Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) as one of the biggest broadcasting holdings

Moscow State University Faculty of Journalism

 

 

 

 

 

 

Course work

The topic: “Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) as one of the biggest broadcasting holdings”

 

 

 

 

Made by:

Darya Kharitonova

Evening department

Course 3, group 305

 

 

 

Moscow, 2013

Introduction

Far East Broadcasting Company is worldwide radio ministry which includes radio stations and transmitters all over the world. The main goal of the FEBC is to spread the gospel everywhere on this planet. As they are defining themselves, “FEBC is an extradenominational radio ministry enterprise for the sole purpose of taking the Good News to the world by radio”. These three words explain why more than 2.7 Billion people have yet to hear the Gospel. FEBC breaks down these barriers by developing new technologies, creating biblical messages, and building relationships to reach people with the Gospel.

I have chosen this topic of my course work for the several reasons. The first one is that I’m a Christian believer and Far East Broadcasting Company is a Christian organization too. The second one is that Far East Broadcasting Company is so huge Christian holding that it would be interesting to find out more about it and its work. And, the third one is that I’m working for one of the departments of the FEBC which called “FEBC Russian Ministries”.

I want to show why we need Christian organizations like this in Russia and in the whole world. We have so many problems in our world and especially in our country. That’s why I’m doing this work.

I will tell you something about the history of the Far East Broadcasting Company which started last century. I will write some stories from the Far East Broadcasting Company work. I will show you what is Far East Broadcasting Company nowadays and what purpose it has now. I will also show you the great meaning of the Far East Broadcasting Company ministry for our world.

The main goal of my course work is to know more about the company I’m involved at and to let you know everything about it too. I will tell you about the different parts of the Far East Broadcasting Company ministry, especially the Russian Ministry.

 

 

 

The brief history

Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) is an international radio network that broadcast Christian programs in 149 languages. Broadcasts are aired from shortwave, mediumwave (AM), and FM transmitters located throughout the world.

Far East Broadcasting Company was founded in the distant 1945 year. It was the time when countless soldiers were returning from the conflict in the Pacific – the Pacific War (one of the World War II parts). Asian people were very spiritually hungry and were feeling empty after that war. That was the reason why two men (John Broger and Bob Bowman) thought about something what will encourage people and help them to fill their spiritual needs.

In fact, FEBC's very first broadcast in February 1947 was from a station in Shanghai. But it wasn’t long-lived. In 1948 all mission work in China was winding down. John Broger searched around Asia for a good place to locate FEBC's radio ministry and decided on the Philippines because the Philippines had much to offer.

The first broadcasts went on air in Manila on June 4, 1948. Nowadays, the Philipinnes ministry of FEBC is great: there are both AM and FM stations in Manila and 10 regional stations throughout the provinces. They also have a TV channel named FEBC-TV 36.

 In the 1972 FEBC started broadcasting from the South Korea and it broadcasts to China, Japan and Russia as well.

FEBC also located a transmitters in the Saipan Island in the early 80’s: there are three shortwave transmitters which broadcast to Russia, China, and parts of Southeast Asia. So, as we see, for those years it was lots of work done. Now, let’s see what we have nowadays.

 

 

FEBC nowadays: figures and numbers

Far East Broadcasting Company does programs on the 149 different languages. FEBC has more than 20 departments in countries: Korea, India, Philipines, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Japan.

Company has radio stations in the 98 different towns. Total population of potential listeners is  101,797,831 people.

Total broadcast hours per day from all the stations of Far East Broadcasting Company are 776 hours a day.

FEBC has 10 Across Borders Transmissions which signal captures several countries in the same time.

More than 793 million people worldwide cannot read. Radio broadcasts overcome illiteracy to share God’s Word.

Although many listeners live in very remote locations, FEBC receives more than 850,000 listener responses in the form of visits to the station, letters, text messages, phone calls and emails.

 

So, the great numbers, aren’t they? And it all caused by people who believe and want to share it with others. One of the hosts from Philipines has a great story how he knew that he’s working for a reason, and I can’t allow myself not to share it with you.

