In the late 1920s radio exploded almost overnight into being America's dominant entertainment, just as television would do twenty-five years later. Gerald Nachman, himself a product of the radio years, takes us back to the heyday of radio, bringing to life the great performers and shows, as well as the not-so-great and not-great-at-all. Nachman analyzes the many genres that radio exploited or invented, from the soap opera to the sitcom to the quiz show, zooming in to study closely key performers like Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Fred Allen. Raised on Radio is a generous, instructive, and sinfully readable salute to an extraordinary American phenomenon.

"Radio in the Global Age "offers a fresh, up-to-date, and wide-ranging introduction to the role of radio in contemporary society. It places radio, for the first time, in a global context, and pays special attention to the impact of the Internet, digitalization and globalization on the political-economy of radio. It also provides a new emphasis on the links between music and radio, the impact of formatting, and the broader cultural roles the medium plays in constructing identities and nurturing musical tastes.

Individual chapters explore the changing structures of the radio industry, the way programmes are produced, the act of listening and the construction of audiences, the different meanings attached to programmes, and the cultural impact of radio across the globe. David Hendy portrays a medium of extraordinary contradictions: a cheap and accessible means of communication, but also one increasingly dominated by rigid formats and multinational companies; a highly 'intimate' medium, but one capable of building large communities of listeners scattered across huge spaces; a force for nourishing regional identity, but also a pervasive broadcaster of globalized music products; a 'stimulus to the imagination', but a purveyor of the banal and of the routine. Drawing on recent research from as far afield as Africa, Australasia and Latin America, as well as from the UK and US, the book aims to explore and to explain these paradoxes - and, in the process, to offer an imaginative reworking of Marshall McLuhan's famous dictum that radio is one of the world's 'hot' media.

"Radio in the Global Age "is an invaluable text for undergraduates and researchers in media studies, communicationstudies, journalism, cultural studies, and musicology. It will also be of interest to practitioners and policy-makers in the radio industry.

This volume gathers together, for the first time in English translation, Brecht's own writings on the new film and broadcast technologies that revolutionised arts and communication in the early part of the twentieth century This book includes all of Brecht's theoretical writing about film, radio, broadcasting and the new media written between 1919 and 1956 as well as all of his important screenplays produced during the 1920s and 1930s. Screenplays written during this time include an early sound-film adaptation of The Threepenny Opera, and a collaboration with Fritz Lang, Hangmen Also Die. Brecht's writings on the new media document his fascination with it from Weimar Germany to Hollywood and the movie industry.A must for students of Brecht and film studies alike.

Robert Rietti's career has spanned theatre, films, radio and television. Featured in this book for the first time are a selection of the authors popular radio talks broadcast on the BBC over many years. They are a series of true stories which Rietti's 'antennae' have gathered which many people would label mere coincidence, but which to him highlight the fact that there is something more than that involved... shall we call it 'His Hand'?

It reaches millions of people every minute of the day, it costs us virtually nothing and yet we take it entirely for granted. Superseded by television as the primary source of entertainment and information, radio still has a unique place in the mass media spectrum. While the textual properties and reception of film and television have received considerable critical attention, until now radio has only really been considered in terms of its history and its modes of production. 'On Air' adopts a wide-ranging theoretical and critical approach. It provides an in-depth examination of radio's codes (speech, music, noise and silence),and the conventions of using these codes and the dominant modes of reception. The text offers a vocabulary and methodology for analysing radio programmes, drawing on work by both media theorists and professional broadcasters in Britain, Australia, and North America. Written by an academic and a practitioner, 'On Air' provides a critical overview of radio for media students, as well as suggestions for practical activities, a time-line of major events in the history of radio, and a glossary of key terms.

After World War II, when thousands of African Americans left farms, plantations, and a southern way of life to migrate north, African American disc jockeys helped them make the transition to the urban life by playing familiar music and giving them hints on how to function in northern cities. These disc jockeys became cultural heroes and had a major role in the development of American broadcasting. This collection of interviews documents the personalities of the pioneers of Black radio, as well as their personal struggles and successes. The interviewees also define their roles in the civil rights movement and relate how their efforts have had an impact on how African Americans are portrayed over the air.

