U.S. Probing Possibility of Swap of Radio Programs with Soviets

U.S. Information Agency Director Charles Z. Wick is sounding out U.S. broadcasters on whether they would be willing to air Radio Moscow programs in return for U.S. access to Soviet radio audiences and, incidentally, the cessation of Soviet jamming of the Voice of America.

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev originally suggested to President Reagan at last month’s Reykjavik summit that he would stop jamming if given access to U.S. radio facilities. Wick, in separate conversations with Alexander N. Yakovlev, the Soviet Communist Party official in charge of propaganda, discussed possible means of increasing the flow of information between the superpowers.

The idea has drawn wide criticism from State Department officials and others who say it would appear to legitimize jamming, a practice banned by international law. Wick maintains that he is seeking only access for Soviet radio audiences to U.S. broadcasts and that the halt in jamming would be merely a bonus.

The owners of the Mutual Broadcasting System, one of the U.S. media organizations contacted by Wick, confirmed Friday that Wick had met with Norman J. Pattiz, chairman of Mutual’s parent company, Westwood One of Los Angeles.

A spokesman for Pattiz said, “Obviously, the idea appears intriguing to us.” But the spokesman added that thus far no agreements had been reached and no additional meetings set.

Other Broadcasters Contacted

Joseph D. O’Connell, a spokesman for Wick, said others broadcasters have also been contacted but declined to identify them.

O’Connell said Wick has long been concerned that Soviet officials or unofficial spokesmen have had frequent access to U.S. media, while the U.S. government has had no comparable access to Soviet media. In addition, Voice of America broadcasts are often jammed, along with those of Radio Free Europe, which is beamed to Eastern Europe , and Radio Liberty, which broadcasts to the Soviet Union. Both are government-financed organizations directed by an independent board.

Radio Moscow is freely available to U.S. listeners who have shortwave sets, but Gorbachev complained that, in contrast with the Soviet Union, most U.S. radio sets receive only medium-wave signals.