“One of the challenges of broadcasting is that you can't see the people you are broadcasting to. This is especially challenging when a broadcast is being taped!

 

And in fact this was the difficulty that Rev. Tsuneaki Kato would face. As one of Japan's most revered Christian pastors, he was used to preaching to a large audience on Sunday morning, an audience that he could see and get feedback from as he spoke. Now he had been asked, and had graciously agreed, to tape a weekly broadcast that would be aired a week or so later from high powered HLAZ, Jeju, S. Korea to all of Japan on 1566 AM. The program would be on Saturdays.

 

The FEBC-Japan studio is in a small 1000 square foot apartment-style building in a mainly residential area of suburban Tokyo. Its very small studio is crammed into the basement, with scarcely enough room for a speaker and control operator on the other side of the window.

 

Rev. Kato, since this was his first such experience, could not get used to the idea that as he talked, he could not see who he was speaking to. Even the control operator did not seem to be paying attention!

"Then one day," Rev. Kato says, "I got a letter from a young man who said he liked my program very much and that he looked forward to it every Saturday. The letter revealed that he worked in a factory on Saturdays, and had been listening to the radio while he performed his duties. However, fellow workers had complained about it. So he had devised the following solution: he convinced his supervisor to give him his lunch period during the time the program aired, and then he would climb up on the roof of the factory to eat his lunch and listen."

"That solved my problem," says Rev. Kato, "from then on, whenever I record my broadcast, I visualize just that one man on the roof."

And he reflects with a smile, "..and I pray that it doesn't rain on Saturday!"

 

Now we see what work FEBC is doing. Let’s find out more about the FEBC Russia ministry.

FEBC Russia: brief history

FEBC has been broadcasting the gospel to Russia since the late 1940s. In February 1992, after the fall of communism, FEBC was incorporated in Russia, expanding its broadcast ministry within the country.

It all started in the 1991 in the small Russian town Kemerovo where some people just wanted to share the gospel. They started a small radio station – it wasn’t too expensive in that town and nobody believed that it would have a good result. But almost right after that another people started a radio station in St Petersburg. Some years later Kemerovo’s station was moved to Moscow and another several years later that two stations were combined: that’s how Radio Theos (FEBC Russian Ministries) started.

FEBC-Russia's flagship stations are in Moscow, AM 1134, and in St. Petersburg, AM 1089. They also have stations in Khabarovsk, AM 1188, as well as other outlets. FEBC Russian Ministries also continues its broadcasts from a shortwave transmitter on Saipan island. And they cover the entire former Soviet Union with freely accessible satellite broadcasting on Yamal 201.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEBC Russia: today

Far East Broadcasting Company in Russia consists of Moscow studio, St. Petersburg studio, and re-broadcasting studios in different regions of Russia too. In Moscow it is 1134 AM, in St. Petersburg – 1089 AM.

Every month FEBC Russia has more than 150 000 listeners from the Internet and the same number of listeners by the radio. They receive loads of listener’s responses: letters, emails, calls, messages, listeners are coming ti the studio too.

As a Christian radio, Far East Broadcasting Company in Russia is broadcasting Christian programs.

The main difficulty of every christian radio is to cover all the social groups. In Russia we have very different mentality. Believers, atheists, agnostics, kids, teenagers, youth, parents, elder people, educated people and people from furthest regions… The big problem is also different denominations. Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Church.

We all know the statistics about believers in Russia. They say that 70-80 % of Russians are Orthodox Believers. Ask anybody on the street: “Are you a christian?” – they mostly will respond like “Of course I am, can’t you see the cross on my neck?” or “Yes, I am a Crhistian and I’m going to church every Easter and Every Christmas!”

But are they real believers..?

The truth is that Russia is one of the the first country in the list of countries about suicides. The share of alcohol consumption per capita in Russia is the biggest in the whole world. Russia and Ukraine are countries where more than 1 million girls every year make an abortion. Russia takes the first place in the world for heroin. 70% of drug users in Russia-are teenagers and young people. The middle age of deaths from drug addiction is 28 years. Near the 10 million cases of crime take place in Russia every month. After 17 years of no God, no church and no spiritual teaching, many Russians today live in despair. Over 1 million kids live on the streets.

