This is after the Ministry received a large number of complaints from intellectuals, religious leaders, media personnel and society leaders that this channel of the Colombo Communication Pvt Ltd. broadcast anti social and extremely repulsive and vulgar material that could corrupt the society, specially the younger generation.

Colombo Communication Pvt. Ltd has been notified of this order. A special mention has been made about the programme Three hours with Sumali which contains sexually explicit, vulgar and indecent descriptions, the Government Information Department said in release yesterday.

The Mass Media and Information Ministry which monitored programmes of RAJA FM realised that the programmes were repulsive, indecent and vulgar and were contradictory to the accepted social norms and ethics of a civilised society. The Government believes that these radio programmes are aimed at destroying the social, cultural and moral values preserved for thousands of years in Sri Lanka.

It has been proved beyond doubt that these programmes are aimed at corrupting the young, specially the children and to harm the dignity of women.

The release said the Government has a responsibility to protect the people and social values in the country. The Government will not hesitate to take any action to protect the children from such evil designs and to safeguard the dignity of women in the country. Repeated requests to RAJA FM to immediately discontinue such vulgar and indecent programmes fell on deaf years.

Quoted from Daily News

COLOMBO: President Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday launched Sri Lanka's first ever radio channel dedicated to children showing his commitment towards children's development after dedicating the year 2006 for children and setting up a separate Ministry for children.

The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation's Vidula channel is the first ever radio channel in Sri Lanka as well as in Asia dedicated for the children.

Inaugurating the Vidula radio channel from Temple Trees, President Rajapakse said he was happy that the SLBC could launch this new radio channel in 2006, declared Children's Year by his Government.

"The launch of this new radio channel is the second most meaningful step taken by me as the leader of the country towards the uplift of children after setting up a separate Ministry," the President added. "I believe Vidula will play an exemplary role in improving the knowledge and moral values among children in the country playing an opposite role to the other radio channels which are blamed by critics for the deterioration of the culture and the language," the President added.

He said the radio channel will help improve the talents and creativity of children undergoing their education at under-privileged schools in remote parts of the country joining with the regional radio services.

"Children's views should be given priority when taking decisions on them going against the present trend of adults taking decisions on children," the President added.

"I firmly believe that this radio channel should be expanded to the areas in the North and East for the benefit of the children in that part too.

I believe that the SLBC has the capacity and resources to do fulfil that task," the President remarked.

Information and Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Secretary to Information and Media Ministry W.B. Ganegala also spoke at the inauguration ceremony. SLBC Chairman Sunil Sarath Perera was also present.

from Daily News

The island of Sri Lanka celebrated 80 years in broadcasting - a historic landmark where international broadcasting is concerned.

The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation formerly known as Radio Ceylon and before that as Colombo Radio is the oldest radio station in South Asia.

Edward Harper who was appointed Chief Engineer to the Ceylon Telegraph Department in 1921 carried out the first ever radio experiments on the island. Broadcasting was started in Ceylon by the Telegraph Department in 1923 on an experimental footing, just three years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe.

Gramophone music was broadcast from a tiny room in the Central Telegraph Office, with the aid of a small transmitter built by the Telegraph Department engineers from the radio equipment of a captured German submarine.

This broadcasting experiment was a real success and barely three years later, on December 16, 1925, a regular broadcasting service came to be instituted. The station was called Colombo Radio.

Edward Harper also founded the Ceylon Wireless Club together with British and Ceylonese radio enthusiasts. He has been dubbed ' the Father of Broadcasting in Ceylon.'

Radio Ceylon ruled the airwaves in South Asia in the 1950s and 1960s. Millions tuned in to hear the popular announcers and music program presenters who enjoyed iconic status in South Asia, among them - Livy Wijemanne, Vernon Corea, Pearl Ondaatje, Jimmy Bharucha, Tim Horshington, Greg Roskowski, Claude Selveratnam, Prosper Fernando, Karunaratne Abeysekera, S.P.Mylvaganam, Gnanam Ratinam, Thevis Guruge, H.M.Gunasekera, Christopher Greet, Eric Fernando, Vijaya Corea, Nihal Bhareti and others.

The Hindi Service of helped to clinch the station's number one spot in South Asia by broadcasting the latest Hindi film music through a variety of entertainment programs presented by Indian announcers - Gopal Sharma, Ameen Sayani, Hamid Sayani, Sunil Dutt,Vijay Kishore Dubey, Shiv Kumar Saroj, and Manohar Mahajan. Millions of listeners in India tuned into Radio Ceylon to hear the latest Bollywood hits of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Radio Ceylon was a part of youth culture to many South Asian teenagers growing up in the 1950 and 1960s in the Indian sub-continent. Young and old alike enjoyed the steady stream of English, Sinhala, Tamil and Hindi music.

The Australian administrator, Clifford R.Dodd (who was sent to Radio Ceylon in the 1950s under the Colombo Plan) galvanised the Commercial Service of the station into action. It was a powerhouse of musical entertainment.

Radio Ceylon helped make Ceylonese musicians Nimal Mendis, Des Kelly, Bill Forbes, Cliff Foenander, Adrian Ferdinands, Douglas Meerwald, Clarence Wijewardene, Annesley Malewana, H.R.Jothipala, Nanda Malini, Mignonne Fernando and The Jetliners, Desmond De Silva, A.E.Manoharan, household names.

The station was made a public corporation in January 1967 and changed its name to the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation headed by the brilliant Director-General, Neville Jayaweera. In 1972 after Sri Lanka became a republic the station was known as the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.

In January 2007 the SLBC will celebrate 40 years as a public corporation. The SLBC has truly been a 'starmaker,' many Sri Lankan musicians owe their careers to the radio station.

Quoted from World Music Central

The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation celebrates 80 years in 2005 - a historic landmark in the world of broadcasting. To this day the SLBC is the oldest and finest radio station in South Asia.

Broadcasting on an experimental basis was started in Ceylon by the Telegraph Department in 1923, just three years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe. Gramophone music was broadcast from a tiny room in the Central Telegraph Office with the aid of a small transmitter built by the Telegraph Department engineers from the radio equipment of a captured German submarine.

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Radio SEAC (South East Asia Command) which was started on 16th December 1952 celebrated its 80th birthday last week. It was called Radio Ceylon in 1949 and its present name the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) was given in 1972.

The SLBC has the biggest collection of over Two Hundred Thousand original materials including old Gramophone records from the 1920s and 1930’s which the BBC and the AIR (All India Radio) do not have. This most valuable archive will be reformatted and archived digitally with the help of the National Archives of Sri Lanka.

The SLBC lost its monopoly due to the many private broadcasters presently operating in the Island. It did not loose the dignity and the value of providing Quality unbiased knowledge and entertainment to listeners.

Creating more quality educational programmes, bridging the gap between the common listener and the economy is a good sign of progress and the economic development of the Island. The Share market programme is one such programme of that nature which has gained popularity.

The SLBC should capture the young teenage group with much more interesting educational programmes, specially those awaiting examination results. Radio Ceylon, the pioneer broadcaster in South East Asia which started broadcasting on Short Wave (SW) is now venturing its public services in to the digital Era with Digital Broadcasting via the Internet around the world.

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Program Guide

The website includes tributes from two great broadcasters - former SLBC Director-General Neville Jayaweera and former BBC Director-General Greg Dyke. Cherie Blair, wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair observed of Vernon Corea, ' You can be proud of what he did for the ethnic minorities.'

Greg Dyke, Director-General BBC said 'Vernon was a pioneering influence in the BBC and helped to lay the foundation for the work we are continuing to do to make sure our staff and our programmes are truly representative of our nation's diverse population.

We remember with gratitude and pride his launching of London Sounds Eastern on BBC Radio London, and his generosity in mentoring and training people from ethnic minority backgrounds for the BBC.

Vernon will be greatly missed for his warmth, his integrity and his commitment.....'

Vernon Corea, Sri Lanka's pioneering broadcaster, died on September 23rd, 2002 aged 75 years. He lived in New Malden in Surrey. Vernon was born in Kurana, Katunayke on September 11, 1927. The Corea family are descendants of Dominicus Corea (Edirille Bandara) who was crowned King of Kotte in the 16th century. Vernon's parents were the late Canon Ivan Corea and Ouida Corea, one time Rural Dean of Colombo of the Church of Sri Lanka and Vicar of St. Lukes Church, Borella. In the late 1950s Canon Corea was appointed Vicar of St. Paul's Milagiriya. Vernon was educated at Royal College, Colombo. He joined Radio Ceylon as a Relief Announcer in 1956.