Full Description
Although television is now dominant, radio surprisingly remains a medium of unparalleled power and importance. Worldwide, it continues to be the communications vehicle with the greatest outreach and impact. Every indicator - economic, demographic, social, and democratic - suggests that far from fading away, radio is returning to our consciousness, and back into the cultural mainstream.Marilyn J. Matelski reviews radio's glory days, arguing that the glory is not all in the past. B. Eric Rhoads continues Matelski's thoughts by explaining how and why radio has kept its vitality. The political history of radio is reviewed by Michael X. Delli Carpini, while David Bartlett shows how one of radio's prime functions has been to serve the public in time of disaster. Other contributors discuss radio as a cultural expression; the global airwaves; and the economic, regulatory, social, and technological structures of radio.Collectively, the contributors provide an intriguing study into the rich history of radio, and its impact on many areas of society. It provides a wealth of information for historians, sociologists, and communications and media scholars. Above all, it helps explain how media intersect, change focus, but still manage to survive and grow in a commercial environment.
Contents
Introduction Radio—The Forgotten Medium; I: Overview; 1: Resilient Radio; 2: Looking Back at Radio's Future; 3: Radio's Political Past; 4: News Radio—More Than Masters of Disaster; II: Radio as Cultural Expression; 5: The Vocal Minority in U.S. Politics; 6: Triumph of the Idol—Rush Limbaugh and a Hot Medium; 7: Talking Over America's Electronic Backyard Fence; 8: You Are What You Hear; 9: Ear on America; 10: Music Radio—The Fickleness of Fragmentation; 11: Whither (Or Wither?) AM?; III: The Global Airwaves; 12: Radio Beyond the Anglo-American World; 13: The BBC—From Maiden Aunt to Sexy Upstart; 14: Devoted to "Auntie Beeb"; 15: Heating Up Clandestine Radio After the Cold War; IV: The Structure of Radio; 16: Public Policy and Radio— A Regulator's View; 17: Riding Radio's Technological Wave; 18: On the Business Side, an End to Radio Romance; 19: Public Radio—Americans Want More; 20: Growing NPR; 21: Monopoly to Marketplace—Competition Conies to Public Radio; V: Books; 22: "Seems Radio Is Here to Stay"
