History of Technology Series 19 History of International BH History of ri os ato Broadcasting Volume 1 dcry a International so tif nI n g t e 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 wUSeSaRp,o anr,e c oannatrliybsuetdin. gT hine nrool essm oafl lV moiecea soufr eA mtoe trhicea ,c othllea pBsBeC o Wf coormld mSeurnviiscme ainnd t he 1 na Volume 1 l 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 W o o 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