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The history of radio broadcasting is traced from its earliest origins, through its Eur Ing James Wood is a consulting V r Broadcasting
role as a subversive tool in World War II to the cold war era, and finally to its engineer and specialist freelance o n
present day use as an instrument of foreign policy used by over 160 countries. jmouarjonra lbisrto, ahdacvainstgin cgo jnoturirbnuatlesd. to all the lum ati
The effects on the cold war, in which propoganda broadcasting was the ultimate e o
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others come under scrutiny, and the concluding chapters report on the explosive
growth in international broadcasting now taking place in the aftermath of recent
political events.
The book is supplemented with up-to-date technical data and statistics on major
expansions now under way or being planned in many countries, particularly the
USA and the Arab states, some of the latter having a broadcasting capacity that
dwarfs most western countries.
The appeal of the book is by no means restricted to scientists and engineers
and many will find much to stir their memories of international radio broadcasts
in wartime and peacetime alike.
James Wood
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The Institution of Engineering and Technology d
www.theiet.org
0 86341 302 1
978-0-86341-302-5
IET HIsTory of TEcHnology sErIEs 19
Series Editor: Dr B. Bowers
History of
International
Broadcasting
Volume 1
Other volumes in this series:
Volume 4 The history of electric wires and cables R.M. Black
Volume 6 Technical history of the beginnings of radar S.S. Swords
Volume 7 British television: the formative years R.W. Burns
Volume 9 Vintage telephones of the world P.J. Povey and R. Earl
Volume 10 The GEC research laboratories 1919–1984 R.J. Clayton and J. Algar
Volume 11 Metres to microwaves E.B. Callick
Volume 12 A history of the world semiconductor industry P.R. Morris
Volume 13 Wireless: the crucial decade 1924–34 G. Bussey
Volume 14 A scientists war – the diary of Sir Clifford Paterson 1939–45 R.J. Clayton
and J. Algar (Editors)
Volume 15 Electrical technology in mining: the dawn of a new age A.V. Jones and
R.P. Tarkenter
Volume 16 Curiosity perfectly satisfied: Faraday’s travels in Europe 1813-1815
B. Bowers and L. Symonds (Editors)
Volume 17 Michael Faraday’s ‘Chemical Notes, Hints, Suggestions and Objects of
Pursuit’ of 1822 R.D. Tweney and D. Gooding (Editors)
Volume 18 Lord Kelvin: his influence on electrical measurements and units
P. Tunbridge
Volume 19 History of international broadcasting, volume 1 J. Wood
Volume 20 The early history of radio: from Faraday to Marconi G.R.M. Garratt
Volume 21 Exhibiting electricity K.G. Beauchamp
Volume 22 Television: an international history of the formative years R.W. Burns
Volume 23 History of international broadcasting, volume 2 J. Wood
Volume 24 Life and times of Alan Dower Blumlein R.W. Burns
Volume 26 A history of telegraphy: its technology and application K.G. Beauchamp
Volume 27 Restoring Baird’s image D.F. McLean
Volume 28 John Logie Baird: television pioneer R.W. Burns
Volume 29 Sir Charles Wheatstone, 2nd edition B. Bowers
Volume 30 Radio man: the remarkable rise and fall of C.O. Stanley M. Frankland
Volume 31 Electric railways, 1880–1990 M.C. Duffy
Volume 32 Communications: an international history of the formative years R. Burns
Volume 33 Spacecraft technology: the early years M. Williamson
History of
International
Broadcasting
Volume 1
James Wood
The Institution of Engineering and Technology in association with The Science Museum, London
Published by The Institution of Engineering and Technology, London, United Kingdom
First edition © 1992 Peter Peregrinus Ltd
Paperback edition © 1994 Peter Peregrinus Ltd
Reprint with new cover © 2008 The Institution of Engineering and Technology
First published 1992 (0 86341 281 5)
Pareback edition 1994 (0 86341 302 1)
Reprinted 2008
This publication is copyright under the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright
Convention. All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research
or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in
the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued
by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those
terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:
The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Michael Faraday House
Six Hills Way, Stevenage
Herts, SG1 2AY, United Kingdom
www.theiet.org
While the author and the publishers believe that the information and guidance given
in this work are correct, all parties must rely upon their own skill and judgement when
making use of them. Neither the author nor the publishers assume any liability to
anyone for any loss or damage caused by any error or omission in the work, whether
such error or omission is the result of negligence or any other cause. Any and all such
liability is disclaimed.
