Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
52-1068522 | |
Purpose | Broadcast Media, propaganda |
Headquarters | Prague Broadcast Center 50°4′44″N 14°28′43″E / 50.07889°N 14.47861°E |
Location |
|
Official language | English Programs are also available in Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Bosnian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chechen, Crimean Tatar, Dari, Georgian, Hungarian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Pashto, Persian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Tajik, Tatar, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Uzbek In the past also Polish, Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and various other languages; see this list |
Owner | U.S. Agency for Global Media |
Acting President | Stephen Capus[3] |
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Treasurer) | Mark Kontos[4] |
Assistant Secretary and Deputy General Council | Tanya Youngberg[4] |
General Council/Secretary | Benjamin Herman[4] |
Budget (Fiscal year 2021) | $124,300,000[5] |
Staff | >700[5] |
Website |
|
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a
RFE/RL broadcasts in 27 languages to 23 countries.[11] The organization has been headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, since 1995, and has 21 local bureaus with over 500 core staff and 1,300 stringers and freelancers in countries throughout their broadcast region. In addition, it has 680 employees at its headquarters and corporate office in Washington, D.C.
During the
Early history
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe was created and grew in its early years through the efforts of the National Committee for a Free Europe (NCFE), an anti-communist CIA front organization that was formed by Allen Dulles in New York City in 1949.[13][14] RFE/RL received funds covertly from the CIA until 1972.[15][16] During RFE's earliest years of existence, the CIA and U.S. Department of State issued broad policy directives, and a system evolved where broadcast policy was determined through negotiation between them and RFE staff.[17]
Radio Free Europe received widespread public support from Eisenhower's "Crusade for Freedom" campaign.[18] In 1950, over 16 million Americans signed Eisenhower's "Freedom Scrolls" on a publicity trip to more than 20 U.S. cities and contributed $1,317,000 to the expansion of RFE.[19]
Writer Sig Mickelson said that the NCFE's mission was to support refugees and provide them with a useful outlet for their opinions and creativity while increasing exposure to the modern world.[20] The NCFE divided its program into three parts: exile relations, radio, and American contacts.[13]
The United States funded a long list of projects to counter the "Communist appeal" among intellectuals in Europe and the developing world.[21] RFE was developed out of a belief that the Cold War would eventually be fought by political rather than military means.[22] American policymakers such as George Kennan and John Foster Dulles acknowledged that the Cold War was essentially a war of ideas. The implementation of surrogate radio stations was a key part of the greater psychological war effort.[19]
RFE was modeled after
In January 1950, the NCFE obtained a transmitter base at
In addition to its regular broadcasts, RFE spread broadcasts through a series of operations that distributed
Radio Liberty
Whereas Radio Free Europe broadcast to
Radio Liberty began broadcasting from
Radio Liberty expanded its audience by broadcasting programs in languages other than Russian. By March 1954, Radio Liberty was broadcasting six to seven hours daily in eleven languages.[38] By December 1954, Radio Liberty was broadcasting in 17 languages including Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Tatar, Bashkir, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, and other languages of the Caucasus and Central Asia.[32]
List of languages
Service | Language[39] | Target audience | from | to | Website | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Czechoslovak | Czech | Czech inhabited lands of Czechoslovak Republic (1950–1960) Czech inhabited lands of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1960–1969) Czech SR (1969–1990) Czech Republic (1990–1993) |
4 July 1950 | 1 January 1993 | — | the Czech desk split from Czechoslovak Service as Czech Service (1993–1995) operated as RSE Inc. (1995–2002) |
Czechoslovak | Slovak | Slovak inhabited lands of Czechoslovak Republic (1950–1960) Slovak inhabited lands of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1960–1969) Slovak SR (1969–1990) Slovakia (1990–1993) |
4 July 1950 | 4 January 1993 | — | the Slovak desk split from Czechoslovak Service as Slovak Service (1993–2004) |