A comprehensive resource of American radio history including over 100 authors and covering over 600 different topics, fully cross-referenced and indexed. Entries are arranged alphabetically and written by some of the leading scholars including Erik Barnouw, Louisa Benjamin, Ronald Caray, Kenneth Harwood, Michael Kitross, Larry Lichty, Christopher Sterling, Kyu Ho Youm, Robert Avery, Marvin Bensman, Michael D. Murray, and others of the discipline. Each entry also contains references for further study as well as internet source materials. An Introduction and Radio Chronology provide the historical framework for the topics. This dictionary will be of interest to students and scholars interested in radio, television, communications, communications history, and electronic media. It will also be of interest to professionals in the field. As a library source it will be a welcome addition to academic, professional, as well as public library collections.

During the fateful summer of 1966, a handful of restless and frustrated deejays in New York and San Francisco began to conceive of a whole new brand of radio, one which would lead to the reinvention of contemporary music programming. Gone were the screaming deejays, the two minute doowop hits, and the goofy jingles. In were the counterculture sounds and sentiments that had seldom, if ever, made it to commercial radio. This new and unorthodox form of radio-this radical departure from the Top 40 establishment-reflected the social and cultural unrest of the period. Underground radio had been born of a desire to restore substance and meaning to a medium that had fallen victim to the bottom-line dictates of an industry devoted to profit. In this compelling and intriguing account of the counterculture radio movement, over 30 pioneers of the underground airwaves share insights and observations, and tell it like it was. Michael Keith has interviewed some of the most prominent figures of underground radio and has woven their reflections into a seamless, engrossing oral history of one of radio's most extraordinary moments. From the first broadcasts of a Screamin' Jay Hawkins record and a live Love-In and Be-In Rock 'n Roll concert, to the ultimate corporate takeover of the commercial underground airwaves, Keith provides the reader with a unique and fresh look at this turbulent era. There had never been anything like commercial underground radio before its '60s debut, and there has not been anything like it since its premature demise in the early 1970s. The innovativeness and boldness of underground radio brought a new golden age to the medium. Ignoring playlists, rigid programming formulas and program clocks, the underground deejays attracted a dedicated following of maturing baby boomers.

In the minds of today's audiences, George Burns was a solo act. But in the history of show business, he will long be remembered for his work with Gracie Allen. Few performers have enjoyed so much popular and critical acclaim. Together they enjoyed phenomenal success in vaudeville, radio, television, and film. Although they were celebrities, the two performers enjoyed a life remarkably free of scandal. After the death of Allen in 1964, Burns made commercials, a music video, and an exercise video. He wrote books and won numerous awards, and his nightclub and convention appearances did not stop until shortly before his death.

Through a thoughtful biography and detailed entries, this book serves as a comprehensive reference to the careers of Burns and Allen together and individually. The biography summarizes their rise as vaudeville performers, their work in a range of media, and Burns' continued achievements after Allen's death. Sections of the book cover their work on the stage, on radio, on television, and in films. Each section provides detailed entries for their performances, including cast and credit information, plot synoposes, and review excerpts. Appendices list their awards, personal appearances, and archives; and an extensive annotated bibliography cites and discusses sources of additional information.

Ray Barfield has done something quite new in media studies. Rather than trace the history of radio through the usual route, he has sought out a body of oral history from those who grew up with and listened to radio. He has not only collated the responses of his informants but placed their comments in a larger cultural and historical context and thus provided a kind of history from the ground up. He demonstrates thereby just how important and influential radio was in the lives of ordinary Americans. General readers and scholars alike will learn something from Barfield's engaging narrative about why radio was once such a compelling force in our culture. (From the "Foreword" by Thomas Inge.) This fresh and engaging account of early radio's contributions to U.S. social and cultural life brings together varied perspectives of listeners who recall the programs that delighted and entranced them. The first electronic medium to enter the home, radio is examined as a chief purveyor of family entertainment and as a bridge across regional differences. Barfield draws from over 150 accounts, providing a forum and a context for listeners of early radio to share their memories--from their first impressions of that magical box to favorite shows. Opening chapters trace the changing perceptions of radio as a guest or an invader in U.S. homes during the exuberant 1920s, the cash-scarce 1930s, and the rapidly changing World War II and post-war years. Later chapters offer listener responses to every major program type, including news reporting and commentary, sportscasts, drama, comedy series, crime and terror shows, educational and cultural programs, children's adventure series, soap operas, audience participation shows, and musical presentations.

