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A Qualitative Comparison of Two Soviet News Items in the Finnish Services of Radio Moscow and the BBC
Tapio Varis Cooperation and Conflict 1973 8: 33 DOI: 10.1177/001083677300800103 The online version of this article can be found at: http://cac.sagepub.com/content/8/1/33

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Qualitative Comparison

of Two Soviet News Items in

the Finnish Services of Radio Moscow and the BBC*

TAPIO VARIS Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Tampere, Finland.

Qualitative Comparison of Two Soviet News Items in the Finnish Services Cooperation and Conflict, VIII, 1973, 33-56. This study is a qualitative analysis of how the 24th Congress of Representatives of the Soviet Communist party was reported in the Finnish news services of Radio Moscow and the BBC. The study is designed to find out if and how the different ideologies distorted the reporting of the Congress and how the refined propaganda was used, either consciously or unconsciously. Brief analysis is also made of the reporting of the unsuccessful landing of the Soviet spacecraft Soljuz II to compare how a negative event is presented. It was found that both stations reported the main issues of the Congress in a businesslike manner but differences occurred in their telling of international reactions to the Congress and of policy implications. The explicit reference to the Czechoslovakian crisis in 1968 is the only aspect that was not reported by Moscow in the same context as by the BBC but there was much material reported by Moscow ignored by the BBC. The author also examines what is meant by objective news reporting. Tapio Varis, the Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication, the University of Tampere, Finland.
Varis, T.
A

of Radio Moscow and the BBC.

This report is a continuation of two previous research reports in which the author studied the audience of foreign radio transmissions in Finland, and the characteristics of external broadcasts and deliberate interference of their signals (jamming).2 While the first study was audience centred and the second focused on the institutional level, this study is aimed at shedding some light on the present position of international radio propaganda in this area. It thus contributes to the study of the ideological manifestations of the global interests of different social and economic systems. It is restricted to two major foreign broadcasters in the Finnish language: Radio Moscow and the BBC.

1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

z

sophisticated form of bourgeois journalism may be built upon the idea of objective news service with no ideological bias or basic tendencies dependent
Since the most
on

the social system, and since the social-

theory of mass communication is explicitly in accordance with the Weltanschauist

* The study was carried out with the practical assistance of Jyrki Jyrkiainen at the Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Tampere.

random in programme output was thought to be uninteresting particularly as this was being done simultaneously in a separate study.3 Besides, it has already been noted by Berelson that quantitative analysis can be applied only when content units are more or less of equal weight for the purpose of the analysis but not when any one word or sentence is as important as the rest of the message.4 It was believed that a useful approach towards obtaining the ideological characteristics of both objecung
a

of

Marxism-Leninism,

sample of quantitative
-

measures

34

tive and socialist news policies could be the deliberate selection of news events with a clear ideological content. A commonly held view of a communication system with an explicit ideological orientation is that it selects only such events and aspects of discussion as are favourable towards the adopted ideology and ignores other information. Because this view also implies criticism of the socialist theory of mass communication, it was decided to select such news events as were both favourable and unfavourable towards the construction of a socialist

other

programmes.6 Thus,

for

example,

transmissions to other Scandinavian countries were discontinued in 1959 on economic grounds but the Finnish service continued. The reason for this continuation has been explained by the position of Finland between the East and West when Finland, unlike other Scandinavian countries, may come under outside pres-

sure.7 The BBC External Services produce 95 hours of news and programmes in 40 languages during the course of every day

(1968).
BBC
news

society.
of the Western theory communication often claim that it is not the task of journalists to try to improve the world but to convey as neutral and precise a picture of it as possible. In the socialist way of thought, mass communication is not seen as separate from politics but as part of it. Communication is not only a reflector but also a creator of reality.5

Department apologians
issued in has sources of
now

The

of

mass

prepared in the News ready-made bulletins are all foreign languages (the BBC services in 40 languages). The
is and
news are

(1) news agencies; (2) the BBCs own correspondents (3) monitoring system, which is one of the quickest forms of acquiring information (systematic monitoring of foreign transmissions. The British
and the Americans in collaboration cover the whole world with this

II. NOTES ON THE PROCESS OF NEWS ON THE EXTERNAL SERVICES OF THE BBC

Since the status of the BBC and its relations with the British Government are
more complicated than those of Radio Moscow it is worthwhile taking a closer look at its news process. Even though the BBC is regarded as having a more or less autonomous status among British social institutions, relations between the Government and the broadcasting corporation are quite close when it comes to external transmissions. Not only is the revenue for external services provided by a Parliamentary Grant-inAid but the Government also prescribes the languages in which the external services broadcast and the length of time each language will be on the air. Beyond this point, however, the BBC assumes full responsibility for all the broadcasting operations, and is completely independent in determining the content of news and all

monitoring system). The news bulletins are mainly the same in all languages but there can also be special news for particular areas. When interviewed, personnel of the external services are inclined to claim that they do not try to modify news items. Domestic
and external services have to fit each other the content has to have the same tone. Each language section is free to add its own comments but generally they all speak with the same tone.8 The News Department determines the order of news items which varies from one section to another. The task of the BBC is not to convey the views of emigrants but those of the British and even the political opposition. Foreign items vary according to their international significance. For example in 1967-68 the following items about Finland reached such international significance in the BBC: the Presidential elections in 1968; a feature on the independence of Finland in 1967;

materially;

35

the

FINNEFTA; the devaluation of the Finnish mark; the Peoples Democratic

arrangements between EFTA and

(often erroneously referred to as Communist) in the Finnish Government.9

Union III. RADIO MOSCOWS FINNISH SERVICE
When characterizing Radio Moscows international activities Mark W. Hopkins writes:
These broadcasts

of the socialist order of societies and the old forms of capitalist and imperialist structures. The author has analysed this situation elsewhere.13 As the politologists have to some degree turned their attention away from a mere interactional school of thought towards the imperialistic school,14 the communication researchers are also moving somewhat from an idealist conception of the free flow of information towards the questions of hegemony and

skillfully edited to apaudiences. Indeed, initial Soviet research in radio audience tastes was done by Radio Moscow with listeners in North America.1
are

peal

to

specific

ideological penetration (e.g. Schiller, Smythe, etc.).15 The a prior preference of interest is therefore to study the way of presenting the favourable and unfavourable news of socialist systems. The first of two such major events occurring during the period of this study was the 24th Congress of Representatives of the Soviet Communist party (30 March - 9 April 1971) which as a news event was both favourable towards socialist construction and allowed a detailed study of the way and aspects chosen by both broadcasting institutions presentation of the issue. The second event, which was negative from the point of view of socialism, was the unsuccessful landing of the Soviet spacecraft Soljuz II with the bodies of
three cosmonauts

In all respects Radio Moscows Finnish Service plays an equal role with the BBC as far as the general formulation of its aims is concerned. Its introductory brochure states that its broadcasts inform the listener about Soviet attitudes towards international problems, about the multinational cultures of the Soviet Union, and about science, technology, and sports With regard to the production of programmes, a long-range plan for broadcasts is decided long before they go on the air at a general meeting of the editorial board. Listeners preferences are then taken into consideration. But the definite formulation of each days broadcasting including news bulletins takes place every morning at the meeting of the editors. This meeting decides, on the basis of foreign and domestic events, which items will be transmitted. The major part of Radio Moscows daily broadcasting (in 1968 over 200 hours a day in over 60 languages) is tape recorded. News bulletins and similar programmes are usually the only live transmissions. 12

(30 June 1971).

The research material was acquired by following the main Finnish transmissions of both radio stations. They were broadcast at 18.00 (16.00 GMT) by the BBC and at 18.30 (16.30 GMT) by Radio Moscow. These news bulletins, which were taperecorded and then transcribed in full, formed the basis for my study. Brief late news bulletins from either station (19.3019.45 GMT in the BBC and 18.30-19.00 GMT in Radio Moscow) were not included because no significant differences could be found from the main bulletins. Late broadcasts are only brief summaries of the

days
IV. THE SELECTION OF NEWS EVENTS FOR THIS STUDY The

news.
.

existing global confrontation of ideological influence can in the final analysis be reduced to the question of legitimation

When making a study of two cases only much random variation can occur in the news, so the aim of this study is not to make long-range generalizations but to test these cases. Propaganda methods and tactics vary according to events and time,

