1989 – before and after: how RFE reported not just on the revolutionary developments in Central and Eastern Europe at the time, but also from the region directly.
Our timeline is based on RFE Director (1988-91) A. Ross Johnson’s account titled “No One is Afraid to Talk to Us Anymore: Radio Free Europe in 1989”. It was published in the book “The End and the Beginning: The Revolutions of 1989 and the Resurgence of History” (Central European University Press Budapest- New York, March 2012).
The photos and clips in the timeline are from Ross Johnson’s archives, from the BIB (Board of International Broadcasting) Annual Reports, and from “Shortwaves” — an internal RFE/RL publication back at the time; some are agency pictures.