In 2026, Slovak Radio is marking 100 years since broadcasting began in what was then Czechoslovakia. For most of that time—90 years, in fact—broadcasting to audiences abroad has been an essential part of its story. While Radio Prague International is celebrating its 90th anniversary, Radio Slovakia International is marking 33 years since launching its own international service. This program is dedicated to this shared 90th anniversary.
90 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL RADIO BROADCASTING
Máte problém s prehrávaním? Nahláste nám chybu v prehrávači.
Czechoslovak Radiojournal launched its foreign service, on 31 August 1936.
The foreign broadcast started because of the geopolitical situation at the time. In 1936, Czechoslovakia’s Foreign Ministry felt a strong need to push back against propaganda coming from Germany, Hungary, Italy, and the Soviet Union, just before the Second World War. They were looking for a way to present the country to the world—and to connect with Czechoslovaks living abroad, so they’d stay engaged and supportive.
Another aspect of the launch of international broadcasting in the 1930s was Czechoslovakia wanted to keep its economic contacts alive. So it supported people involved in foreign trade and industry. The foreign service focused mainly on producing news that might be of interest to Czech and Slovak expatriates.
During the Second World War, the foreign service fell silent in the Czech lands. For seven years, its shortwave frequencies carried nothing but classical music. In Slovakia, the situation was different.
According to radio historian Vladimír Draxler, Alexander Mach—the head of propaganda at the time—did not turn to the German Ministry of Propaganda with a request to set up broadcasts for Slovaks living abroad, but rather to German security authorities. He was successful, as Slovak Radio began broadcasting internationally in 1940.
Klára Stejskalová, the editor-in-chief of Radio Prague International in 2026 talks about a brief episode of Slovak Radio broadcasting abroad in October 1940.
Tomáš Pánek of Czech radio archive points out that Slovak Radio had no shortwave service during the Nazi-allied Slovak Republic because its shortwave transmitter was in Poděbrady, a town that was suddenly in a different state — the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. “If there was any international propaganda broadcasting, it must have been enabled by German Reichssender — Reich transmitters of the Third Reich. However, this is a fascinating topic for further research,” concludes Tomáš Pánek.
After the end of war in 1945, for a short while, Czechoslovakia reintroduced itself as a free country. It was really a golden moment for the foreign service.
The Communist coup in 1948 put an end to the country’s democratic development. Radio Prague turned into a propaganda outlet.
At the beginning of 1968, censorship was lifted. However, that was changed after the Soviet Union lead Warsaw Pact troops invasion to Czechoslovakia on 21August that year. Many editors spoke out against it and lost their jobs. They were replaced by people loyal to the regime—sometimes even without the necessary language skills.
The legacy—international broadcast as a propaganda tool—wasn’t easy to shake off after 1989. The new democratic leadership had to be convinced that international broadcasting still mattered. Fortunately, the then management of Czechoslovak Radio—and, after 1993, Czech Radio and Slovak Radio—managed to put forward enough convincing arguments.
The international service of Czechoslovak Radio was originally established to defend democracy at a time when fascism was on the rise across Europe. Now, in 2026, democracy is once again facing serious challenges, as are the international services of public radio.
“Downsizing has become more or less the norm,” says Klára Stejskalová, editor-in-chief of Radio Prague International. „Take Switzerland, for example—Swissinfo recently had to fight for its very existence. Fortunately, it survived.”
Stejskalová and her team try to remind politicians that Radio Prague International is a reliable voice of the Czech Republic abroad. “We present the country clearly and without misinformation—and that makes us an effective tool of diplomacy.”
This programme was produced, edited and mixed by Martina Greňová Šimkovičová who has been with Radio Slovakia International for almost 20 of its 33 years — and for almost 20 of the 90 years of Czechoslovak and Slovak international broadcasting.
