Radio Geopoliticaas

7/24/2019 Radio Geopoliticaas

1/93

Radio geopolitics: broadcasting, listeningand the struggle for

acoustic spaces

Alasdair Pinkerton* and Klaus Dodds

Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of ondon, !gham "#$%

%!&, UK

Abstract: "his paper 'onsiders some of the interdis'iplinary s'holarship on radio and

sound more generally for the purposes of 'onsidering how geopoliti'al s'holarship

might re'onsider its predominantly visual fo'us( "he first part 'onsiders radio and its

relationship to studies of propaganda, international diploma'y and even everyday life(

"hereafter, attention is given to new themes su'h as resear'hing radio 'ultures,

)road'asting infrastru'ture and te'hnology and, finally, the affe'tive impa'ts of radio

on audien'es( "he 'on'lusion of this paper urges further 'riti'al 'onsideration of

radio, sound and )road'astinglistener engagement with the well+esta)lished

geographi'al literature on musi'(

Key words: audien'es, 'ommuni'ation, geopoliti's, listening, radio(

I Introduction

#e have some pla'es( ust stay -uiet and you.ll )e /K( #e are returning to the

airport( #e open this arti'le, as does the 011 2ommission Report 3$%%45, with the

words attri)uted to 6ohammad Atta, the alleged ringleader of the 10 hi7a'kers


2/93

responsi)le for the atta'ks on the "win "owers of the #orld "rade 2enter, the

Pentagon and the 'rash of United 08 in a Pennsylvanian field( "his radio transmissionmade )y the hi7a'kers on )oard Ameri'an Airlines 9light 11 was the first aural 'lue

for federal air traffi' 'ontrollers seeking to 'omprehend the unusual movements 3and

la'k of radio

'ommuni'ation5 of a num)er of planes fl ying

over the eastern part of the United :tates(

Given the su)se-uent developments, these

words, as some 7ournalists noted at the time,

have an un-uestiona)ly ;'hilling -uality. not

least )e'ause the hi7a'kers perished with

nearly 8,%%% other vi'tims( Una)le to see the

hi7a'kers or the other o''upants of Ameri'an

Airlines 9light 11, those on the ground were

reliant on listening to the o''asional 'ommuni'ations

)y the hi7a'kers( And then radio

silen'e as 9light 11 'rashed into the "win

"owers at %


3/93

:hortly after the impa't of the se'ond

plane into the "win "owers, terrified onlookers

were shown, via television 'overage,

e>hi)iting a range of responses from

stunned silen'e to 'rying, wailing and holding

highly animated 'onversations with

fellow onlookers( "o des'ri)e these atta'ks

*Author for 'orresponden'e? !mail? a(d(pinkerton@rhul(a'(uk

Alasdair Pinkerton and Klaus Dodds: Radio geopolitics 11

as a visual assault on Ameri'a is to miss a

fundamental point this was an audiovisual

spe'ta'le of horrifying proportions( As the

)uildings )egan to smoulder, the sight and

sound of people 7umping from the "win

"owers to their 'ertain death was 'aptured

on film( Produ'ed )y two 9ren'h )rothers

3ules and Gedeon Baudet5 who a''ompanied


4/93

mem)ers of the Bew Cork 9ire

Department to the "win "owers, the do'umentary

film 9/11 3$%%$5 is parti'ularly

poignant in that regard( t remains the only

footage taken inside the "win "owers on

11 :eptem)er $%%1( 9inally, the thundering

noise a''ompanying the 'ollapse of the

"win "owers and the diffusion of suffo'ating

'louds of dust 'ompleted, one might say,

the first deadly phase of this audiovisual

spe'ta'le 3De)ri>, $%%=5(

"he re'orded statements of the hi7a'kers

and other utteran'es su'h as ;let.s roll. issued

)y one of the passengers on )oard United

08 has )een mu'h analysed and de)ated )y

offi'ial investigators, politi'al leaders and

relatives of the dead( "he )ipartisan 011


5/93

2ommission, 'reated )y the Eush administration

to investigate the 11 :eptem)er atta'ks,

'onsidered all forms of soni' and visual

information germane to their e>tensive )rief(

6o)ile phone 'onversations )etween the

air)orne vi'tims of 011 and their friends

and relatives have provided further poignant

soni' testimony of those last minutes )efore

impa't and 'ertain death(1 "hose 'onversations

form part of what Bational Pu)li'

Radio des'ri)ed as their :oni' 6emorial

pro7e't( As 2ohen and #illis 3$%%45 re'ord?

How 'ould pu)li' radio F a medium fo'ussed

solely on aural e>perien'es F 'ontri)ute to

storytelling these tragedies After :eptem)er

11th, Bational Pu)li' Radio 3BPR5 took up

the task of aural remem)ering for the nation


6/93

through an unpre'edented pu)li' radio 'olla)oration,

'onsisting of at least 1%% BPR

stations and their affiliates that 'ontri)uted

and aired up to 8% hours of BPR+produ'ed

programming during the week )efore the

anniversary ie, :eptem)er $%%$I( 32ohen and

#illis, $%%4? J0$5

6oreover, BPR also produ'ed a :oni'

6emorial on the internet, hosted )y the

:eptem)er 11th Digital Ar'hive($

Radio )road'asting 3and noise for

that matter5 is playing a ma7or part in the

Ameri'an+led #ar on "error( 9ollowing

ames :idaway.s interventions on the su)7e't

matter of ;)anal geopoliti's., we should

draw attention to the manner in whi'h radio

is now routinely used )y military personnel


7/93

in their pursuit of those who masterminded

the 11 :eptem)er assault on Bew Cork and

#ashington, and asso'iated 'ounter+terror

strategies 3:idaway, $%%1 $%%8 Graham,

$%%=5( As part of developing new ur)an)ased

fi ghting strategies, the Ameri'an military

has 'reated a series of training environments,

whi'h in'lude ;)om)arding. U: troops

with radio )road'asting in Ara)i' for the purpose

of developing a sense of geographi'al

and 'ultural ;authenti'ity., while simultaneously

desensitiing the troops to foreign

'ultural pra'ti'es(

f we wanted to understand more fully

some of the popular 'ultural dimensions to

post+011 Ameri'a, then talk radio would )e

an e>'ellent pla'e to )egin su'h an investigation


8/93

3see 2roft, $%%L5( naugurated in the

108%s and 104%s, talk radio fundamentally

'hanged in the 10


9/93

areas relating to the #ar on "error, loud musi'

and sound more generally have )een deployed

on suspe'ted terrorists around the world in

the )elief that these soni' a'tivities will lead

to vital intelligen'e )eing divulged( n ra- and

1$Progress in Human Geography !1"

