In the Second World War, the British ran a number of black propaganda radio stations. On Gustav Siegfried Eins (GS1 for short), a fake Prussian commander, known as “Der Chef,” accused Hitler and other Nazi grandees of corruption and s***** shenanigans. According to Daily Express journalist Sefton Delmer, who ran the station, GS1's “pornographic tone” so angered Labour politician Sir Stafford Cripps that he told Anthony Eden: “If this is the sort of thing that's needed to win the war — why, I'd rather lose it.”
Tokyo Rose Several Japanese women were recruited to make propaganda broadcasts on Radio Tokyo in English to American troops during the Second World War, with the aim of disrupting enemy morale. The mysterious female voices became known under the catch-all name “Tokyo Rose” — though the name is most associated with Iva Toguri d'Aquino, a U.S. citizen forced to broadcast as “Orphan Ann” during the show the Zero Hour, in which American music was played alongside propaganda news bulletins and comedy skits.
The American Forces Vietnam Network Immortalised in the 1987 film Good Morning Vietnam — in which Robin Williams played the irreverent real-life broadcaster Adrian Cronauer — a number of radio stations were operated by U.S. forces during the Vietnam war, broadcasting from U.S. Navy aeroplanes.
The last AFVN station closed in Saigon in 1973 — though an offshoot, renamed the American Radio Service, continued until 1975, when it played the song I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas as a signal to troops to evacuate Saigon.
United Nations Radio Formed with the aim of promoting peace and security around the world, the station made its first broadcast in 1946.
“This is the United Nations,” the announcer said portentously, “calling the peoples of the world.” During the 1950s, UN Radio made around six hours of programmes a day, in 33 languages, which were then relayed to 100 countries on their own national radio stations. The United Nations Radio station has scaled back its operations now, but it still produces feature programmes about initiatives at the United Nations, and twice-daily news round-ups.— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2011