This fresh and engaging account of early radio's contributions to U.S. social and cultural life brings together varied perspectives of listeners who recall the programs that delighted and entranced them. The first electronic medium to enter the home, radio is examined as a chief purveyor of family entertainment and as a bridge across regional differences. Barfield draws from over 150 accounts, providing a forum and a context for listeners of early radio to share their memories--from their first impressions of that magical box to favorite shows.

Opening chapters trace the changing perceptions of radio as a guest or an invader in U.S. homes during the exuberant 1920s, the cash-scarce 1930s, and the rapidly changing World War II and post-war years. Later chapters offer listener responses to every major program type, including news reporting and commentary, sportscasts, drama, comedy series, crime and terror shows, educational and cultural programs, children's adventure series, soap operas, audience participation shows, and musical presentations.

The alienation of the self, the annihilation of the body, the fracturing, dispersal, and reconstruction of the disembodied voice: the themes of modernism, even of modern consciousness, occur as a matter of course in the phantasmic realm of radio. In this original work of cultural criticism, Allen S. Weiss explores the meaning of radio to the modern imagination. Weaving together cultural and technological history, aesthetic analysis, and epistemological reflection, his investigation reveals how radiophony transforms expression and, in doing so, calls into question assumptions about language and being, body and voice. Phantasmic Radio presents a new perspective on the avant-garde radio experiments of Antonin Artaud and John Cage, and brings to light fascinating, lesser-known work by, among others, Valere Novarina, Gregory Whitehead, and Christof Migone. Weiss shows how Artaud's "body without organs" establishes the closure of the flesh after the death of God; how Cage's "imaginary landscapes" proffer the indissociability of techne and psyche; how Novarina reinvents the body through the word in his "theater of the ears." Going beyond the art historical context of these experiments, Weiss describes how, with their emphasis on montage and networks of transmission, they marked out the coordinates of modernism and prefigured what we now recognize as the postmodern.

Born in 1916 in La Jolla, California, Gregory Peck took up acting in college on a lark that would lead to a career. In his early years, he appeared in a series of summer stock engagements and Broadway shows. He became a star within a year after arriving in Hollywood during World War II, and he won an Academy Award nomination for his second film. From the 1940s to the present, he has played some of film's most memorable and admired characters. This volume provides complete information about Gregory Peck's work in film, television, radio, and the stage. Entries are included for all of his performances, with each entry providing cast and credit information, a plot summary, excerpts from reviews, and critical commentary. A biography and chronology highlight significant events in his life, while a listing of his honors and awards summarizes the recognition he has received over the years. For researchers seeking additional information, the book includes descriptions of special collections holding material related to Peck's work, along with an extensive bibliography of books and articles.

We all talk about the "tube" or "box," as if television were simply another appliance like the refrigerator or toaster oven. But Cecilia Tichi argues that TV is actually an environment--a pervasive screen-world that saturates almost every aspect of modern life. In Electronic Hearth, she looks at how that environment evolved, and how it, in turn, has shaped the American experience.

Tichi explores almost fifty years of writing about television--in novels, cartoons, journalism, advertising, and critical books and articles--to define the role of television in the American consciousness. She examines early TV advertising to show how the industry tried to position the new device as not just a gadget but a prestigious new piece of furniture, a highly prized addition to the home. The television set, she writes, has emerged as a new electronic hearth--the center of family activity. John Updike described this "primitive appeal of the hearth" in Roger's Version: "Television is--its irresistable charm--a fire. Entering an empty room, we turn it on, and a talking face flares into being." Sitting in front of the TV, Americans exist in a safety zone, free from the hostility and violence of the outside world. She also discusses long-standing suspicions of TV viewing: its often solitary, almost autoerotic character, its supposed numbing of the minds and imagination of children, and assertions that watching television drugs the minds of Americans. Television has been seen as treacherous territory for public figures, from generals to presidents, where satire and broadcast journalism often deflate their authority. And the print culture of journalism and book publishing has waged a decades-long war of survival against it--only to see new TV generations embrace both the box and the book as a part of their cultural world. In today's culture, she writes, we have become "teleconscious"--seeing, for example, real life being certified through television ("as seen on TV"), and television constantly ratified through its universal presence in art, movies, music, comic strips, fabric prints, and even references to TV on TV.

Ranging far beyond the bounds of the broadcast industry, Tichi provides a history of contemporary American culture, a culture defined by the television environment. Intensively researched and insightfully written, The Electronic Hearth offers a new understanding of a critical, but much-maligned, aspect of modern life.

