Overview
As the dominant form of electronic mass communication in the United States from the 1930s into the 1950s, radio helped to forge a modern continental nation. It fused myriad subcultures--heavily rural, ethnic, and immigrant--into a national identity, unifying the nation in the face of the Depression and war. Later, federal deregulation allowed the radio of the ""Golden Age,"" 1926-1952, to devolve into a chain-dominated, satellite-fed plaything of Wall Street. Today, radio has the highest profit ratio of all the media outlets--and Golden Age traditions of programming taste, diversity, balance, and localism are a legacy squandered. This anecdote-rich sweep of radio history, from its birth as Marconi's ""wireless telegraph"" through its current status under deregulation, analyzes the changing medium's social, political, and cultural impact. It casts new light on many topics, including the roles of women and African Americans, programming sources outside the Hollywood-Broadway nexus, and arguments about Amos 'n' Andy--once the hit that jump-started radio's young networks, now a controversial remnant of a bygone era. The book is augmented with more than sixty photos, extensive source notes, and a bibliography.
Full Product Details
Author: Alfred Balk
Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint: McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.80cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.490kg
ISBN: 9780786423682
ISBN 10: 0786423684
Pages: 358
Publication Date: 01 December 2005
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order 
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Part I: Radio’s Rise 1. Radio’s Roots 2. An Industry Is Born 3. The Radio Craze 4. AT&T Tries a Takeover 5. Programming’s Ascent 6. Enter Advertising 7. Regulation Arrives, Set-Making Thrives 8. And Now, Networks 9. “Playboy” Paley Surprises 10. Amos, Andy, and Liftoff 11. Chicago’s Innings 12. Cincinnati, Detroit, and Tonto 13. Westward, Ho! 14. Mutual Arrives, Ad Agencies Program 15. The Great Press and Identity Wars Part II: The Age’s Stage 16. Comedy’s Trail Blazers 17. Comedy’s Second Wave 18. Sitcoms Tonight 19. Adventure, Crime, Mystery 20. “Get Your Decoders Ready” 21. Uncle Don to “School of the Air” 22. “Can a Young Woman Who...” 23. Playwrights Stage Center 24. Baritones to Barn Dances 25. Blues to Big Bands 26. Talking Heads 27. The Jackpot Question Is... 28. We/You Are There Part III: Pinnacle, Precipice, Abyss 29. Maturity Blooms 30. War, NBC’s Split, ABC 31. By the Home Fires 32. Before the Fall 33. An Old Order Dies 34 A Legacy Lost Chapter Notes Bibliography Index
Reviews
it's a fabulous book and the research that went into it is stunning! --Mike Wallace, 60 Minutes; will live long in the literature of radio and deservedly so --Norman Corwin; anyone teaching a...broadcast history course would do well to consider this book --Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly; admirable...informative and entertaining...writing is clear...language is vivid...a fresh collection of anecdotes --IEEE Technology and Society Magazine; [its] admirably clear prose sums up a dizzying array of previous histories --Journal of Radio Studies; a fascinating history...and Balk's depth of research is astounding --Chicago Life; probably the best general history of the topic...excellent job --The Illustrated Press; thoroughly researched and documented --The Antique Wireless Association Journal; I could not put it down...excellent...I think I will read the book again --Antique Radio Classified; valuable --Friends of the Old-time Radio; should become a classroom standard --Robert Lewis Shayon, Saturday Review; The Rise of Radio is excellent --Newton N. Minow, former FCC Chairman; research is staggering --Thomas Fleming, author; a masterful work and a pleasure to read...ought to be the lasting work on the subject --Everette E. Dennis, Fordham University; well-researched --Radio & Television Museum News; entertaining --Columbia Journalism Review.
“it’s a fabulous book and the research that went into it is stunning!”—Mike Wallace, 60 Minutes; “will live long in the literature of radio and deservedly so”—Norman Corwin; anyone teaching a...broadcast history course would do well to consider this book”—Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly; “admirable...informative and entertaining...writing is clear...language is vivid...a fresh collection of anecdotes”—IEEE Technology and Society Magazine; “[its] admirably clear prose sums up a dizzying array of previous histories”—Journal of Radio Studies; “a fascinating history...and Balk’s depth of research is astounding”—Chicago Life; “probably the best general history of the topic...excellent job”—The Illustrated Press; “thoroughly researched and documented”—The Antique Wireless Association Journal; “I could not put it down...excellent...I think I will read the book again”—Antique Radio Classified; “valuable”—Friends of the Old-time Radio; “should become a classroom standard”—Robert Lewis Shayon, Saturday Review; “The Rise of Radio is excellent”—Newton N. Minow, former FCC Chairman; “research is staggering”—Thomas Fleming, author; “a masterful work and a pleasure to read...ought to be the lasting work on the subject”—Everette E. Dennis, Fordham University; “well-researched”—Radio & Television Museum News; “entertaining”—Columbia Journalism Review.
Author Information
The late Alfred Balk was a former editor at Columbia Journalism Review, Saturday Review, and other magazines. He wrote more than 100 articles for Harper’s, Reader’s Digest, and other publications, taught at Columbia and Syracuse, and was the author or co-author of seven other books.
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