UNDER
THE RADAR
Tracking Western Radio Listeners in the Soviet Union
UNDER THE RADAR
Tracking Western Radio Listeners in the Soviet Union
■ R. Eugene Parta
R. Eugene Parta
“No one is better qualied than Gene Parta
to explain how during the Cold War RFE/RL
measured the size of its audience, examined the
attitudes and opinions of its listeners, and used
that data to help shape the broadcasts. In this
well-written, superbly researched, and deeply
personal book, Parta takes us inside the audience
research operations, shows us how data was
collected and assessed, and paints memorable
sketches of individuals who worked at RFE/RL.
As we now enter a new Cold War, Parta’s book
serves as an all-important guide and inspiration
for a new generation of researchers who must
grapple with ever-evolving technologies, audience
fragmentation, social media, and Russian
disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks.”
MARK POMAR, SENIOR FELLOW AT CLEMENTS CENTER FOR
NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUTHOR OF
COLD
WAR RADIO: THE RUSSIAN BROADCASTS OF THE VOICE OF
AMERICA AND RADIO FREE EUROPE RADIO LIBERTY
“An essential intellectual adventure into the depths
of the Cold War, with essential lessons for today.
Parta shows that Russia is not a riddle wrapped in
an enigma – it can be understood and inuenced.
His insights have never been more relevant.”
PETER POMERANTSEV, SENIOR FELLOW AT THE SNF AGORA
INSTITUTE AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR OF
NOTHING IS TRUE AND EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE:
THE SURREAL HEART OF MODERN RUSSIA
“In this fascinating history, Gene Parta describes
the creative measures employed by Radio Liberty
to acquaint itself with its huge but unknown
audience in the Soviet Union. With the help of
travelers, émigrés, and letter writers, Parta and
his group of Paris-based researchers compiled
a portrait of their audience which enabled Radio
Liberty to tailor its broadcasts to their concerns
and become one of the most important
contributors to America’s victory in the Cold War.”
DAVID SATTER, FORMER MOSCOW CORRESPONDENT OF
THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND AUTHOR OF
AGE OF DELIRIUM: THE
DECLINE AND FALL OF THE SOVIET UNION
864555789633
9
ISBN 9789633864555
90000 >
Central European University Press
BUDAPEST | VIENNA | NEW YORK
SALES AND INFORMATION ceupress@press.ceu.edu
WEBSITE http://www.ceupress.com
The Author
Russell Eugene (Gene) Parta
retired as Director of Audience Research and
Program Evaluation for Radio Free Europe/
Radio Liberty in Prague in 2006. Previously,
Mr. Parta was Director of Media and Opinion
Research of the RFE/RL Research Institute
in Munich and earlier Director of Soviet Area
Audience and Opinion Research of Radio
Liberty in Paris. He has worked in the eld of
international broadcasting audience research
since 1969. He served as Chairman of CIBAR
(Conference on International Broadcasting
Audience Research that brings together
researchers from over 20 international
broadcasting organizations). He is a graduate
of St. Olaf College and the School of
Advanced International Studies of the Johns
Hopkins University and has been a visiting
research associate at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology on two occasions as
well as at George Washington University.
Mr. Parta was an Osher Senior Fellow at the
Hoover Institution of Stanford University in
2004 researching his earlier book
Discovering
the Hidden Listener: An Assessment of
Radio Liberty and Western Broadcasting to
the USSR During the Cold War
and a Visiting
Scholar at the Hoover Institution in 2017-2018
researching this book in the RFE/RL Corporate
Archives. He is co-editor with A. Ross Johnson
of
Cold War Broadcasting: Impact on the
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
.