36

and therefore it is extremely difficult to to give an overall picture of how certain issues are handled. Temporal comparisons might be done on the basis of the foreign studies that were done during the cold war era or for governmental information agencies particularly in the United States. Conventional content analysis of foreign radio propaganda is the usual method of studying international communications. Methodologically this report differs from usual in that it is more qualitative and theoretical in its approach. The selection of the Communist Party Congress of the Soviet Union as an ide.. ologically relevant event can be argumented for several reasons: (1) Several Soviet studies indicate that the brunt of capitalist propaganda is directed against the leading role of the Communist party in socialist countries. For example, Krasnaya Svesda analysed the principal tasks of American radio stations in Munich as follows:

try

Western broadcasters confess explicitly that one of the primary aims of their transmissions to the socialist countries is to promote indifference towards the goals of a socialist society; in other words, to support the illegitimization of existing order. Radio Free Europe, for example, considers it a great achievement that its cross-reporting innovation a method informing the people in socialist countries of events and trends in neighbouring countries and in East Europe has become so effective. in general

Some

According investigations by RFE, crossreporting is considered important by more

to

(a)

To undermine the authority of the Communist parties in Czechoslo-

vakia, Poland, Romania, Hungary,

(b)

(c)
(d)

and Bulgaria. To create hostility between different social groups and stratas. To influence actively artists and scientists to separate from the party. To arouse confusion and disturbance as well as dissatisfaction by exaggerating economic difficulties (even those of minor significance).16

than 80 per cent of audiences, and that this method of broadcasting has thus become a politically significant means of developing among East Europeans a sense of common interest heretofore largely lacking and to stimulate and sustain public pressure for change.18 Though propaganda directed to Finland naturally differs from that directed to socialist countries it does not change the fact that the fundamental ideological problem is the question of how the Communist party status is presented. (2) The socialist concept of news is not based on the selling of news but on its social relevance and consequences. Thus a party congress is perceived as one of the most crucial issues in the life of a people. This is observed also by some Western sociologists: .
Since it is the general historical trend and not the isolated event that is important in Soviet news, topicality has not been a prime issue. A Party Congress, for example, may occupy almost the entire news time for the duration of its proceedings. Other occurrences during this period are summarized only after the more historically significant event (such as a Party Congress) is terminated. Domestic news is still heavily overweighted with the publicizing of economic achievements and Party government affairs.19

The undermining of Communist party authority is not only a question of everyday practice but also forms the theoretical basis of some leading bourgeois sociologists. Thus, for example, Talcott Parsons
writes:
The basic dilemma of the Communists is that it is not possible in the long run either to legitimate dictatorship of the Party or to abolish all governmental and legal control of behaviour, as the withering-away doctrine would have it. Political democracy is the only possible outcome - except for general
...

destruction

or

breakdown.17

Another question is why bourgeois journalism is so interested in the Party Congress. In the case of the Soviet Union this might be explained by a theory of big

37

powers. Everything that happens in either of the big powers is important and must be reported. These reports, however, are far from being analytical or neutral as is demonstrated briefly at the beginning of Case 1 in this paper.

V. THE QUESTION OF MANIPULATION BY NEWS when equated with indoctrination can be defined by referring to the non-conscious influence of mass communication as distinguished from propaganda which is consciously recognizable by the audiences. 20 Manipulation may be more effective than propaganda because there is evidence that attempts to influence people do not succeed as well when made openly (propaganda) as when refined methods of persuasion are applied (manipulation).~l The means of manipulation become particularly effective when they are applied to maintain a certain mass

Manipulation

tions on the big West European strikes in 1969, or on the second Auschwitz trial, or on the attitude of the Bonn Government to the aggression in Vietnam.22 Other researchers also have dealt with these questions. Spartak Beglow notes that though the news for the majority of the public in capitalist countries may outwardly seem objective, it is, on closer analysis, only reproductions of a certain mode of thought.=3

VI. CASE 1
the 24th Soviet Communist Party

Reporting of

Congress of

the

awareness.

In their
casters

analysis of six Western broad(Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty,

Western bourgeois mass media prepared its audience long before the Party Congress to perceive this event in a cool antiCommunist way. For example, Zbigniew Brzezinski cautioned the readers of Newtsweeh not to be confused by the possibly optimistic tone of Brezhnev at the Congress but to remember the real problems of Communism on which he considered himself an expert:
At the end of this month Leonid Brezhnev will rise behind the podium in the new assembly hall of the Kremlin to deliver the

BBC. Deutschlandfunk, Deutsche Welle.

and RIAS) Bur6s, Kittelmann and Kunzel shed further light on the manipulation of

opinions by news. They point out among other things that the following methods can be used to obtain a precalculated response through the ostensibly objective
narration:
-

keynote political report

to

gress of the Soviet Communist

the 24th ConParty. The

placing of certain items. The formulation of news by certain stereotypes. Mixing commentaries with the

Deliberate

news

report, doubtless, will be an optimistic one. It will speak in glowing terms of revolutionary developments on the world scene and of the attainments of the Brezhnev administration at home. Since it is a safe assumption that the report will not dwell
on

certain basic
on

temporary Communism,

using
news.

ments

them may be in order ...24

problems confronting some general

concom-

Underemphasizing significant overemphasizing less significant

and

items according to the objectives of the institution. Commentaries on the news presented as the opinion of political observers.

Similar views were expressed by other Western ideologists and columnists also. Many of them received notable attention even in the Finnish press. The largest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, for example, devoted a whole page (21 March) to the preparations being made for the Congress. The original text was written

As concrete examples of their views, the authors point out that nothing was reported by West German broadcasting sta-

by Henry Shapiro. Readers

not to

were

prepared

expect any sensation from the Con-

gress but to realize that all

preparations

38

Table 1. News about the Soviet Communist Representatives 30 March 1971- 9

Party Congress April 1971.

ot

FKP SDL
were

Finnish Communist Party. Social Democratic League of Finland.

aimed to show the world that there no serious differences of opinion among the Soviet leaders.25 On 29 March, Helsingin Sanomat wrote an editorial about the Congress, saying that even in Communism political disagreements and struggles for power existed. But because the Soviet Union was a Super Power this kind of Congress must be carefully prepared in advance so that the proceedings could take place without surprise and in a unanimous atmosphere.26 Like Shapiro, the editorial also referred to the sensation of the 20th Congress when Khruschev condemned Stalin and that the rumours that this Congress could be similar sensation were unlikely.
were

Another

big
an

Finnish newspaper, Turun

example of in how distorted a manner a bourgeois media can handle an issue. The only story of the Cnngress that appeared in Turun Sanomat before the Congress, was published on 28 April and was printed by Reuter in Moscow. By referring to authoritative sources the story reported that great disturbances were expected to occur in Moscow and that the police had cleared the city of susceptible elements. It also hinted that an oppression against artists and jews was everyday reality in the Soviet Union.27 Though ending its story by mentioning
Sanomat, is
that this information cannot be verified the question can be raised as to why they

39

to

when this is all that was written about the Congress one is given an idea of the atmosphere in which the bourgeois media handled the case. A leftist Finnish newspaper, Kansan Uutiset, said in its editorial that all reactionary, anti-Communist forces expected that there could even arise nuances in the Congress that could be interpreted in their interests. The paper wrote that all the anti-Communist talents had been harnessed in order to prepare news and conclusions that would serve the reactionary forces. 28 Peoples Democratic papers naturally paid more attention to the Congress and had more editorials on it than

print these things at all without being able verify their truthfulness. Furthermore,

and end of the Congress. On 6 April, it also at the beginning of the news bulletin (2nd). It was the day Prime Minister Aleksei Kosygin presented the new economic five-year plan and discussed the economic relations of the Soviet Union with other countries including the United States and China. This was the first news item, naturally, in Radio Moscows news bulletin, too. The BBCs news service said something concerning the Congress almost every day. Other items that were selected for news bulletins during this period were the
was

following:
Other News 1 tems of the BBC

during

the

Congress,

bourgeois

newspapers.

In the Soviet Union herself the media prepared audiences for the Congress very effectively. Because the Congress decides the party line both in domestic and international politics as well as hears and ratifies the reports of the Central Committee, the Soviet mass media tried to activate the Central Committees and several local and regional committees to develop their political and organizational ef forts.29 Preparatory propaganda, however, is beyond the scope of this study even though it might offer an interesting example of how different media systems prepare their audiences for this kind of
event.

The general view of the news coverage of the Finnish sections of both radio stations is presented in Table 1.

Placing of the News Emphasis of foreign news naturally varies subject to other international events and domestic problems. Hardly anyone would expect the BBC to be an apologist of this party Congress so the interest lies in which parts of the Congress the BBC reported
and it what manner. As can be seen in Table 1, the BBC paid relatively little attention to the Congress mentioning it as first news item only at the beginning

The focus of attention of BBC foreign coverage is on Commonwealth news. Compared with the frequency of references to the Party Congress (9, Table 1) only the Middle East question was mentioned as often. Against this background the news policy of the BBCs Finnish section cannot be accused of omitting significant news of the socialist world. Radio Moscow referred to the Party Congress much more often, of course, with a total of 29 news items (Table 1). Other world events in its news bulletins were:
news

40

Other News Items of Radio Moscow during the Congress

The Content and Formulation of News Tuesday 30 March was the opening day of the Congress. Both broadcasting stations noted this by giving it as the first news item in their news bulletins. The BBCs attention focused on Sino-Soviet relations. Only in the last sentence of its brief news item did the BBC refer to the guests of the Congress:
The Congress is expected to last ten days and is being attended by delegations from all other Communist countries except China and Albania (BBC).

