitter in 19 languages, including English, French, Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese.  According to the poll, more Sputnik listeners across the globe listen to radio online than via traditional radios – 59% to 41%. The use of digital devices and new online platforms – mobile phones, tablets, and podcasts – are most popular in Central and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, including China, Iran and Brazil, while listeners in Central European countries – such as Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy – tune in using traditional radios.

Sputnik is a news agency and radio network with multimedia news hubs in dozens of countries. Sputnik broadcasts through its websites in over 30 languages, as well as via analogue and digital radio, mobile apps, and social media. Sputnik newswires are available by subscription, 24/7 in English, Arabic, Spanish and Chinese.