Just the latest developments in Western media organisations’ efforts to manage budget cuts, the BBC will wind down the shortwave Arabic radio service, which has around 400,000 listeners in Egypt, as part of plans to save £46m (US$74.5m) from the World Service budget, while VOA’s cost-cutting plan appears in the fiscal 2012 budget report of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

The VOA’s plans will involce releasing 45 Chinese-language broadcasters, 38 from the 69-strong Mandarin service and all of its Cantonese-service broadcasters. VOA's China branch will focus on digital media: ‘What we've done is taken VOA frequencies and time slots and consolidated them into Radio Free Asia, says S Enders Wimbush, of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. ‘We haven't stopped broadcasting to China, we've just recalibrated the broadcasts.’

The BBC’s reinstament of its service, meanwhile, is a short-term response to regions where major events are currently taking place.

‘We are looking into the possibility of buying shortwave capacity at short notice to ensure we can react quickly should we need to, as highlighted recently in Egypt,’ says BBC Global News Director Peter Horrocks. This will involve buying shortwave radio capacity.

‘I must stress that any changes we make to our original plans have to be made in the context of the tight financial settlement - what we can not do, is find new money,’ he adds. ‘However, BBC Arabic will continue to serve its radio audiences on medium wave, through its network of FM relays and via existing and new rebroadcasting partnerships. It will also continue to serve its most sensitive audiences in Sudan and Arabic peninsula with shortwave and mediumwave broadcasts.’

‘We are also reaching out to an even bigger Chinese audience through new media channels such as web and mobile phone operations,’ says Raymond Li, Head of BBC Chinese.