Romanian | Romanian | Romanian People's Republic (1950–1965) Socialist Republic of Romania (1965–1989) Romania (1989–2008, 2019–present) |
14 July 1950 14 January 2019 |
1 August 2008 present |
Radio Europa Liberă | also covered Chernivtsi Oblast (1950–1953), Izmail Oblast (1950–1953), Moldavian SSR (1950–1953, 1990–1991) and Republic of Moldova (1991–1998) merged into Moldavian Service in 2008 split from Moldavian service in 2019 |
Hungarian | Hungarian | Hungarian People's Republic (1950–1989) Hungary (1989–1993, 2020–present) |
4 August 1950 8 September 2020 |
31 October 1993 present |
Szabad Európa | |
Polish | Polish | Polish People's Republic (1950–1989) Poland (1990–1994) |
4 August 1950 | 31 December 1994 | — | operated as RWE Inc. (1995–1997) |
Bulgarian | Bulgarian | Bulgarian People's Republic (1950–1989) Bulgaria (1989–2004, 2019–present) |
11 August 1950 21 January 2019 |
31 January 2004 present |
Свободна Европа | |
Albanian | Albanian | Albanian People's Republic | 1 June 1951 | 1952 | — | |
Russian | Russian | Russian SFSR (1953–1991) Russia (1991–2022) |
1 March 1953 | present | Радио Свобода | as Radio Liberty also covered Soviet Armed Forces deployed in Eastern Europe and in Cuba also covered Byelorussian SSR (1953–1954), Ukrainian SSR (1953–1954), Estonian SSR (1953–1975), Latvian SSR (1953–1975), Lithuanian SSR (1953–1975) and Moldavian SSR (1953–1990) |
Turkmen | Turkmen | Turkmen SSR (1953–1991) Turkmenistan (1991–present) |
2 March 1953 | present | Azatlyk Radiosy | as Radio Liberty |
Georgian | Georgian | Georgian SSR (1953–1991) Georgia (1991–present) |
3 March 1953 | present | რადიო თავისუფლება | as Radio Liberty also covered Abkhaz ASSR between 1953 and 1991, Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia (1991–2009), Abkhazia (1992–2009, disputed), South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (1953–1991) and South Ossetia (1991–2009, disputed) |
North Caucasus | Adyghe | Adyghe Autonomous Oblast (1953–1970s) | 18 March 1953 | 1970s | — | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2009) and by Ekho Kavkaza Service (2009–present) |
North Caucasus | Ingush | Checheno-Ingush ASSR (1957–1970s) |
18 March 1953 | 1970s | — | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2009) and by Ekho Kavkaza Service (2009–present) |
North Caucasus | Karachay-Balkar |
Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast |
18 March 1953 | 1970s | — | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2009) and by Ekho Kavkaza Service (2009–present) |
North Caucasus | Ossetian | North Ossetian ASSR | 18 March 1953 | 1970s | — | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2009) and by Ekho Kavkaza Service (2009–present) |
Armenian | Armenian | Armenian SSR (1953–1991) Armenia (1991–present) |
18 March 1953 | present | Ազատություն ռադիոկայան | as Radio Liberty |
Azerbaijani | Azerbaijani | Azerbaijan SSR (1953–1991) Azerbaijan (1991–present) |
18 March 1953 | present | Azadlıq Radiosu | as Radio Liberty |
Kazakh | Kazakh | Kazakh SSR (1953–1991) Kazakhstan (1991–present) |
18 March 1953 | present | Azattyq Radiosy | as Radio Liberty |
Kyrgyz | Kyrgyz | Kirghiz SSR (1953–1991) Kyrgyzstan (1991–present) |
18 March 1953 | present | Азаттык үналгысы | as Radio Liberty |
Tajik | Tajik | Tajik SSR (1953–1991) Tajikistan (1991–present) |
18 March 1953 | present | Радиои Озодӣ | as Radio Liberty |
Uzbek | Uzbek | Uzbek SSR (1953–1991) Uzbekistan (1991–present) |
18 March 1953 | present | Ozodlik Radiosi | as Radio Liberty |
North Caucasus | Avar | Dagestan ASSR (1953–1970s) Dagestan (2002–2016) |
18 March 1953 3 April 2002 |
1970s 31 May 2016 |
— | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2002) and Ekho Kavkaza Service (2016–present) Caucasian Avars |
North Caucasus | Chechen | (2002–present) | 18 March 1953 3 April 2002 |
1970s present |
Маршо Радио | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2002) |
Tatar-Bashkir | Tatar | Tatar ASSR (1953–1991) Tatarstan (1991–present) |
11 December 1953 | present | Azatlıq Radiosı | as Radio Liberty |
Belarusian | Belarusian | Byelorussian SSR (1954–1991) Belarus (1991–present) |
20 May 1954 | present | Радыё Свабода | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1954 |
Ukrainian | Ukrainian | Ukrainian SSR (1954–1991) Ukraine (1991–present) |
16 August 1954 | present | Радіо Свобода | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1954 |
Czechoslovak | Rusyn | Prešov Region | 1954 | 1955 | — | covered by the Slovak Desk of the Czechoslovak Service (1950–1954, 1955–1993) and by Slovak Service (1993–2004) Rusyns |
North Caucasus | Karakalpak | Karakalpak ASSR | 1960s | 1970s | — | as Radio Liberty covered by Uzbek Service (1953–1960s, 1970s–present) |
Tatar-Bashkir | Crimean Tatar | Crimean ASSR (1991–1992) (1960s–present)Autonomous Republic of Crimea (1992–present) Republic of Crimea (2014–present, disputed) Sevastopol |