Radio Moscow was more accurate in reporting the representativeness of the Congress. It started the news item by referring to the opening speech by Nikolai Podgornyi who said that:
The Congress of Representatives is being attended by 101 delegations from national Communist, democratic, and leftist socialist parties from 90 countries (Radio Moscow).

The rest of this opening session was in the commentary following the news, which dealt wholly with the speech

reported

by Nikolai Podgornyi.
It is notable that all the foreign news of the BBC except that concerning the Party Congress was in one way or another connected with the Commonwealth. An exception to this was the Indo-China war, Northern Ireland and US affairs but all these, however, also had a direct bearing on Commonwealth affairs. Both Radio Moscow and the BBC devoted a great deal of attention to the war in Indo-China and questions connected with it. Other items do not coincide except in that, for example, when Radio Moscow reported on the

Comparing one with the other, the BBC the impression that the Congress was attended by delegations from socialist countries only, while Radio Moscow gave accurate figures of the world-wide interest
gave

by
the

socialist and Communist

parties towards

Congress.
<*

Geneva proposals concerning biologicalchemical weapons in the news, the BBC did so in its commentaries. On the basis of the findings above no clear differences can be said to occur in the deliberate placing of the news items nor in their context to other news. Differences are obvious but are self-explanatory when one considers the different functions of the broadcasting institutions.

Wednesday 31 March, the BBC gave minor importance to the Congress. It mentioned that the first foreign guest had spoken.
only
He
was

On

the leader of the North Vietnamese

party, Le Duan. He thanked the Soviet Union for the valuable assistance in the war efforts of his country and said that his

people will win the fight against the imperialistic aggression of the Americans (BBC).
This was all that was commentaries followed.

reported.
>
.

No

41

Radio Moscow had three separate news items that day. For Finnish listeners these items were followed by interviews of Finnish guests, the President of the Finnish Communist party, Aarne Saarinen, and Vice-President Taisto Sinisalo (15 mi-

nutes).
The first news item referred to the of Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev. It reported the speech of the first secretary of the Communist party of Kazahstan, Din Muhammed Kulaeh, on economic growth in the Republic. The formulation of this item was not centred solely around the speech by the First Secretary but also had a bearing on the life of the ordinary citizen:

Report

gress of Representatives in Moscow. He said that the achievements of the Soviet Union in all fields do not only strengthen the present economic and military potential but also make firmer the power of the socialist world and the revolutionary movement. Amid stormy applause by the representatives and guests of the Congress, Le Duan praised the Soviet aid to the people of Vietnam. Le Duan also said that to solve the Indo-China problem it is necessary to stop the invasion of the Americans, withdraw the troops of the USA and its satellites from Vietnam and other Indo-Chinese countries, and to give a possibility for the Vietnamese people to solve their problems themselves (Radio Moscow).

The

representatives of plauded very warmly

the
the

the young weaver, Valentina Smirnova, from the region of Ivanov. She said that she was highly gratified by the measures presented in the Report of the Central Committee to improve the living and working conditions

speech of

Congress

ap-

of

women

(Radio Moscow).

The news reporter later referred to Brezhnevs speech in which he said that support for the extension of day nursery and kindergarten services and the improvement of childrens education would be

Both the BBC and Radio Moscow reLe Duans appraisal of Soviet aid to Vietnam but the reader of the previous extracts may get the impression that the DBC did so in a dogmatic way (... his [le Duans] people will win the fight against the imperialist aggression of the Americans) while Radio Moscows report was more accurate and analytic. Imperialist aggression in a Western language has no analytic content but is received as a mere propagandist slogan that can be disregarded as information.

ported

4-::-~.

stepped

up.

The second item reported that the permanent representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations had delivered
a

The third Congress day, 1 April, was noted by the BBC with slight emphasis. The central issue of that day in the BBC coverage was the speech by Gustav Husak. The item was in full as follows:
The leader of the Czechoslovak Communist party. Gustav Husak, has publicly praised the Soviet Union for occupying Czechoslovakia in 1968 by the troops of the Warsaw pact. Husak spoke at the 24th Party Congress in Moscow and said that the intervention of the Warsaw Pact was a reaction to the request for help by the Czechoslovak Communist party and that it saved Czechoslovakia from a civil I war and counterrevolution. Husak succeeded Alexander Dubcek as Party Leader after the invasion

detailed report made

was

by

the

Congress.

Much attention

paid

to how the for-

press received this report. Reference made to the British newspaper, the Gtcardian, which wrote, Brezhnev gave more tone for the possible improvement of relations between the East and the West than for many years. Another reference was made to the Polish newspaper T rybulla Llldll. The third item was identical in content to the only item in the BBC news. The qualitative differences are obvious, how-

eign
was

(BBC).
No comments were included in the BBCs Finnish transmission. The first item in Radio Moscows newscast started with attention to Soviet

ever :

The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Labour Party Le Duan presented greetings to the 24th Con-

scientists, particularly

to space research.

42

included in the Party Moscow moved on Radio Report. Again, the level of the ordinary citizen:

These questions

were

Dairymaid Claudia Smirnova from the reat the Congress of Representatives. Her speech was interrupted many times by stormy applause. She said that the Party plans to render agriculture more effective have been particularly close
gion of Orlov spoke
her. In the last war I was machine-gun said Smirnova, when I returned to my home village not a single house was left. Under the leadership of the Party we repaired the collective farm. The income of the collection now exceeds 2 million roubles annually. Life on the kolhoz has attained a high cultural and material level... (Radio Moscow).
to

crisis in 1968. Moscows way of reporting did not directly refer to 1968 events but rather to a general presentation of Czechoslovakian-Soviet relations. References to Husaks speech were followed by references to Janos Kadar in Moscows transmission. These fragments can be inter-

preted as aiming at giving an impression of unity and mutual solidarity in the international Communist movement.

operator,
-

~ ~ ~

was

The fourth day of the Congress, 2 April, noted by the BBC in the following

way: The Defence Minister of the Soviet Union,

Andrei Gretshko, has given a statement in which the Soviet Union is said to be capable of destroying any invader in her own territory. At the Soviet Communist Party Congress in Moscow, Gretshko said that even though the Soviet Union does not plan an attack on any particular part of the world it has weapons available with which it can strike any part of the world. The Marshal condemned the activities of the United States in Vietnam as provocation of war and demanded an increase in the defence budget of the Soviet Union. According to correspondents the warnings of Gretshko were also directed to China besides the United

The item continued with

greetings

from
same

foreign Communist party

leaders. The second item dealt with the topic as the one by the BBC:

Gustav Husak said that the Soviet Union is the most important fortress of peace and progress in the whole world. The achievements of the Soviet Union have a great significance to all socialist countries and to all peaceloving forces of the world, he said in his speech at the Congress. The party leader of Czechoslovakia praised Soviet Communists for the enormous aid to his country. The whole course of history makes us convinced of the fact that close and friendly relations with the Soviet Communists has always been a condition for the fight of Czechoslovakian Communists against capitalism and in the construction of socialism (Radio Moscow).

States

(BBC).
no

Again,

commentaries followed in the

BBCs transmission.
Moscow reported the fourth day with three separate news items which were followed by six-minute interviews of Finnish delegates, namely representatives of the Social Democratic League of Finland (TPSL), the partys President Uuno Nokelainen and Vice-President Olavi

Radio Moscows third news item referred to the international press reactions to Leonid Brezhnevs report at the Congress. Extracts were taken from the Polish Tribuna Ludu, Al Ahram from the UAR, and from the statement of Michel Dumonder, the French permanent representative to the UN, about Brezhnevs report. In the commentary section following the news Brezhnevs report was read (as a continuation of previous broadcasts). Differences in the way of reporting Husaks speech are obvious. Implications in the BBCs coverage might be interpreted as referring to the heavy antisocialist reactions in the West during the

Saarinen. The first item was partly devoted to an analysis of the composition of the representatives in the Congress. In part it dealt with the speech of Defence Minister Andrei Gretshko:
Marshall Gretshko said that the Soviet Union does not plan to attack any country but is capable together with other socialist countries of reacting against any power with greater power, and capable of destroying any invader. The Marshall reiterated that the Soviet Army considers its most important

