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Operating costs, minimal audience, and persistent damage from 2018 all contributed to the decision.
Operating costs and minimal, ongoing damage caused by the 2018 typhoon contributed to the decision.
The Voice of America closes its Robert E. Kamosa in the Northern Mariana Islands.
The resolution was reported through local media in the United States Pacific Territory, based on a letter from the United States Agency for World Media.
“I suspect that your organization has learned in recent weeks of a first update underway at the Robert E Broadcast Station. Kamosa or REKTS from the U. S. Agency for Global Media. The upgrade consists of the cessation of all shortwave radio transmissions at our Saipan and Tinian locations, the first step toward the completion of the station,” according to the letter.
REKTS consists of a transmitter and antenna at Agingan Point, on the southwestern tip of Saipan, and a moment transmitter and antenna on the west side of Tinian. It is used for multilingual programming of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America in the East Asia region.
William Martin, director of USAGM’s Transproject Operations and Stations Division, said, “By now, many of you have heard that the shortwave stations “Voice of America” on Saipan and Tinian, which operated under the umbrella of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), are definitive. After decades of operation, those services are being phased out as shortwave audiences migrate to other mediums. While those closures mark the end of an era, they are also bittersweet, because until the end of those seasons, we are also saying a salute to the other people and communities who have supported our project for so many years. On behalf of the agency, I would like to thank our staff and the many members of the network who have particularly contributed to the operation of the stations for so many years. years.
Martin served as a station for the REKTS station from 2013 to 2019.
In recent years, USAGM has sought to redirect resources from shortwave broadcasting to other channels where it can be successful with the desired audience. In its 2025 budget justification document, the firm noted a thorough review of shortwave and mediumwave transmission needs “leading to some discounts in regions where the firm’s studies show that shortwave audiences have become incredibly small. “
[Related: “Where Is VOA’s Transmission Infrastructure Today” (2022)]
Another challenge for REKTS is the damage caused by Category Five Super Typhoon Yutu, which destroyed the complex’s infrastructure in October 2018.
According to USAGM’s monetary report for fiscal year 2023, the typhoon destroyed all 16 shortwave curtain antennas at the site and brought down one of its towers. Using recovered parts, five antennas were fully restored through the end of FY2020, and 3 more were operational through the end of FY2023 with parts for three more antennas on site.
According to the report, the total assets held through USAGM in the Northern Mariana Islands had an approximate e-book of $5. 4 million as of September 30, 2023.
Previously, USAGM predicted that 11 of REKTS’ 15 shortwave antennas would be fully operational by the end of fiscal year 2025. Additional innovations are needed in the new included roof to prevent water leakage.
The Saipan location first aired in 1982 as Superrock KYOI, an advertising station targeting Japan with rock and pop music. It acquired in 1986 through Herald Broadcasting Service. Radio Free Asia began leasing the transmitters in September 1996 and purchased the services in 1999.
Construction of the Tinian site began in 1993, when the United States Department of Defense transferred 834 acres of land on the island to the United States Information Administration. The first broadcasts from the site began in January 1999.
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T. Carter Ross
He made his radio debut at KNWD (FM) in Natchitoches, Louisiana, while in high school and later served as its executive director. He is the former editor-in-chief of Radio World International and since 2012 has worked in marketing and communications for industry associations and nonprofits in the Washington, D. C. area.
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