1960s | present | Qırım Aqiqat | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1953–1954) and Ukrainian Service (1954–1960s) |
Uyghur | Uyghur | Kazakh SSR (1966–1979) Uzbek SSR (1966–1979) Kirghiz SSR (1966–1979) |
October 1966 | 15 February 1979 | — | as Radio Liberty covered by Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Uzbek Services (1953–1966, 1979–1998) covered by Uyghur Service of Radio Free Asia (1998–present) Uyghurs in Kazakhstan Uyghurs in Kyrgyzstan |
Lithuanian | Lithuanian | (1990–2004) | 16 February 1975 | 31 January 2004 | — | as Radio Liberty until 1984, then as Radio Free Europe. covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1975 |
Latvian | Latvian | Soviet Latvia (1975–1990) Latvia (1990–2004) |
5 July 1975 | 31 January 2004 | — | as Radio Liberty until 1984, then as Radio Free Europe covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1975 |
Latvian | Latgalian | Soviet Latvia (1975–1990) Latvia (1990–2004) |
5 July 1975 | 31 January 2004 | — | as Radio Liberty until 1984, then as Radio Free Europe covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1975 Latgalians |
Estonian | Estonian | (1990–2004) | 1975 | 31 January 2004 | — | as Radio Liberty until 1984, then as Radio Free Europe covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1975 |
Afghan | Dari | Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1985–1987) Republic of Afghanistan (1987–1992) Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–1993) Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (2002–2004) Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (2021–present) |
1 October 1985 30 January 2002 |
19 October 1993 present |
رادیو آزادی | as Radio Liberty as Radio Free Afghanistan between 1985 and 1993
|
Afghan | Pashto | Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1985–1987) Republic of Afghanistan (1987–1992) Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–1993) Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (2002–2004) Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (2021–present) |
September 1987 30 January 2002 |
19 October 1993 present |
راډیو ازادي | as Radio Liberty covered by Radio Free Afghanistan between 1985 and 1993
|
Tatar-Bashkir | Bashkir | Bashkortostan | early 1990s | present | Idel.Реалии | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1953–early 1990s) |
Czech | Czech | Czech Republic | 1 January 1993 | 31 January 2004 | — | activated as Czech Desk of the Czechoslovak Service, between 1950 and 1993 operated as RSE Inc. (1995–2002) |
Slovak | Slovak | Slovakia | 4 January 1993 | 31 January 2004 | — | activated as Slovak Desk of the Czechoslovak Service, between 1950 and 1993 |
Balkan | Croatian | Croatia Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Brčko District |
31 January 1994 | September 2018 | — | Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Balkan | Serbian | Serbia Republika Srpska Brčko District Montenegro Kosovo North Macedonia Croatia |
31 January 1994 | present | Radio Slobodna Evropa | Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs of Montenegro Kosovo Serbs Serbs in North Macedonia Serbs of Croatia |
Balkan | Bosnian | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 31 January 1994 | present | Radio Slobodna Evropa | |
RWE Inc. | Polish | Poland | 1 January 1995 | 1997 | — | as Radio Wolna Europa (RWE Inc.) activated as Polish Service (1950–1994) |
RSE Inc. | Czech | Czech Republic | 1 January 1995 | 30 September 2002 | — | as Radio Svobodna Europa (RSE Inc.) activated as part of Czechoslovak Service (1950–1992) and as Czech Service (1993–1995) |
Moldavian | Romanian | Republic of Moldova | 1998 | present | Radio Europa Liberă | covered by the Romanian Service between 1950–1953 and 1990–1998 covered by the Russian Service between 1953 and 1990 Romanian Service merged into it in 2008 Romanian Service split from it in 2019 |
Radio Free Iraq | Arabic | Iraqi Republic (1998–2003) Iraqi Republic (provisional) (2003–2004) Republic of Iraq (2004–2015) |
30 October 1998 | 31 July 2015 | إذاعة العراق الحر | merged into Radio Sawa |
Balkan | Albanian | Kosovo | 8 March 1999 | present | Radio Evropa e Lirë | covered by the Serbian Desk of Balkan Service between 1994 and 1999 |
Persian | Persian | Iran | 30 October 1998 | 1 December 2002 | — | merged into Radio Farda |
Latvian | Russian | Latvia | February 2001 | 31 January 2004 | — | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1953–1975) and by Latvian Service (1975–2001) Russians in Latvia |
Balkan | Montenegrin | Montenegro | 1 June 2000 | present | Radio Slobodna Evropa | covered by the Serbian Desk of Balkan Service between 1994 and 2000 |
Balkan | Macedonian | North Macedonia | 1 September 2001 | present | Радио Слободна Европа | |