Afghanistan, 'ompanies su'h as Homeland

:e'urities :trategies n' are developing new

radio 7amming te'hnologies in the hope that

they will )e a)le to interfere with improvised

e>plosive devi'es pla'ed )y the sides of highways

and other strategi' pla'es( 9inally, the

Department of :tate is funding, via the Moi'e

/f Ameri'a 3M/A5, a plethora of new radio

stations and lo'al language )road'asting in

the hope that Ameri'a.s ;soft power. will )e

a)le to persuade millions in the Glo)al :outh


10/93

not to support violen'e dire'ted against

Ameri'an personnel and material interests(

#hile we have opened with some o)servations

a)out 011 and its aftermath, this

arti'le.s more general purpose is to shift the

'entre of gravity towards radio for the purpose

of )roadening popular geographi'al

geopoliti'al horions and en'ouraging further

work, whi'h has tended to )e dominated

)y so'ial and 'ultural geographi'al interest

in musi' rather than radio )road'asting, or

listening more generally 3see, for e>ample,

:mith, 1004 eyshon et al(, 100


11/93

reprodu'ed sounds 3Eull, $%%4? $4


12/93

geographers su'h as ;resear'hing radio. and

the sound ar'hive, radio and )road'asting

infrastru'ture, and radio and its audien'es(

9inally, the paper 'onne'ts up with the

esta)lished literature on musi' to 'onsider the

geographi'al impli'ations and 'onse-uen'es

of sound( #hile we spe'ifi 'ally address radio

and its geopoliti'al impli'ations, we are mindful

of a long+esta)lished )ody of literature

more generally 'on'erned with 'ommuni'ations,

te'hnology and the role of states and

empires 3for e>ample, nnis, 10J% 6attellart,

100L Hugill, 1000 6einig, $%%45(

II Popular geopolitics of radio: identity,

propaganda and soft power

:hortly after President Eush.s de'ision to

de'lare a #ar on "error, the U: :tate Department+


13/93

funded Moi'e of Ameri'a 3M/A5 was

given e>tra funding so that it 'ould e>pand

radio )road'asting in Ara)i', Dari, 9arsi and

Pashto( 2reated in 9e)ruary 104$, Moi'e

of Ameri'a is the one of the largest statefunded

)road'asters and rivals EE2 #orld

:ervi'e and Radio 6os'ow in terms of its

)road'asting 'overage, language provision

and weekly audien'es( n $%%$ a 6iddle !ast

Radio Betwork was laun'hed and one of

the most signifi 'ant developments was the

laun'h of Radio 9arda, whi'h is designed to

)road'ast news and musi' in !nglish and

9arsi to ran and 2entral Asia( Bew investment

in radio )road'asting and pu)li' diploma'y

was 7udged to )e 'riti'al in esta)lishing

a )roader legitima'y for more violent forms


14/93

of intervention( n his weekly radio address,

President Eush announ'ed on 1J :eptem)er

$%%1 that?

"his is a 'onfli't without )attlefields or

)ea'hheads, a 'onfli't with opponents who

)elieve they are invisi)le( Cet, they are

mistaken( "hey will )e e>posed, and they will

dis'over what others in the past have learned?

those who make war against the United :tates

have 'hosen their own destru'tion( Mi'tory

against terrorism will not take pla'e in a single

)attle, )ut in a series of de'isive a'tions against

terrorist organiations and those who har)or

and support them(

#e are planning a )road and sustained 'ampaign

to se'ure our 'ountry and eradi'ate the

evil of terrorism( And we are determined to see


15/93

this 'onfl i't through( Ameri'ans of every faith

and )a'kground are 'ommitted to this goal(8


Radio )road'asting remains part of that

;)road and sustained 'ampaign. and this is

the 'ase not only with regard to overseas

)road'asting )ut also domesti'ally, notwithstanding

the highly televised 'ulture of the

United :tates( t is important to re'all that

the weekly radio address )y the President

has )een a regular feature of Ameri'an pu)li'

life sin'e the 9ranklin D( Roosevelt administration

31088F4J5, and there are many

other e>amples we 'ould draw upon to highlight

the i'oni' role of radio )road'asting

involving !uropean politi'al leaders and di'tators,

su'h as 2harles de Gaulle, #inston


16/93

2hur'hill, oseph :talin and Eenito 6ussolini

as well as post'olonial leaders su'h as Behru

and his 104= independen'e )road'ast(

Ameri'a.s 'ommitment to dire't funding

towards overseas radio )road'asting in the

post+011 era was motivated )y a simple )ut

important development( :in'e the 10L%s,

the widespread availa)ility of the transistor

radio has meant that many 'ommunities,

without a''ess to television and uninterrupted

power supplies, 'ontinue to depend

on the radio for their news and other output

su'h as musi'( 6a7or )road'asting organiations

su'h as M/A and EE2 #orld :ervi'e,

as a 'onse-uen'e, have re'ognied that lo'al

language )road'asting offers opportunities

to rea'h and potentially infl uen'e audien'es


17/93

in 'ountries su'h as Afghanistan, Pakistan

and ran( o'al language )road'asting has

often, as a 'onse-uen'e, )een highly sensitied

to regional geopoliti'al 'hange(

/ne e>ample from an earlier era involves

M/A radio )road'asting in :panish and

Portuguese to atin Ameri'a( n 10JL, M/A

)road'asting to atin Ameri'a 'onsisted of

one hour of daily programming and was

in !nglish( 9oreign language )road'asting

had )een downgraded as M/A invested its

energies in eastern !uropean and southeast

Asian language programming( Ey 6ar'h

10L%, and in the aftermath of the 10J0

2u)an revolution, M/A :panish language

)road'asting was restored, and a year later

Portuguese language )road'asting resumed(


18/93

1=N of total M/A foreign programming was

dire'ted towards atin Ameri'a and a new

radio station was 'onstru'ted in 2entral

Ameri'a 39e7es, 10ed(

n the 'ase of re'ent endeavours )y the


19/93

Ameri'an government, any transmission

asso'iated with M/A is, for some listeners,

treated with 'ontempt and suspi'ion, )e'ause

of the 'ontemporary military o''upation

of Afghanistan and ra- 3Gregory, $%%45(

2olonial radio stations in the !nglish, 9ren'h

and Dut'h speaking worlds were fre-uently

linked to e>pressions of anti'olonial agitation

and national li)eration movements(

6oreover, as Kat and #eddell 310==? patriate )road'asters in order to

prepare themselves for the day when li)eration

would 'ome.( :u'h training would

have disastrous 'onse-uen'es in Rwanda

in April 1004 when so+'alled ;hate radio.

was instrumental in persuading thousands


20/93

to slaughter their fellow 'itiens( "he ensuing

geno'ide was later to en'apsulate no

fewer than


21/93

that popular representations of glo)al geopoliti's

need to )e investigated alongside

elite understandings( ndeed terms su'h as

;geopoliti'al 'ulture. have )een deployed in

order to 'onsider how fi lm, 'artoons, 'omi'