Television has changed drastically in the Soviet Union over the last three decades. In 1960, only five percent of the population had access to TV, but now the viewing population has reached near total saturation. Today's main source of information in the USSR, television has become Mikhail Gorbachev's most powerful instrument for paving the way for major reform.
Containing a wealth of interviews with major Soviet and American media figures and fascinating descriptions of Soviet TV shows, Ellen Mickiewicz's wide-ranging, vividly written volume compares over one hundred hours of Soviet and American television, covering programs broadcast during both the Chernenko and Gorbachev governments. Mickiewicz describes the enormous significance and popularity of news programs and discusses how Soviet journalists work in the United States. Offering a fascinating depiction of the world seen on Soviet TV, she also explores the changes in programming that have occurred as a result of glasnost.

The most popular radio adventure show in history, The Lone Ranger held an audience of millions spellbound for over two decades. Key to its success was the music used on it-music rendered so beautifully, chosen with such delicate precision, that for half a century listeners have frantically searched for an answer to the question, "What was the music used on the Lone Ranger?" This book answers that question and many more, including, "Who performed it?" "Who recorded it?" "When?" "Where?". Set in Detroit, New York, Hollywood, and Mexico City against a backdrop of cliffhanging events that shaped the broadcasting industry, the story is as great an adventure as any heard on the show itself. Paperback edition available April 2002. Cloth edition previously published in 1987/

A 30-part landmark series for BBC Radio 4, written and presented by Neil MacGregor 'The new blockbuster by the museums maestro Neil MacGregor ... The man who chronicles world history through objects is back ... examining a new set of objects to explore the theme of faith in society' Sunday Times In this major new BBC radio series, Neil MacGregor investigates the role and expression of shared beliefs through time and around the world. Using specially selected objects from the British Museum and beyond, talking to experts from various disciplines and visiting key locations from the river Ganges to Jerusalem, he examines how rituals and systems of belief have shaped our societies. Looking at communities from the distant past to the present day, both in Europe and worldwide, his focus moves from the beginnings of belief and the elemental worship of fire, water and the sun, through festivals, pilgrimages and sacrifices, to power struggles and political battles between faiths and states. Among the objects featured are the Lion Man, a small ivory sculpture which is about 40,000 years old; a 16th century ivory and gold qibla, used to find the direction of Mecca; and the Lampedusa Cross, made from pieces of a refugee boat wrecked off the Italian coast in 2013. Produced by BBC Radio 4 in partnership with the British Museum, this enlightening series explores humanity's enduring need to believe, belong and connect with the cosmos. Duration: 6 hours 50 mins.

During the iQSo's, in a frontier atmosphere of enterprise and sharp struggle, an American television system took shape. But even as it did so, itspioneers pushed beyond American borders and became programmers to scores of other nations. In its first decade United States television was already a world phenomenon. Since American radio had for some time had international ramifications, American images and sounds were radiatingfrom transmitter towers throughout the globe. They were called entertainment or news or education but were always more. They were a reflection of a growing United States involvement in the lives of other nationsan involvement of imperial scope. The role of broadcasters in this American expansion and in the era that produced it is the subject matter of The Image Empire, the last of three volumes comprising this study.

Sweeping narrative of the technological advances, events, and personalities that have made radio and television a dominant force in contemporary society.

Tells how radio and television became an integral part of American life, of how a toy became an industry and a force in politics, business, education, religion, and international affairs.

One of the first books to examine the status of broadcasting on its one hundredth anniversary, Radio's Second Century investigates both vanguard and perennial topics relevant to radio's past, present, and future. As the radio industry enters its second century of existence, it continues to be a dominant mass medium with almost total listenership saturation despite rapid technological advancements that provide alternatives for consumers. Lasting influences such as on-air personalities, audience behavior, fan relationships, and localism are analyzed as well as contemporary issues including social and digital media. Other essays examine the regulatory concerns that continue to exist for public radio, commercial radio, and community radio, and discuss the hindrances and challenges posed by government regulation with an emphasis on both American and international perspectives. Radio's impact on cultural hegemony through creative programming content in the areas of religion, ethnic inclusivity, and gender parity is also explored. Taken together, this volume compromises a meaningful insight into the broadcast industry's continuing power to inform and entertain listeners around the world via its oldest mass medium--radio.