North Caucasus | Kabardian | Kabardino-Balkaria Karachay-Cherkessia |
3 April 2002 | 31 May 2016 | — | as Radio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1953–2002) and Ekho Kavkaza Service (2016–present) |
Radio Farda | Persian | Iran | 19 December 2002 | present | فردا رادیو | covered by Persian Service between 1998 and 2002 |
Georgian (Ekho Kavkaza) | Russian | Abkhazia South Ossetia |
2 November 2009 | present | Эхо Кавказа | as Echo of the Caucasus covered by Georgian Service between 1953 and 2009 also covers Adygea, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria and North Ossetia–Alania |
Radio Mashaal | Pashto | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 15 January 2010 | present | مشال راډیو | as Radio Liberty |
Cold War years
Radio Free Europe
According to certain European politicians such as
Hungary
During the
Romania
RFE was seen as a serious threat by Romanian president Nicolae Ceaușescu. From the mid-1970s to his overthrow and execution in December 1989, Ceaușescu waged a vengeful war against the RFE/RL under the program "Ether". Ether operations included physical attacks on Romanian journalists working for RFE/RL, including the controversial circumstances surrounding the deaths of three directors of RFE/RL's Romanian Service.[49]
1981 RFE/RL Munich bombing
On February 21, 1981, RFE/RL's headquarters in Munich was struck by a massive bomb, causing $2 million in damage.[50] Several employees were injured, but there were no fatalities. Stasi files opened after 1989 indicated that the bombing was carried out by a group under the direction of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (known as "Carlos the Jackal"), and paid for by Nicolae Ceaușescu, president of Romania.[51]
But, according to the former head of the KGB Counterintelligence Department K, general
Chernobyl disaster
For the first two days following the
Poland and Czechoslovakia
Communist governments also sent agents to infiltrate RFE's headquarters. Although some remained on staff for extended periods of time, government authorities discouraged their agents from interfering with broadcast activity, fearing that this could arouse suspicions and detract from their original purpose of gathering information on the radio station's activities. From 1965 to 1971, an agent of the
"Czechowicz is perhaps the most well known communist-era Polish spy who was still an active agent while working at RFE in the late 1960s. Technically, he was not a journalist. As a historian by training, he worked in the RFE's media analysis service in Munich. After more than five years, Czechowicz returned to Poland in 1971 and participated in programs aimed at embarrassing Radio Free Europe and the United States government."[60]
According to Richard Cummings, former Security Chief of Radio Free Europe, other espionage incidents included a failed attempt by a Czechoslovak Intelligence Service (StB) agent in 1959 to poison the salt shakers in the organization's cafeteria.[61]
In late 1960, an upheaval in the Czechoslovak service led to a number of dramatic changes in the organization's structure. RFE's New York headquarters could no longer effectively manage their Munich subsidiary. As a result major management responsibilities were transferred to Munich, making RFE a European-based organization.[62]
According to Puddington, Polish Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa and Russian reformer Grigory Yavlinsky would later recall secretly listening to the broadcasts despite the heavy jamming.[63]
Jamming
The Soviet government turned its efforts towards blocking reception of Western programs. To limit access to foreign broadcasts, the Central Committee decreed that factories should remove all components allowing short-wave reception from USSR-made radio receivers. However, consumers easily learned that the necessary spare parts were available on the black market, and electronics engineers opposing the idea would gladly convert radios back to being able to receive short-wave transmissions.[64]
The most extensive form of reception obstruction was radio jamming.[65] This was controlled by the KGB, which in turn reported to the Central Committee. Jamming was an expensive and arduous procedure, and its efficacy is still debated. In 1958, the Central Committee mentioned that the sum spent on jamming was greater than the sum spent on domestic and international broadcasting combined.[66] The Central Committee has admitted that circumventing jamming was both possible and practised in the Soviet Union. Due to limited resources, authorities prioritized jamming based on the location, language, time, and theme of Western transmissions.[67] Highly political programs in Russian, broadcast at prime time to urban centers, were perceived as the most dangerous. Seen as less politically threatening, Western music such as jazz was often transmitted unjammed.[68] The intensity of jamming fluctuated over time.[citation needed]
