Eskimo peoples residing along the Bering Strait region of western Alaska and Soviet Chukotka were forcibly separated by the closing of the US-USSR border in 1948. As a result, all communications between these peoples ceased for a period of 40 years. Eskimos on each side were divided into separate streams of Soviet and American jurisdiction, and with the further development of both regions following the second world War, these people became the recipients of new broadcast services. These services, conceptualized and developed from completely differing philosophies concerning the nature, function, and operation of the press, brought Eskimos into the information and societal orbit of the respective nations, though with little opportunity to control the systems implemented on their behalf. / Broadcasting in Chukotka developed in blue print fashion according to central planning directives of the Communist Party, based on an authoritarian, Marxist/Leninist-based model which held a complete monopoly on the means of mass information, in effect, stifling the free exchange of ideas in its attempt to convince Eskimos to accomplish objectives formulated by the Party. Broadcasting in Alaska developed in an opposite fashion, from a combination of state-supported and private initiative based on libertarian/social responsibility models of the press. Alaskan broadcasting was formulated more from the perspective of providing information and entertainment, while radio in Chukotka was more serious in nature, concentrating primarily on political and socio-economic issues facing the region and nation. / As the Cold War between the US and USSR intensified from the 1950s through the early 1980s, communication across the Bering Strait was forceably restricted, yet Eskimos could receive radio services from the other side. While Alaskan stations sought accurate information about the conditions of Eskimos in the USSR, Soviet broadcasting sought to issue a slanted, propagandistic account of the lives of Alaskan Eskimos, despite their lack of accurate reporting resources, in order to convince Soviet Eskimos of the superiority of their lives in contrast to the Alaskans. / This investigation will provide an overview of the development of broadcast media in both regions, as well as a comparative analysis on the role and operation of broadcasting along the Bering Strait, and the participation by Eskimos with such media. / With the development of Soviet glasnost and perestroika in 1985, new opportunities arose for the reunification of the Eskimo people, and broadcasting from both sides played a role in the overall decision-making process between the Soviet and American governments to reopen the border. This study provides a historical synopsis of the border closing and reopening, and the role of broadcast media in these events. Further, developments in the changing nature of mass communications and the reorganization of broadcast media in the Russian Republic will be explored. / The study concludes with an assessment on the possibilities for Eskimo control of broadcasting in the overall effort to strengthen the process of societal reintegration and national development of these people living along the Bering Strait.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.34743 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Johnson, Daniel Bradley. |
| Contributors | Stenbaek, M. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of English.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001642356, proquestno: NQ44467, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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