NBC: America's Network (Paperback)

~ Michele Hilmes (Editor)
Key Phrases: broadcast advertising, classic network system, viewer erosion, Star Trek, New York, David Sarnoff (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Spanning eight decades from the beginnings of commercial radio to the current era of international consolidation and emerging digital platforms, this pioneering volume illuminates the entire course of American broadcasting by offering the first comprehensive history of a major network. Bringing together wide-ranging original articles by leading scholars and industry insiders, it offers a comprehensive view of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) that brings into focus the development of this key American institution and the ways that it has intersected with, and influenced, the central events of our times. Programs, policy, industry practices and personnel, politics, audiences, marketing, and global influence all come into play. The story the book tells is not just about broadcasting but about a nation's attempt to construct itself as a culture--with all the underlying concerns, divisions, opportunities, and pleasures. Based on unprecedented research in the extensive NBC archives, NBC: America's Network includes a timeline of NBC's and broadcasting's development, making it a valuable resource for students and scholars as well as for anyone interested the history of media in the United States.

From the Inside Flap

"NBC: America's Network makes a significant contribution to our understanding of American broadcasting. Hilmes makes a convincing case for the appropriateness of an examination of a single firm, NBC, to illuminate the major themes and events of American broadcast history. In addition, she adeptly synthesizes a strong set of individually-authored chapters on specific historical periods, controversies, and program genres into a coherent whole. The writing is concise and lively and the breadth and depth of the material makes this a exceptional work."--William Boddy, author of New Media and Popular Imagination

"NBC: America's Network is an outstanding book about one network across US television history. Hilmes is an excellent editor who brings broad insights about the television industry to bear on this volume. The individual essays present different approaches and methods, and together provide an integrated history of NBC with analysis that respects the medium and the people that worked in it."--Mary Beth Haralovich, co-editor of Television, History, and American Culture: Feminist Critical Essays.

"Filled with highly readable essays by the top scholars in the field, NBC: America's Network explores key, often watershed moments in the network's history to illuminate the central role broadcasting has played in constituting public discourse about what is-and what is not-in the public interest. A welcome addition to the history of broadcasting, and essential reading for anyone interested in the transformative role of radio and TV in modern life."--Susan J. Douglas, author of Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination

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Product Details

• Paperback: 374 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520250818
• ISBN-13: 978-0520250819
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #783,949 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NBC: America's Network, May 14, 2008

By	Prince Barrister "bookstoreman" (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

This is a well-edited book that clearly details the history of the NBC network. The chapters are written by several authors who are experts of NBC's different eras and this makes for interesting reading. This book is a must-read for anyone who is studying Communications, Radio and TV, PR, Journalism, or just plain interested in television history in America.