The Rise of Radio, from Marconi through the Golden Age

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.

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     

About the Author :
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.

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.