During and after the Cuban Missile Crisis in late 1962, jamming was intensified. The Cuban Missile Crisis, however, was followed by a five-year period when the jamming of most foreign broadcasters ceased, only to intensify again with the Prague Spring in 1968. It ceased again in 1973, when Henry Kissinger became the U.S. Secretary of State. The end to jamming came abruptly on 21 November 1988 when Soviet and Eastern European jamming of virtually all foreign broadcasts, including RFE/RL services, ceased at 21:00 CET.[69]
United States
During the Cold War, RFE was often criticized in the United States as not being sufficiently anti-communist. Although its non-governmental status spared it from full scale
Funding
RFE/RL received funds from the CIA until 1972.[72][73] The CIA's relationship with the radio stations began to break down in 1967, when Ramparts magazine published an exposé claiming that the CIA was channeling funds to civilian organizations. Further investigation into the CIA's funding activities revealed its connection to both RFE and RL, sparking significant media outrage.[74]
In 1971, the radio stations came under public spotlight once more when
In May 1972, President
Although both radio stations initially received most of their funding from the CIA, RFE maintained a strong sense of autonomy. Under Cord Meyer, the CIA officer in charge of overseeing broadcast services from 1954 to 1971, the CIA took a position of minimal government interference in radio affairs and programming.[77]
In 1974, they came under the control of an organization called the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB). The BIB was designed to receive appropriations from Congress, give them to radio managements, and oversee the appropriation of funds.[78] In 1976, the two radio stations merged to form Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and added the three Baltic language services to their repertoire.[citation needed]
1980s: Glasnost and the Iron Curtain's fall
Funding for RFE/RL increased during the
During the Mikhail Gorbachev era in the Soviet Union under Glasnost, RFE/RL benefited significantly from the Soviet Union's new openness. Gorbachev stopped the practice of jamming the broadcasts. In addition, dissident politicians and officials could be freely interviewed by RFE/RL for the first time without fearing persecution or imprisonment.[80] By 1990, Radio Liberty had become the most listened-to Western radio station broadcasting to the Soviet Union.[81]
Its coverage of the 1991
Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution
Following the November 17 demonstrations in 1989 and brutal crackdown by Czechoslovak riot police, Drahomíra Dražská , a porter at a dormitory in Prague, reported that a student, Martin Šmíd, had been killed during the clashes.[84] The Charter 77 activist Petr Uhl believed this account and passed it along to major news organizations, who broadcast it.[85] After Reuters and the Voice of America (VOA) reported the story, RFE/RL decided to run it too.[86] However, the report later turned out to be false. The story is credited by many sources with inspiring Czechoslovak citizens to join the subsequent (larger) demonstrations which eventually brought down the communist government.[87][88][89]
After 1991
In 1995, RFE/RL moved its headquarters from Munich to Prague, to the building of the
RFE/RL ended broadcasts to Hungary in 1993 and stopped broadcasts to Poland in 1997. On January 31, 1994, RFE/RL launched broadcasts to the former Yugoslavia in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian languages.[90] In the late 1990s RFE/RL launched broadcast to Kosovo in Albanian and to North Macedonia in Macedonian. Broadcast to the Czech Republic proceeded for three more years under the agreement with Czech Radio. In 2004 RFE/RL stopped broadcasting to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Romania.[citation needed]
RFE/RL Chief Jeffrey Gedmin said in 2008 that the agency's mission is to serve as a surrogate free press in countries where such press is banned by the government or not fully established. It maintains 20 local bureaus. Governments that are subjected to critical reporting often attempt to obstruct the station's activities through a range of tactics, including extensive jamming, shutting down local re-broadcasting affiliates, or finding legal excuses to close down offices.[91]
RFE/RL says that its journalists and freelancers often risk their lives to broadcast information, and their safety has always been a major issue. Reporters have frequently been threatened and persecuted.
