Pirates and the new public service radio paradigm

Abstract

Offshore radio came to Europe in 1958, when Radio Mercur began its transmissions from a ship anchored in international waters off Copenhagen. The Baltic Pirates first broadcast to Denmark, then also to Sweden. Radio Nord could also be heard in southwest Finland. The programming format was that of an American top 40 station, with pop music, jingles, news, commercials and radio personalities. It was a round-the-clock transmission, from an on-air studio aboard a radio ship. The timing was optimal. The emerging youth culture and the rise of pop music, together with the breakthrough in transistor technology which made it possible to listen to radio while on the move, all made pirate radio a big success, especially amongst young audiences. At this time, public service radio companies still operated under the Reithian ethos: inform-educate-entertain, the emphasis being on the first two, with entertainment emphatically bringing up the rear. In all the Nordic countries, a law to stop pirate radio was enacted and came into effect in August 1962. At the same time, public service broadcasters in Denmark, Sweden and Finland re-organized their radio programming, considerably increasing light and pop music in their schedules. This can be seen as the first big paradigm shift in Nordic public service radio. At the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Svelradio or Melody Radio began broadcasting on 2 May 1963.