The Broadcast Century: A Biography of American Broadcasting

Now in paperback, The Broadcast Century, Second Edition is a popular history of the most influential and innovative industry of this century. The story of broadcasting is told in a direct and informal style, blending personal insight and authoritative scholarship to fully capture the many facets of this dynamic industry. The book vividly depicts the events, people, programs, and companies that made television and radio dominant forms of communication. Numerous personal retrospectives from leading figures in broadcasting, including Garrison Keillor, Julia Child, Norman Corwin, and Steve Allen add an intimate dimension to this eminently readable narrative, while a book-length, running time-line of world and media events and two hundred illustrations continually orient readers to periods and places. This second edition adds new information about the rapidly changing aspects of broadcasting in the 90s, making this the most up-to-date perspective on the media.

Table of Contents:
Preface; In the Beginning: Genesis to 1920; The Roaring 20s: Promise Chaos, and Controls; The Terrible 30s: Profit Amid Depression; The Furious 40s: War and Recovery|Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying|Transition to TV; The Fearful 50s: Broadcasting and Blacklisting|A Decade of Shame; The Soaring 60s: Awakening, Rebellion, and the Moon; The Shifting 70s: Q and A and Jiggle; The Techno-Edged 80s: Teflon, Tinsel, and Me; The 90s: Toward a New Century; Further Reading; Index

About the Author :
Michael C. Keith, Ph.D., ranks among the most prolific authors on the subject of broadcast media, in particular radio. He is a member of the Communication Department at Boston College and is author of over twenty books, including Voices in the Purple Haze, Signals in the Air, Talking Radio, Radio Cultures, and Sounds in the Dark. With Robert Hilliard he has co-authored The Broadcast Century and Beyond, Waves of Rancor, Dirty Discourse, Global Broadcasting Systems, and The Hidden Screen. With Christopher Sterling he co-authored Sounds of Change: FM Broadcasting in America. In addition, he is the author of numerous journal articles and has served in a number of editorial positions. He is the past Chair of Education for the Museum of Broadcast Communications, the inaugural chair of the Broadcast Education Association's Radio Division, and a former broadcaster. He is the recipient of several honors, including the Distinguished Scholar Award given by the Broadcast Education Association in 2008, and the Stanton Fellow Award given by the International Radio Television Society. He is the author of a critically acclaimed memoir, The Next Better Place: A Father and Son on the Road (Algonquin Press), in 2003. Visit the author's website: www.michaelckeith.com. Robert L. Hilliard, Ph.D., is Professor of Media Arts and former Dean of Graduate Studies at Emerson College. He was Chief of the Educational/Public Broadcasting Branch of the F.C.C., Chair of the Federal Interagency Media Committee, and a former broadcasting writer and producer. Among his 25 books on the media is the classic Writing for Television, Radio, and New Media, now in its 7th edition. With Michael C. Keith he coauthored Global Broadcasting Systems and Waves of Rancor, which was named by President Clinton to his 1999 yearly reading list of 12 books. Hilliard's latest book is Media, Education, and America's Counter-Culture Revolution.

Review :
A well written history delivered with an easy style making it a fast read while still remaining highly informative. Only one draw back: the attempt at editorializing sometimes interfers with the history throwing it out of balance. (Michael Halperin, Loyola Marymount Univ, LA, CA)