This article is about the radio broadcast service. For the R.E.M. song, see Radio Free Europe (song).

Cover of Radio Liberty booklet The Most Important Job in the World

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a radio and communications organization funded by the United States Congress. It was founded in 1950 by the National Committee for a Free Europe. This Free Europe Committee, headed by John Foster Dulles, was an instrument of the CIA. The organization exists today in Europe and the Middle East. It broadcasts more than 1,000 hours per week, in 28 languages, via shortwave, AM, FM and the Internet. RFE/RL's official mission statement is "To promote democratic values and institutions by disseminating factual information and ideas."^[1] R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Bill Berry (drums), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Michael Stipe (vocals). ... Radio Free Europe has been widely recognized as R.E.M.s first single, released on Hib-Tone Records in 1981. ... Image File history File links Radio_lib. ... Image File history File links Radio_lib. ... For the Bobby Womack album, see Communication (1972 album). ... For other uses, see Organization (disambiguation). ... Congress in Joint Session. ... The National Committee for a Free Europe was an American anti-communist organization, founded in June 1949 in New York, which worked for the liberation of Europe from Stalins Soviet occupation and dictatorship. ... John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. ... A solid-state, analog shortwave receiver Shortwave radio operates between the frequencies of 3 MHz (3,000 kHz) and 30 MHz (30,000 kHz) [1] and came to be referred to as such in the early days of radio because the wavelengths associated with this frequency range were shorter than... Amplitude modulation (AM) is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. ... In telecommunications, frequency modulation (FM) conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency. ... Look up mission statement in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Value redirects here. ...

Early history

The National Committee for a Free Europe was founded in June 1949 in New York. Radio Free Europe (RFE) was the broadcasting arm of this organization. The headquarters was established in Munich and it transmitted its first short-wave program on July 4, 1950, to Czechoslovakia. The National Committee for a Free Europe was an American anti-communist organization, founded in June 1949 in New York, which worked for the liberation of Europe from Stalins Soviet occupation and dictatorship. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the state. ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... Shortwave radio operates between the frequencies of 3,000 kHz and 30 MHz (30,000 kHz) and came to be referred to as such in the early days of radio because the wavelengths associated with this frequency range were shorter than those commonly in use at that time. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Radio Free Europe's goal was not simply to inform their listeners but to bring about the peaceful demise of the Communist system and the liberation of what were known as the satellite nations (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria). Radio Free Europe attempted to fulfill these goals by serving as a surrogate home radio station, an alternative to the controlled and party-dominated domestic press.^[2] RFE was a product of some of the most prominent architects of America's early Cold War strategy, especially those who believed that the Cold War would eventually be fought by political rather than military means, such as George F. Kennan.^[3] American policymakers such as Kennan and John Foster Dulles acknowledged that the Cold War was in its essence a war of ideas. The United States, acting through the CIA, funded a long list of projects to counter the Communist appeal among intellectuals in Europe and the developing world.^[4] This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904 – March 17, 2005) was an American advisor, diplomat, political scientist, and historian, best known as the father of containment and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. ... John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. ... CIA redirects here. ...

Radio Free Europe was modeled after Radio in the American Sector (RIAS) which began broadcasting in 1946 and was a wired radio service for Germans living in the American sector of Berlin. The station had grown to prominence during the 1948 Berlin blockade, and after the blockade RIAS evolved into a surrogate home radio service for East Germans. It broadcast news, commentary, and cultural programs that were unavailable in the media of the German Democratic Republic. RIAS was openly financed by the American government and staffed almost entirely by Germans, who worked under a small American management team. The station developed many of the broadcast strategies that Radio Free Europe adopted.^[5] Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor (Radio in the American Sector), or RIAS was a radio station in the American Sector of Berlin during the Cold War. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Occupation zones after 1945. ...

RFE received its funds from the Congress of the United States and until 1971 they were passed to RFE through the CIA. During the earliest years of Radio Free Europe's existence, the CIA and the U.S. State Department issued broad policy directives, and a system evolved where broadcast policy was determined through negotiation between the CIA, the U.S. State Department, and RFE staff. This system continued until the controversy surrounding Radio Free Europe's broadcasts to Hungary during the 1956 revolt. There is some evidence, however, that the CIA did involve itself in RFE projects at least through the mid-1950's.^[6] The CIA funding of RFE was not publicly acknowledged until 1971 at which point the organization was rechartered in Newton as a non-profit corporation, oversight was moved to the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB), and the budget was moved to open appropriations. Congress in Joint Session. ... CIA redirects here. ... Combatants Soviet Union ÁVH Hungarian government, various nationalist militias Commanders Yuri Andropov Pál Maléter, Béla Király, Gergely Pongrátz, József Dudás Strength 150,000 troops, 6,000 tanks 100,000+ demonstrators (some later armed), unknown number of soldiers Casualties 720 killed according to official... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ... For other uses, see Newton (disambiguation). ... A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ...

In 1971 and 1972, Congress passed stop-gap measures to continue funding RFE. In 1973, RFE found a more permanent solution through the Board for International Broadcasting Act of 1973, which created the Board, a public agency to oversee the grants allocated by Congress. The solution had been proposed by President Richard Nixon in 1971 but was fiercely opposed by Sen. J. William Fulbright. Eventually Congress took the advice of a presidential commission appointed by Nixon and chaired by Milton S. Eisenhower. Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... James William Fulbright (April 9, 1905–February 9, 1995) was a well-known member of the United States Senate representing Arkansas. ... Milton Stover Eisenhower (September 15, 1899 - May 2, 1985) served as president of three major American universities. ...

The Board Act was supposed to act as an authorization bill for funding RFE permanently, but during floor debate, Fulbright got the Senate to agree that it would authorize funds only for fiscal year 1974. Thus the bill was revisited the next two years during its merger with Radio Liberty.

After merger with Radio Liberty

In 1976, RFE was fully merged with a very similar Congress funded anti-communist organization called Radio Liberty (RL, founded in 1951 by the American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia) and the group name was officially changed to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). During the merger the three Baltic language services were added to the radios. Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Anti-communism is opposition to communist ideology, organization, or government, on either a theoretical or practical level. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia was an American anti-communist organization founded in the late 1940s which worked for the liberation of Russia from Stalinist dictatorship. ...

Soviet authorities regularly attempted to jam RFE/RL broadcasts and these efforts did not end until 1988. From 1985 until 1993 the organization also ran Radio Free Afghanistan. CCCP redirects here. ... Radio jamming is the (usually deliberate) transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Radio Free Afghanistan is a radio service broadcast by the United States government in Afghanistan, an extension of the Radio Free Europe program. ...

The collapse of the Soviet Union reduced the budget for RFE/RL: its headquarters were moved to Prague in 1995 and European operations were curtailed (save those of the South Slavic Department). However operations were expanded elsewhere; in 1998 Radio Free Iraq and a Persian service (Radio Farda) were started, in 1999 a service was started in Kosovo, and in 2002 Radio Free Afghanistan was restarted and the Persian Service was incorporated into Radio Farda. In addition, in 1994 the mission of the Board for International Broadcasting was transferred to the Broadcasting Board of Governors. For other uses, see Prague (disambiguation). ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Farsi redirects here. ... Radio Farda is a Persian language radio station based in the Czech capital Prague. ... This article is about the year. ... For other uses, see Kosovo (disambiguation). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Radio Free Afghanistan is a radio service broadcast by the United States government in Afghanistan, an extension of the Radio Free Europe program. ... The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is an independent agency of the United States government, responsible for all U.S. government and government sponsored, non-military, international broadcasting. ...

In most cases, listening to RFE in eastern European Communist countries was illegal, and had to be done in secret. Often the governments of these states would electronically jam the transmissions. Also, more 'active' measures were taken to combat the transmissions. In 1965-71 an agent of the Służba Bezpieczeństwa successfully infiltrated the station with an operative, Capt. Andrzej Czechowicz. According to former Voice of America Polish service director Ted Lipien, "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 propaganda programs aimed at embarrassing Radio Free Europe and the United States government." ^[7] Radio jamming is the (usually deliberate) transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. ... SÅ‚użba BezpieczeÅ„stwa (or SB) Ministerstwa Spraw WewnÄ™trznych, of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - was the name of communist internal intelligence agency and secret police, established in the Peoples Republic of Poland in 1956, SB was the main organ in Poland responsible for political repression, until...

Transmitter Sites

RFE/RL maintained sizable transmission facilities, with frequent upgrades, in three countries: 1) Western Germany, at Lampertheim in the Rhine valley, and at Holzkirchen, near Munich 2) Spain, at Playa de Pals on the Mediterranean coast north of Barcelona (working from 1958 to 2006) 3) Taiwan, until 1973. Today, only the Lampertheim station survives, as part of the U.S. government's worldwide transmission network. RFE/RL also utilizes a network of several hundred local AM and FM affiliates in the former U.S.S.R.

Radio Liberty sample broadcast

Communism on the Spot

A Publice Service of

Radio Liberty

IN ITS 10th ANNIVERSARY YEAR

the most powerful free voice broadcasting exclusively to Soviet Union

30 EAST 42nd STREET, NEW YORK 17 N.Y. TN-75200

No. 221

COMMUNISM ON THE SPOT. This is _____ speaking for RADIO LIBERTY. Failures in industrial planning continue to be a serious bottleneck to Soviet progress. On the basis of articles in the Soviet press, faulty planning is cutting expected growth to a minimum. Ironically, this state of affairs is not reflected in Soviet Statistics. For example, a 1962 statistical report claimed that the volume of industrial output exceeded by nearly 10% that for a corresponding period last year. How can this discrepancy between statistical claims and the actual situation be explained? Very simply. As in other cases, figures which are of no significance to the national economy are quoted to prove that industrial progress is proceeding as planned. This has been a public service presentation of this station and of RADIO LIBERTY, in its 10th Anniversary Year, the most powerful free voice broadcasting exclusively to the Soviet Union.

Radio Liberty, the Free Voice of the Peoples of the Soviet Union, broadcasts in 17 languages of the USSR from transmitters in West Germany, Spain and Formosa.

RFE people

• Noel Bernard - head of the Romanian section, 1966-1981
• E.S. Campbell - Vice President, Engineering and Technical Services
• Jan Nowak-Jeziorański - head of the Polish section 1952-1976
• Kevin Klose -head of RFE/RL, 1994-1997; current head of National Public Radio
• Georgi Markov - Bulgarian dissident, assassinated in London
• Robert Short - Director, Information Services 1987-94
• Zdzisław Najder - head of the Polish section 1982-1987
• Jan Zaprudnik - head of the Belarusian section in the 1970s

E.S. (Earnal Spurgeon) Campbell (b. ... Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Jan Nowak-Jeziorański (October 3, 1914 – January 20, 2005) was a Polish journalist, writer, politician, social worker and patriot. ... Kevin Klose (born Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is the president and chief executive officer for National Public Radio (NPR), the United States largest nonprofit radio outlet for news and cultural programming. ... NPR redirects here. ... Georgi Ivanov Markov Georgi Ivanov Markov (Bulgarian: ) (March 1, 1929 - September 11, 1978) was a Bulgarian dissident. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Zdzisław Najder (born in Warsaw, Poland, October 31, 1930) is a Polish historian of literature, a former opponent of the government of the Polish Peoples Republic, and former director of the Polish section of Radio Free Europe. ... Jan Zaprudnik (Belarusian: Янка Запруднік, real name Siarhiej Vilčycki, born 1926, Mir) is an American historian and publicist of Belarusian descent. ...

See also

• Cold War
• Prometheism
• Voice of America
• Radio Free Asia
• Ogulsapar Myradowa
• Radio Free Afghanistan
• Reporters Without Borders
• Worldwide press freedom index
• List of indices of freedom
• Project Pedro

For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Prometheism (Polish: Prometeizm) was a political project initiated by Polands Józef PiÅ‚sudski. ... Voice of America logo Voice of America (VOA), is the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. ... Radio Free Asia was created by the International Broadcasting Act of 1994 and began its operations in 1996. ... Ogulsapar Myradowa (in Russian : Огулсапар Мурадова, Ogulsapar Muradova, 1948-2006) was a Turkmenistani human rights activist and Radio Free Europe journalist. ... Radio Free Afghanistan is a radio service broadcast by the United States government in Afghanistan, an extension of the Radio Free Europe program. ... Reporters Without Borders, or RWB (French: Reporters sans frontières, Spanish: Reporteros Sin Fronteras, or RSF) is a French origin international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, founded by its current general-secretary, Robert Menard. ... Reporters Without Borders, or RWB (French: Reporters sans frontières, Spanish: Reporteros Sin Fronteras, or RSF) is a French origin international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, founded by its current general-secretary, Robert Menard. ... There are several non-governmental organizations that publish and maintain assessments of the state of freedom in the world and rank countries as being free, partly free, or unfree using various measures of freedom, including political rights, economic rights, and civil liberties. ... Project Pedro was a secretly funded program under the United States Information Agency during the 1950s. ...

References

External links

• RFERL.org (official)
• Hoover Institution Archives: Radio Liberty: 50 Years - Time Line
• Archive Detailed Records of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute
• The Cold War Leaflet Campaign of Radio Free Europe
• Radio Liberty's Russian language service
• [1] (Documentary about RFE - Tell us your story)
• Radio Liberty's Belarus Service
• [2] (shortwave radio Liberty station in Spain)
• European English Language Radio Stations
• Radio Free Europe: Still Broadcasting, an article that chronicles RFE to the present day
• Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, volume XII (Soviet Union, January 1969-October 1970)
• FRUS volume XIV (Soviet Union, October 1971-May 1972)
• United States Government Support of Covert Action Directed at the Soviet Union: Memorandum for the 303 Committee Washington, December 9, 1969 Mentions a FY 1970 budget of $13,130,000 for the Radio Liberty Committee