Two men in the interior of a tent in Kbely (1923) by UnknownCzech Radio
The first broadcast of Radiojournal
The transmitter stood near the Kbely airport just outside of Prague. The studio was right next to it, inside a tent borrowed from the Boy Scouts. A carpet was laid out on the grass and on it stood a piano, even though its wheels sank into the soil.
The first studio of the Czechoslovak Radio in the Postal Shopping Center building (1924)Czech Radio
The beginning of regular broadcasts in Kbely
A tent on loan from the scouts provided the modest facilities for the improvised studio in Kbely, from where the first regular public radio broadcast in the Czech lands commenced in the evening of 18 May 1923. Initially, the broadcasts only lasted an hour.
Interior of the tent in Kbely - radio announcer Tučková (1923) by UnknownCzech Radio
Interior of the tent in Kbely
The cramped working conditions of the radio broadcasting pioneers. Emilia Tučková, the first female announcer at Radiojournal, sings to the accompaniment of Karel Duda on piano and Rudolf Komorous on clarinet, while technician Jaroslav Vlach manages the broadcast.
The first listeners of Czechoslovak Radio.
The construction of the new Radio Building in Vinohrady (1930) by UnknownCzech Radio
The construction of the new radio building in Vinohrady
The technologically demanding construction of a seven-storey building designed by the architect Bohumil Sláma commenced on then Fochova Avenue in 1929. Radiojournal shared the building with the Directorate of Post and Telegraph Offices. The new headquarters were opened in 1933.
TGM gives message to the Goverment (1928-10-28) by UnknownCzech Radio
T. G. Masaryk gives a speech to the Goverment
The photograph from 28 October 1928 immortalises President Masaryk in the audience hall at Prague Castle during a speech to government representatives on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Republic.
The journalist Miloš Čtrnáctý together with Eduard Svoboda and the Radioslavia Company co-founded the Czechoslovak Radiojournal radio company in 1923.
International broadcasts (1933) by UnknownCzech Radio
International broadcasts
In the second half of the 1920s, Radiojournal began to participate in international broadcasts by connecting the Czechoslovak radio network to international networks. Domestic listeners were first able to hear a speech given by Edvard Beneš from Geneva in September 1926.
Radiojournal's promotional bus (1936) by UnknownCzech Radio
Radiojournal's promotional bus
In the 1930s, Radiojournal persistently organised a large number of promotional events intended to spread awareness of the significance of radio among the citizens of Czechoslovakia. A promotional bus equipped with speakers often travelled around the country.
The Czechoslovak Radio building in Vinohrady, Prague (1936) by UnknownCzech Radio
The Czechoslovak Radio building in Vinohrady
The new headquarters were officially opened in December 1933 and the radio was finally able to concentrate its expanding administrative, technical and programming apparatus all in one place.
Singer, pianist and composer R. A. Dvorský (1936) by UnknownCzech Radio
Singer, pianist and composer R. A. Dvorský
Classical and popular music constituted the bulk of Radiojournal broadcasting throughout the entire interwar period. The most significant personalities without doubt included R. A. Dvorský, who was involved in regular radio programs from as early as 1924.
Edvard Beneš (1937) by unknownCzech Radio
Speech by Edvard Beneš
On 24 December 1937, the successor to President Masaryk, Edvard Beneš, gave his last presidential pre-war Christmas message in both Czech and in German on the radio.
A message of peace to the world: Otakar Matoušek, Karel Čapek, Vincenc Lesný (1937) by unknownCzech Radio
A message of peace to the world
During the period in which Nazi Germany was ramping up pressure on its surrounding states, Radiojournal broadcast a message of peace “to all people of good will” on Christmas Eve 1937. In it, the inventor František Křižík addressed Albert Einstein in the United States.
Radio building in Prague (1941) by UnknownCzech Radio
Reich Broadcasting Corporation
From March 1940, broadcasts were regulated by a programming intendancy. One month later, Czech Radio became part of the Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (the Reich Broadcasting Corporation), which took over all of its capital holdings in March 1942.
Prague Uprising - Rebel Broadcast from the basement of the radio building on Vinohradská Street (1945) by František ŠvejkovskýCzech Radio
Prague Uprising – Rebel Broadcast
Czech Radio played an exceptional role in the Prague Uprising of 1945. The photograph depicts radio personnel with weapons in the underground area of the radio building in Vinohrady.
In 1948, an exceptional celebration of a quarter-century of radio broadcasting took place in Prague in the form of the International Radio Exhibition (Mevro). It presented the history of radio and its current technical facilities and gave space to a whole range of young creators.
Wiretapping service in the Karlín National House
After the war, a monitoring service was established under Czechoslovak Radio and based in the National House in Karlín. Its almost fifty employees monitored the news reports of several tens of international stations 24 hours a day.
Radiojournal's reporting vehicle (1949) by Oldřich CetlCzech Radio
Radiojournal's reporting vehicle
Reporters could not autonomously record radio reports from the field due to technical limitations, but they could do so using recording and outside broadcasting vehicles. The photograph shows a technician-operator as he monitors the recording of a report from ČKD in Komořany.
Mourning for President Gottwald (1953-03) by UnknownCzech Radio
President Gottwald's funeral
Klement Gottwald’s funeral was broadcast by the radio as a quasi-live broadcast that did not go according to plan. The funeral procession proceeded very slowly, meaning that the broadcast was littered with bizarre pauses underscored by classical music.
