Taking the Med to the world

Airwaves have played a determining role in Richard Muscat's life for over 20 years. During the past three, he has been occupied with those of the Voice of the Mediterranean (VOM), the international radio station broadcasting from Malta in seven languages.

The station has just moved into two storeys of the Chircop Building in Birkirkara's Valley Road, a quantum leap from its previous limited premises at St Francis Ravelin in Floriana. Foreign Minister Joe Borg inaugurated the new premises last Friday and expressed satisfaction at the standard achieved.

This operation has taken 14 months - but there is a revolution behind that move. There has been substantial investment in premises and equipment. Things at VOM and at vomradio.com are about to change for the better.

VOM's primary aim is to project Malta and the Maltese's image to Europe and around the Mediterranean. Its ultimate target audience is all five continents, and the radio is working especially hard to eventually be able to reach transmissions in Latin America.

A non-profit-making organisation, VOM began to broadcast in September 1988, covering mainly Mediterranean issues in English and Arabic on short wave frequencies, for a few hours on weekdays. In the mid-Nineties, after the Euro-Med ministerial conference, the station sought to be identified with this new era of co-operation in the Mediterranean basin. At this time, the station also began to broadcast for two additional hours on Sunday morning, and programmes in French and German were introduced.

The VOM project is jointly owned by Malta and Libya, but it has a Maltese management. Dr Borg last Friday hailed the co-operation and friendship that exists between nationals of the two countries at the station.

Transmissions to Australia began in July 1996, aimed specifically at Maltese immigrants. The broadcast was being well received in Japan and a programme targeting Japanese audiences was launched to meet this new interest. Two years later the programmes to Australia started to be broadcast on the SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) Radio, heard in most of the country on different frequencies.

Current broadcasts include news bulletins, current affairs programmes and a review of Malta's foreign relations and the cultural aspects of the Maltese.

Managing director Richard Muscat says reorganisation was sorely needed when he was handed the reins in 2000. With the new premises specifically designed to accommodate studios and production facilities, and VOM's new role, there is more efficiency at VOM. One floor hosts administration offices and the multi-media room, while the entire third floor is used as studios, technical and producer's offices. Now the station boasts a full-time staff complement of 14, besides contributors and part-time staff.

Mr Muscat said that while he aimed to preserve the station's worthy vision, the technical set-up was starting to lag behind.

"Every other radio station was going digital. We could not afford to be behind," he explains.

He should know, having paid a hefty price for being 'on the air'. Over 20 years after he was assigned the headship of a private TV and radio station in Sicily by the Nationalist Party in the run-up to the 1981 election campaign, he is still widely identified with his - and his family's - self-imposed six-year exile following persistent threats and harassment by the Socialist regime of the Eighties. He kept steadfast in upholding freedom of expression for his party. He returned to Malta in 1987 and in the mid-Nineties was appointed chairman of the PN's Radio 101.

His experience and knowledge is undisputed. Digitalisation duly kicked off and now VOM boasts exceptional digital media production and post production capabilities. This allows the station to be more effective, flexible, clear, and interactive. As the Internet bandwidth and speed increase, VOM is more able to transmit higher quality volume digital audio and video data.

In parallel with the changes in radio, VOM is currently in the process of upgrading its Website, which was launched in January last year. In 15 months, over 2.2 million hits were registered; through SW broadcasts VOM comes into contact with over 60 countries. But the Website means VOM can make contact with North America, which radio transmissions have not yet reached.

Last summer, praise was heaped on its 'Operation Pedestal' feature (launched to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the life-saving Santa Marija convoy to war-torn Malta). BBC.com even created a special link to the VOM feature.

The Website has proven widely popular in Asia, especially Japan - Mr Muscat says a survey conducted recently in Japan put VOM in third place as far as international programmes in Japanese were concerned.

VOM is also getting ready to launch Internet radio with its specific schedule to appeal to a much wider international audience.

"The Website has an important role," Mr Muscat points out. "VOM aims to continue the role of SW transmission. In regions of the world where people do not have access to a computer, SW is crucial. Radio enthusiasts also depend hugely on SW. This is VOM's social aspect, so to speak.

"The Website opens a whole new package of services and broadens VOM's horizons. Vomradio.com currently streams radio programmes and also features a programmes archive, and a photo gallery. The live Internet radio is currently testing and a live schedule will be launched soon. This will mean that live programmes can be held, so there will be more interaction with our audience, a feature which SW does not allow."

The live programmes on the Internet could include daily local and international news and discussions.

Meanwhile, a large ICT studio has been created to house Website design and programming that is also able to double up as a multimedia room. This is flexible enough to be used as a conference or lecture room where presentations can be held to various groups of people like students or visitors. Satellite and video equipment has been acquired for this purpose.

VOM may have been "lagging behind" technologically 14 months ago, but it has come full circle to become arguably one of most equipped and modern stations in Malta, capable of penetrating new areas of media production.

There is an air of excitement and 'newness' at the Valley Road premises - a whole new world of opportunity is there for the taking. VOM is ready to take it on.

Richard Muscat successfully contested the general election on behalf of the Nationalist Party in 1992 and 1996. He is contesting the April 12 elections on the seventh and eighth electoral districts.