43

people and has always performed this task. During the Second World War the Soviet Army carried the main burden of the struggle against fascism and secured freedom and their future for many European and Asian countries (Radio Moscow).
The item ended with a reference to participators who now totalled 102 delegations from 91 countries. Radio Moscows second news item was a summary of the speech by Nguen van Thieu, a member of the Central Committee of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. The BBC did not report anything of this speech. Van Thieu praised Brezhnevs appreciation of the struggle of the Vietnamese people. He considered the Soviet aid very valuable and effective. The third item summarized interviews of foreign participators. These included interviews of Polish, American, Canadian, Iraqi, and Guinean delegates.
cannot be said to
ever,

task to protect the

peace-loving

work of the

Moscow gave two pieces of news on the day. The first started with a rather monotonous chronological narration of the days morning session. Allusion was made
same

to

Solohov,

too:

In the morning session a well-known Soviet author Mihail Solohov also gave a speech. He said that Soviet authors see their primary task in how they can best serve the people and peace and progress by their creative work (Radio Moscow).

item then continued by referspeakers and to speeches from the previous day. Much attention was also given to the speech of the Finnish delegate, Chairman Aame Saarinen. Listeners were informed how the foreign delegates had travelled to many Soviet cities to meet workers and other people. Husak, for example, spoke in Sverdlovsk,

The

news

ring

to other

Common items in both news bulletins differ essentially. How-

the BBCs report ended with what could be analysed as mixing commentaries with the news by the use of certain sources (According to correspondents the warnings of Gretshko were directed to China besides the United States). Moscows report did not include any implicit hints by correspondents or ob3ervers. Another point of interest is the omission of the Vietnamese speaker by the BBC though it did earlier note the North

Uralian city. The second separate item was devoted to domestic reactions towards the Congress. Examples were mentioned of factories, collective farms, schools and other places where meetings were being held in which the Congress material was being discussed. In one commentary an Estonian engine driver was interviewed.
a

Vietnamese speaker (31 March).

~;, ;;, ~,

Saturday, April, by the BBC:

3

was

only briefly

noted

to the Soviet news agency TASS the Nobel author Mihail Solohov has encouraged Soviet authors to start a determined attack against revisionists. Solohov spoke in Moscow at the Communist Party

According

Congress (BBC).

:~ In the radio broadcast this name was given which erroneously resembles the Head of the South Vietnamese regime.

Saturdays events were less important from the point of view of international politics. Allusions to the question of writers tasks, however, are interesting. Several times the Western mass media has accorded enormous attention to Soviet writers who have been condemned and even put on trial in the Soviet Union. The selection of the BBC news becomes understandable through this fact. Moscows choice to emphasize the positive tasks of writers and artists is the other and probably more important side of socialist art. In general, the enormous interest in the case of some Soviet writers can be understood in the light of the analysis of Krasnaya Svesda (see page 36). According to this, Western broadcasting media seek actively to influence Soviet artists and scientists in an attempt to separate them from the Party ideological line (compare

44

with the attention given to the case of Solzenytsin). It is also expedient for the broadcasters to maintain or create the image among Western listeners of the lack of a certain abstract freedom of expression in the Soviet Union.
:;, ~:;.

gress in Moscow may turn out even more interesting than the first, is the opinion of our reporter David Graham in his review

The

Topic

of the

Day (BBC).

On Sunday 4 April, the BBC did not have any news about the Congress. Instead, the following commentary by David Graham was read (translation from Fin-

nish):
The topic of the day is, then, the Soviet Communist Party Congress which begins its second week this Sunday in Moscow.

full of cream. He assured that the Soviet Union has no territorial claims concerning any country, least of all China. When speaking of Czechoslovakia and the strong unity of the international Communist movement Brezhnev purred in the same way. But at this point difficulties arose. Two days after Brezhnevs speech, and even more important, almost directly after Party Leader Gustav Husak had spoken, the leader of the French delegation in Moscow, the acting secretary of the party Georges Marchier made an incensed telephone call to his party newspaper LHumanit6 in Paris and submitted a vehement interview for publication. The French Communist party had, as becomes clear from Marchiers interview, come to an agreement with Moscow beforehand that the French participants would not handle in their speeches controversial issues of any kind critically, and in no circumstances the events in Czechoslovakia. This was observed, but when Husak rose to speak after Marchier, he presented as his view that the Soviet Union had acted correctly
in August 1968. that all the other Communist parties, including the French, had been in the wrong in condemning the intervention by the Warsaw Pact countries. Until last Thursday, then, Brezhnev had reason to be satisfied, but then Husak spoke, and Marchier exploded, and Brezhnevs whole facade of tranquility and stability within the international Communist movement collapsed. The second week of the Party Conin

day by day become even more interesting than was expected and at the same time much more irritatingly disharmonious than the Soviet Party Leader Leonid Brezhnev had planned. Brezhnevs six-hour opening speech resembled the purring of a tom-cat that had lapped its stomach

the congress has

According

to

our

reporter David Graham,

There are several interesting points in the commentary. First, the impression is given that the Congress is becoming more and more interesting and that the central issue is the Czechoslovakian question. Second, it is implied that the whole Congress is deteriorating into a series of bitter disputes. The BBC observer has even registered the mental state of the French Party Secretary George Marchier. Another interesting observation is the language used. Brezhnev is compared to a purring tom-cat which has lapped its stomach full of cream. Charles Curran, now General Director of the BBC and former Director of External Broadcasting, recently wrote that the language used in such radio stations as Radio Peace and

Progress (Soviet Union), Peking Radio,

or

Cairo Radio, is not the proper tone and approach for the BBC. Instead, the editorial approach in BBC External Services should be
one which puts factual reporting first, and allows this with comment characterized by integrity of intention, understanding of the audience, and professional clarity of expression ...30
...

This

occupying Czechoslovakia
meant

It is also interesting to note that the BBC editor predicts the second week of the Congress to turn out more interesting because of the more or less created expectation of conflicts (see the last sentence of the commentary). Radio Moscow started its news bulletin by reporting the speech of Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. References were made to the American involvement in Indo-China and the Middle East. In Europe, Gromyko considered that the most important task of the near future was to arrange a Security Congress and succeed in negotiations concerning West Berlin. He also assured that the Soviet Union was ready to normalize relations with China. Much time was devoted to reporting

45

speeches held by foreign delegates. Particular significance was given to the section on foreign policy in the Congress Report and the suggestion of a European Security Congress. The BBC never mentioned this
point.
The second item summarized the reactions of the world press to the Congress. The French press, the Japanese writer Eisuko Nagatsano, the Chilean minister

Radio Moscow started its bulletin by reporting the discussion on the political line and practical measures according to the Congress Report. Emphasis was given to show how the speakers represented various levels and fields of social life. As to the situation in the Communist party of the Soviet Union, Radio Moscow said:
When
munist

speaking

Pasqual Parrasa, the Syrian statesman Josef Heysal, and a member of the Indian Congress Party Puhu Guna were quoted.
After the news, the Soviet commentator Viktor Glasunov summarized the Congress

Brezhnev laid stress on the close unity of Party members. We shall take good care of this unity which was left to us by Lenin, said Leonid Brezhnev amid applause (Radio Moscow).

of the situation in the Comparty of the Soviet Union, Leonid

Report.
As a summary of Sundays reports the BBC focused on the question of the Czechoslovakian crisis in 1968 which, according to its commentary, tore down the facade of the Congress. It gave the impression
that the whole Congress was disintegrating into internal disputes. Whether this was a deliberate means of narration with political aims or a method of Western journalism to create predetermined expectations to perceive certain events will be discussed in the summary. The BBC did not accord any time to Gromykos speech or the suggestion of a European Security Conference. These issues
. were

The second piece of news was a summary of speeches by the First Secretary of the Tatarian regional committee, Tigriaf Tabeijef, and the First Secretary of the Volgograd Regional Committee, Leonid

Kulidsienko.

speaker

The next item dealt with the as the BBC news:

same

regarded

as

the most
~:. ;;_ =;_

important by

Radio Moscow. The next Congress day, Monday 5 April. received attention by the BBC in the

following

way:

At the Soviet Communist Party Congress in Moscow, Alexander Tshakovski, the editor-in-chief of the writers publication Litteraturnaja Gazeta has attacked those writers who do not follow the Party doctrines. He also criticized those anti-Communist intellectuals who believe that every genuine artist must oppose the State in which he lives. Alexander Tshakovski said that he would understand this in a bourgeois society but not in a Communist system which is based on social justice. He further accused the enemies of Communism for trying to deprive Soviet literature of its main function which is loyalty to the Communist Party (BBC).

Writer Alexander Tshakovski spoke at the Soviet Party Congress of Representatives in Moscow. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Litleratllrnaja Ga=eta. In the major part of his speech he touched on questions of the ideological struggle between the two systems. Tshakovski said that in this area no kind of tolerance can exist and the Soviet writers follow firmly the policy of the Party. Amid stormy applause he said that there is only one flag under which a Soviet citizen can live and work as a respected citizen. This s flag is the flag of the Party. Tshakovski characterized as false the thesis put forward by our enemies that a person has to oppose the authorities. In the West where the society is divided into antagonistic cliques it is understandable. But in our society which is based on completely different humanistic principles this state of affairs cannot exist. The Freedom which is chanted at us by our enemies means freedom to preach anti-Communism and to weaken our State from inside. In a bourgeois society the word freedom means freedom for violence and brutality, freedom for racism and zionism. We oppose this kind of freedom, said Tshakovski. He emphasized that the Soviet writers will always be united with the Party and people (Radio

Moscow).

Much space

was

then

given

to

report the
the

speeches of the Secretary General of

46

Canadian Communist party, William Gaston, and the National Secretary of the Irish Communist party, Manf ORiordan. The latter condemned the invasion of British troops in Northern Ireland which,

according to him, cannot solve the crisis. Again a press review of international
included at the end of the of Radio Moscow. Particular attention was given to the Czechoslovak reactions. Bulgarian and Polish press reactions were also reviewed. For - Finnish listeners a statement by the chairman of the Finnish Communist party, Aarne Saarinen, was transmitted after the reactions
was

Congress

news

news

broadcasts it can be noted that the common item was quite identical as far as content was concerned. The BBC put this item only in a more condensed form. Differences occurred in what the BBC did not broadcast. Instead of the conflicts expected by the BBC
commentator
on

i minutes). (11 Summarizing the days

Radio Moscows bulletin referred to the commentary after the news which dealt with Kosygins speech. In the news item it was mentioned only that Kosygin paid attention to the further development of economy and to the notable increase of the welfare of the people. The news bulletin continued with international greetings of the Congress. Nigel Rodrigues, a member of the Political Committee and Secretariat of the Labour party of Guatemala, appreciation of Leonid Brezhnevs speech was reported. Later, after other news concerning the Treaty of Mutual Friendship, Cooperation and Assistance between the Soviet Union and Finland, there was a brief summary of the visits of foreign delegates to the working places of Soviet citizens.

Thus, reporting of the 8th Congress day by both broadcasters can be regarded as
matter-of-fact journalism. No dramatic disputes could be included because, obviously, no such thing happened.
<; ,; ,;

strengthened

its

Sunday, the Congress unity on Monday.

: g; .;:

Tuesday 6 April was an important Congress day because the new five-year plan was presented. This, of course,
formed the main item in both broadcasts. The BBC placed it second in its broadcasts while Radio Moscow started its bulletin by mentioning that Prime Minister Aleksei Kosygin had presented the new

plan.
The BBC characterized the new plan aimed at increasing the production and efficiency of the Soviet economy. According to the BBCs broadcast, Kosygin had admitted that there were difficulties and problems confronting the Party and that the light industry of the country did not produce enough goods of high quality. Allusions were made to those parts of Kosygins speech in which he put forward ideas to develop commercial relations with the United States and China. It t was also mentioned in one sentence that Kosygin opposed such closed economic systems as the EEC.
as one

On Wednesday 7 April, the 9th day of the Congress, the BBC did not find any relevant item to broadcast. Instead, it laid heavy emphasis on the Middle East question. In its commentary, there was an article from the Financial Times on the Finnish economy. Attention (commentary) was also given to the coming speech of President Nixon (this kind of forewarning was not done for the Party Congress according to the observations of the present writer). The Paris Commune of 1871 was given the third commentary. Radio Moscow began its news bulletin by reporting how the new economic plan was accepted by the Representatives. Detailed examples of the content of the plan were presented and the reactions of some political leaders and trade unionists to it were given. The second item of the Congress dealt with the speech of Emandel Canto, Member of the Political Committee of the Central Committee of the Chilean Socialist party. A long reference was also given to

47
a speech by the Japanese delegate Tomio Nitsihara from the Japanese Communist party. The following news items dealt with the Vietnam war and space research. Then in a long report listeners were told about the visits of foreign guests to a car factory (Lehatsev) in Moscow. These visitors were delegates from France, Syria and Finland (the Social Democratic League of Finland). After the news, two Finnish Communists, Aarne Saarinen and Taisto Sinisalo, were again interviewed (24 mi-

nutes).
The problem to compare here the BBC and Radio Moscow leads to the question
of the threshold value of news criteria. As the Congress continued in a harmonious atmosphere and there were no major issues to be presented, the BBC completely ignored it.
::. ;-

the second condemned the Israeli aggression in the Middle East. No mention of these was made in the BBCs transmission. The third item dealt with international reactions to Leonid Brezhnevs report. Summaries were made of statements by Alfred Hintze from the German Democratic Republic, Raoul Korsberg from Sweden, and Ksan El Okabalde from the Congo. Short reviews were also made of the writings in the Yugoslavian newspaper Borba and Bulgarian Narodna tYlladez. A twenty-minute interview of the delegates of the Finnish Communist party then followed.

Thursday
BBC
10th
news news

8 April was observed on the but with little emphasis (the item). This was reported:

The Soviet Communist Party Congress in Moscow has finished its general discussion. The new Central Committee of the Party is being elected in a closed session. This new Central Committee elects the new Presidium. Details of the composition of these organs are, however, not expected to be given before tomorrow. Correspondents do not expect any notable changes in the Central Committee. It is, however, possible that the Committee will be enlarged because of the increase in party membership (BBC).

Reporting of the 10th day of the Congress differs clearly in the BBC and Radio Moscow. While the BBC can be seen to concentrate on the technical questions of the Congress, Radio Moscow mainly emphasizes the unity and unanimity. Furthermore, Radio Moscow gave some prominence to the political appeals made by the Congress concerning some grave international conflicts. The BBC paid no attention to international reaction towards the Congress.
x.

::.

The closing day of the Congress formed the first news item of both the BBC and Radio Moscow. The BBC reported:
The Soviet Party Congress in Moscow has ended with the election of Party officials. The results of the election are not surprising. The leader of the Communist Party Leonid Brezhnev, Prime Minister Aleksei Kosygin, and President Nikolai Podgomyi were reelected to the Central Committee. Leonid Brezhnev was re-nominated as Secretary General. In his closing speech Brezhnev said that the goal of the Party was to improve the living standard of the Soviet people and at the same time to develop primarily heavy industry and defence. He said that the party regarded it as its main objective to develop the welfare of workers. Peace and international security are the goals of the foreign policy of the party. The Central Committee of 11 members, who all held their positions, was increased by 4, making a total of 15. Correspondents say that the composition of the Central Committee is evidence of the continuance of the Party leadership and policy (BBC).

Moscows interest was first to report how the new draft for the economic plan was received by the Congress. Details were again given of the planned increase of production in various fields. The unity and unanimity of both the Party and the

people

were

emphasized. According

to

Radio Moscows report some of the additions and corrections that were made during the discussions were added to the plan. The second news item of Radio Moscow was the approval of two appeals made by the Congress. The first demanded a stop to the American aggression in Indo-China,

48

Table. 2. News

sources.

No commentaries followed. The strucseems to be a factual presentation of what happened with a mixing of commentary at the end: Correspondents say that the composition of the Central Committee is evidence of the continuance of the Party leadership and policy. The implications of this statement are left to the preadopted view of the listener. Moscow started in the same way as the BBC by reporting that the 24th Congress of Representatives of the Soviet Communist Party had ended in Moscow. A detailed presentation of the newly elected leaders followed. The second item was
ture of the item above

Leonid Brezhnevs closing speech. The next item referred to the process of discussions on Brezhnevs report and the new economic plan, and to their approval by the Congress. The fourth item repeated that the Congress had accepted the previous days two appeals concerning the war in Vietnam and Israeli aggression in the Middle East.

Thus the closing days reporting differed in that the BBC gave some evaluations of the coming policy of the Soviet Union on the authority of correspondents, while Moscow continued reporting events

only.

49

Sources of News
the

point

Manipulation by news as presented at beginning of this paper leads to the question of reliability and quality of
This is summarized in Case I

in the middle suddenly broke into open conflict because of the Czechoslovakian question. This open conflict made

sources.

in Table 2.
to Table 2, the BBC sources have been very selective in this case. No reference to newspapers is made, though in many other affairs, particularly domestic, reference is made to the British press at least in commentaries (for example during the Congress on 6 April, newspaper references were made when a second modern power station was planned in Finland). Radio Moscow gave much emphasis to the press reactions in socialist countries and also elsewhere. The second obvious difference was in the way foreign greetings to the Congress were mentioned. The BBC selected only

According
news

of

the two countries that were highly topical from the Western point of view: Vietnam and Czechoslovakia. Moscow reported greetings from 25 countries in its news bulletins.

Summary of

Case I

General Picture: It is not the purpose of this report to defend or oppose any broadcasting institution but instead to analyse its ideological method of reporting this Congress. The first generalization that can be made on the basis of what has been transmitted is the general picture of the Congress and its atmosphere. According to the news bulletins of the BBC, the Conference started in a cool businesslike manner with one of its central issues being the Czechoslovakian crisis in 1968. The emphasis on this question was the main discriminator between the reporting of Radio Moscow and the BBC. In fact, explicit reference to the Czechoslovakian crisis was the only item in the BBCs news that was not included as such in Radio Moscows news bulletins. The image implied of the Congress in the BBCs transmissions was that after a businesslike beginning, the Congress at some

the event more interesting to the BBC, who expected a strained sequel to the Congress. As this obviously did not happen the item became less significant to the BBC who then paid only little attention to the Congress and concentrated on its technical questions. An interesting question now is why there was any mention of the possible occurrence of conflict at all. Two explanations can be found. The first is political and the second journalistic. By political explanation we can refer to the newspaper articles that were briefly presented at the beginning of this chapter. It was necessary for the Western media to have the image of internal conflicts in some form. Journalistic explanation is more difficult to analyse. An analogous case is presented by James D. Halloran in his study of the Vietnam war demonstration.31 Halloran throws light on the question of how editors made the event out as they imagined it to be. That is, the issue was perceived from a peripheral point of view. In Hallorans study the newsmen predetermined the quality of the event (Vietnam demonstration), being then compelled to find incidents to fulfil their prophecies. In this case, no incidents could be found to report inner conflict and thus no way of approaching the event from this peripheral point of view. The event could not be modelled in editors preconceived ideas of what it should be. In this case, it could be true that when the expected disturbances or open conflicts did not occur at the Congress, editors devoted their attention to the technical aspects of the Congress proceedings thus moving from central issues the content to peripheral questions of technical handling of affairs at the Congress. Radio Moscow reported daily Congress events in a chronological style. No similar strained atmosphere or culmination of the Congress was reported as on the BBC, and more emphasis was given the whole time
-

50
to

the international

significance

and soli-

VII. CASE 2

darity of the Congress. Style of Narration: As

to the level of

newsmakers obvious differences occur. The BBC concentrated solely on the diplomatic and commercial levels with emphasis on trade and diplomatic relations of the Soviet Union in the Congress speeches while Radio Moscow often moved on the level of workers and dairymaids who
.

f Reporting of the Unsuccessful Landing of t the Sol juz 11 Spacecraft Naturally, in studying only one case, it is not possible to analyse the whole policy of a broadcasting institution. The purpose of the previous analysis, however, was to obtain more evidence of the practical proceedings of the different news policies.
Another less important event was selected for further study to get an idea of how the BBC and Radio Moscow describe a negative event concerning socialism. During the period of this study such an event occurred unexpectedly on 30 June 1972 when a Soviet spacecraft made an unsuccessful landing with the bodies of three
cosmonauts.

at the Congress as well as on citizens reactions. The language used in the BBC bulletins was often more concise and modern Finnish than in Moscow. The chronological narration style of Radio Moscow was heavy to follow. Stereotypes were not explicitly used. Radio Moscow often moved in the life of workers. Instead of using stereotypes the BBC can be said to be far from neutrality and balance when characterizing Leonid Brezhnev as a purring tom-cat that has lapped its stomach full of cream in its commentary. Even though this was not included in the news bulletin but in the commentary immediately after the news it can be considered as a deliberate and refined method of influencing the audiences attitudes. There were also examples of how certain leftist concepts were used in isolated and dogmatic con-

spoke

Again it would be possible to follow the process of reporting and to pay attention to speed, accuracy, and explanations, which are the usual qualities appreciated in news reporting of negative events. This case study is limited, however, to the first news bulletin only and not on a succession of
reports as before. The main news bulletins are translated below in full. As a comparison the main radio newscast of the Finnish Broadcasting Company is added. Though its news cannot be compared with the external services of Moscow and London, its commentaries from correspondents in various parts of the world give a basis for comparisons with the external broadcasters. The news with their commentaries were as follows:
news

texts.

Implications: Both stations naturally reported that the Congress determined the most important questions of Soviet foreign and domestic policies for the next few years. Differences occur in the telling of
.

international reactions to the Congress and of the policy implications of the Soviet Union. The BBC did not pay any attention to international reactions while Moscow laid heavy emphasis on these questions as well as on certain initiatives taken at the Congress (like the European Security Congress) which the BBC ignored. The BBC implied that the selection of the new party leaders means a continuance of the present politics but did not say what it meant by this. Moscow gave no hints of the possible consequences of the re-election of Party leaders. ,

BBC 30

June

1971

(1st

news

item)

Three Soviet cosmonauts who had spent a record 24 days in space have lost their lives on their way back to Earth. The Soviet news agency TASS reports that their ship, Soljuz 11, landed according to plan, but when the recovery team opened the hatch of the craft, the cosmonauts were discovered lifeless in their seats. TASS made no reference to the cause of death. It states that investigations have been begun. According to the TASS report, the cosmonauts, who had conducted experiments in the space station Salyut, had returned to their space-

51

craft last night. The return flight was uneventful until the craft was re-entering the Earths atmosphere when there was the usual radio blackout. But, obviously, radio contact could not be re-established. Moscow radio announced the death of the cosmonauts in the morning news. The news was followed by mourning music, and speeches were held in memory of the three cosmonauts Lieutenant-Colonel Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev. The BBC correspondent in Moscow reports that he later saw quiet groups of people in the streets listening to radio transmissions from broadcasting automobiles. Some wept. Our correspondent says that this latest Soviet space mission had enthused the Soviet citizens to such an extent that they no longer felt they were lagging behind the Americans in the field of space research but felt at least on a par with them. In the US a representative of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) held that the death of the cosmonauts was a terrible tragedy. The British Prime Minister Edward Heath has sent a personal letter of condolence to the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, Aleksei Kosygin.

moves

from

state of

non-gravity

to

one

of

Commentary
have today deliberated on what could have caused the deaths of the three

Experts

Soviet cosmonauts just as they were returning to Earth after their successful space flight. One probable reason, says BBCs science editor John Nuel, is some flaw in the oxygen apparatus of the space suit
in suffocation, or, the cosmonauts could have suffered heart failure. A theory has been put forward that twenty-four days in space weakened their heart muscles so that the pressure that cosmonauts are exposed to on re-entering the Earths atmosphere was the cause of death. If the reason is heart failure, both the Soviet Union and the United States will be compelled to make changes in their long-duration space programmes. When Soljuz 9 was in space for seventeen days, the cosmonauts condition deteriorated to such an extent that they were not able to stand on their feet for three days after the flight. In order to prevent this, the preparations for the Salyut flight were extremely scrupulous. The cosmonauts exercised in special suits that forced their muscles to work effectively. They walked on a tread-mill, and during the flight they were observed carefully every minute. Had they complained of strain, the flight would have been shortened. It seems that all went well until the short but extremely demanding phase when the spaceship re-enters the atmosphere of the Earth. The space crew

the moment they fire their braking rockets with which they steer the ship downward at a gently sloping angle. Two minutes after this their body weight is over six times what it normally is on Earth. This is caused by the tremendous amount of air which gathers around the spaceship and causes pressure. Is this sudden return into the force of gravity perhaps too great a strain on the already overworked hearts of the space crew? If this is the case, continues John Nuel, it is clear that mere bodybuilding exercises are not enough to train the human body to meet this severe test, if the flight is from two to three weeks long. This means that both the Americans and the Soviets will be obliged to re-assess their plans to construct space stations in which scientists and astronauts would work up to a month at a time. Space stations of this kind must be planned so that they can be filled with artificial gravity. It is possible that the US will call off its Skylab-project. The Skylab space station was to have been ready for action next year. The building of a space station with artificial gravity will take years. Every day after the seventeenth day in space was a step towards the unknown, as a Soviet scientist said of the Salyut flight. If every extra day after the seventeenth also only led the cosmonauts towards certain death, this information can in the future save the lives of many others, both Soviet and American space crews. In this manner the BBCs science editor John Nuel reported on the reasons that could have caused the deaths of the Soviet cosmonauts.

gravity

resulting

Moscow 30

June

1971

1 (lst

news

item)

The crew of the scientific Salyut station carried out the whole flight programme and was directed to return to Earth. The cosmonauts transported the material of the scientific experiments and the ships logbook into the ferry craft for the return to Earth. Yesterday at 8.28 p. m. Finnish time, Soljuz 11 and the orbital station disengaged from each other and continued their separate flights. For the landing to Earth today, after Soljuz 11 was steered on its course, the braking rockets were fired and functioned at a prescribed time. After the braking engine stopped, contact with the crew was lost. According to the programme, after the aerodynamic braking the parachutes were employed and in the close proximity of the Earth the soft-landing rockets. After this a soft landing took place on a predetermined site. Simultaneously with the craft a recovery team landed in a helicopter and on opening the hatch of the capsule found the Soljuz 11 crew, Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladi-

