ABSTRACT
The aim of my chapter is to analyse the way in which Radio Bari’s broadcasts represented the Mediterranean war theatre during World War II (1940–1943). Radio Bari started broadcasting in Arabic in 1934 and during the war its Arabic programs had an overall duration of two hours. In those years, Radio Bari’s programme schedule relied primarily on news bulletins which, on the one hand, covered the events in the main theatres of war and the Mediterranean in particular and, on the other, attacked the key players (namely, Great Britain, the USSR and the USA). In the chapter, I focus on Radio Bari news’ content as well as on its representations of the Allies between 1940 and 1943, taking into account that these broadcasts have to be analysed within the wider framework of the role that Radio Bari played during the ‘Fascist decade of war’. At the same time, I intend to assess Arab audiences’ responses to Radio Bari’s broadcasts during the war, with the aim of addressing two main questions. Did Radio Bari play any part in influencing Arab public opinion and building support for Rome? Were the Arab ‘hearts and minds’ conquered by Italian Fascist propaganda, or were other radio broadcasts more appealing?
