Jaka Bartolj's Media History
@mediahistorynow.bsky.social
Media history and more.
Chicago and Slovenia.
Chicago and Slovenia.
A '70s commercial jingle, communist-style; here's a Slovenian commercial for milk from 1976. By then, Western techniques were beginning to influence Slovenian advertising--not surprisingly, as much of the republic was blanketed by Austrian and Italian TV:
December 8, 2025 at 3:33 PM
A '70s commercial jingle, communist-style; here's a Slovenian commercial for milk from 1976. By then, Western techniques were beginning to influence Slovenian advertising--not surprisingly, as much of the republic was blanketed by Austrian and Italian TV:
How did Radio Luxembourg become such a successful radio station in postwar France? An excerpt from Philip Nord's book 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦'𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘭:
December 8, 2025 at 3:32 PM
How did Radio Luxembourg become such a successful radio station in postwar France? An excerpt from Philip Nord's book 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦'𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘭:
A Philips radio with a Czech-language notice from WWII cautioning the buyer that listening to foreign stations was punishable by death. At the time, the Czech Lands were under German occupation:
December 8, 2025 at 3:30 PM
A Philips radio with a Czech-language notice from WWII cautioning the buyer that listening to foreign stations was punishable by death. At the time, the Czech Lands were under German occupation:
@highamnews.bsky.social And here's some laundry in the coastal town of Izola:
November 23, 2025 at 12:58 AM
@highamnews.bsky.social And here's some laundry in the coastal town of Izola:
A '70s commercial jingle, communist-style; here's a Slovenian commercial for milk from 1976. By then, Western techniques were beginning to influence Slovenian advertising--not surprisingly, as much of the republic was blanketed by Austrian and Italian TV:
November 23, 2025 at 12:33 AM
A '70s commercial jingle, communist-style; here's a Slovenian commercial for milk from 1976. By then, Western techniques were beginning to influence Slovenian advertising--not surprisingly, as much of the republic was blanketed by Austrian and Italian TV:
The heady days of pirate radio in an unlikely place—the Soviet Union of the 1960s and '70s (from Burton Paulu's 1974 book 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦):
November 23, 2025 at 12:31 AM
The heady days of pirate radio in an unlikely place—the Soviet Union of the 1960s and '70s (from Burton Paulu's 1974 book 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦):
One of the world's first all-news radio stations was a shoestring operation that broadcast to Los Angeles from Mexico; here's an excerpt from Fowler and Crawford's Border Radio:
November 23, 2025 at 12:29 AM
One of the world's first all-news radio stations was a shoestring operation that broadcast to Los Angeles from Mexico; here's an excerpt from Fowler and Crawford's Border Radio:
Multiethnic radio in 1940s New York, from Robert J. Landry's 1946 book 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴:
November 23, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Multiethnic radio in 1940s New York, from Robert J. Landry's 1946 book 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴:
How Willis Conover and the Voice of America used jazz to reach millions of young people in postwar Europe (from 𝘊𝘰𝘤𝘢-𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘳 by Reinhold Wagnleitner):
November 15, 2025 at 10:06 AM
How Willis Conover and the Voice of America used jazz to reach millions of young people in postwar Europe (from 𝘊𝘰𝘤𝘢-𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘳 by Reinhold Wagnleitner):
A couple of old Bela Krajina houses (with just a bit of laundry for @highamnews.bsky.social):
November 2, 2025 at 10:02 PM
A couple of old Bela Krajina houses (with just a bit of laundry for @highamnews.bsky.social):
Late fall in my late mother's native Bela Krajina region of Slovenia:
November 1, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Late fall in my late mother's native Bela Krajina region of Slovenia:
Green's account of television's role during the Soviet crushing of the Prague Spring is also interesting:
October 28, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Green's account of television's role during the Soviet crushing of the Prague Spring is also interesting:
Here's media scholar Burton Paulu writing about American TV series abroad in his 1967 study of European broadcasting:
October 26, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Here's media scholar Burton Paulu writing about American TV series abroad in his 1967 study of European broadcasting:
By the way, news consultants also left their mark here in Slovenia. In his clip from the 1998, you can see how the look and feel of American local TV news was exported across the Atlantic:
October 26, 2025 at 1:13 PM
By the way, news consultants also left their mark here in Slovenia. In his clip from the 1998, you can see how the look and feel of American local TV news was exported across the Atlantic:
By the way, I've always wondered whether the short-lived (1997-2000) Slovenian TV station Gajba ("The Box") was inspired by your book. Sure, the TV set used to be known as "the box," so that doesn't prove anything, but even their retro logo designed harkened back to the early TV era you wrote about:
October 25, 2025 at 1:18 PM
By the way, I've always wondered whether the short-lived (1997-2000) Slovenian TV station Gajba ("The Box") was inspired by your book. Sure, the TV set used to be known as "the box," so that doesn't prove anything, but even their retro logo designed harkened back to the early TV era you wrote about:
Fascinating! Speaking of keeping time, the Slovenian public broadcaster has an old TV on-air clock face on display in its lobby:
October 25, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Fascinating! Speaking of keeping time, the Slovenian public broadcaster has an old TV on-air clock face on display in its lobby:
Some more images from my visit to the region yesterday:
October 25, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Some more images from my visit to the region yesterday:
Parts of Slovenia's Karst Plateau have turned burgundy red, thanks to the European smoke bush, known locally as "ruj":
October 25, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Parts of Slovenia's Karst Plateau have turned burgundy red, thanks to the European smoke bush, known locally as "ruj":
Pages 2, 3, and 4:
October 23, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Pages 2, 3, and 4:
Since you mentioned Israel: In 1972, British journalist Timothy Green wrote about how American series (and consultants) played an important role in the media war between Israel and the Arab states.
Pages 1 and 2:
Pages 1 and 2:
October 23, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Since you mentioned Israel: In 1972, British journalist Timothy Green wrote about how American series (and consultants) played an important role in the media war between Israel and the Arab states.
Pages 1 and 2:
Pages 1 and 2:
And here are 1966 and 1976 TV and radio lineups from 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 magazine in white-ruled Rhodesia. (Interestingly, under the post-UDI government, the radio service rebroadcast SABC newscasts from South Africa, but nothing from BBC News.)
October 9, 2025 at 11:02 AM
And here are 1966 and 1976 TV and radio lineups from 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 magazine in white-ruled Rhodesia. (Interestingly, under the post-UDI government, the radio service rebroadcast SABC newscasts from South Africa, but nothing from BBC News.)
And from the same book, an account of the TV rivalry between Israel and the Arab states in the early '70s: (1/2)
October 8, 2025 at 8:12 PM
And from the same book, an account of the TV rivalry between Israel and the Arab states in the early '70s: (1/2)
Howard K. Smith, one of the Murrow Boys, summed it up nicely way back in 1960s:
October 8, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Howard K. Smith, one of the Murrow Boys, summed it up nicely way back in 1960s: