BOOK

Cold War on the airwaves : the radio propaganda war against East Germany

Schlosser, Nicholas J., author

2015

Overview

\"Cold War on the Airwaves offers a history of the Berlin-based American propaganda broadcaster Radio in the American Sector (RIAS) and its impact on the political culture of the German Democratic Republic during the early Cold War. Founded in 1946 to serve as America's official radio station in Berlin and as a counterweight to the Communist-controlled broadcasters in East Germany, RIAS quickly became one of the United States' most successful public information operations conducted against the Soviet Bloc. Nicholas Schlosser examines how the RIAS fast became one of the most trusted sources for news inside East Germany during a dynamic period following World War II that included the Berlin Airlift, the East German rising of 1954, and building of the Berlin Wall. Drawing on a wealth of broadcast transcripts, internal memoranda, listener letters, and surveys of East Germans by the U.S. Information Agency, he attributes RIAS's success to its conscious effort to balance accuracy with partisanship. Claiming objective journalism, RIAS reporters nevertheless used the language, style, and tone of neutral broadcasting to openly attack the Soviet Union and undermine the GDR's legitimacy. Through information from East German citizens visiting or escaping to West Berlin, the reporters broadcast stories to counter official statements from East Germany's ruling party, reported on bad economic conditions, and encouraged listeners to oppose the GDR. Thus, as with other U.S. anticommunist public information programs, RIAS attempted to resolve the inherent contradictions of conducting a propaganda operation in name of creating a democratic society built upon an objective press\"-- Provided by publisher.

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Subject: Rundfunk im Amerikanischen Sektor (Berlin, Germany) History. / United States Information Agency History. / Radio broadcasting Germany Berlin History 20th century. / Radio broadcasting Political aspects Germany Berlin History 20th century. / Propaganda, American Germany (East) History. / Cold War. / SOCIAL SCIENCE - Media Studies. / HISTORY - Modern - 20th Century. / POLITICAL SCIENCE - Political Ideologies - Communism & Socialism. / United States Relations Germany (East) / Germany (East) Relations United States.
• ISBN: 9780252039690

Item info:

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Holdings :

Call Number	Copies	Material	Location
PN1991.3.G4 S286 2015	1	BOOK	AUTOSTORE