Beyond Europe
RFE/RL says that it continues to struggle with authoritarian regimes for permission to broadcast freely within their countries. On January 1, 2009, Azerbaijan imposed a ban on all foreign media in the country, including RFE/RL.[97] Kyrgyzstan suspended broadcasts of Radio Azattyk, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz language service, because it had asked that the government be able to pre-approve its programming. Other states such as Belarus, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan prohibit re-broadcasting to local stations, making programming difficult for average listeners to access.[citation needed]
In 1998, RFE/RL began broadcasting to Iraq.[98] Iraqi president Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi Intelligence Service, to "violently disrupt the Iraqi broadcasting of Radio Free Europe". IIS planned to attack the headquarters with an RPG-7 from a window across the street. Czech Security Information Service (BIS) foiled the plot.[98]
In 2008, Afghan president Hamid Karzai urged his government to provide assistance to a rape victim after listening to her story on Radio Azadi, RFE/RL's Afghan service.[99] According to REF/RL in 2009, Radio Azadi was the most popular radio station in Afghanistan, and Afghan listeners mailed hundreds of hand-written letters to the station each month.[100]
In September 2009, RFE/RL announced that it would begin new
The following month RFE/RL introduced a daily, one-hour Russian-language broadcast, broadcasting to the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The program, called Ekho Kavkaza (Echo of the Caucasus), focused on local and international news and current affairs, organized in coordination with RFE/RL's Georgian Service.[102]
On January 15, 2010, RFE/RL began broadcasting to the Pashtun tribal areas of Pakistan in
2010s
On October 14, 2014, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and the
Around 2017, Voice of America and RFE/RL launched Polygraph.info, and the Russian-language factograph.info, as fact-checking sites.[108][109] On July 19, 2018, RFE/RL announced it will be returning its news services to Bulgaria and Romania by the end of 2018 amid growing concern about a reversal in democratic gains and attacks on the rule of law and the judiciary in the two countries.[110] The Romanian news service re-launched on January 14, 2019,[111] and the Bulgarian service re-launched on January 21, 2019.[112] On 8 September 2020 the Hungarian service was also relaunched.[113]
In a response to the United States Department of Justice requesting RT to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Russia's Justice Ministry also requested RFE/RL and Voice of America to register as foreign agents under the law ФЗ N 121-ФЗ / 20.07.2012 in December 2017.[114][115]
2020s
In the aftermath of Belarusian presidential elections of 2020, Radio Liberty and independent media resources experienced significant pressure from the government and law enforcement.[116][117][118][119][120][121] Journalists’ accreditations were cancelled by the authorities on October 2, 2020.[122] On July 16, 2021, the office in Minsk and homes of the journalists were raided by the police.[123][124][125]
In Russia, the government designated radio's website as a "foreign agent" on May 14, 2021. RL's bank accounts were frozen.[126] By that time, Roskomnadzor, the Russian mass media regulator, had initiated 520 cases against the broadcaster, with total fines for the RL's refusal to mark its content with the "foreign agent" label estimated at $2.4m.[127] On May 19, 2021, RL filed a legal case at the European Court of Human Rights, accusing the Russian government of violating freedom of expression and freedom of the media.[128]
In March 2023, criminal case was opened against Moscow resident Yury Kokhovets, a participant in the RFE/RL's street poll.[129] He faced up to 10 years in prison under Russia's 2022 war censorship laws.[130]
In 2022, Radio Free Europe was awarded an Online Journalism Award for the coverage of Russia's War on Ukraine.[131]
In 2023, a court in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, has accepted a request from the Culture Ministry to ban the operations of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.[132]
In September 2023, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani service, Radio Azadliq, was revealed to have a leadership with links to Azerbaijan’s ruling authorities, which censored content critical of the Azerbaijani government and instead published content that promoted the government's agendas.[133]
In February 2024, RFE was listed as an 'undesirable organization' by Russia, effectively making it illegal in the country.[134]
Programs
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
49 Minutes of Jazz
The program was a musical review by Dmitri Savitski[135] from 1989 to 2004. The theme song of the program was "So Tired" by Bobby Timmons. The program was cancelled on April 10, 2004 due to "the change of Liberty's format".[136]
See also
- Alhurra
- Constantine Kromiadi
- Operation Mockingbird and white propaganda
- Radio Free Asia
- Radio y Televisión Martí
- Women, Life, Freedom
Notes
References
- ^ "Inspection of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty" (PDF). Office of Inspector General (United States). United States Department of State. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "RFE/RL – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – Source description". European Country of Origin Information Network. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "RFE/RL Senior Management". RFE/RL. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ a b c "Management And Governance". RFE/RL. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ a b "About Us". RFE/RL.