The moral right of the author to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN (10 digit) 0 86341 302 1
ISBN (13 digit) 978-0-86341-302-5
Reprinted in the UK by Lightning Source UK Ltd, Milton Keynes
'Communication systems are neutral. They have neither
conscience nor morality; only history. They will broadcast
truth or falsehood with equal facility. Man communicating
with man poses not a problem of how to say it, but more
fundamentally what he is to say'
Edward R. Murrow
Wartime broadcaster, Director US Information Agency
Voice of America 1961-1964 Died 30 April 1965
Contents
Page
Preface xi
Acronyms and abbreviations xiii
Acknowledgments xv
List of illustrations and their sources xvii
Introduction: Growth in information broadcasting 1
Part 1: Birth of a medium
1 The triode and radio telephony 7
2 Origins of entertainment broadcasting 12
3 Technological revolution 17
3.1 Power on the long waves 17
3.2 Discovery of the short waves 21
4 Commercial broadcasting 26
5 A social tool: birth of the BBC 31
6 Propaganda: the cradle years, 1927-1938 36
6.1 Broadcasting to the Arab world 39
6.2 Nazi propaganda 40
6.3 Soviet propaganda 41
7 Radio Luxembourg: super power comes to Europe 43
Part 2: A weapon of war
8 International broadcasting from 1938 to the early 1960s 49
9 British censorship and propaganda, 1939-1945 54
9.1 'The biggest Aspidistra in the world* 61
10 German broadcasting under the Nazis 66
10.1 Lilli Marlene 69
10.2 Recapture of Radio Luxembourg 69
10.3 Philosophy of Nazi broadcasting 70
11 US wartime broadcasting 73
11.1 Office of War Information 75
11.2 Armed forces broadcasting 80
11.3 'Over there': US broadcasting in Europe 81
viii Contents
12 Japanese wartime broadcasting 84
12.1 'Zero Hour' 87
12.2 Tokyo Rose 88
13 Treason by radio 92
13.1 'Lord Haw-Haw': William Joyce 92
13.2 Tokyo Rose 93
14 Woofferton SW station 96
15 The Cold War 104
16 The Voice of America 108
17 Satellite communications and global broadcasting 115
17.1 Satellites and broadcasting 119
Part 3: Radio as an instrument of foreign policy
18 Developments since 1960 125
19 The decade of audibility: 1980-1990 129
19.1 Broadcasters 129
20 Technology of the high-power transmitter 134
20.1 Chronology 134
20.2 Pulse-duration modulation 138
20.3 Speech processors 140
20.4 Rotatable curtain antennas 141
20.5 Single-sideband broadcasting 143
21 Broadcasting from the Federal Republic of Germany 146
21.1 RIAS 148
21.2 The covert history of RIAS 151
22 Scandinavian broadcasting 154
23 LW and MW international broadcasting 158
23.1 Changing trends 159
23.2 Time-shared broadcasting 160
24 Jamming on the short waves 162
24.1 Regulating SW broadcasting 162
24.2 Postwar Soviet jamming 163
24.3 The Soviet side 164
24.4 Barrage broadcasting 165
24.5 The end of Soviet jamming 166
25 'Speaking peace unto nations': BBC World Service 168
25.1 Radio from the Foreign Office 172
25.2 Future expansion 175
26 Subversion, propaganda broadcasting and the CIA 176
26.1. RFE/RL: expansion 179
26.2 The Dulles family 182
27 Second in the world: the USSR 183
27.1 Transmission technology 185
28 Renewed expansion at the Voice of America 187
28.1 The great expansion 190
28.2 VOA tender 192
29 Commercial giants: French broadcasting 194
29.1 Infrastructure 194
29.2 Technology 197
Contents ix
29.3 French foreign policy and international broadcasting 197
29.4 Radio Monte Carlo 199
30 Super power in the Arab world 205
30.1 SW broadcasting 207
30.2 Libya 212
31 Religious broadcasting and propaganda 215
31.1 Renaissance of private US super power 216
31.2 Religion and politics 218
31.3 FCC licensing requirements 219
31.4 World's biggest SW station 220
32 Transmitter sales during the 1980s 222
32.1 LW/MW sales 223
32.2 Thomson-CSF 224
32.3 Radio Industries Zagreb 226
32.4 Continental Electronics 227
32.5 SW transmitters 227
33 The future of international AM broadcasting 233
33.1 World Service in the 1990s 235
33.2 World Service global audience 236
Bibliography 239
Appendix I Television, the Gulf War and the future of propaganda 243
Appendix II Sales of high-power transmitters since 1991 247
Appendix III Low-profile transmitters 249
Index 253
