Have you dreamed about living in Monaco? Has this country been like a source of fascination for you, making you want to learn more about it? Sure Wikipedia can provide plenty of useful information concerning the topic, but mass media can give you an authentic insight into this country’s culture and day-to-day life. Therefore, if you are interested in being in touch with news, events and mundaneness concerning the Mediterranean Principality, Radio Monte Carlo can be a good means to satisfy your curiosity.
There are several ways which a country can use to make its identity known. Among them are included mass media, such as TV, radio, press, and Internet. The first two play a key role in the socio-political dimension of a nation’s life, shaping its perception on a series of important issues, as well as conveying a cultural message through a selection and portrayal of a particular set of beliefs, values, and traditions as reality. Radio has often been described as the “voice” of a nation. Starting from this metaphor, the article is intended to examine the one belonging to Monaco. Monaco’s radio broadcasting system has a quite long history, being one of 23 founding broadcasting organisations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950.
Radio broadcasting in Monaco is enabled through Radio Monte Carlo (RMC), which refers to six radio stations owned and managed by three different entities.
RMC’s six stations are:
- RMC Info – it is a French-speaking station with a broadcasting area extending in France and Monaco. The center of transmission is situated in Paris, but its functioning is also based on support from Monaco. Beginning with 1950, its Monegasque membership has been detained by Groupement de Radiodiffuseurs Monégasques (GRMC), a joint organisation by Monte-Carlo Radiodiffusion (MCR), Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) and Télé Monte Carlo (TMC).
- RMC Radio Monte Carlo Network – it represents the Italian-speaking station, with a one-way transmission over radio waves in Italy and Monaco, this time with centers from both Monaco and Italian city of Milan. It was founded in 1965 by Noel Cutisson, now being owned by Finelco, with RCS MediaGroup as a shareholder. With a rich activity, the station has a list of enrolled deejays to measure its intense broadcasting program. Among them are included: Antonio Devia, Awanagana, Ettore Andenna, Herbert Pagani, Liliana Dell’Acqua, Luisella Berrino, Manuela De Vito, Marco Odino, Max Pagani, Riccardo Heinen, Roberto Arnaldi, Valeria Porrà, Paolo Dini, Lester, Luisella Berrino, Maurizio Di Maggio, Massimo Valli, Max Venegoni, Marco Porticelli, “Jackie”, Nick “The Nightfly”, Kay Rush, “Katamashi”, Monica Sala, Clive Malcolm Griffiths, Mauro Pellegrino and Erina Martelli.
- Radio Monte Carlo 2 (RMC) – as the second Italian-speaking station broadcasting in Italy and Monaco, it is associated with RMC Radio Monte Carlo Network.
- Radio Monte Carlo Swiss – although it has common ownership with the Italian RMC stations, being part of Finelco, it is a German-speaking station broadcasting from Zurich, Switzerland.
- RMC Doualyia (International) – it broadcasts in numerous locations throughout the Middle East and North Africa from Paris and it is a mainly Arabic-speaking station. Founded in 1972, it has become a member of the Radio France Internationale Group.
- RMC- Moscow Russia – with the center of transmission in Moscow, the Russian-speaking station has a range of broadcast both domestic and international, airing various genres of music (modern, new age, and semi classic) along with news and other programs.
History and Perception
Founded by the Nazis in 1942, Radio Monte Carlo has covered a long way towards becoming one of the most popular networks, particularly in non-European Italian and French-speaking regions thanks to its assumed neutrality. After ceasing transmission in June 1944, the radio center resumed its activity as a venture with the Principality of Monaco in August 1944 and went back on air with American help. In 1998, the French government stopped being one of the stakeholders after selling its share to a private holding group of Sud Radio and la Depeche du Midi. A sign of recognition in terms of its value was shown during the Iraq War, when numerous journalists cited it as a reliable source.
Over time, Radio Monte Carlo has succeeded in building a strong reputation, partly due to the fact that one of its transmitters, namely Transmitter Roumoules, is one of the most powerful broadcasting stations on the world.