)ooks and television 'ontri)ute to e>pressions

of popular geopoliti's and how and with what

'onse-uen'es audien'es rea't to those media

3Dodds, $%%=5( Re'ent resear'h has demonstrated

how 'ertain kinds of emotional rea'tions

and investments may )e provoked

and mo)ilied )y parti'ular produ'tions

su'h as a fi lm like#lack Ha$k Do$n 3$%%15

or a 'omi' 'hara'ter like 2aptain Ameri'a

3Dittmer, $%%J 2arter and 6'2orma'k,

$%%L5( Geographi'al s'holars su'h as 2hris

Gi)son and his 'o+workers have helped to


22/93

ensure that popular geopoliti'al s'holars do

'onsider how musi' 'ontri)utes to de)ates

a)out 'ontemporary 'ommuni'ations, popular

'ulture and national identity 3Gi)son,

100L Dun)ar+Hall and Gi)son, $%%% Gi)son

and 2onnell, $%%8 )ut 'riti'ally see Power,

$%%15( Gi)son.s resear'hes into the musi' in

Australia has )een parti'ularly effe'tive in

highlighting how indigenous 'ommunities

'an e>press so'ial identities and 'ontest the

hegemoni' representations of Anglophone

and white Australia( "here is surely mu'h

more work to )e done on the popular geopoliti's

of musi' and Anglophone performers

and )ands su'h as Eo) Dylan, 6idnight /il

and Beil Coung would feature, as would parti'ular

musi'al genres, su'h as gangster rap


23/93

and ro'k, whi'h have 'riti'ally refl e'ted on

'onfl i'ts from Mietnam to ra-( Until re'ently

only one geopoliti'al s'holar, 6ar'us Power,

had e>plored in any detail the geopoliti'al

'onse-uen'es of radio )road'asting, in this

'ase with referen'e to 'olonial 6oam)i-ue

3Power, $%%1 'f( Pinkerton, $%%= $%%


24/93

as relevant( 9irst, there has )een e>tensive

interest in radio propaganda espe'ially

sin'e the 10$%s with many resear'h papers

and monographs devoted to Bai Germany,

:oviet Russia and other !uropean states su'h

as taly, :pain and the United Kingdom 3for

e>ample, 6iller, 1041 sola, 100J :hirer,

1000 6enduni, $%%45( n his )ook#acking

Hitler, Ro)ert Gellately not only shows the

importan'e of radio to fas'ist German propaganda

)ut also tra'es the penalties imposed

on those 'itiens 'aught or e>posed listening

to overseas )road'asting )y the EE2 and

others( istening was a matter of life and

death and this remains the 'ase in many parts

of the world 3Gellately, $%%$? 1


25/93

purposes, it has also )een a medium that governments

have sought to 'ontrol, ;to 7am.

and to limit a''ess to other forms of )road'asting(

"he apparent u)i-uity of radio

should not )e overestimated as national

governments have and 'ontinue to attempt

to engage in politi'al suppression, prohi)it

foreign )road'asting, limit ownership of

radio transmitters and 'reate 'onditions

where listening is far from mundane( nstead,

radio listening in 'ontemporary ran and

Oim)a)we and the former :oviet Union

'ould )e a dangerous, frustrating and deadly

e>perien'e( 2hina 'ontinues to 7am radio

)road'asting alongside the internet( 2u)a

remains parti'ularly a'tive in ;)lo'king. radio

)road'asting from e>ile groups in 6iami


26/93

and the U: government funded Radio 6arti(

Alternatively, others have pointed to the

a)ility of radio )road'asting, often in dire

'ir'umstan'es, to provide some 'omfort and

sola'e, as the Eritish 'aptive "erry #aite

a'knowledged( Held for several years in

Eeirut, #aite and his fellow 'aptives re'orded

their gratitude for EE2 #orld :ervi'e )road'asting

)e'ause it, in his words, ;helped to

Alasdair Pinkerton and Klaus Dodds: Radio geopolitics 1J

keep us alive )oth spiritually through the

work of the religious departments and

mentally through the varied 'ultural and

news programmes. 3#alker, 100$? 1LJ5( n

different ways, therefore, the geographies

of )road'asting and listening 'ontinue to

)e highly 'ontingent(


27/93

:e'ond, the radio studies literature has

long )een preo''upied with domesti' radio

environments in the western world and keen

to de'ipher 'odes, 'onventions, formats and

pra'ti'es of radio programming and re'eption(

#ell+known works su'h asRadio %roadcasting:

an introduction to the sound medium

have )een important in shaping future s'holarship

with its fo'us on the Ameri'an domesti'

radio s'ene and international )road'asting

3Hillard, 10


28/93

6oreover, the diversifi 'ation of radio )road'asting

3with the o)vious e>'eption of U:

Bational Pu)li' Radio5 has allowed for a

series of overlapping listening environments

to e>ist( "hese spe'ialied listening populations

are in some 'ases further served and

en'ouraged )y the development of highprofi

le ;sho'k+7o'k. radio presenters su'h as

Howard :tern who en7oy a highly defined

listening segment as defi ned )y ra'e, gender,

edu'ational attainment, politi'al persuasion

and age( :e'uring su'h segments is vitally

important for 'ommer'ial radio stations )e'ause

of the strong 'onne'tion with advertising

and revenue generation(

As historians of Ameri'an radio have

noted, the pla'e of this medium in national


29/93

life has long )een 'ontested and as su'h predates

some of the 'ontemporary 'ontroversies

asso'iated with outspoken right+wing

radio presenters 3Earfi eld, 10ual a)andonment(

#hile 7a was later aired more

generally in the 108%s and 104%s, Afri'an+


30/93

Ameri'an musi'ians attra'ted large num)ers

of white listeners and indeed 7a was 'redited

with playing a part in )uilding 'ross'ommunity

solidarities during the struggle

for 'ivil rights in the 10JJFLJ period(

:u'h solidarities need to )e set alongside

the produ'tion and 'ir'ulation of ra'ist representations

of Afri'an+Ameri'ans via the

radio( :hows su'h as ;Amos.n. Andy. were

hugely important, if 'ontroversial, in developing

the radio serial drama and in this 'ase

'on'entrated on the 'hanging so'ial and e'onomi'

fortunes of two Afri'an+Ameri'an

workers 3Douglas, 10005( #hile resisted and

resented )y many Afri'an+Ameri'an listeners,

radio was later to provide an important

pu)li' forum for the dis'ussion of ra'ial politi's


31/93

in 'ontemporary Ameri'an life( Ey 1041,

nearly every family in the United :tates

owned a re'eiver and radio 'reated an aural

pu)li' sphere for a'knowledging, in programmes

su'h as federally funded ;9reedom.s

People., the 'ontri)ution Afri'an+Ameri'an

'ommunities have made to la)our, musi',

sports, literature, military servi'e and edu'ation

3:avage, 1000? =%5( "he year 1048 was

a landmark in Ameri'an radio history, as

Ear)ara :avage noted, )e'ause funding

and )road'asting restri'tions tightened in

response to 'on'erns from Afri'an+Ameri'an

'ommunities a)out segregation and dis'rimination

in Ameri'an life( n postwar Ameri'a,

progressive dissent 'ontinued to appear on

the airwaves and radio.s pla'e in the so'ial


32/93

and 'ultural transformation of the United

:tates is )eginning to attra't ever more 'riti'al

attention 3see, for e>ample, Hilmes and

oviglio, $%%$5(

1LProgress in Human Geography !1"

:'holars su'h Paddy :'annell 310015,

Andrew 2rissell 3100L5, 6artin :hingler

and 2indy #ierniga 3100


33/93

role of radio in the making of ;e>traordinary.

