Overview

During the 1920s and 1930s, the rising popularity of radio prompted subtle but significant changes in how Americans conducted public business and conceived of their community. In this text, the author offers a detailed examination of the role of radio within political culture between 1920 and 1940 - the golden age of radio - when it commanded huge national audiences without competition from television. The volume builds upon a wide variety of sources: two major NBC manuscript collections, government documents, papers from the Republican and Democratic parties, broadcasters' memoirs, newpapers, magazines and the writings on interwar radio enthusiasts, sociologists and political scientists. Douglas B. Craig begins by covering the development of radio and its evolution into a commercialized, networked and regulated industry. He then focuses on how the new medium was used by the two major parties in their national contests between 1924 and 1940, examining radio in political campaigns and debates from the perspectives of the networks, the parties and listeners. Finally, Craig broadens the argument to encompass interwar notions of citizenship and good taste and their effect on radio broadcasting and its chief actors. He also compares the American experience of broadcasting and political culture with that of Australia, Britain and Canada. The book offers an account of the ways radio metamorphosed into a medium of political action - a force that affected campaigning, governing and even ideas of citizenship and civility.

Full Product Details

Author:   Douglas B. Craig (Emeritus Faculty, Australian National University)
Publisher:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Imprint:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.70cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.624kg
ISBN:  

9780801864391

ISBN 10:   0801864399
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   28 December 2000
Recommended Age:   From 17
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

List of Maps, Illustrations, Figures, and Tables Acknowledgments Introduction Abbreviations Part I: Making the Medium, 1895-1940 1. The Radio Age: The Growth of Radio Broadcasting, 1895–1940 2. Radio Advertising and Networks 3. Regulatory Models and the Radio Act of 1927 4. The Federal Radio Commission, 1927–1934 5. A New Deal for Radio? The Communications Act of 1934 6. The Federal Communications Commission and Radio, 1934–1940 Part II: Radio and the Business of Politics, 1920-1940 7. The Sellers: Stations, Networks, and Political Broadcasting 8. The Buyers: National Parties, Candidates, and Radio 9. The Product: Radio Politics and Campaigning 10. The Consumer: Radio, Audiences, and Voters Part III: Radio and Citizenship, 1920–1940 11. Radio and the Problem of Citizenship 12. Radio at the Margins: Broadcasting and the Limits of Citizenship 13. Radio and the Politics of Good Taste Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

<p>Fireside Politics is the most complete study so far of the interactions between broadcasting and the U.S. political system during the 'golden age' of radio... Likely to become a leading reference in continuing discussions over communication history, technology, and democracy.--Stephen Ponder H-Pol, H-Net Reviews

<p> Douglas Craig's main goal was to write a political history of radio broadcasting in the United States before World War II; however, he has also succeeded in producing the best general study yet published on the development of radio broadcasting during this crucial period when key institutional and social patterns were established. -- Hugh R. Slotten, Technology and Culture

Author Information

Douglas B. Craig is a reader in history at the Australian National University. He is the author of After Wilson: The Struggle for the Democratic Party, 1920-1934.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions