Aline Pütz and the evolution of Radio Luxembourg in the ’60s and ’70s

March 25, 2024

Our project team had the privilege of meeting Aline Pütz, the former Radio Luxembourg “Speakerin” for the Luxembourgish program from 1968 to 1979.

Aline navigated the airwaves during a pivotal era of societal and cultural transformations, presenting innovative programs. Just before gynecologist Dr. Molitor-Peffer established Planning Familial ( “Planned Parenthood”: An organization that provides family planning services, including sex education and reproductive health), Aline featured in multiple interviews on RTL, discussing sex education and abortion in her “Fraenemissioun” (“Women’s mission”) show. Addressing these topics on the radio was unprecedented and resulted in significant backlash and personal insults. Only a fraction of listeners supported the program’s openness.

Nic Weber, the head of Luxembourgish programming, insisted on tackling gender inequality prevailing in the ’60s and ’70s in the same “Fraenemissioun.” Consequently, Aline regularly hosted interviews with women politicians advocating for equality, such as Lydie Schmit, Colette Flesch, Liliane Thorn-Petit, and Astrid Lulling. She also played a role in the first program openly discussing the everyday lives and issues of disabled people with Dr. Metz, striving for better societal inclusion, including live broadcasts from institutions for the disabled.

Reflecting on this particular time, Aline recalls minimal in-house changes concerning gender equality. Men still earned more than women, and there were no professional women journalists. Despite lacking the journalist status, many female speakers performed journalistic tasks. The Luxembourgish program and content adapted slowly to the cultural and societal revolution of the late ’60s and ’70s. In the ’60s, every announcement had to be scripted, as speaking freely, common in the French and German programs, was gradually introduced to the Luxembourgish program. The speakers were expected to use the Luxembourgish language in a very official and accurate way. However, Aline injected liveliness into the program by spontaneously interviewing stars and artists from the German program.

Aline also reminisces about the distinctive relationship between speakers and the audience during her era. She primarily connected with listeners during events rather than broadcasts, as speakers were less recognized and photographed. Most of their audience didn’t know their appearance, associating imagined physiques with their voices, a phenomenon Aline noticed when approached by people. She feels that today’s studio webcams in radio studios are redundant and even detrimental, eroding the mystery that surrounded the identity behind a voice in her time.