rituals and 'eremonies in modern so'iety

su'h as the 10J8 'oronation of !lia)eth ,

the trial of Bai war 'riminals and the role

of radio during the se'ond world war( Radio

audien'es were often signifi 'ant, espe'ially

in 'ountries where a''ess to television was

either 7ust )e'oming widespread or had yet

to emerge( However, in a salutary study

of the role of radio in the 10L1 trial of Adolf

!i'hmann in erusalem, a team of s'holars

found that the 'overage )y sraeli state radio

was 'onsistently overestimated in fre-uen'y

and duration )y listeners( n fa't, radio )road'asting

was more sporadi' than people re'alled

and many )elieved that the medium

must have featured more strongly in daily


34/93

life )e'ause of the sheer magnitude of this

pu)li' event 3Pin'hevski et al(, $%%=? 1


35/93

in the daily ma'hination of domesti'

politi's would fail to tune in and listen to

the morning news programme ;"oday. on

Radio 4( "he so+'alled Andrew Gilligan

affair of 6ay $%%8, in the midst of 'on'erns

over ra-.s #eapons of 6ass Destru'tion

'apa)ilities, highlighted -uite how important

radio )road'asting and listening rea'tions

'ould )e( n this 'ase a well+known Radio 4

defen'e 7ournalist 3Gilligan5 used his short

early morning report to 'laim that a highly

pla'ed se'urity sour'e had told him that

the a)our government had ;se>ed up. its

dossier on ra-.s military 'apa)ilities for the

sole purpose of persuading parliamentarians

and the pu)li' that the 6ar'h $%%8

invasion of ra- was ne'essary( "he rea'tion


36/93

to the )road'ast was e>traordinary and led

to the EE2 )eing for'ed to apologie for the

report after the so+'alled Hutton n-uiry

found in favour of the a)our government

3see also the Beil Report, $%%45( t also,

tragi'ally, led to the sui'ide )y Gilligan.s

sour'e F Dr David Kelly( Alternatively, as

9raser 6a'Donald has noted with regard to

the nightly weather )road'ast on Radio 4,

;the 'aden'es and rhythms of the UK

shipping fore'ast have a soporifi' effe't

a familiar and 'omforting register of sea

areas and 'oastal stations that have 'ome

to define the sym)oli' )oundary of the

nation. 36a'Donald, $%%L? L$


37/93

'itiens in the United Kingdom(

David Hendy.s 3$%%%5Radio in the glo%al

age is argua)ly the most impressive intervention

)y a radio studies s'holar )e'ause of

his willingness to e>plore how radio )road'asting

and listening is now a glo)al phenomenon,

even if there are signifi 'ant lo'al

and regional variations depending inter alia

on the integration with internet te'hnologies,

'ommer'ialiation, listener availa)ility, politi'al

'ontrol and transnational 'onne'tions

with other )road'asters( As Hendy notes?

#hile )eing a lo'al medium par e>'ellen'e,

radio is a)le to rea'h a'ross large spa'es,

potentially threatening pla'e+spe'ifi ' 'ultures

with its homogenied 'ontent, potentially

Alasdair Pinkerton and Klaus Dodds: Radio geopolitics 1=


38/93

forging new delo'alied 'ommunities of

interest it has a history in whi'h nation+states

often led the way in esta)lishing servi'es, )ut

its oral 'ode of 'ommuni'ation allows it to

tie itself to 'ommunities of language, whi'h

ignore offi 'ial )orders it )etrays a 'ommer'ial

imperative to rea'h large, high+spending audien'es,

)ut it also has a 'ost stru'ture, whi'h

'reates at least the possi)ility of a 'ommunity

station surviving on the tiniest of audien'es(

t is, in short, the most adapta)le of ;media.

in fi nding its audien'e( 3Hendy, $%%%? $1J5

n this way, radio is often im)ued with an aura

of a''essi)ility and demo'ratiing potential

3listeners 'an )e 'ontri)utors and thus not

7ust passive re'eivers5 even if there is a long

history of radio )road'asting )eing either


39/93

tightly regulated )y states or restri'ted )y

national authorities throughout the Glo)al

Borth and :outh(

9inally, within nternational Relations

and Politi'al :'ien'e, there has )een interest

in radio as a form of ;soft power. and its role

in pu)li' diploma'y during and after the

se'ond world war( n his well+known work,

oseph Bye 3$%%4a5 has 'laimed that the

Eush administration has lost interest in 'ultural

diploma'y and what he has 'alled ;soft

power.( As he noted in an arti'le in&oreign

A''airs?

:kepti's of soft power 3:e'retary of :tate

Donald Rumsfeld professes not even to

understand the term5 'laim that popularity

is ephemeral and should not guide foreign


40/93

poli'y( "he United :tates, they assert, is strong

enough to do as it wishes with or without the

world.s approval and should simply not

a''ept that others will envy and resent it(

"he world.s only superpower does not need

permanent allies the issues should determine

the 'oalitions, not vi'e versa, a''ording

to Rumsfeld( 3Bye, $%%4)? 1L5

Given that :e'retary of :tate Rumsfeld no

longer holds offi 'e, this s'epti'al view may

no longer )e -uite so prevalent in the fa'e

of rising anti+Ameri'anism and the mounting

losses of U: servi'e personnel in ra-(

However, Bye dete'ted an apparent disregard

of the power of media in'luding

radio to ;persuade. others a)out Ameri'a.s

interventions in southwest and 'entral Asia(


41/93

As he noted, ;During the 2old #ar, radio

)road'asts funded )y #ashington rea'hed

half the :oviet population and =% to


42/93

words, the -uestion of legitima'y is likely to

)e 'riti'al in determining potential infl uen'e(

/ther studies on radio diploma'y and

;soft power. have in the past )een )etter at

e>amining radio )road'asting and state

'ontrols rather than listening audien'es and

potential effe'tiveness( Hale 310=J5 and

Rawnsley 3100L5 )oth 'onsider Eritish )road'ast

poli'ies and parti'ular international

'rises and 'onfl i'ts in the post+104J era( n

the 'ase of Rawnsley, for e>ample, his work

'onsiders radio )road'asting with regard to

the 10JL :ue 2risis, the 10JL Hungarian

Uprising, the 10L$ 2u)an 6issile 2risis and

the Ameri'an engagement with Mietnam( n

ea'h 'ase, Eritish and Ameri'an )road'asting

was e>amined and 7udged with regard to how


43/93

it reported these parti'ular 'rises and the

kinds of politi'al and )road'asting 'onfl i'ts

reports from the EE2 and M/A engendered(

"he earlier work )y Hale 'onsiders three

models of international radio )road'asting F

the Bai, the 2ommunist and the EE2( n

'on'lusion, Hale 'ontends that the EE2

remains somewhat different to Bai and

2ommunist )road'asters )e'ause it sought

sin'e the 'reation of the !mpire :ervi'e in

10$= to provide ;relia)le. news and information

even if that meant 'lashing with the

1


44/93

of Bai )road'asting 'ompared to the EE2.s

reputation for ;relia)le. news )road'asting(

"he Ameri'an and :oviet )road'asters were

7udged to )e single+minded in their determination

to pursue their national priorities as

refle'ted )y state+'ontrolled radio stations

su'h as Moi'e of Ameri'a and Radio 6os'ow

respe'tively(

6ore re'ent resear'h, however, would

'all into -uestion the 'laim regarding the

EE2.s reputation for relia)le and impartial

)road'asting( Although Hale 310=J? 4


45/93

other sour'es. 310=J? 4


46/93

pro+Pakistani in its reporting of parti'ular

'rises( Alternatively, there are still many

listeners who tune into the EE2 #orld

:ervi'e in )oth 'ountries and value it for its

news and 'urrent affairs reporting( Audien'e

figures alongside listener letters and email

'omments sent to lo'al EE2 offi 'es provide

some invalua)le insights into these parti'ular

listening 'ommunities(

Moi'e of Ameri'a and the EE2 #orld

:ervi'e are funded )y the :tate Department

and the 9oreign /ffi 'e respe'tively( ikewise

Radio 6os'ow 'ontinues to )e funded )y

the Russian government( #hile editorial

'ontrol and 'ontent varies )etween these

three glo)al )road'asters, former 9oreign

:e'retary Ro)in 2ook des'ri)ed the EE2.s


47/93

as Eritain.s ;Moi'e around the #orld. despite

its 'laims to impartiality and editorial

independen'e( "here is still a great deal of

resear'h to )e done on the impa't on listeners

and listener 'ommunities, espe'ially in the

Glo)al :outh( "he reputations and impa't

of glo)al )road'asters has )een varied even

if ea'h has the 'apa'ity to )road'ast over

large areas that far e>'eed their 'ountry.s

respe'tive national )oundaries( 6oreover,

as earlier studies did not readily a'knowledge,

listeners to the EE2, M/A and Radio

6os'ow also listen, read and wat'h other

media su'h as television and newspapers( :o,

in the 'ase of the 10JL :ue 2risis, readers of

the (%ser)er and the Guardian 3whi'h were

'riti'al of the Anglo+9ren'h intervention5


48/93

might have also listened to EE2 #orld :ervi'e

)road'asts )e'ause they )elieved them

to )e willing to )e 'riti'al of offi 'ial government

statements a)out the nature and longterm

purpose of the intervention 3:haw,

100L5( As Roger :ilverstone 310045 had noted,

people have their own ;media signatures.

