Anna Jehle
Completed PhD project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the research project ‘Transnational Media Relations in Europe: International Programme Transfer and Cultural Transfer as part of a European Media Culture’.
During the second half of the twentieth century, radio became the leading media in France. Even after the establishment of television in the 1960s, radio remained both an important source of information and a companion in daily life. This doctoral thesis is based on the hypothesis that the change in broadcasting was closely interwoven with the development of the surrounding consumer society. The project aims to analyse Radio Luxemburg (RTL) with regard to this multi-layered, interchanging relationship.
In contrast to other European countries, the media landscape in France post 1945 was infused with the competition of the state-owned radio stations and the commercial stations commonly referred to as ‘radios périphériques’. These private broadcasters ran their stations outside of French territory, yet transmitted their medium- and long-wave programmes with a focus on French listeners and advertising clients. In doing so, Radio Luxembourg defied the state broadcasting monopoly and formed its programmes first and foremost based on economic principals. The pursuit for the largest listenership, an orientation towards certain target audiences and consumer circles as well as questions of marketing strategies played a crucial role in the management of the increasingly popular station. Given this situation, no radio broadcaster – state or private – could ignore the economic dynamics and hence a dual broadcasting system was established in France long before the official liberalisation of the broadcasting market in the early 1980s.
The PhD project researches the interrelation of media players, market interests and consumer ideas. This will lead to a socio-historically informed understanding of media culture in France at the time of the ‘Trente Glorieuses’
Sub-project within the research project Radio Télévision Luxembourg (RTL) as a Transnational Programme Provider (1945–1985)
Anna Jehle hat am 31. Mai 2017 an der Universität Potsdam ihre Promotion zu Radio Luxembourg mit der Note "magna cum laude" abgeschlossen.
Book, published in the ZZF-Bookseries " Media and Social Change in the Twentieth Century":
Anna Jehle, Welle der Konsumgesellschaft. Radio Luxembourg in Frankreich 1945-1975, Göttingen 2018.