SATELLITE RADIO REACTIONS TO VOICE OF AMERICA AND BBC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500730132-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2003
• Sequence Number: 132
• Publication Date: November 11, 1998
• Content Type: REPORT

COUNTRY
SUBJECT
HOW
PUBLISHED
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGWN
WHERE:
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
LANGUAGE
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01 In CORTIRTS in ART ANNIN To Al SRARTIIORITRO PARSON 15 PRO-
9 1 LAW. RVROORCTIOR OF Tall FORM 18 PSORTOITRO.
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
Soviet Satellites ff
SATELLITE RADIO REACTIONS TO
VOICE OF AMMICA AHD'BBC
INFORMATION
25X1
During the month of November 1949, the Voice of America and the BNC were attacked
I N T R 0 D U C T I 0 N
? by' name in 21 different
monitored broadcalsts from Satellite radios in
The Voice of America (VOA) was
singled ou
t in. 15 of these -broadcasts)
follows: Hungarian radio--5; Polish
l
radio--.5; Czeohoelovak -radio--2;
Rumanian radio--l. Of the 6 criticisms
Eastern Europe.
distributed as
Aulgarian radio--2;
of -the?-BBO; 3 -were .broadcast by-?the-'Hungarian ',.
radio, 12 by the Czechoslovak radio, 1 by the Polish radio, and 1 by "Free
DATE DIST. /7 December 1949
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NOJ
THIS IS UNEVALUATED
Greeoe."
treatment of VOA and BBC broeidcaste is
that replies to the latter are generally more or less
The major difference between Satellite radio
BBC errors
and dietortiono, whereas replies
viituperative adjectives in the Communist
the subject of Satellite comment unrelated to specific VOA broadcasts.
While all of the monitored comment 0' the VOA makes the same genoref ohergea--that i
it is untruthful and the :aouthpieao for imperialist propagand4--there is no apparent
evidence of a concerted campaign against he VOA. Rather, each country heein general
replied to VOA broadcasts when these have touched on some aspect of it' internal affairs:;
Prpovioally all of the Satellite radio comments imply some degree of Sate lite! audience
listening to VOA'broadoaete; and one commentator over the Hungarian radio admitted in
eo many'vorde that there were those who 1 atoned to the "concocted stories' of the VOA.
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DE SSIFIEQ - 25X1
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CLASSIFICATION
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reasoned refutationi3 of 'alleged
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25X1
Also of interest is the fact that the Hungarian
almost exclusively on the VOA's alleged
and devaluation--resulting in a wave of
The Hungarian Radio
radio references to the;
stimulation of "rumor-mongering.i about shortages
REPLIES TO SPECIFIC VOA BROADCASTS
31 October:--Budapest issued a report on
denied "enemy rumors" to the effect that
propaganda stunt timed to coincide with
quoted reports from Vienna to the effect
its stocks of white flour and had started a "spontaneous" worker&' move nt to petition
the Goverhont to abolish white bread as "'a bourgeois invention.'")
4 November:--Budapest reported a wave oflpanic-buying of white bread and of durable goods
as a result of the above VOA broadcast and of an earlier one reporting the imminent
devaluation of the forint. Castigating the "lies" of the YOA and the credulity of those
who believed them, the paper SZABAD NEP',oalled for greater vigilance against rumor-mongers.
5 November:--The Hungarian Home Service! reported the arrest of three devaluation rumor-
.
attributed the origin of the rumors to the BBC.
is
9-November:--The VOA was reinstated as the author of the devaluation rum re. At the same
time, however, it was claimed that VOA wee Inept at spreading lies. Fit
11
11 November:--SZABAD NEP reported the sentencing of the three rumor-mongers and, ',ignoring
its earlier account of the mass nature of' the buying hysteria, said thet1the number of
those arrested was so low because "the tens of thousands of our workers would not fall
for ... the American-made lies."
12 November:--Acommentary by Antel Aproadmitted that although the workers had faith in
the regime and "are shouldering sacrifices," there were those who liatenjd to "the
concoctedlstories" of the VOA. Apro went on to relate how such porocna;, ad-paid dearly
for their lesson, since they had not been allowed to return to the ahopethe many useless
articles they had bought during the buying panic.
The Polish Radio
the increased consumption of,white broad and
the introduction of white breed had been a
the youth festival. (On the game day, YOA
9 November:--The spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry, Victor Grosz, answered
questions iabout "the campaign being carried out in so-celled Western Gernany and by the
VOA, with Its subordinate propaganda organs in Western Europe," concerning t.:o
Rokoesoveky appointment. Grosz said: "I em not going to answer questions concerning
the rudeness and insolence of the Voice of America because all commentib; superfluous."
He laid the campaign as a whole to the fact that "the Hitlerite revenehie~ts must be filled
with panic, and their American protectors I consumed with rage," el n1:0 the appointment
strengthened the defense of the Oder-Neisse line.
13 November:--Commentator Franciazek fleet spoke of "the impotent madness"lof VOA broad-
casts on the Rokossoveky appointment. Like Grosz, he thought that'the.Oder-Neiase
question lay behind the violence of the American reaction.
19 November:--A Polish Home Service program reported that on 17 November the 'POA,quoting
Spanish emigre loaders, had stated that Le Pasionaria had been arrested Ii Prague, and
that on 184ovember it had been forced tolretract the statement when Iberrurl turned
up at the Moscow Conference of Women Peace Defenders. Citing this as anchor instance
of VOA lying)Warsaw went on to criticize 'the VOA'a retraction which repot edly had
explained that the confusion arose over Iberruri's visit to Moscow. Theeiepeakar pointed
out that the original VOA broadcast specifically stated that the arrest 1i d taken place
in Prague.
