Communication and resistance. The instrumental role of Western radio stations in opening up Eastern Europe

Abstract

Summary: Throughout the Cold War two types of radio stations broadcast to the Communist countries: 'sovereign' radio (e.g. BBC, RFI) and 'substitute' radio (e.g. Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty). They developed, from the same sources of information, two distinct styles of production and relations with listeners. These radio stations were both a political instrument and a cultural vector, a link with the West and a medium for local communications, until broadcasting finally gained its freedom through political change.