Monitor (Take 2): The revised, expanded inside story of network radio's greatest program [Paperback]

Dennis Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2003

For two decades starting in 1955, millions of Americans spent their weekends listening to an extraordinary radio program-NBC's Monitor.Running continuously from Saturday morning through Sunday night, Monitor featured big-name hosts like Dave Garroway, Hugh Downs, Gene Rayburn, Ed McMahon, Henry Morgan, Barry Nelson, Joe Garagiola, Bill Cullen, Jim Lowe and Murray the K-all broadcasting from mammoth studios called "Radio Central."Monitor spotlighted a galaxy of feature reporters such as Arlene Francis, Gene Shalit, Bob Considine and Mel Allen. Comedy came from Bob and Ray, Nichols and May and Ernie Kovacs-and "Miss Monitor" gave her unforgettable weather forecasts.This is the vastly expanded, revised edition of Dennis Hart's inside look at Monitor. Included are dozens of new, never-before-told stories about the men and women of Monitor. Readers will discover-or remember-what made Monitor such a "must-listen" experience in the mid-20th century-and learn, for the first time, the real story about the death of America's last great radio show.Monitor (Take 2) is the "last word" about a true broadcasting institution.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dennis Hart teaches Mass Communication and Journalism at California State University, Fresno. He spent 20 years in broadcasting in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Atlanta, Phoenix and Fresno. He won numerous awards, including an Emmy, plus awards from the Associated Press, United Press International and the San Francisco Bay Area Press Club.

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059528177X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595281770
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,726,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encore!, March 31, 2004

By 

Thomas J. Frieling (Athens, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monitor (Take 2): The revised, expanded inside story of network radio's greatest program (Paperback)

As the subtitle indicates, Dennis Hart has revised and expanded his history of Monitor, the weekend radio program that ran on the NBC radio network for nearly twenty years, delighting millions of listeners.

Why a revision? Because after his first edition chronicled the venerable show's history, many old Monitor hands contacted him to share their experiences in helping produce Monitor. The result is a fuller, richer picture that lets Monitor fans feel like they are looking over the shoulders of these lucky broadcast professionals as they created hours upon hours of live radio programming in the '50s through the mid '70s--a time when radio meant something far beyond today's homogenized, plasticized, excruciatingly boring programming.

For Monitor was a revolution in its day. When it was developed by the great Pat Weaver, then NBC President, long form radio programming (i.e.; fifteen and thirty minute shows) was almost extinct, television having siphoned off the audience.

Weaver created Monitor, a magazine of the air that ran on weekends and saved the NBC radio network from extinction. Monitor combined news, music, interviews, features, sports, comedy, and live remotes to bring listeners an ever changing and totally entertaining format that engaged listeners in what was going on in the world around them.

To top it all off, it was hosted by a pantheon of broadcast legends like Dave Garroway, Gene Rayburn, Hugh Downs, Mel Allen, Bill Cullen, Henry Morgan, Frank Blair, Ed McMahon, and many others each of whom gave the show its distinctive flavor.

Monitor was a big idea that sounded big and it resulted in what became practically a national institution over its twenty year run. Many fans, including this author, still miss it to this day.

Frankly, it's a puzzle why Monitor isn't still running today, since radio sure could use the intelligent, dynamic programming that typified a Monitor weekend.

Maybe it's too much to think that Monitor could return to the radio waves today, but I'd wager that after readers finish Hart's affectionate history, they'll wish it were so.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monitor Take 2, February 21, 2007

By 

Henry J. Marcotte (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Monitor (Take 2): The revised, expanded inside story of network radio's greatest program (Paperback)

Take 2 is indeed the expanded, inside story of Monitor. I was a newscaster on Monitor during its final years, working with many of the communicators who provide their own memories of this great radio service. Dennis Hart does a marvelous job of providing word pictures of the dedicated staff behind the scenes, besides the on-air people who kept Monitor on the air for almost 20 years

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine look back at NBC Radio's last gasp..., June 11, 2007

By 

Alec Cumming (Spring Valley, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monitor (Take 2): The revised, expanded inside story of network radio's greatest program (Paperback)

Dennis Hart's book is a wonderful look at an important and unfairly forgotten broadcasting innovation: NBC's MONITOR. One of Pat Weaver's great creations - along with TODAY & TONIGHT - the show pretty much invented the NPR model of broadcasting (specifically, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED). MONITOR provided NBC Radio, the nation's first and classiest radio network, a dignified and well-loved response to the triumph of television and the sad last days of network radio. MONITOR lives on in this gallant and fun-to-read book!