In the age of podcasts, cable TV and 24-hour news access on the Web, listening to shortwave radio may seem an antiquated pastime.
But there's something about shortwave radio that keeps listeners coming back for more.
Contrary to popular opinion, it's not just a handful of quirky hobbyists that keep the shortwave movement alive; although its impossible to know exactly how many SWLers exist out there, in the U.S. alone there are purportedly millions of listeners.
One thing that keeps SWLers engaged in their pastime is access to unique, international viewpoints on global news and events. Many people feel that they receive a skewed view of international affairs by solely tuning in to news reports delivered by the American media.
Even Internet news media groups, which are often run for profit and liable to their own bias or motivated by private interests, cannot provide the same quality of independent news coverage offered by shortwave broadcasters who provide news and views on world events free of charge.
Many shortwave broadcasters in countries around the world offer programs in English, making it easy to obtain foreign perspectives and reactions to American news events. Tuning into shortwave broadcasts around the world helps give listeners a sense of how profoundly culture, political climate and social mores affect the way we interpret and report world events.