Four laughter-filled editions of the long-running and much-loved BBC Radio 4 panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons In this selection of episodes, the entertaining players brave enough to employ their wits and ingenuity against both the clock and their competitors are Paul Merton, Julian Clary, Sheila Hancock, Josh Widdicombe, Gyles Brandreth, Fern Britton, Jenny Eclair and Kerry Godliman. As always, the name of the game is to speak for one minute on a given subject without falling foul of hesitation, repetition or deviation. Why is Josh known as the Beast of Dartmoor? What is Julian's morning routine? Does Sheila have a party trick, and when exactly did the last century begin? When should Gyles use the 'historical present', and will Fern ever get to tell her story about dinner in Venice? Fingers on buzzers please, as we play Just a Minute!

This title combines both theory and practice to lead, stepwise, to a full understanding of radio drama form. With the resurgence (though some say it has never left) of radio, due in part to new media practices and technological innovations, not only are there more theory-related radio courses, but also those teaching the production and practice aspects. "The Radio Drama Handbook" combines both theory and practice to lead, stepwise, to a full understanding of radio drama form. The handbook is broken down into two large sections: "A Contextual Guide to Radio Drama" and "A Practical Guide to Radio Drama". There will be a wide selection of case studies and practical exercises to make the book engaging and, above all, useful. Each section will be accompanied by practical exercises and suggested activities. Practice oriented and teacher/student friendly, this handbook is sure to become the new standard for all radio drama courses.

Twelve archive editions of the the much-loved BBC Radio 4 panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons Having matured like a fine wine for over 50 years, Just a Minute continues to improve with age. A full-bodied, cheeky little number, it's both sparkling and robust, and ideal for almost every occasion. A few bottles of the finest have been brought up from the cellar for this vintage collection. In these twelve humorous, enlightening and previously unpublished editions - harvested from between 1972 and 2004 - players once again attempt to speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation from the given subject. Challenges fly thick and fast under the unflappable adjudication of Nicholas Parsons. Seasoned players Kenneth Williams, Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo, Clement Freudand Paul Merton compete alongside guests including Tim Rice, Sheila Hancock, Michael Palin, Jenny Eclair, Tony Hawks, Ross Noble, Ray Alan, Rob Buckman, Barry Cryer, Wendy Richard, Jeremy Hardy, Richard Stilgoe, Steve Frost, Graham Norton, Liza Tarbuck, Kit Hesketh-Harvey and Julian Clary. Which players will be allowed time to breathe uninterrupted, as they demonstrate they have the nose for a corking finish? Find out as we play Just a Minute! Please note: Contains mild innuendo. The humour in these programmes sometimes reflects the era in which they were first broadcast. Episode Guide 26 September 1972 Featuring Clement Freud, Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo, Kenneth Williams 10 February 1976 Featuring Clement Freud, Peter Jones, Michael Palin, Kenneth Williams 20 February 1979 Featuring Ray Alan, Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo, Kenneth Williams 22 January 1980 Featuring Rob Buckman, Clement Freud, Derek Nimmo, Kenneth Williams 3 April 1985 Featuring Barry Cryer, Peter Jones, Tim Rice, Kenneth Williams 23 February 1991 Featuring Peter Jones, Tim Rice, Wendy Richard, Richard Stilgoe 11 February 1995 Featuring Jeremy Hardy, Tony Hawks, Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo 1 February 1999 Featuring Jenny Eclair, Steve Frost, Peter Jones, Tim Rice 11 March 2002 Featuring Clement Freud, Sheila Hancock, Paul Merton, Graham Norton 7 July 2003 Featuring Clement Freud, Sheila Hancock, Kit Hesketh-Harvey, Paul Merton 18 August 2003 Featuring Jenny Eclair, Clement Freud, Tony Hawks, Ross Noble 16 August 2004 Featuring Julian Clary, Clement Freud, Paul Merton, Liza Tarbuck

The Archers, like life, is made of moments: marriages and births, loves and losses, triumphs and disasters. It has been the soundtrack of our lives for over six decades, from stooking corn with Dan Archer in the 1950s to the tragic death of Nigel Pargetter in 2011. We know the characters of Ambridge - from much-loved Phil and Jill Archer and the irrepressible Grundys to wayward Brian Aldridge - like we know close friends. This book is their tribute. The Ambridge Chronicles relives some of the defining moments in The Archers history, delving into the rich archive of its scripts, to celebrate the highs and lows that have made the world's longest running radio serial so treasured.