National Institute of Radio Broadcasting
The National Institute of Radio Broadcasting (French: Institut national de radiodiffusion, INR; Dutch: Nationaal Instituut voor de Radio-Omroep, NIR) was the national public service broadcasting company in Belgium between 1930 and 1960.[1]
Inspired by the precedent of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the INR-NIR provided radio broadcasting in French and Dutch and was intended to respond to the rise of private radio broadcasters over the previous decade.[1] Although funded almost exclusively with government funds from radio licenses, the organisation did not have a broadcasting monopoly.[1] It was housed in the Flagey Building, also known as the Radio House (Maison de Radio), a purpose-built building in the "paquebot" style of Art Deco, in Brussels.[2][3]
Although ceasing broadcasts at the time of the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940, the INR-NIR was subsequently restored in the postwar years. It later expanded its remit to include television broadcasts which commenced in 1953. It was managed under the auspices of the Ministry for Post, Telegraph, and Telephone until 1959 and subsequently the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. It was split along linguistic lines in 1960 with the creation of the Belgisch Radio en Televisie, Nederlandse Uitzendingen (BRT) and Radiodiffusion-Télévision Belge, Emissions françaises (RTB).[1]
Directors of the INR-NIR
[edit]- 1930 - 1937: Gust De Muynck
- 1937 - 1939: Theo De Ronde
- 1939 - 1952: Jan Boon
- 1952 - 1959: Bert Leysen
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Saeys & Antoine 2007, p. 106.
- ^ "Le Flagey, the former Maison de la Radio". Brussels Life. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "The Flagey Building". Flagey. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- Saeys, Frieda; Antoine, Frédéric (2007). "Belgium". In D'Haenens, Leen; Saeys, Frieda (eds.). Western broadcast models: structure, conduct, and performance. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-019526-2.