(It may bo noted that there was no Polish reaction to VOA reports thatVI'ctor Grosz had
been purged. Nor use the VOA blamed for the rumors of impending price iae~reaoeo, which
were widely denied by the Polish Home Service on 31 October and 1 Sovemli )
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II I I I
The Czechoslovak Nadi c.
17 November:--The Slovak commentator Horvath derided "a number of stupid and ridiculous
rumors going about;the country to the effect thatithere will be another ourzenoy reform
in the now year" and?held the VOA and the BBC responsible for originating the rumors.
Fortunately, he.oaid, only a handful of people had responded to the rumors by panic-
buying, since the majority of the people did not believe the rumors.*
The Bulgarian Radio
16 November:--BTAI (the Bulgarian press service) raportedl that the Voice of America was
responsible for a,etory to the effect that the Bulgarian National Bank had circulated
-abroad a number of counterfeited French Louie D'Or. BTAletated that it was authorized
to deny thin story as "mendacious and slanderous,;" adding that "among the many slanderous
and?fabricated reports with which VOA listeners are regaled daily this in particular
ie one of the moetjimpudent and malicious.! It illustrates the low level to which the
management of the' toe of America has falan."
The Rumanian Radio
23 Nove2uber:--Broadcasting in Serbocroet, Bucharest noted that a 5'Auguet VOA broadcast
.in Hungarian had recommended to its listeners that they 4une in to the programs of a
number of capitalist stations and to RadlolBelgrade. This was held to be proof that
Yugoslavia bro;;deaete the same propaganda as the capitalist stations.
I,
r can people.
GENERAL COt NT ON THE VOICE OF ?AM RICA
The Poliph.redio c'srried two general attacks on the Voice of America during November.
The firat.came on the second when Warsaw aired, the Cominform journal article, "Voice Of
America Goebbole." The second Polish attack came on 2I November and consisted of a
talk by Wianiewakilwho argued that the VOA was not free es it claimed. He cited as
proof of this contention the fact that the American radio is dependent upon advertising
revenue, and that the stock of the networks Is held by oa'pitaliet investors, in
particular by lergeioorporatlone or banks. While the commentator did not specifically
state that the VOA;xas thus dependent and controlled, the listener was loft to infer
that this was the ease.
On 22 November, Pr`'pe carried a commenter
f questioning the objectivity of the VOA.
And on-the same days,! Budapest, broadcasting in Serboeroati, said that the London
conference" bf'Amer ican diplomats from Eaetern Europe had been called because of the
failure of the VOA' propaganda broadcasts which "hove bo ome ridiculous to the whole
of-Europa eo that nobody takes them seriously? "
On 24 Novembor, the Bulgarian radio quoted the Sofia paper r IZG~ to the effect that
"the Voice of America is the name of a radio station which_drewe its dark fame from
Its moat unscrupulous distortion of the truth." The VOA was said to be the voice ofd
American capitalists not of the Am
o
* When, on 30 November, Minintor of Internal Trgde Kraacir announced price reductions
and an extension of the free market, he admitted that in fact there had been a
wave -of panic-buying as a result of rumors apxlead about an imminent change in the
price schedules]. But Krejcir did not blame either the VOA or the BBC for those
rumors.
This article was given very little play by theI Satellite radios, the only other
monitored broadcast reference to it having come from PBudapeat on 31 October. On
that day, Budapoat also said that its new 2-kilowatt shortwave station was stronger
than the Voice lof America in proportion as truth is stronger than falsehood.
I ! I
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REACTIONS TO BBC BROADCASTS
on 2 November, the Polish commentator Roezkow, criticized a BBC broadcast which had,claimed
a pre?O"nderenoe of steel production for the Western world. Asserting that the bogey of steel
prepon0.eranco had been brought forlxard to replace the pricked bubble of Western etcdmio
iea rare
t
d
l
t
ue
r
in
e stee
energy monopoly, Roszkow pointed oat that the Soviet and Satelli
expending while the Western steel industries were subject to labor disputes and stoppages.
in any event, sold Roazkow, steel preponderance would do the capitalist world little good
if the workers refused to turn their steel weapons against the USSR.
On 6 November, Budapest referred to the BBC as responsible for rtrmora of the devaluation of
the o int.
"FrcelGreece", on 9 November, carzieda rebuttal to a broadcast by Francis Noel-Baker, in
which:the British Socialist MP had stressed the fact that the resolution of the Sixth Plenum
of tho1Greek Communist Party had uontalned an admission of the guerrillas' defeat. "Free
Groioe"complained that such emp?u1eledletorted the meaning of the resolution.
Next to be heard from was the Budapeot paper SZABAD NEP which, according to the Budapest
radlol, pleaded guilty to the BBC charge that it was excessively friendly to the Soviet
Union, Certain omissions of fact in the BBC broadcast were pointed out.
November 17 brought Slovak commentator Horvath's denial of the "ridiculous rumors" spread
by cheIBBC and the VOA on the imminence of a Czech currency reform.
A few 1eye later, 20 November, Budaneat told Serbocroat listeners that Pijade and Djilae
were competitors in the distortion of Marx-Leninism, end that Djilaa had apparently von
since It was his series of BORBA articles which had been selected by the BBC for broadcasts
to Eastern Europe.
The lat reference to the BBC came on,.22 November, when the Czechoslovak radio commentator
Roei'gnlderided the broadcasts of the "old moulted inciter" Bruce. Lockhart for their lack
of sense. foeian speculated as to whether the stupidity of BBC broadcasts in Czech might
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