A Ph.D. Thesis about Lithuanian Electronic Media in the US

This fall, a Ph.D. candidate Ina Ėmužienė defended her thesis on Lithuanian radio and TV programs in the US from 1944 to 1990. Electronic media is a new theme in Lithuanian diaspora history. In her research, Ina analyzes radio and TV programs broadcasted in the US territory and mostly aimed at Lithuanian-American community. She looks at 58 radio programs and 2 TV shows describing their operating principles, organizational scale, various forms and impact on Lithuanian-American community. In doing so, Ina analyzes the US federal policy toward audio-visual media creators of national ethnic groups, explains the electronic media “strategy” developed by the Lithuanian-American community and its goals, reconstructs the space of the audio-visual communication media within the community, its organizational principles and policies, and analyzes the role of radio broadcasts in breakthrough stages of the development of Lithuanian diaspora. While analyzing the content of Lithuanian-American radio and television programs, Ina reveals the most acute problems of Lithuanian diaspora community and attempts by radio and TV to solve them.

The doctoral thesis (in Lithuanian) can be accessed here.

Sophie Barcus, the owner of the Sophie Barcus Radio Program in Chicago (1932–1987), in her studio.

Photo credit: Lithuanian Archives Project