- ^ Staff Writer. (5 March 2022). "How To Bypass Blocking". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. www.rferl.org. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Robinson, James. "Hoover to house Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty archives". Stanford University. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty". U.S. Agency for Global Media. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^
- "About Us". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- Duke, Katy (14 December 2005). "Uzbekistan pulls plug on Radio Free Europe". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- Novak, Benjamin (6 September 2019). "Radio Free Europe Is Poised to Return to a Less Free Hungary". ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- Golubiewski, Mikolaj; Kulas, Joanna; Czyżewski, Krzysztof (2011). A Handbook of Dialogue: Trust and Identity. Proofreading: Mayhill Fowler. Sejny: Fundacja Pogranicze. p. 297.
- "LibGuides: Czech Language: Music, Television, & Radio". Main Library (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign). 1 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- Storz, Karen (30 October 2020). "Library Research Guides: Russian: News". Wellesley College. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "RFE/RL Vice President and Editor in Chief Daisy Sindelar to Depart". RFE/RL. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "RFE/RL Language Services". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
- JSTOR 1191297.
- ^ a b Puddington 2003, p. 12
- ISBN 978-0307389008
- ISBN 9781566635745
- JSTOR 43134017.
- ^ Hudson, John (14 July 2013). "U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News to Americans". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ Puddington 2003, p. 24
- ^ a b c Cummings 2008, p. 169
- ^ Mickelson 1983, p. 18
- ^ Puddington 2003, p. 10
- ^ Puddington 2003, p. 7
- ^ Puddington 2003, p. 14
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Bibliography
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- Holt, Robert T. Radio Free Europe (U of Minnesota Press, 1958)
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- Johnson, A. Ross, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty: The CIA Years and Beyond. (Woodrow Wilson Center Press, Stanford University Press, 2010)
- Johnson, A. Ross and R. Eugene Parta (eds.), Cold War Broadcasting: Impact on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2010)
- Machcewicz, Paweł. Poland's War on Radio Free Europe, 1950–1989 (Trans. by Maya Latynski. Cold War International History Project Series) (Stanford University Press, 2015). 456 pp. online review
- ISBN 978-1-349-24501-7.
- Mickelson, Sig (1983). America's Other Voice: the Story of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. New York, NY: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 9780030632242.
- Mikkonen, Simo (Fall 2010). "Stealing the Monopoly of Knowledge?: Soviet Reactions to U.S. Cold War Broadcasting". Kritika: Explorations in Russian & Eurasian History. 11 (4): 771–805. S2CID 159839411.
- Puddington, Arch (2003). Broadcasting Freedom: The Cold War Triumph of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
- Sosin, Gene (1999). Sparks of Liberty: An Insider's Memoir of Radio Liberty. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.
- Urban, George R. (1997). Radio Free Europe and the pursuit of democracy: My War Within the Cold War. Yale University Press. Urban was the director of RFE in the 1980s.
In other languages
- ISBN 978-973-669-442-4.
- ISBN 963-9592-10-2.
- ISBN 978-606-95197-5-2.
- ISBN 978-606-95197-1-4.
External links
- Official website
- "Farda English - Life Inside Iran - Iran protests". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
- RFE/RL Broadcast and Corporate Records compiled by the Hoover Institution
- RFE/RL collection of declassified documents compiled by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and made publicly available through the Wilson Center Digital Archive
- The short film 1956 Crusade for Freedom (1956) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- The short film Radio Free Europe (1960) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- The short film Eagle Cage (1960) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- CIA archives