February 8-9, 1942 – Reports From Radio Tokyo – Radio Chungking – Radio Australia – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
February 8-9, 1942 – The other war on the Air – the war of propaganda and news reports, all from the same two days and from different views of the same conflict.
Radio Tokyo was in the midst of celebrating – this was the second month of war between the Axis and the Allies and the streets in cities all around Japan were decked out in flags, workers were given the day off and everyone was encouraged to take part in what Tokyo was hoping would be an ultimate victory in Asia. News of continued attacks, advances, taking of prisoners and their victories at Sea were filling the airwaves via this daily newscast from the English Service in Tokyo.
Radio Chungking did their best to downplay what was looking like a very bad situation in Singapore, with even more concern over the situation in Burma. Still, hopes were high that enough reinforcements would arrive from Britain and the U.S. to turn the tide, even though, despite an upbeat assessment, the reality was probably more in line with what Radio Tokyo was saying than what Washington was saying.
Radio Australia was steadfast in its determination to halt any further advances from Tokyo, even there were reports of bombing runs on Darwin. War production was stepping up and there was added optimism that Britain and the U.S. were making good on promises of help before things got too much worse.
A lot of news and editorials were covered in these three newscasts – as always, the signals from the shortwave broadcasts are varying – some with a good amount of frustration. But some careful listening to what is there (and some very intense restoration and bolstering of the original recordings), there are enough clear reports to get an understanding, or at least an idea of what the Pacific Theatre was going through during this second month of War.
As you know, we’ve suspended indefinitely our ads in order to make Past Daily a better experience for you without all the distractions and pop-ups. Because of that, we’re relying more on your support through Patreon to keep us up and running every day. For as little as $5.00 a month you can make a huge difference as well as be able to download all of our posts for free (news, history, music). You’ll see a banner just below. Click on that and become a subscriber – it’s easy, painless and does a world of good.
