1975-1979

1975

DW-RADIO launches programming in Portuguese for Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau) and in Bengali. In light of political developments in Lisbon and Madrid, additional programming is broadcast for Portugal and Spain.

The Radio Transcription Service celebrates the distribution of its one-millionth tape.

1976

The program "Across the Atlantic" from DW-RADIO/English is adopted by a U.S. partner station and marks the beginning of rebroadcasting.

DW's first director-general, Otto Wesemann, dies on November 7th.

1975

The relay station on Antigua is officially opened.The "topping off" ceremony for the new DW broadcast house on the Raderberggürtel in Cologne is held on May 24th.

1978

DW celebrates 25 years of broadcasting with a rousing concert at the Beethoven Auditorium in Bonn. There is music by Haydn and Mozart, as well as a work especially composed for the occasion by Gerhard Wimberger.

"Debate on Europe" is launched: a co-production of different European international broadcasting services. The Russian Service also begins its "Regulars" roundtable discussion.

1979

DW-RADIO undertakes its first "Stadtbummel" in Wuppertal, what later would become an ongoing series of cultural visits to different German towns and cities. German Foreign Minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, is one of the participants.

Conrad Ahlers, former deputy editor-in-chief of the weekly news magazine "Der Spiegel", is tapped to become DW's third director-general.