52

&horbar;

slav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev lifeless at their place of work. With their heroic work in experimenting with complex space technology in the first manned orbital station Salyut and the ferry craft Soljuz 11, cosmonauts Dobrovolsky, Volkov and Patsayev gave a great contribution to the development of manned orbital stations. The work of the heroic cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev shall live forever in the memory of the Soviet people. The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist party, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union and the Ministerial Council announced with deep sorrow that on 30 June this year the cosmonauts who with the help of the manned orbital station Salyut completed the programme, the captain of the craft,

of three space flights, said of Dobrovolsky : We visited the ship with him with the Salyut station. Georgi prepared himself for his tasks calmly, methodically, without undue hurry and fuss, no matter whether it was his first flight with a U-type, fasterthan-sound destroyer, a complex parachute jump or preparation for work in cosmic space. Georgi Dobrovolskys widow Ljublila is a graduate of the University of Leningrad and has a post as a mathematics teacher. Dobrovolsky left two daughters, 12-year-old Maria and 4-year-old Natasha.
eran

Lieutenant-Colone

aviation engineer Vladislav Volkov and test engineer Viktor Ivanovitsh Patsayev were destroyed I on their return to Earth in the Soljuz 11 spacecraft. The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist party, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union and the Ministerial Council of the Soviet Union together with the Party and the whole Soviet people feel a deep sorrow at the loss of the renowned sons of the fatherland and express sincere condolences to their families. The Presidium of the Soviet Supreme Council today decreed that the three deceased Soviet cosmonauts be posthumously decorated. The decree states: For heroism, courage and manliness manifest in the experiment with the space complex consisting of the orbital Salyut station and the ferry craft Soljuz 11, the honorary title Hero of the Soviet Union is

Georgi

Timofejevitsh

Dobrovolsky, Nikolajevitsh

granted

to space

and Viktor Patsayev. Cosmonaut Vladislav Volkov is posthumously decorated with the Second Medal of the Golden Star. The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist party and the Ministerial Council have set up a state commission to make the funeral arrangements of the cosmonauts. The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist party and the Ministerial Council of the Soviet Union decided that the deceased cosmonauts would be buried in the Red Square in the Kremlin wall. A state commission has been set up to invcstigate the reasons for the deaths of the cosmonauts Dobrovolsky, Volkov and Patsayev. The captain of the Soviet ship Soljuz 11,
an

pilots Georgi Dobrovolsky

Lieutenant-Colonel Georgi Dobrovolsky was army pilot. On 1 June he reached the

age of 43 years. He

was born in the city the Black Sea. In 1961 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Major General Vladislav Zakavitsh, a vet-

of Odessa

on

The parents of the cosmonaut are pensioners. The aviation engineer of the orbital Salyut station, Vladislav Volkov gave a great contribution to the development of manned space flights. He actively participated in the 24-day experiment programme around the Earth in the Trada. This was Volkovs second flight. In October 1969 he together with Anatoli Litenko and Viktor Gavatsov orbited eighty times around the Earth in Soyuz 7. Born into the family of an aircraft architect, Vladislavs course into the heavens began as early as his school years when he joined the flight club of the Moscow Aerocraft Institute. Later he became a student at the same college. After the Institute, Volkov worked in an architect bureau. He was recruited into the cosmonaut group by the creator of space technics, Sergei Gorojov. In the mid-thirties Vladislavs father Nikolai Volkov worked in the aeroplane industry. The cosmonauts mother Olga Volkova has given thirteen years of her life to aeroplane construction. The cosmonauts widow Ljublila is an engineer in the food production industry, his son Matilesh is a school boy. The experiments with the first manned orbital station Salyut are inseparably connected with the name of test engineer Viktor Patsayev. Viktor Patsayev was born in the city of Atdevits in Kasastan where he lived with his parents until 1946. The road into space was a natural continuation of his whole working life. After graduating from the Industrial Institute in the city of Zamsa he constructed research apparatuses, measuring and automatic devices, and radiotechnical instruments. Patsayev joined the cosmonaut group in September 1969. In the Flying Club he flew with Vladislav Volkov, and Patsayev was at his side also in Soljuz 11 and in the Salyut station. During the flight of the Salyut station Viktor Patsayev reached the age of 38 years. He left two children, a son, Dimitriv, born in 1957, and a daughter, Svetlana, born in 1962. The cosmonauts widow Vera works in the field of science. His father died in battle in 1941 at the front close to Moscow. The cosmonauts mother Maria is a pensioner.

53

A Review of the News tant events of the day)

(the

most

impor-

Moscow announced the deaths of the crew of the spaceship Soljuz 11. The crew of the ship consisted of the cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev. Yesterday the crew brought the flight and the experiment programme on the scientific Salyut station to a full conclusion and received an order to land on Earth. The return to Earth and the soft landing took place today on the predetermined site. The reasons for the deaths of the cosmonauts are

being investigated.
Tlce
30

Finnish

June

1971 ,5.30

Broadcasting Corporation p. m. ( 1 st news item)

As yet there has been no official statement on the reasons for the accident which led to the deaths of three Soviet cosmonauts. Cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev were found dead in their seats in the spacecraft in spite of a technically successful landing. Soljuz 11 landed on the surface of the Earth after midnight last night. All phases of the landing were successful to the last, but after the braking phase radio contact with the ship was lost. The cosmonauts had yesterday ended their stay in the Salyut space station and had moved to Soljuz in the evening. The cosmonauts had spent 24 days in all on their flight. The flight broke the duration record of space flights and before the final catastrophe it was considered one of the most successful space ventures. Conjectures as to the reasons for the accident
seem

Union. The people of Moscow have received the news of the deaths of the cosmonauts with whom they had become familiar with shock but calmly. Here the press, radio and television have day by day reported on the long and pioneering flight. Yesterday evening in the nationwide radio and television broadcast a medical expert reported on factors to do with the space flight and the health of the crew. Everything was in order, there was no reason for concern. After this the television commentator in the space centre took direct contact with the cosmonauts. The crew of Soljuz 11 was in good health and sent at the same time its greetings to the meeting of representatives of the Soviet Writers Association which was in session at the time. This morning, when news of the accident arrived, the meeting of representatives which continues its work in the great Congress Palace of the Kremlin, honoured the deceased heroes of space with a minutes silence. Soviet citizens, who are at the moment returning from work, discuss what has happened and at the same time wait for results of the investigation which has begun. Many think that it is incomprehensible that so successful a space flight could end in the death of the crew. People have not, however, gathered in the streets to ponder on the question and traffic goes on as usual. During the day no official statement has been issued concerning the course of the flight other than the bulletin given out in the morning by news agency TASS.

fllssi lIimanlw from the United States

News of the tragic and in all respects deaths of the Soljuz 11 cosmonauts was received in the United States early this morning. The first to react was the VicePresident of NASA George Low who issued the following statement: The loss of the three cosmonauts is a terrible tragedy. I address my profoundest sympathy to their families and colleagues. We have an enormous respect for their achievements in space. Our hearts are with them now at this moment of loss, said the Vice-President of NASA. It goes without saying that the deaths of the Soljuz 11 crew during the last minutes of a brilliantly successful, record-breaking flight has shocked space scientists and astronauts in Houston in particular. As more exact information is not to be had, American experts have publicly abstained from speculation as to the cause of death of the cosmonauts, but unofficial reports from Houston refer to two possibilities: the oxygen apparatus of the command craft went suddenly out of order soon after Soljuz IIs re-entry at top speed into the atmosphere,

more

and

more

end of the weightless to the news agency telegrams experts emphasize the dangers connected with the sudden return into the conditions of the Earth after a prolonged stay in a weightless state. Soviet space experts hold, according to AFP. that the present tragedy means in the future that the bulk of the Soviet space programme will move to automatic space flights. During the day many telegrams of condolence have arrived in Moscow, from, among others, several Heads of State. President Urho Kekkonen has dispatched a telegram of condolence to the President of the USSR Nikolai Podgorny. In his telegram President Kekkonen requests that President Podgorny convey his expression of sympathy to the families of the space researchers who gave up their lives. Reino Paasilinna reports on how this mornings announcement of the deaths of the crew of Soyuz 11. Georgi Dobrovolsky, Viktor Patsayev, and Vladislav Volkov has been received in the Soviet

to concentrate on state. According

the

amazing

54

death could have been caused by the cosmonauts long stay in a weightless state, which could have caused yet unknown physiological changes, say experts in Houston. They also point out that after the previous long-duration flight the cosmonauts have had difficulty in walking, they have felt dizzy and disturbances have been detected in heart functions. Recovery has taken about a month. This new space tragedy shocks the whole world. Investigation of its causes is meaningful to the development of both US and Soviet space programmes, states Houston. In this respect closer cooperation between the space powers is really necessary. In the forenoon news broadcasts in the US statements and conjectures by European space experts have also been reported on. The White House has not yet issued a statement on the Soljuz 11 tragedy but it is presumed in Washington that President Nixon will express his condolences within the next minutes during his daily press conference.
or,

