Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Radio France Internationale began in 1929 with the creation of the French national office of radio broadcasting. Two years later, in 1931, Radio France began broadcasting to French colonies in 20 languages under the name Poste Colonial . Its target audience was French expatriate colonizers and a few natives, termed évolués , who had been trained to speak French and engage in low-status labor, such as nursing, postal clerking, and the infantry, which whites were not allowed to perform in the colonies. In 1938, Poste Colonial was renamed Paris Mondial, and was then jettisoned during the pro-Nazi Vichy regime (1940–1944), resuming after liberation. In 1964 the French government created the ORTF (French Radio and Television Broadcasting). In 1974 Radio France became a separate entity from the ORTF. The following year, on January 6, 1975, Radio France Internationale (RFI) was created as a subsidiary of Radio France (→  International Radio ; France: Media System ). From 1987 RFI was independent from Radio France and broadcast news and public affairs programs around the world in 19 languages on shortwave frequencies 24 hours a day. In Paris, RFI could be heard on the FM band; the station could also be accessed in France via satellites and the Internet. From 1991 RFI could be heard on FM in 27 African countries. It was estimated that RFI had a global audience of 44 million listeners, ... log in or subscribe to read full text