Radio, culture et démocratie en France : une ambition mort-née (1944-1949) - article ; n°1 ; vol.30, pg 55-67

Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire - Année 1991 - Volume 30 - Numéro 1 - Pages 55-67
Radio, culture and democracy in France, a still-born ambition (1944-1949), Hélène Eck.
At the time of Liberation, the state rapidly took over the function of information, leaving that of culture and entertainment to radio professionals. The national radio thus tried to play the role of an active cultural intermediary, capable of explaining « the great issues of the hour » to a broad audience. The national radio thus became in the beginning of the Fourth Republic a factor of French cultural life. While programming hesitated as to the relative place of high culture and « popular » entertainment, the choices nevertheless privileged authors such as Jean Cocteau who accepted the apprehension of the « mouth of darkness ». Subject to public service constraints and reinforced political control due to the Cold War, the radio did not have total freedom of cultural expression, as shown by the Antonin Artaud censorship case. In spite of everything, the radio did not suspend, in the name of politics, its minimal mission of reporting literary news.
13 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.