Customer Reviews

Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination

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Please take note that Susan J. Douglas' <Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination> (Times Books, 1999) is no mere history of radio. It was triggered by a request from the Sloan Foundation that was preparing a series of books on technology and American culture; and the emphasis is not on the details but on the general effect radio has on us from its beginnings. And take another note. This is too enjoyable a read to be considered a textbook.

My favorite chapter was the one called "Radio Comedy and Linguistic Slapstick." Here only a few comics are used as examples to support her several theses, one of which is the emasculation of the American male by the use of such high-pitched speakers as Jack Benny and Joe Penner. Of course there is lots of room for argument, but she does let the facts speak for themselves (pun intended).

The other chapters are "The Zen of Listening," "The Ethereal World," "Exploratory Listening in the 1920s," "Tuning In to Jazz" "The Invention of the Audience," "World War II and the Invention of Broadcast Journalism," "Playing Fields of the Mind," "The Kids Take Over: Transistors, DJs, and Rock 'n' Roll," "The FM Revolution," "Talk Talk," "Why Ham Radio Matters," and "Conclusion: Is Listening Dead?"

Which of us has not been affected in many of the ways Ms. Douglas points out in this book? Therefore, which of us can afford to miss being shown how radio has helped make us what we are? And I do hope she produces a similar book about television.

Radio has become such a background part of our lives, we forget just how astounding an impact it has had on our culture and psyche. Susan Douglas brings it all back to the foreground in her book "Listening In." This is not just a chronicle of the development of the media, this book takes us deep into the social impacts of radio, and how it changed how we react and interact with each other. Douglas has perfectly captured the feel and "tone" of different periods of radio listening, and explores a lot of the psychological aspects of how radio let us sample and explore different parts of our American cultue in a safe and nonthreatening way.

As a present-day radio fanatic, the book gave me hope: hope that the medium hasn't been corporatized into complete blandness. Radio will continue to evolve, just like our American culture.

Whether your're a radio technology type, an old time radio fan, or just a student of American history, you'll find something to love in this book.

I've got Douglas' book today for her take on ham radio (I'm part of the Amateur Radio community) and I was very impressed with the rest of the book. Though I wrinkled my nose at the over-emphasis on the gender conflict in radio, Listening In reminded me of a time when people participate in a common culture instead of idly sitting by listening to the umpteenth Top 40 hit made by over-commercialized "plastic" bands.

The ham radio chapter was simply great and I give Dr. Douglas her due for mentioning the American Radio Relay League as the national association for hams. From this chapter, I can see why hams have a nurturing touch in their approach to life! The section on radio comedy is well done (the comedy bits are good for a chuckle or two). I recommend it to those who have a deep affinity for radio and communications.

Very good reading. I really like the way the author delves into the imagination of radio listening. What a loss that America has not allowed good radio programming to coexist with television.

I'm a long-time, Philadelphia record collector, collecting 1950s rhythm 'n' blues music - vocal groups and single artists. While knowledgeable about radio disc jockeys, my knowledge is weak regarding radio history. Traipsing through Amazon.com, I stumbled upon and bought Listening In: Radio and the Imagination (University of Minnesota Press, 2004 edition). My specific interests were Chapter Nine "The Kids Take Over: Transistors, DJs and Rock 'n' Roll" and Chapter 4 "Tuning in to Jazz." As of this review, I have not read the remaining 10 chapters nor the text's conclusions.

Dr. Douglas, in one complete, 16 word sentence, provided the reader with 6 unique pieces of factually wrong information. Let us forensically dissect the following sentence. Dr. Douglas wrote, "Chicago's WVON - "Voice of the Negro" - became, in 1947, the nation's first black owned radio station..." (page 234).


Factual Error #1. The year was wrong. The first black owned radio station came into existence in 1956. Not 1947.

Factual Error #2. The state was wrong. The first black owned radio station was located in Michigan. Not Illinois.

Factual Error #3. The city was wrong. The city was Romulus. Not Chicago. It was licensed to broadcast in Inkster, Michigan.

Factual Error #4. The radio call letters were wrong. The first black owned radio station's call letters were WCHB-AM. Not WVON.

Factual Error #5 Radio station call letters WVON did not exist anywhere in 1947. WVON debuted April 1, 1963

Factual Error #6 WVON was never black owned. The original owners of WVON were Leonard and Phil Chess, owners of Chess Records. The Chess brothers were white. WVON began as WHFC in 1926. WHFC became WVON when the Chess brothers bought WHFC and changed the call letters.


Who and what were Dr. Douglas' sources for this amazing, treasure trove of mis-information? Publishers Weekly favorably wrote, "...Douglas delivers a carefully researched and well-documented look at the medium and the people who listened..." I think not.

I love radios and radio. I have always loved radio, so much so, in fact, that I have taken it upon myself to learn how to repair and restore old tube radios for the unique sound that they posses. I bought Susan J. Douglas's book "Listening In . . . " because of the preponderance of good reviews. I'll admit to only having gotten as far as page 9, when I came accross a startlingly inaccurate statement. She writes "The press and most cultural observers ignore radio, except when Stern pushes his own rather relaxed limits of tastefulness too far,or when conservative talk show hosts instruct their listeners on the best method for gunning down federal officials." This is just 2 sentences after mentioning Rush Limbaugh specifically. Now regardless of your political bent, this is just flat out inaccurate. I have listened to Rush Limbaugh for over 3 years on an almost daily basis and he has never, not even hinted at gunning down anyone, government or otherwise. Rush Limbaugh has the largest radio audience at present and possibly ever. He has more listeners on a daily basis than almost any national news show, including the televised news shows on ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN. So she has her facts wrong on arguably the most popular radio show in history. Now we're talking about facts here, not politics. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Jeff Beck and Mark Levin, the 4 most listened to shows on talk radio, probably in radio history, never talk about gunning down anyone, period. It's not about politics. It's about facts. You don't have to like these people. You just have to be able to admit to the facts. The Rush Limbaugh Show has something like 10+ times the average daily listeners when compared to any news show on CNN, NBC or CBS. She is apparently writing a tomme about the psychology of radio listening without ever having listened to the most popular radio shows ever and is ignorant of the published ratings. I have to question that. Where did she get that notion from, I wonder? Let's hope it was Amy Goodman on Pacifica, at least that's the radio. What other facts does she get wrong in this book? Well, on to page 10. Let's hope she can pull this one out. I'll give her the 2nd star for hope and the book was only about $13.