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Usually ships in 1-2 business days | | Only 1 left in stock, order soon! | | | | | | When radio began, it was the exclusive province of those interested in the advancement of technology; programming was of little concern and commercialization was not even thought of. But, as the medium's popularity grew and radio sets entered millions of homes, the concern with filling air time grew, even as programming became increasingly expensive. The result was to commercialize the air waves, resulting in the diminution of the hope that radio would be primarily a source of education and/or a force for national unity. As Smulyan, an assistant professor in the Department of American Civilization at Brown, so succinctly puts it, the attempt was "to reduce listeners to the lowest common denominator, that of consumer." How that goal was gradually accomplished in the period between the two world wars is the subject of this admirably researched volume, which is informative, but handicapped by the author's dry academic style. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. | | | |
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| | Product Details | | Author: | Susan Smulyan | | Hardcover: | 240 pages | | Publisher: | Smithsonian Inst Pr | | Publication Date: | 1994-03 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 1560983124 | | Package Length: | 9.2 inches | | Package Width: | 6.0 inches | | Package Height: | 1.0 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.9 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 2 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 2 customer reviews )
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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Classic Work on Early Radio Sep 08, 2008
By J. Shepperd
"words9"
The previous review posted on this book should be taken with a grain of salt. This is one of the major scholarly works on the formation of American radio practices written in the last 20 years. Informed by the American Studies model of research, Smulyan argues that while radio began as a medium of experimentation, by the late 1920s thanks in multiple part to confusion about how to regulate the medium, RCA's successful political lobby, and considerable corporate investment, radio succumbed to the commercial model of broadcasting. Highly recommended for radio scholars and media historians, but I actually think that this work will also be of great interest to radio buffs. The book pays particular attention radio's influence on America's changing epistemology of spatiality in the early chapters.
4 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Wrong Audience! May 05, 2004
By Kenneth E. Wright
Looking for a fun read that will give you a quick introduction into the chaotic early days of radio with lots of examples of early attempts at getting commercials right, as I was when I ordered this book? Then this is definitely NOT the book for you. Want an academic read loaded with footnotes about the philosophy of the commercialization of radio and its consequences, which I didn't? Maybe this is for you. That's because this book is aimed at the wrong market. The catchy title and front cover design imply the book is for readers like me. The text is definitely meant to be read by scholars already familiar with the period and topic. I had expected to be entertained with the story of the origins of such programs as "Amos 'n' Andy". Instead I got mentions of it on four pages and only one paragraph that deals with it in any way.Still, she did get me interested in the problem of how do you finance broadcasts that are necessary for the early radio manufacturers to continue selling their receivers when the listeners can listen for free (hence the two stars, not one). But although she goes into a long discussion about the advantages of 'indirect' advertising as apposed to 'direct' advertising, she doesn't give a single example of either, but merely gives references to academic books I'll never read! If this book had been properly packaged as the academic thesis that it is, I wouldn't have bought it. But maybe a lot of scholars in the field who didn't, would have.
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