The Broadcast Century and Beyond: A Biography of American Broadcasting

The Broadcast Century and Beyond, 4th Edition, is a popular history of the most influential and innovative industry of the previous and current 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. The ability of radio and television to educate, enlighten, and stimulate the contemporary mind is perhaps the most important of all modern technological developments. This text places the communication revolution in a comprehensive chronological context, allowing readers to fully grasp the media's profound impact on the political, social, and economic spheres.

Table of Contents:
In the Beginning; Genesis to 1920; The Roaring 20s; The Terrible 30s; The Furious 40s; The Fearful 50s; The Soaring 60s; The Shifting 70s; The Techno-Edged 80s; The Cyber 90s; The New Century 2000; Further Reading.

About the Author :
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.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.

Review :
I got this book for a Media Arts college class. It starts at the beginning of radio all the way up to turn of the century TV technology. If you are looking for a book that gives a descriptive history of mostly TV and radio, this is quite a good book. One of the best things about this book is the chronological organization. Each decade is a separate chapter, each year is a seperate section. It also includes a timeline along the top of each page covering the details of history at that time for a greater understanding of socially induced technological changes. (Amazon.com reader)