Voices of Crisis

In the late 1980s, a small, independent, alternative radio station in Ljubljana unexpectedly became one of the principal actors in a sequence of political events, which catalysed mass protests and contributed to an ongoing political crisis. These events aided the formation of social movements and strong political figures who remained influential within local politics for the next thirty years. Slovenian media promptly reported the news in the wake of the ongoing political transformations and liberal-democratic reforms, but while mainstream media continued to report on foreign affairs, local issues, workers’ strikes, inflation, and protests of doctors and students, it was Radio Študent that undisputedly overshadowed the conventional news with its reporting on the JBTZ affair, through which the radio became an under-recognised agent of change. Through archival records, this paper investigates the actual substance behind the radio voices and archival content that produced “chaos” in the Slovenian and Yugoslav political ether. By analysing radio broadcasts, meeting summaries, letters, and other related content, we investigate the deeper extent and report insight into the key political event at the time. Additionally, we follow one of the stages in the development and construction of the autonomous and progressive orientation of the radio itself, which remains topical to this day.