WELCOME TO THE ANGLOSPHERE

WELCOME TO WRS

You may hail from New Zealand or the UK, or maybe your wife is Canadian. The MBA you’re completing is in English, or English is the working language of your organization. Perhaps a big promotion hinges on your ability to negotiate with clients in the States. Or you traveled to Australia and fell in love with the language. Or your French-speaking kids are learning English at the International School. Or maybe you just love Alphabeat, Johnny Cash or Swiss band Moonraisers singing reggae in English. For all these reasons, WRS is a linguistic home for Anglophones, Angloprofessionals and Anglophiles.

World Radio Switzerland – an arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation – has a very unique mandate to develop and produce content for a national public-service radio station in a language that is not one of the four national languages. No role models exist, so the station has had to create its own style and format to inform and entertain an audience that, while united by the language, varies widely in culture, age, musical taste and centers of interest.

The WRS Model
WRS considers itself a complementary media. That is, you can get the news from your part of the world by reading Der Spiegel, The New York Times or Al Jazeera online – WRS aims to compliment that information with news from your home here in Switzerland.

That news comes from WRS journalists reporting on current events and bringing you stories from around the country, plus regular Swiss news, traffic and weather bulletins throughout the business day, as well as a roundup of the top news coming out of the Swiss papers every weekday morning. International news bulletins come from the BBC World Service, as do several evening and weekend cultural programs.

There’s also a strong focus on entertainment and companionship, with a slate of talented hosts to guide you through the week’s news and events and sometimes simply to be a friendly voice in what can be a lonely and foreign land for some listeners. WRS also produces a dozen regular programs on a variety of popular topics: advice on raising your kids, food and gardening in Switzerland, your health, current affairs, conversations and suggestions on books and music, the latest tech gadgets and more.

All WRS-produced content – from politics and business to cultural events and Swiss society – is explained in layman’s terms with the goal of increasing understanding of the community you live in.

Tune In
Music is a big part of WRS and the mix is “Hot Adult Contemporary” in radio speak, which roughly translates to current hits interspersed with pop/rock hits from the ‘80s and ‘90s from American, British, Australian bands and other artists who perform in English. WRS also aims to expose its audience to music it might not get elsewhere, with a highlight on Swiss artists such as Marvin, Electric Blanket and Heidi Happy. Plus every Friday night, Soundcheck introduces you to the best new music and a few classic favourites. And now the current playlist and last 100 songs are published on the WRS website, so when you hear a song you love, you can find out right away who it is.

Radio and More
If you miss something on air, or want to hear it again or send it to your friends, check the WRS website, worldradio.ch. In addition to live streaming of the on-air broadcast, you’ll be able to replay the top feature stories and interviews as well as all of the regular WRS programs, which are also available as podcasts.. Video complements the offer to bring another perspective to stories in the news. A recent video chronicles the trying week of Australian student-dancer Jemima Dean, who’s studying in Zurich and was one of the finalists at the prestigious international Prix de Lausanne competition.

WRS’s ONAIR Magazine – published twice a year in May and November – is full of ideas on what to do and see and where to go in Switzerland. It also brings you in-depth coverage of a topic that matters in your life here. Past editions have looked at the housing crisis and Swiss border policy, and the May 2009 ONAIR will be the “green” issue, covering subjects ranging from shopping green to the ins and outs of recycling in Switzerland, as well as the best brunches, an insider’s guide to Geneva, a day in Thun and discovering Watch Valley.

Liner notes
WRS began broadcasting November 5, 2007, but was created from World Radio Geneva, a popular local commercial radio station that existed for 12 years. WRS can be found on 88.4 FM in Geneva, on DAB, cable and satellite in Switzerland and on worldradio.ch across the world. In 2008, after just one year in operation, WRS attracted 127,000 listeners across Switzerland, according to audience research agency Radiocontrol.