What can we do with all that statistics? Nothing, while we are alone. FEBC Radio in Russia can do something. It has the resources to tell people about God, to help them with their problems. Gospel broadcasts go where missionaries can’t. Even in remote, primitive and dangerous locations, FEBC can reach beyond borders to share God’s Word.

FEBC Radio in Russia is called “Radio Teos” which means “God”. Radio has two main studios in Moscow and in St. Petersburg. They broadcast 24 hours a day in the Internet and 17 hours on the Radio Waves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How it can change the situation

2.7 billion people in the world don’t know Christ, 50% of them are children. If kids don’t accept Christ by the time they are 21, the likelihood of reaching them drops below 23%. FEBC broadcasters in Russia share the Gospel with children and teens around the world with fun and engaging programs like:

“Little Sheep” is a story based program for kids ages 5-7 that airs weekly. Narrated by a professional singer the program follows the adventures of a little sheep throughout life.

“13+” is a weekly “live” one-hour program featuring frank conversations with young teens about life and about God.

“10 Questions for Adults” is a “live” 15 minute program featuring Christian adults answering frank questions from young teens.

“Temple of Stories” tells classic children’s stories and talks about real-life applications. Written for children ages 6-8, a professional musician narrates the stories and includes original songs.

When children know God since their childhood, they would grow up more happy people and people who want to change this world too.

 

FEBC Russia has programs for addicted and sick people: alcohol, drugs addiction, AIDS and for their relatives.

“Choose life” program is dedicated to HIV and AIDS. Evidence of HIV-Infected, interviews with lawyers, doctors, executives rehabilitation centers are there.

 

FEBC Russia also has program for atheists. It is “100 atheistic questions”. The program is based on the arguments in favor of atheism and the main objections to Christianity. Questions and answers on the air.

 

“Our city heroes” is live youth program about the problems of the modern world and about the young people who are not indifferent to this problems. Social workers, volunteers, and other great but humble people are on the air with hosts.

 

When people have a need to pray for, they can listen to "We pray together" on the FEBC Russia. It is prayer for the needs of people live.

 

One of the most popular projects on the FEBC Russia is “The hope for your soul”. There hosts who are psychologists and pastors are helping to find a way out of difficult situations, treat wounds, open locked doors. Every week they have more than 100 difficult questions.

 

“Great Family” is another social program. Program is dedicated to forms of care for orphans in the family. Host invite guests who have adopted children in their family to share their experience.

 

“Christianity. Difficult Questions” is program for believers who are doubting about something in their faith.

FEBC Russia also wants to educate their listeners so they made a review-program “Book Club”. It consist of meetings with authors and publishers. Reviews new books on air, history books.

“The Storyboard” is a thoughtful conversation about the movies. It is an overview of new theatrical distribution, interesting interviews and stories of making movies.

There are not all the programs on FEBC Russia Radio. They have morning talk-shows, hours with pastors, youth programs, programs for kids and etc. I’ve just done the list the most powerful projects there. FEBC Russia has more than 30 different programs every week and they are useful for those who listen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I wanted to say: conclusion

Doing all that researches, reading all the statistics, learning all those facts I understood that radio is a very powerful tool to reach people. And journalists who are doing radio must know what is in their hands. They can talk about politics, country, news. They can try to raise people to do good things or they can make people feel depressive and disappointed. As a radio journalist, I want to make something good.

FEBC radio is doing a great work. I would say it if I’ve not been working there too. But I do and it makes me think what I am doing here and what I can improve to change the world. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The materials used

Websites

http://www.febc.org/

http://www.febc.org.ru/

http://www.febcintl.org/home/

http://febinfo.org/

http://www.phoenixphaxx.com/febc

http://radioteos.ru/

http://wikipedia.org/

 

I also used personal conversations with leaders and directors of different FEBC departments. And my own experience helped me too.