Talking Radio: An Oral History of American Radio in the Television Age

Michael C. Keith ranks among the most prolific authors on the subject of broadcast media, in particular radio. He is senior lecturer of communication at Boston College and is the author of over a dozen books, including Voices in the Purple Haze, Signals in the Air, and the classic textbook, The Radio Station. In addition, with Robert Hilliard he has coauthored Waves of Rancor and The Hidden Screen for M.E.Sharpe, as well as several other titles. He is also the author of numerous journal articles and has served in a variety of editorial positions, including that of coeditor of the M.E. Sharpe series, "Media, Communication, and Culture in America." He is past chair of education for the Museum of Broadcast Communications and a former broadcaster.

• Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Cast of Contributors -- