From Publishers Weekly
Tracing radio's development from the early days of wireless to the shock jocks and NPR commentators of the '90s, Douglas (Where the Girls Are) delivers a carefully researched and well-documented look at the medium and the people who listened. Although Douglas's prose can be sluggish, occasionally mired in statistics, her subject matter is always engaging. She finds that each new technological innovation in radio was pioneered by amateurs, resisted by the mainstream media, made popular by a daring few and finally watered down and exploited by commercial interests. Douglas's main interest is not in the innovations themselves, however, but in how they affected the Americans who were listening to shows from Victor Lopez's jazz band broadcasts in the '20s to Eddie Cantor's Chase and Sanborn Hour in the '30s; Alan Reed's mixed-race rock 'n' roll broadcasts in the '50s; "White Rabbit" on KSAN in San Francisco in the late '60s; Larry King in the '80s; and Dr. Laura and Rush Limbaugh in the '90s. She shows us how radio has opened up new worlds, and how its persistent presence (in the kitchen, in the car, at work) continues to influence the nation despite being taken for granted.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
It's not just video that killed the radio star but images in general (e.g., TV, the Internet), says Douglas (media and American studies, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor). Douglas argues that through radio Americans can still revive their imaginations. Her thesis will seem obvious to older generationsAthat listening to the radio shaped the American psyche socially, politically, and economicallyAbut the generations raised on MTV, CNN, ESPN, and personal computers must still be convinced. It may be difficult to draw their attention to a book with only eight photos, but Douglas re-creates the wonder of having an invisible friend (or enemy) in forgotten and fading stars like Jack Benny, Edward R. Murrow, Harry Caray, and Alan Freed. Unfortunately, today radio belongs to overstuffed "suits," overplayed singles, and pinched formats, which can musically and geographically "resegregate" people. Douglas points out that listeners are partly to blame for radio's dismal state. Owners are simply trying to air what their audiences want, but listeners are sending mixed messages: they want variety but lack the imagination to accept it on one station. A persuasive study of the power that radio has had and can still have; essential for all communications collections.AHeather McCormack, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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