In this first part of a six-part series produced for Media Network in the 1980’s in the heat of the Cold War, Jonathan Marks delves into the earliest attempts to use the medium of radio, in particular international broadcasting, for propaganda purposes. The programme discusses the British and Dutch use of radio, for example, to solidify colonial rule in their respective overseas empires, how Hitler’s messages were transmitted under Nazi rule and how the resistance managed at times to sabotage these broadcasts. The speakers include Bernard Bumpus, who was the head of BBC International Audience Research at the time, as well as Gerard Mansell (1921-2010), then the Managing Director of BBC External Services.
Producer: Jonathan Marks
Broadcast: January 1, 1982