flights in general. This would in favour of greater emphasis on unmanned flights in the space programmes of both Super Powers, concludes Le Monde.
of manned

speak

Summary of Case

11

Compared with the previous Case, similar findings can be made. Radio Moscows narration style was chronological and mentioned only briefly at the end of its newscast the possible reasons for the
disaster. In the late brief newscast at 8.30 p. m. no new information was presented. The BBC, on the contrary, speculated with many possible explanations. The most revealing difference, however, lies in the implications of the event. The BBC alluded immediately to the SovietAmerican rivalry in space research using such sources as own correspondent: Our correspondent says that this recent Soviet space flight had enthused the Soviet citizens to a degree that they no longer felt behind the Americans in space research but at least on a level with them. While the stress placed by the BBC was on the aspect of rivalry the interest of Radio Moscow was in the human drama of the accident. The mode of narration of Radio Moscow is solemn though not unessentially dramatizing. The Finnish Broadcasting Company follows the line of the BBC by and large but its commentaries vary according to the place of correspondents (Moscow, Paris, New York). This Case (11) gives more light to the journalistic style only but not so much to the possible methods of manipulation. But as such it reveals again that both broadcasting institutions are closely connected with the ideology of their societies and are not free (objective). It also confirms that the claim that mixing commentaries with the news by using such sources as correspondents or eye witnesses are used to reach the desired effect with the message. The Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yleisradio, followed in its commentaries both the line of Western media and that of Radio Moscow (in the commentary from Moscow).

Mikko Valtasaari from France

The French President Georges Pompidou, the Cabinet and Minister of Science, Francien Gavier Hortolier, each dispatched their separate messages of condolence to the Soviet Union in consequence of the accident disclosed today. The messages which were addressed to the Soviet Government, Soviet scientist and the families of the cosmonauts, stated that the cosmonauts valuable achievements had been greatly admired in France. The Cabinet message also acknowledged, as it stated, the symbolic value of the space experiment, the other messages, on the other hand, did not refer to the experiment itself at all. Whereas, of the press, the authoritative afternoon newspaper Le Monde has been the first to draw conclusions. Naturally they are not flattering towards the Soviet space programme, In general experts have concluded that the cosmonauts death was caused by some trouble in the regulation of air or pressure which took place when the Soljuz capsule cut down its speed outside the atmosphere. If so, it would have been a small but fatal flaw, which probably was known on Earth directly at the time it occurred. The cause can easily be located when the capsule has landed intact. Considering that most of the Soljuz programmes to date have not served their purpose completely, the incident can, according to Le Mondes experts, be interpreted that Soviet scientists have not succeeded in developing as indefectible space capsules as the Americans. At the same time the consequences of such a minor flaw illustrate the dangers

55

VIII. Discussion

Even though these case studies did not reveal any dramatic differences in news policy they verified, however, certain obvious characteristics. It is true that in the 1970s the so-called psychological warfare directed at neutral countries like Finland is not being employed with the same harsh methods as during the cold war era; the methods used are less severe and more refined instead. If the policy of the BBC in these cases must be summarized it would be a policy of her using refined methods to preserve an anti-Communist attitude among listeners. One might now ask what is in fact meant by objective reporting. On the basis of this case study the question of news and press objectivity can be reduced to the level of the ideologies which in the final analysis determine the operation of mass media. The socialist mass media are explicitly based on Marxist-Leninist Weltanschauung in their basic philosophy, but this surely does not mean that the boundedness implies a less objective policy than in the Western media. At least in the case of reporting the Soviet Party Congress all that was reported by the BBC (explicit reference to the Czechoslovakian crisis excluded) was also reported in Radio Moscow but much material presented by Moscow was neglected by the BBC.

Communication Research, Free Press, Glencoe, Ill. 1952, p. 20. 5 This idea has been adopted even by Western labour ideology. For example Raymond Williams writes: ... Many people seem to assume as a matter of course that there is, first, reality, and then, second, communication about it ... the struggle to learn, to describe, to understand, to educate, is a central and necessary part of our humanity. This struggle is not begun, at second hand, after reality has occured. It is, in itself, a major way in which reality is continually formed and changed... in Communications, Penguin Books, 1968, p.
19.

Of course from the socialist point of view the role of mass media as a creator of reality is given in the idea of the mobilizing influence of mass communication and in its role of agitation and propagation in a positive sense. BBC Handbook, 1968, p. 93. 6 7 BBC Finnish Service, 11 September 1968, 16.00 GMT. Also in Tapio Varis, Kansainv&auml;listen radiol&auml;hetysten seuraaminen ja niiden

h&auml;irint&auml;, Tampereen yliopisto,

thesis),
8

1969

(candidate

p. 52.

Assistant Head of Central Personal Interview 1 August 1968 in London. Some people expressed a tendency to separate policy and journalism, e.g. Asher Lee, former Head of External Services Audience Research, said that the BBC has no policy, we are journalists. Interview in London, 1 August 1968. 9 Lee, see above. 10 Mark W. Hopkins, Mass Media in the Soviet Union, New York 1970, p. 262. 11 Radio Moskva: Introductory Brochure. 12 Saima Hellman, Finnish Service of Radio Moscow, personal letter, 10 September 1968. Also Radio Moscows Finnish Service, 3 September 1968. 13 Kaarle Nordenstreng & Tapio Varis, The Non-Homogeneity of the National State and the International Flow of Communication, Miss Anthony, European Service,

Symposium on Communication: Technology, Impact and Policy, Annenberg School of Communications, University of Philadelphia, March 1972 (to be published). 14 For example: Peter Wallensteen: Imperialism och interaktion: Tv&aring; s&auml;tt att studera
Notes on Transaction-Flow Models, Research Institute, University of Tampere, 1972, No. 17. B-reports, 15 I have treated this question elsewhere. See Tapio Varis; Havaintoja tiedotustutkimuksen kansainv&auml;lisist&auml; suuntauksista, Politiikka, 1972, No. 3 (in Finnish with an English
nen,

NOTES

handel i internationella relationer, Politiikka, 1971, No. 2 (in Swedish), and Raimo V&auml;yry-

Foreign Broadcasts in Finland, Research Reports from the Section for Long-Range Planning, The Finnish Broadcasting Company, No. 9, 1970. 2 Tapio Varis, The Control of Information by Jamming Radio Broadcasts, Cooperation
to

1 Tapio Varis, Listening

and

Conflict, 1970, No. 3, pp. 168-84. 3 A candidate thesis under preparation at the University of Tampere. 4 Bernard Berelson, Content Analysis in

summary). 16 Krasnaya Svesda,

27

17 Talcott Parsons, Communism and the West: The Sociology of the Conflict, in Paul

May

1969.

56
Hollander (Ed.): American and Soviet Society. A Reader in Comparative Sociology and Perception, Prentice-Hall 1969, p. 579. 18 Radio Free Europes Methods, RFE Munich (mimeo). 19 Gayle Durham Hollander, Developments in Soviet Radio and Television News Reporting, in Jeremy Tunstall (Ed.): Media Sociology. A Reader, University of Illinois Press 1970, p. 254. 20 This distinction is made among others by Pertti Hemanus, in Indoktrinaatio joukkotiedotuksessa, Tampereen yliopiston tiedolaitos, 1972, No. 9 (in Finnish).

Aggressionssender, OIJ 1971,

p. 25.
23

pp. 36-37, and

a German translation Million&auml;re machen Meinung von Millionen, Berlin 1971, p. 11. , 15 March 1971, p. 66. Newsweek 24 Helsingin Sanomat, 21 March 1971, p. 17. 25 Helsingin Sanomat, 29 March 1971 (edi26

Slova, Moskva 1969,

Spartak Iwanowitsch Beglow, Monopolii

21 Veikko Pietil&auml;, Lehdist&ouml;kirjoittelu ja mielipiteenmuodostus, Tampereen yliopiston

tusopin

tutkimuslaitos, A-tutkimuksia, 1972, No. 41,

p. 6

22 O. Bures, H. J. Kittelmann & H. Kunzel,

(in Finnish).

Turun Sanomat, 28 March 1971. 28 Uutiset, 30 March 1971. Kansan 29 See for example Pravda 15 February 1971. 30 Charles Curran, Speaking Peace...? The Editorial Approach on BBC External Services, BBC Handbook, 1968, pp. 25-28. 31 James D. Halloran, Philip Elliott & Graham Murdock, Demonstrations and Communication : A Case Study, Penguin Books 1970.

torial). 27