and resear'hers need to understand )etter

how and with what 'onse-uen'es people

a''ess different forms of media(

III Media and popular geopolitics:

new directions

"he negle't of radio )y e>isting studies

of popular geopoliti's is unfortunate )ut

not unsurprising given the preo''upation

with visual media and the visual tradition of

geopoliti's more generally( As Q "uathail


49/93

argued in *ritical geopolitics 3100L5, the intelle'tual

tradition of geopoliti's has long )een

preo''upied with the visual whether it )e in

the form of the /lympian gae or maps and

other representations of glo)al geopoliti'al


spa'e( 2riti'al geopoliti'al s'holars have

tended to fo'us their energies on visual

media su'h as film, television and 'omi's

and te>tual produ'tions su'h as magaines

like theReader+s Digest, whi'h 'om)ine te>t

and images 3:harp, $%%%5( "his apparently

visual preo''upation needs to )e treated with

'aution, however( n one key respe't, terms

su'h as ;visual media., as 6it'hell 3$%%J? $J


50/93

media in'luding radio are ;mi>ed media. that

involve other senses su'h as tou'hing, looking

and listening( /ne only has to 'onsider how

radio listening often involves looking at the

radio transmitter to appre'iate that it may

well )e a 'ase of simply a'knowledging a

visual predominan'e( As a form of ;mi>ed

media., radio and fi lm 3for instan'e5 involve a

)raiding and nesting of these senses(

As noted earlier, we )elieve that this

negle't of radio is, if you forgive a visual pun,

short+sighted( "hree areas deserve further

attention Fresear'hing radio, radio and )road'asting

infrastru'ture, and listening( 9irst,

with regard to resear'hing radio, we need to

'onsider how this intelle'tual fi eld might )e

further developed( #hile radio would appear


51/93

to have an ethereal -uality, whi'h might make

resear'h appear at fi rst glan'e pro)lemati',

it is not impossi)le to re'onstru't the varied

geographies and geopoliti's of )road'asting

and listening( Radio, as "amar ie)es

has noted, is 'apa)le of 'reating a series of

;a'ousti' spa'es. through whi'h listeners

and 'ommunities 'an e>press their 'olle'tive

identities( n her resear'h, ie)es 3$%%L5

e>amined sraeli )road'asting and sought

to re'onstru't how listeners were 7oined together

through ethereal listening networks(

Using personal a''ounts, novels and newspaper

reports and arti'les within the sraeli

media, alongside interviews and oral testimonies,

she fo'used on how those radio

reports had 'ontri)uted to a sense of pu)li'


52/93

memory and 'olle'tive geohistory on the eve

of sraeli independen'e( "his task was made

all the harder in the sense that there were

no offi 'ial re'ordings of the )road'asts and

many of the interviewees were )eing asked

to remem)er asso'iated events from over

L% years ago( t is pre'isely )e'ause radio is

often not stored in the same manner as newspapers

and other printed te>ts in ar'hives

that led resear'hers to underestimate the signifi

'an'e of radio )road'asting and listening(

As ie)es noted, ;"he ephemeral -uality of

the medium, and in srael.s 'ase, the gradual

disappearan'e of re'ords and re'ordings, and

the 3partly resultant5 relian'e of historians on

print, 'ontri)ute to an in'orre't re'olle'tion

of the salien'e of radio on moulding uniform


53/93

pu)li' outlooks. 3ie)es, $%%L? =%5(

Her resear'h raises some interesting

-uestions a)out resear'hing radio and, for

instan'e, the relationship )etween a'ousti'

and te>tual sour'es in radio )road'asting

and listening resear'h( As :'annell and

2ardiff 310015 refl e'ted?

"here is an ines'apa)le parado> at the

heart of this pro7e't of whi'h we have )een

a'utely aware of all along F our o)7e't of

study no longer e>ists( "he early pioneers of

radio as an art form lamented the ;ghastly

impermanen'e. of their medium( Radio, and

later television, developed fi rst as live systems

of transmission and re'ording te'hnologies

'ame later( "hus, although there are some

re'ordings of the more signifi 'ant programmes


54/93

)road'ast from the mid thirties onwards, the

vast )ulk of output perished in the moment

of transmission( "he fleeting, unre'orded

'hara'ter of early radio seems o)stinately to

resist the possi)ility of histori'al re'lamation(

3:'annell and 2ardiff, 1001? >iii5

n their resear'h on radio, :'annell and

2ardiff draw upon radio.s te>tual presen'e

in the form of minutes of EE2 6anagement

Eoards and departmental meetings held at

the EE2 #ritten Ar'hive 2entre in Reading(

"here are also listener reports, press 'uttings

and poli'y fi les, whi'h 'an help re'onstru't

the )road'asting+listening 'onte>t so vital

for understanding the geopoliti'al and 'ultural

signifi 'an'e of radio reporting espe'ially

during moments of international 'risis su'h


55/93

as the 10LJ ndo+Pakistani war( However, as

$%Progress in Human Geography !1"

