MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 04703cam a22004458i 4500
001 2015012609
003 DLC
005 20150624081944.0
008 150622s2015 ilu b s001 0 eng
010 $a 2015012609
020 $a9780252039690 (hardback)
020 $z9780252097782 (e-book)
040 $aDLC$beng$erda$cDLC
042 $apcc
043 $ae-ge---$an-us---$ae-gx---
050 00 $aPN1991.3.G4$bS286 2015
082 00 $a384.54/530943155409045$223
084 $aSOC052000$aHIS037070$aPOL005000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aSchlosser, Nicholas J.
245 10 $aCold War on the airwaves :$bthe radio propaganda war against East Germany /$cNicholas J. Schlosser.
263 $a1511
264 1 $aUrbana :$bUniversity of Illinois Press,$c2015.
300 $apages cm
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$bnc$2rdacarrier
520 2 $a"Cold War on the Airwaves offers a history of the Berlin-based American propaganda broadcaster Radio in the American Sector (RIAS) and its impact on the political culture of the German Democratic Republic during the early Cold War. Founded in 1946 to serve as America's official radio station in Berlin and as a counterweight to the Communist-controlled broadcasters in East Germany, RIAS quickly became one of the United States' most successful public information operations conducted against the Soviet Bloc. Nicholas Schlosser examines how the RIAS fast became one of the most trusted sources for news inside East Germany during a dynamic period following World War II that included the Berlin Airlift, the East German rising of 1954, and building of the Berlin Wall. Drawing on a wealth of broadcast transcripts, internal memoranda, listener letters, and surveys of East Germans by the U.S. Information Agency, he attributes RIAS's success to its conscious effort to balance accuracy with partisanship. Claiming objective journalism, RIAS reporters nevertheless used the language, style, and tone of neutral broadcasting to openly attack the Soviet Union and undermine the GDR's legitimacy. Through information from East German citizens visiting or escaping to West Berlin, the reporters broadcast stories to counter official statements from East Germany's ruling party, reported on bad economic conditions, and encouraged listeners to oppose the GDR. Thus, as with other U.S. anticommunist public information programs, RIAS attempted to resolve the inherent contradictions of conducting a propaganda operation in name of creating a democratic society built upon an objective press"--$cProvided by publisher.
520 2 $a"Founded as a counterweight to the Communist broadcasters in East Germany, Radio in the American Sector (RIAS) became one of the most successful public information operations conducted against the Soviet Bloc. Cold War on the Airwaves examines the Berlin-based organization's history and influence on the political worldview of the people--and government--on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Nicholas Schlosser draws on broadcast transcripts, internal memoranda, listener letters, and surveys by the U.S. Information Agency to profile RIAS. Its mission: to undermine the German Democratic Republic with propaganda that, ironically, gained in potency by obeying the rules of objective journalism. Throughout, Schlosser examines the friction inherent in such a contradictory project and propaganda's role in shaping political culture. He also portrays how RIAS's primarily German staff influenced its outlook and how the organization both competed against its rivals in the GDR and pushed communist officials to alter their methods in order to keep listeners. From the occupation of Berlin through the airlift to the construction of the Berlin Wall, Cold War on the Airwaves offers an absorbing view of how public diplomacy played out at a flashpoint of East-West tension"--$cProvided by publisher.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
610 20 $aRundfunk im Amerikanischen Sektor (Berlin, Germany)$xHistory.
650 0 $aRadio broadcasting$zGermany$zBerlin$xHistory$y20th century.
650 0 $aRadio broadcasting$xPolitical aspects$zGermany$zBerlin$xHistory$y20th century.
650 0 $aPropaganda, American$zGermany (East)$xHistory.
610 20 $aUnited States Information Agency$xHistory.
651 0 $aUnited States$xRelations$zGermany (East)
651 0 $aGermany (East)$xRelations$zUnited States.
650 0 $aCold War.
650 7 $aSOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aHISTORY / Modern / 20th Century.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aPOLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Communism & Socialism.$2bisacsh