Hoffman Outline, chapter 1 We Dont Have Sex in the Soviet Union

1987: apex of Cold War

o A letter
Context
o 1980 First live TV interactive broadcast
Used communications satellites
Technological feat for its time
Connected six groups of Americans for Thanksgiving
o 1982 Internews produced Spacebridges
linked groups together
o 1986
Twenty-seventh Party Congress
Mikhail Gorbachev and perestroika
Economic and political reform
A Citizens Summit Spacebridge
between Seattle and Leningrad
Taped live and unedited
Free discussion of taboo topics
o Basic freedoms
Uncensored dialogue
o Spacebridges attract attention
US congressman and speaker of House
Concerns about nuclear war
Wanted to lesson tension
Proposal: live debate between US and Soviet leaders
Not a negotiation
Not official, but a diplomatic summit
Legislators could express personal opinions
Broadcast from Capitol Hill and the Kremlin
 Opportunity
Threat of nuclear missiles
Arms control negotiations stalled
Educational and scientific exchanges frozen
Peace movement pressuring policymakers
Ritualized demonization
o Evil empire
o Imperialist lackeys
Put a human face on the enemy
1987: in the Kremlin
o A letter for Lev Tolkunov, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet
Strict parity is necessary
To avoid Soviet inferiority complex
To encourage power and independence
Capital to Capital
o 7 live broadcasts
o 150 million people watched, most from USSR
o won several Emmy Awards
o Moderated by Peter Jennings, ABC News anchor
o Hosted by Leonid Zolotarevsky, a Russian newscaster
o Transformational symbolism
Political leaders talk with respect
Subjects:
Arms control and regional conflicts
Human rights
Environment
Fate of Jewis refuseniks
Rational debate
Breached ideological and geographic borders
Continued through the 1980s
o Real change: US-Soviet relations
Arms reduction treaties signed
 Power of information/Longing for freedom
o Role of the media
In Soviet Union
opened window to the West
gave voice to those silenced by censorship
galvanized people to act
spread news and information across the empire
o news of protests and revolts
Media as a force for social change
o Arab Spring in 2011
Cyber activists and new digital media technologies
Challenged long-established dictatorships
Similar to citizen diplomats who helped bring end to Cold War
o Technological innovation in media
1980s: Interactive satellite television
Today: Internet and social media
New technologies with old media shifts political framework
o Ultimately, people make the difference