Dolan 3$%%85 has noted, there is an inherent

tension )etween the aural and te>tual sour'es

used )y many radio s'holars and the value

that is pla'ed on written do'umentation,

whi'h is often seen as a ;poor su)stitute for a

voi'e that 'annot )e heard. 3$%%8? L=5(

:e'ond, )road'asting infrastru'ture and

te'hnology needs to )e )etter understood

)y popular geopoliti'al writers whether it )e

asso'iated with radio, television, the internet

or television 3see Hugill, 10005( A great deal of

e>isting dis'ussion within popular geopoliti's

shows little awareness either of the media

te'hnologies and infrastru'ture ne'essary to

)road'ast or of the values atta'hed to the


56/93

te'hnologies themselves( "ake radio listening

as an e>ample( n the UK, if you want to

listen to EE2 #orld :ervi'e then you are

guaranteed 96 -uality listening throughout

the day and night( Eoth of us 'an and do listen

to the radio via our digital televisions )e'ause

we have a''ess to it via the 9reeview digital

platform( /ther listeners 'an a''ess #orld

:ervi'e via digital radio )road'asting te'hnologies(

"he improved audi)ility and relia)ility

has )rought new listeners to the

EE2.s international servi'es( However, other

listeners in other parts of the world are less

fortunate when it 'omes to availa)ility and

a''essi)ility( ust as there is a digital divide,

there is a radio listening s'hism( isteners

in ndia, for instan'e, are prevented from


57/93

a''essing EE2 #orld :ervi'e on lo'al 96

)e'ause the ndian government prevents the

EE2 from re)road'asting on these 'hannels(

As a 'onse-uen'e, the listening e>perien'e

is -uite different and listeners in south Asia

often 'omment that one has to listen to the

EE2 more ;intently. and ;'arefully. than if

you were in the UK( :easonal differen'es

su'h as the monsoon 'an also interfere with

)road'asting -uality of international radio

servi'es( "he inherent 'hallenges of shortwave

audi)ility appear to demand a more

'ommitted and 'areful form of listening

and this 'an generate different kind of audien'e

rea'tions and, as we shall note )elow,

emotional investments with the medium,

espe'ially if listeners gather 'olle'tively to


58/93

listen to parti'ular reports and news items(

nfrastru'tural developments su'h as

short+wave and 96 )road'asting availa)ility

need to )e )etter understood( "he physi'al

infrastru'ture of radio )road'asting is also

signifi 'ant( "he lo'ation of a radio transmitter

is 'riti'ally important in determining radio

)road'asting range and fre-uen'y( Given

radio.s 'apa'ity to trans'end international

)orders, radio transmitters have )e'ome

fre-uent o)7e'ts of geopoliti'al dis'ord( n

south Asia, for e>ample, the proposed lo'ation

of a radio transmitter )y the EE2 and

su)se-uently M/A in the early 10L%s generated

a su)stantial and highly emotive response

in ndia as lo'al politi'al leaders and

newspaper editors 'omplained that Ameri'a


59/93

was trying to in'rease politi'al and 'ultural

infl uen'e( At a time when ndia was a leading

mem)er of the Bon+Aligned 6ovement, this

was 7udged to )e an una''epta)le )rea'h of

this foreign poli'y disposition( "he rea'tion

in Pakistan was also highly 'harged F )oth

radio )road'asters were a''used of trying

to influen'e domesti' politi'al sensi)ilities(

2artoonists for newspapers su'h asDa$n

3Kara'hi5 re'orded the 'ontroversy visually

with at least one image 31$ uly 10L85 depi'ting

two large loudspeakers )elonging to

Moi'e of Ameri'a, lo'ated in north ndia,

)road'asting anti+Pakistani and anti+2hinese

propaganda 39igure 15(

"he geographies of )road'asting and

transmitting deserve greater attention


60/93

espe'ially in the Glo)al :outh( n part, this is

symptomati' of a )roader malaise whi'h 'on'erns

a tenden'y of popular geopoliti's to

'on'entrate on the e>perien'es of the !uro+

Ameri'an world and ;western. outliers su'h

as Australia and Bew Oealand( "his is not

7ust an issue for Anglophone geopoliti'al

studies )ut also for other intelle'tual fields

su'h as media studies( As 2urran and Park

3$%%%? 85 have warned, there is a real need

to ;de+westernie. media studies )e'ause it

leads to generaliations a)out the availa)ility

of media in'luding radio, the nature of

Alasdair Pinkerton and Klaus Dodds: Radio geopolitics $1

listening and 'ommer'ial relationships that

have no pur'hase in the Glo)al :outh( #hile

EE2 short+wave servi'es in 6andarin are


61/93

routinely 7ammed )y the 2hinese authorities,

other pla'es su'h as As'ension sland, 2yprus,

/man and a new transmitter in southern

"hailand 3repla'ing the former transmitter in

Hong Kong5 play a 'riti'al role in fa'ilitating

glo)al )road'asting( "hese transmitter

stations have a 'onsidera)le geopoliti'al importan'e

as, for instan'e, As'ension is the

key nodal point for rea'hing atin Ameri'an

and Afri'an audien'es( t also hosted the

Eritish government.s propaganda station

Radio Atlanti'o del :ur, during the 9alklands

'onfli't of 10


62/93

should now in'reasingly turn to understanding

)etter the role of audien'es and listening

pra'ti'es( As :tephen Earnard 3$%%%5 noted?

"hinking a)out one.s own use of a mass 'ommuni'ation

medium su'h as radio is a good

point of departure for a study of how the media

operate and wield the power they have( Until

you appre'iate your own viewing, listening or

reading ha)its, trying to understand the ha)its

and predile'tions of audien'es F and the way

the media per'eives their audien'es, respond

to, adapt and 'ater for them F is almost impossi)le(

3Earnard, $%%%? 15

"his means in part shifting the dire'tion

from further analyses of )road'asting strategies

and radio propagandaper se to )etter

Figure 1 U:+ndian mouthpie'e? M/A )road'asting anti+Pakistan and anti+2hinese


63/93

propaganda( Dawn 3Kara'hi? 1$=L85

$$Progress in Human Geography !1"

understanding audien'es and their rea'tions(

As the historian o 9o> 3$%%45 has noted?

n wartime, as at other moments of 'risis,

there is a need to 'reate unity or a unified

'ommunity, to make the individual'eelpart

of something greater( Radio played a key role

in )ringing people out of isolation and integrating

them with the mass Radio offered

its listeners a ;)ridge. )etween the individual

and the mass, and played an essential role in

'ommunity )uilding( 39o>, $%%4? 0J, emphasis

added5

Although she does not dwell on how Eritish

wartime radio )road'asting performed as

a ;)ridge., other sour'es 3te>tual and visual5


64/93

have played a signifi 'ant role in 'reating an

understanding of how individuals and families

listened to the radio(4 f they did ;feel

part of something greater. then it was perhaps

due to 'ertain forms of )ehaviour su'h

as gathering in the living room of a house to

listen to reports a)out the se'ond world war(

ikewise the radio o''upied a 'entral position

in Ameri'an life as President Roosevelt 'ommuni'ated

to over L%N of radio listeners

on the eve of the 'ountry.s entry into war(

/n $0 De'em)er 104%, Roosevelt delivered

his famous ;arsenal of demo'ra'y. spee'h to

around LJ million listeners 3Douglas, 10005(

Unsurprisingly, radio.s role in mo)iliing the

nation for war has )een mu'h 'onsidered )y

s'holars, not least )e'ause of the inherent


65/93

tensions of using a demo'ratiing medium

su'h as radio for the purpose of 'entraliing

'ontrol over a popula'e( #hat is 'lear from

this resear'h is that the rea'tions of listeners

were in'red+i)ly varied and depended on a

raft of fa'tors in'luding ethni'ity, gender,

so'ial 'lass and geographi'al lo'ation(

As with any medium, radio listening varied

among listening 'ommunities in the sense

of emotional investments and audien'e dispositions(

n the 'ase of post+104J south Asia,

for instan'e, listeners to EE2 #orld :ervi'e

rea'ted in very different ways to reports

a)out international events su'h as the 10LJ

Figure 2 Radio Atlanti'o del :ur ;:. 'ard 310


66/93

Eangladesh and the ndian !mergen'y in

the 10=%s( /n the one hand, there were those

who viewed the EE2 reporting as ;trustworthy.

