Behind the Ironic Curtain:: Surfing the Western Airwaves between ‘Pirate’ Radio and Public Service

Abstract

This article examines the rise and fall of the first wave of offshore broadcasting in Europe in light of enduring tensions of the medium conceived of as a territorialised medium on the one hand and an interface for international exploration on the other. It argues that the mobilising radio’s transnational qualities during the Cold War ironically undermined the position of public service broadcasters in the West.