Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International
The new book Red Tape: Radio and Politics in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1969 takes a fresh look at radio broadcasting in, and to, the country between the end of the war and the immediate aftermath of the Soviet-led invasion. How “Communist” were staff at Czechoslovak Radio? How did reporters respond to the new freedoms that came with the Prague Spring? And what happened after that relatively liberal period was brutally curtailed? I discussed those questions and more with author Rosamund Johnston, a Vienna-based historian who is also a former colleague at Radio Prague International.
What state was Czechoslovak Radio right after the war, let’s say in the summer of 1945?
“I would say it was in a maybe surprisingly good state, given a lot of continental Europe and given a lot of the infrastructure in continental Europe at that time.
“On the other hand, there had just been a big fight for, among other things, Czechoslovak Radio, and it bore some of the scars, as well as had some of the prestige, of that.
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Author: Ian Willoughby