and ;relia)le. 'ompared to lo'al radio

stations su'h as All ndia Radio and Radio

Pakistan, whi'h were 'ondemned as ;propaganda

mouth+pie'es. for the ndian and

Pakistani governments respe'tively( /n the

other hand, the EE2 'ould also )e 'ondemned

for )eing an unwel'ome ;'olonial. presen'e in

south Asia and intent on se'retly pursuing a

Eritish government agenda designed to retain

'ontrol over its former 'olonies( !viden'e

for these mi>ed rea'tions 'omes in part from

listener letters sent to the EE2 #orld :ervi'e

offi 'e in Bew Delhi and through interviews

with listeners, who often re'alled vividly


67/93

where they were and who they were with

when they first heard EE2 reports on a

parti'ular 'risis 3Pinkerton, $%%ample involving the EE2 Pashto

:ervi'e, whi'h is )road'ast primarily to

Afghan audien'es( Eefore the /'to)er $%%1

assaults, 8(J million were tuning in to hear a

soap opera entitled ;Bew Home, Bew ife.(

t was the most popular programme in the

'ountry and su'h was its popularity that the

"ali)an regime was relu'tant to impose a

)an on radio entertainment for fear of stimulating

an insurre'tion( "he EE2.s reputation

was enhan'ed and many listeners a''ordingly


68/93

tuned into other programmes in'luding

news and 'urrent affairs( However, that did

not mean that the Eritish military.s involvement

in the 'ountry was any less 'ontroversial

and that listeners were not perfe'tly

'apa)le of en7oying some programmes

while deriding others for )eing ;propaganda.

and ;imperialist. in nature( As listeners have

demonstrated in many parts of the world,

espe'ially with regards to international )road'asters,

listening 'ommunities 'an alter in

tone and su)stan'e(

As radio s'holars have noted, listening 'an

always )e 'onsidered in a more so'ial and

'ultural 'onte>t( As :usan Douglas 310005

has 'laimed?

the way people listened to radio was profoundly


69/93

shaped )y the era they )egan to

listen n other words different generations

learned to listen and use the radio differently(

:o it.s not only what people listened to

that defi ned generations( ts ho$ they listened

as well that shaped people.s memories,

asso'iations with others, their sense of who

they were and their pla'e in history( 3Douglas,

1000? L5

A fo'us on listening 3and how we learn to

listen and different modes of listening depending

on whether one is listening to news,

the weather, musi', sport and so on5 is essential

in developing a 'riti'al appre'iation of

radio( #e might, to paraphrase Douglas,

also note that the ;pla'e of geography. matters

)e'ause, as Keith ones has noted with


70/93

referen'e to musi' and fa'tory work in the

midst of the se'ond world war, a'ts of listening

and singing were also shaped )y geographi'al

fa'tors su'h as a''ess to radio, pro>imity to

loudspeakers, the segregated nature of the

workpla'e and the availa)ility of 'olleagues

and friends 3ones, $%%J5( f this was true

of fa'tory work in Eritain during the se'ond

world war then it is 'ertainly pertinent to

a'knowledge that listening in pla'es su'h as

ndia, Pakistan and Afghanistan was as mu'h

infl uen'ed )y prevailing weather patterns as

it was )y a''essi)ility to the radio and the

segregated nature of 'ommunal listening(

I !onclusions: towards a radio

geopolitics

"his review of some of the literature asso'iated


71/93

with radio needs to )e 'onte>tualied

with regard to geography.s longer+standing

engagement with musi' and sound( /ver 1%

years ago, :usan :mith 310045 was one of the

fi rst to alert geographers to a'ousti' spa'es

and the 'onne'tions )etween musi' and soni'

geographies( /ver the following de'ade and

$4Progress in Human Geography !1"

a half, others have followed and 'onsidered

in more detail the role of sound in 'reating

spa'es, )orders and power sound as a form of

memory and )elonging sound and everyday

life sound.s 'apa'ity to stimulate movement,

dan'e and performan'e the institutions and

industries that market and sell aural 'ulture

and the ma'hines and te'hnologies that

produ'e, store and disseminate sound in the


72/93

form of musi' and other forms of noise 3see,

for e>ample, Eull, $%%45( n short, a great

deal of literature now e>ists on how and with

what 'onse-uen'es sound is em)edded in

history, 'ultures, institutions, te'hnologies

and of 'ourse geographies(

9rom our point of view, the spe'ial issue

on soni' geographies in the 7ournal ,ocial

and *ultural Geography 3$%%J5 is ri'hly suggestive

in terms of how we might further

pursue a soni' geopoliti's( 9irst, following

David 6atless.s 3$%%J5 paper on ;:oni' geography

in a nature region., we might 'onsider

the a'ousti' e'ologies and how a soni' environment

is defi ned, valued, e>perien'ed and

'ommuni'ated( /ne e>ample that illustrates

that potential well is the impa't on the


73/93

9alkland slands 'ommunity in April 10


74/93

)e e>'hanged( 6any slanders later re'orded

that the takeover of the radio station )y

the Argentine military authorities was the

most traumati' event of the o''upation, in

a 'onfli't whi'h was later to )e mer'ifully

light on 'ivilians 'ompared to later 'onfl i'ts

in the 100%s and )eyond( #hen the lo'al

)road'asting station )e'ame ;Argentine.,

listeners relied on EE2 #orld :ervi'e for

further news a)out the military situation

affe'ting the 9alklands 3Pinkerton, $%%=5(

:e'ond, using the work of Bi'k 6egoran

3$%%L5 on the politi's of remem)ran'e

following the 11 :eptem)er $%%1 atta'ks,

popular geopoliti's should 'onsider how

prayers, readings, songs and sermons 'o+7oin

in 'omple> ways to produ'e 'ommemorative


75/93

en'ounters in, for instan'e, :t Paul.s

2athedral in ondon( istening, as :usan

:mith 3$%%%? L845 has noted, is mu'h more

than simply overhearing sounds, it involves

a performan'e, whi'h helps listeners de'ipher,

'lassify and interpret sound( How do 'ertain

soni' e>perien'es then )e'ome 'onne'ted to

geopoliti'al 'ultures and affe't f the 'om)ination

of musi', silen'e, praying and 'rying

have the power to move em)odied su)7e'ts,

then this deserves more detailed 'onsideration

)e'ause e>pressions of Ameri'an geopoliti'al

power in Afghanistan and ra- owe

as mu'h to strategi' planning as they do to an

affe'tive response seeking not only to punish

those who planned the atta'ks )ut also to

seek a form of uplifting denouement for a


76/93

'ountry and its popula'e hurt, humiliated and

traumatied )y 11 :eptem)er $%%1( #hat

is la'king from important interventions )y

s'holars su'h as Q "uathail 3$%%85, for e>ample,

is a 'learly stated 'ommitment to develop

audio+ethnographies so ne'essary to

)etter our understanding of listening pra'ti'es(

"he em)odied ha)its that 6i'hael

Eillig 3100J5 mentions, su'h as saluting the

fl ag, need to )e 'o+7oined with other pra'ti'es

su'h as singing and listening to national

anthems( ikewise, it should )e noted that

religious 'hanting and e>hortation in the

form of ;God is great. is also 'entral to the

em)odied ha)its of slami' radi'als(

"hird, we might further 'ontemplate the

une-ual geopoliti's of sound and 'onsider


77/93

Alasdair Pinkerton and Klaus Dodds: Radio geopolitics $J

how some 'ountries su'h as the United

:tates, Eritain and Russia have a greater

'apa'ity than others to intrude on soni'

environments( 9or instan'e, the EE2 #orld

:ervi'e, as noted earlier, while often valued

)y many listeners around the world also has

)een a deeply resented presen'e in the soni'

lives of listeners in ran, ndia and Pakistan(

During the post+'old+war era, these glo)al

)road'asters 'ontinue to use their network

of transmitters to produ'e and disseminate

news, musi' and 'ommentary to listening

'ommunities around the world( isteners

and other )road'asters are not simply soni'

sponges as, in many parts of the world, these

overseas sour'es are 7ust one radio sour'e


78/93

and popular geopoliti'al s'holarship needs

to understand )etter how listeners 'om)ine

different radio sour'es and other analogue

and digital media to produ'e individual and

'olle'tive media signatures(

9inally, other s'holars have pointed to

the need to 'onsider the pla'e of ;affe't. and

the manner in whi'h radio alongside other

mediated 'ommuni'ation 'an )e registered

at the level of the physi'al )ody( Affe't, as

Erian 6assumi 310


79/93

determine the relationship )etween the

)ody, the environment and others( Bew resear'h

in media studies is, as a 'onse-uen'e,

'alling into -uestion the notion of ;media

effe'ts. and instead 'onsiders affe'tive

resonan'e( Radio s'holars su'h as ohn

"e))utt 3$%%L?


