This concluding chapter briefly charts the history of RIAS until the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. By the late 1960s RIAS had undergone three significant changes. First, the station had become a much more thoroughly German institution. Next was RIAS's decision to broadcast more popular music, especially rock-and-roll. The final significant change for RIAS was the introduction of a new format: television. The chapter shows how these changes coincided with political and generational shifts in the last decades of the Cold War, which at the same time highlights the fact that RIAS is a product of the Cold War. Finally, the chapter turns to a discussion of the legacy of RIAS and of how the station's history serves as an important and unique case study for considering the success and limitations of the American efforts to sway public attitudes behind the Iron Curtain.
Import / Export / Rock’n’Roll – The Movement of Popular Music (Among Other Things) Across the Iron Curtain
