Turmoil and transition in international broadcasting organizations: 1938–1950

Abstract

Although there are numerous international organizations of a technical nature in the field of communications that have managed to remain remarkably apolitical for many years (the International Telecommunications Union and the Universal Postal Union both had their genesis more than a century ago), it is obviously unrealistic to expect a regional association of sovereign nations organized for a specific technical purpose not to reflect the strains and pressures of the larger international political arena. European broadcasting is no exception, and few today are aware of the sometimes violent changes in broadcasting associations that followed the rise and fall of Hitler and the developments of the “cold war” between eastern and western Europe. In the following article, the metamorphosis of the continent‐wide International Broadcasting Union into the Soviet‐bloc International Radio and Television Organization and the west‐Europe European Broadcasting Union is explored in detail. Dr. Charles E. Sherman is Associate Chairman of the Department of Communication Arts in the University of Wisconsin. He has contributed articles dealing with international broadcasting organizations (notably the Asian Broadcasting Union) to the Journal in the past.