80/93

espe'ially with regard to the mi'ro+)odily

geographies of listening(

!oda

/n 81 /'to)er 108


81/93

delivered F as a news )ulletin format(

Ackno$ledgements

#e would like to thank Alan ngram, Ale'

6urphy, 6ar'us Power, 9ran'is Ro)inson

and ames :idaway for their helpful 'omments

on an earlier draft( "he referees offered

many helpful 'omments( Alasdair Pinkerton

gratefully a'knowledges the support of the

!'onomi' and :o'ial Resear'h 2oun'il and

the Eritish A'ademy in the form of a do'toral

studentship and a Postdo'toral 9ellowship

respe'tively, and Klaus Dodds a'knowledges

the support of the everhulme "rust in the

form of the Philip everhulme Prie 3$%%J5(

"otes

1( /ne signifi 'ant differen'e )etween $%%1 and the

time of writing this arti'le 3ie, :eptem)er $%%=5 is


82/93

that mo)ile phone te'hnology has shifted so that

it is now 'ommon for users to )e a)le to use their

phones to photograph and video( :urvivors, within

the "win "owers and elsewhere, might have

'reated a very different audiovisual ar'hive(

$( http?www(011digitalar'hive(org 3last a''essed

1< April $%%


83/93

#arfi eld, R$ 10


84/93

studies( ondon? Routledge(

(ebri, F$ $%%=? Ta%loid terror: $ar4 culture and geopolitics(

ondon? Routledge(

(itt&er, +$ $%%J? 2aptain Ameri'a.s empire? refl e'tions

of identity, popular 'ulture and post 011 geopoliti's(

Annals o' the Association o' American Geographers

0J, L$LF4J(

(odds, K$ $%%=? Geopolitics: a )ery short introduction(

/>ford? />ford University Press(

(olan, +$ $%%8? "he voi'e that 'annot )e heard? radio

)road'asting and the ;ar'hive.(Radio ournal 1,

L8F=$(

(ouglas, %$ 1000?istening in: radio and the American

imagination( Bew Cork? Random House(

(unbar-.all, P$ and /ibson, !$ $%%%? :inging a)out

nations within nations? geopoliti's and identity in

Australian indigenous ro'k musi'(Popular 5usic and


85/93

,ociety $43$5, 4JF=4(

Fe0es, F$ 10 Pu)lishers(

Fo, +$ $%%4? mages of wartime radio( n 2onnelly, 6(

and #el'h, D(, editors, 7ar and the media, ondon?

(E( "auris(

/ellately, R$ $%%$?#acking Hitler( />ford? />ford

University Press(

/ibson, !$ 100


86/93

/raha&, %( $%%=? #ar and the 'it(y-e$ e't Re)ie$

44, 1$1F8$(

/regory, ($ $%%4? The colonial present( />ford?

Ela'kwell(

.ale, +$ 10=J?Radio po$er: propaganda and international

%roadcasting( ondon? Paul !le'k Press(

.endy, ($ $%%%?Radio in the glo%al age( 2am)ridge?

Polity Press(

.illard, R$, editor 10>:


87/93

geopolitics and technology( Ealtimore, 6D? ohns

Hopkins University Press(

Innis, .$ 10J%?ford?

/>ford University Press(

Isola, /$ 100J? talian radio? history and historiography(

Historical ournal o' &ilm4 Radio and Tele)ision 1J,

808F00(

+a3eel, 4$ $%%J? "he world is sound Geography,

musi'ology and Eritish+Asian sounds'apes(Area 8=,

$88F41(

+ones, K$ $%%J? 6usi' in fa'tories? a twentieth 'entury

te'hni-ue for 'ontrol of the produ'tive self( ,ocial

and *ultural Geography L, =$8F44(

Kat3, )$ and *eddell, /$ 10==?#roadcasting in the

third $orld( 2am)ridge? 2am)ridge University Press(

eyshon, A$, Matless, ($ and Reill, /$, editors

100


88/93

iebes, 4$ $%%L? A'ousti' spa'e? the role of radio in

sraeli 'olle'tive memory(e$ish History $%, L%F0%(

Mac(onald, F$ $%%L? "he last outpost of empire?

Ro'kall and the 'old war(ournal o' Historical

Geography 8$, L$=F4=(

Massu&i, #$ 10


89/93

perspecti)e on 3 years o' history4 glo%al America4

1913F04 ?olume >@Bew Haven, 2"? Cale

University Press(

Menduni, /$ $%%4? ;An unheard story "he 'hallenge

for radio studies in taly(Radio ournal $, 1JF$L(

Alasdair Pinkerton and Klaus Dodds: Radio geopolitics $=

Miller, !$ 1041? Radio and propaganda(Annals o' the

American Academy o' Political and ,ocial ,cience $18,

L0F=4(

Mitchell, *$+$4$ $%%J? "here is no visual media(

ournal o' ?isual *ulture 4, $J=FLL(

"eil Report $%%4? http?www())'('o(ukinfopoli'ies

pdfneilreport(pdf 3last a''essed 1< April $%%


90/93

Routledge(

5 $%%8? ;ust out looking for a fi ght.? Ameri'an affe't

and the invasion of ra-(Antipode 8J,


91/93

and 'ultural identity in 'olonial 6oam)i-ue(

ournal o' Historical Geography $L, L%JF$(

ondon? 6a'millan(

%aage, #$ 1000?#roadcasting 'reedom: radio4 $ar

and the politics o' race 19=F19>=( 2hapel Hill, B2?

University of Borth 2arolina Press(

%cannell, P$, editor 1001?#roadcast talk( ondon?

:age(

%cannell, P$ and !ardiff, ($ 1001?A social history o'

#ritish %roadcasting( />ford? Ela'kwell(

%harp, +$ $%%%? *ondensing the cold $ar( 6inneapolis,

6B? University of 6innesota Press(

%haw, 4$ 100L?


92/93

(E( "auris(

%hingler, M$ and *ierniga, !$ 100


93/93

4ho&pson, A$ $%%=?5edia and the R$anda genocide(

ondon? Pluto Press(

*al'er, A$ 100$?A sky'ul o' 'reedom( ondon?

Eroadside Eooks(

*hittington, *$ $%%=? ,ound design and science

'i ction( Austin, "&? University of "e>as Press(

Reprodu'ed with permission of the 'opyright owner( 9urther reprodu'tion prohi)ited

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Radio Geopoliticaas