Overview

Blending cultural, religious and media history, Tona Hangen offers a detailed look into the world of religious radio. She uses recordings, sermons, fan mail and other sources to tell the stories of the determined broadcasters and devoted listeners who, together, transformed American radio evangelism from an on-air novelty in the 1920s into a profitable and wide-reaching industry by the 1950s. Hangen traces the careers of three of the most successful Protestant radio evangelists - Paul Rader of Chicago, Aimee Semple McPherson of Los Angeles and Charles Fuller of Pasadena - and examines the strategies they used to bring their messages to listerners across the nation. Initially shut out of network radio and free airtime, both of which were available only to mainstream Protestant and Catholic groups, evangelical broadcasters gained access to the airwaves with paid-time programming. By the mid-20th century millions of Americans regularly tuned in to evangelical programming, making it one of the medium's most distinctive and durable genres. The voluntary contributions of these listeners in turn helped to bankroll religious radio's remarkable growth. Revealing the entwined development of evangelical religion and modern mass media, Hangen demonstrates that the history of one is incomplete without the history of the other; both are important to understanding American culture in the 20th century.

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9780807854204

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Reviews

Redeeming the Dial is a clearly and engagingly written study covering an area that cries out for scholarship: the many vital ways that broadcasting has affected the practice of religion in America, and vice versa. Hangen's approach brings the material alive and situates it in the midst of current historical debates. Redeeming the Dial is an important work of revisionist historiography that should be eagerly read by media and cultural historians alike. (Michele Hilmes, University of Wisconsin-Madison) With deft use of the sources, Tona Hangen offers here a portrait of the pioneers of evangelical radio as well as the vast audiences that tuned in. Redeeming the Dial is religious history at its best: a strong narrative laced with anecdotes and perceptive analysis. (Randall Balmer, author of The Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism )

Redeeming the Dial is a clearly and engagingly written study covering an area that cries out for scholarship: the many vital ways that broadcasting has affected the practice of religion in America, and vice versa. Hangen's approach brings the material alive and situates it in the midst of current historical debates. Redeeming the Dial is an important work of revisionist historiography that should be eagerly read by media and cultural historians alike. (Michele Hilmes, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

With deft use of the sources, Tona Hangen offers here a portrait of the pioneers of evangelical radio as well as the vast audiences that tuned in. Redeeming the Dial is religious history at its best: a strong narrative laced with anecdotes and perceptive analysis. (Randall Balmer, author of The Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism ) Redeeming the Dial is a clearly and engagingly written study covering an area that cries out for scholarship: the many vital ways that broadcasting has affected the practice of religion in America, and vice versa. Hangen's approach brings the material alive and situates it in the midst of current historical debates. Redeeming the Dial is an important work of revisionist historiography that should be eagerly read by media and cultural historians alike. (Michele Hilmes, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

""Redeeming the Dial"" is a clearly and engagingly written study covering an area that cries out for scholarship: the many vital ways that broadcasting has affected the practice of religion in America, and vice versa. Hangen's approach brings the material alive and situates it in the midst of current historical debates. ""Redeeming the Dial"" is an important work of revisionist historiography that should be eagerly read by media and cultural historians alike. (Michele Hilmes, University of Wisconsin-Madison) With deft use of the sources, Tona Hangen offers here a portrait of the pioneers of evangelical radio as well as the vast audiences that tuned in. ""Redeeming the Dial"" is religious history at its best: a strong narrative laced with anecdotes and perceptive analysis. (Randall Balmer, author of ""The Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism"")

Author Information

Tona J. Hangen is a lecturer in the History and Literature Program at Harvard University.

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