EFFECTS OF VOICE OF AMERICA BROADCASTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R015300200002-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 7, 2006
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: January 8, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGE i~
COUNTRY
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT
SUBJECT
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE
ACQUIRED
CLASSIFICATION SECRETJCOVMOL - U. S. OFFICIALS ONLY
SECURITY INFORMATION
Czechoslovakia
Effects of Voice of America Broadcasts
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25X1
DATE DISTR. 8 January 1953
NO. OF PAGES 4'
NO. OF ENCLS.
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECTIONS 793
AND 194, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVE-
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PROHIBITED BY LAW, THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.]
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1. Listening to foreign broadcasts is not forbidden in the Czechoslovak Republic (CSR);
people are not forced to listen in secret. As a matter of fact, during important
meetings of the. Communist Party, functionaries encouraged the members to listen
to the "foreign. bunk'.' in the hope that they would more readily accept the CP line.
Those' who listened to Western broadcasts did, however, exercise a certain amount
of caution for fear of. being suspected of sympathizing with the democracies, or
of opposition to the Communist regime. Occasionally a small group of friends
who trusted each other implicitly would listen to the broadcasts together, but
for the most part listening was done semi-secretly. If there was an active
member of the CP in the house, then the caution with which one listened was 25X1
increased.
2. The number of radio receivers in the CUR. was steadily increasing
eager than ever to learn what was going on in the world. Every radio set had
to be registered with the post office; failure to do so was punishable by law.
Each owner of a set must have a license. The monthly tax on a radio set was 30 Kcs,
Spare parts for radio receivers were scarce; some parts were unobtainable.
Community repair shops were established, but the wait for repairs was usually a
long one. Repairs were never made well. Many people thought that the workers in
such establishments took out the better parts of the radios left for repair and
replaced them with defective parts. Whenever possible, the people tried. to have
their sets repaired privately.
3. There is not much choice offered in radio sets for sale in the CSR. The most
popular was the Largo, which cost 12,000 Kea., then Tesla and Harmonie, which
cost 8 000 and 6,000 ICcs. respectively. On the-basis of a newspaper advertisement
-Ty&Nradio tubes of German Blaupunkt manufacture for 325 Kcs.
SECRET/CONTROL - U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY
ARMY
STATE
NAVY#
AIR
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broadcasts were well prepared. It also seemed to do a good job in
maintaining close contact with elements inside Czechoslovakia. Radio
Paris has the jump on VOA as far as time of transmission in the
evening was concerned
It camp ari.n'; Various, Western rdrad.casts t 'the C i,
that the BBC was well--organized, anc its commentaries ano news
25X1 5. The Voice of America, I devotes too little time to actual
from Washington, matpriai from intelligence reports that would be
suitable for foreign.broadcasto
Extreme care should be used in authenticating the truth of every item
used on VOA. One of its broadcasts exaggerated the prices of certain
items in Czechoslovakia; this created a bad impression on the people
in the CSR who compared the prices as given. with the true ones.
Untruths breed di'atrusts It is often said in Czechoslovakia that both
sides put out their share of propaganda, so the West should insure the
truth of everything broadcast to the CS6R. It would also be an excellent
idea for VOA to answer Radio Prague's propaganda charges with hard,
cold facts. To the people of the CSR this would be not only interesting
of their broadcasts. Such information should, of course, be carefull
screened',.oompared and evaluated. In addition, it seems
the content ofVOA's broadcasts could be improved if It could obtain,
programs being jammed. Sometimes the broadcasts cannot be understood
at all tlsfdrtunately the voices of the broadcasters do not help the
situation; some are very deep and fade out completely when there is
jamming. Higher pitched and sharper voices come through much better.
Nor should the voice drop at the end of sentences; this causes the
voice to fade out completely with the least bit of jamming.
VOA should devote more time and care to the preparation of programs
to be beamed to Czechoslovakia? It should: have fresh material based
on the current situation. VOA should bend. every effort to maintain
very close contact with the people "at home in Czechoslovakia". It
sometimes seems that the VOA is very far away from the facts of life
in the CSR. Every consideration should be given to the psychological
attitudes of the Czechs. It is difficult for those who left when the
Communists took over to know the hardships of living in the CSR today.
VOA should contact refugees and defectors in order to obtain news and25X1
information as well as to be better able to evaluate the effectiveness
broadcasts to Czechoslovakia. Since the majority of the Czechs and
Slovaks are looking to the US as their eventual liberator, the VOA
should devote much more time to broadcasts to the CPR. The half hour
of transmission in the evening is simply not enough. VOA should be?
the first on the air In the evening (Radio Paris has an hour of
tra smjAsAo* at 2200) Broadcasting is not too effective after midnight
when most of the population is asleep; nor is the early morning a good
time, because most of the people must hurry to work, 0 the best
times for broadcasting are 2000, 21.40`or 2200, Central European Time?25X1
Whatever the hour of broadcast, there is always the problem of the
and informative, but would actually build up their moral strength.
The Czechs feel that no answer to such charges means that they are true,
that the West. Just does not care enough to answer, or that they are
completely unaware that the charges have been made...
25X1 9. It appeared that much of the reporting of VOA was
weak; it, was o forceful enough. Since time is always so limited,,..as
much information as possible should be packed into the time allowed.
Every word, every sentence should say something, For instance, one
rogram included an interview with one of the women who escaped on the
Freedom Train". The interviewer spent too much time asking meaningless
questions; the Czechs would like to have heard how the woman was
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treated by US3 authorities, what sort of job her husband was able to
obtain,,and the difficulties they experienced, Another exEmple was
a, report on the American school system. Czech listeners are interested
in iejrriing more about the sckoo.i system in the US; they are already 25X1
familiar with the system of education. What they would like to hear
is how the children are taught, what sort of examinations the are
given, what they do during vacation, etc. On the other hand,
an interview 'with ,former Czech in the US;.'he was asked where he
worked, what he did, how much he earned, what he could buy with his
wages, how he occupied his leisure, where he went on racttion, etc.
Such an interview was not only interesting, but it gave those in
Czechoslovakia an opportunity to compare their 'own living conditions
with those in the US. It increased the desire for a better life
especially among the young people. Some of the reports on life in
the West should be repeated.
the following suggestions with regard to programs
on VOA:
(a) Important news broadcasts should be advertised ahead of time in
order to insure the maximum number of listeners,
(b) In certain cases, important foreign news should be repeated.
Repetition of'news concerning the Communists in France, agreements
with Western Germany, and the US presidential campaign, would ,
(d
strengthen the Czech's faith and confidence in the West.
Ilit would be an excellent idea if news of Czechoslovakia
were roadcast to other Satellites, and vice versa, since the
Communists put out little news upon which the population can
depend. In this manner resists-nce would be strengthened among
the oppressed peoples.
stress as strongly as possible, that neither VOA
(f)
nor any other agency broadcasting to the CSR, should relate the.
manner by which people escape from Czechoslovakia. Such disclo
sures make it impossible for other people to use the same method.
It also impairs the work of those on duty in the border regions
who are actually working against the regime.
It seemsl the staff of the Voice of America should be
separated into divisions according to the subject matter of the
broadcasts, ie, education, industry, agriculture, etc. It is a
good idea--to include on-the-spot interviews and eyewitness
accounts. VOA should have people who not ozily ate familiar with
the Czech language, but know the country and the people well.
Denunciation of Communists and the regime should be backed up by
facts. Mild irony as well as jokes could be employed. Active
Communists should be constantly reminded of their activities and
told that they are being watched very carefully by the people, and
that there will be a day of reckoning when they will have to
answer for their deeds, Whenever possible., the names of these
people. should be included. It has sometimes been the case that
Communists, singled out by one of the Western broadcasts, have
improved out of fear of reprisal. In any case, the Czechs are
careful to avoid contact with them, and to watch what is said in
their presence, The intelligentsia should be told not to be
narrow-minded or afraid, and to cooperate with the Communists only
to the extent that is absolutely necessary, It should be
emphasized that there will come a day when each person will have
a chance to give an accounting of his past activities for the
Communists, and that they will not be able to say they were not
warned. It should also be made clear that penalties will not be
meted out for the mere sake of revenge but in the interest of
common justice.
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(g) The church is one of'the most important opponents of Communism;
therefore VOA should devote a certain portion of its broadcasts
to religion. Vrdom of religion as it exists in the US should
be emphasized,,
(h) The Communists are trying constantly to re-educate the youth to...
think along Communist lines. It is of the utmost importance
that VOA concentrate on this segment of the population. Subjects
of interest to the youth of the CSR include: opportunities for
young people in the West, reports on films, the theatre, sports,
travelling and books.
25X1 (1) music programs on VOA should vary and be more in
step.w: h w a the people want to hear. Europeans also have a
good store of classical music from which to draw, but American
i
mus
c is sometimes a far cry from European music. it 25X1
would be a good idea ifCzech listeners became better acquainted
with contemporary American, composers and.their compositions, eg,
Leroy Anderson's "Blue Tango', Something on the order of thp
'"filit Parade" would be very popular with Czech listeners.
it would also be a good idea if semi-classical European music 25X1
were interspersed with American tunes. If a 15 minute program
is made up of Jazz, -bop, or jive. exclusively, the people
lose interest and switch off their sets
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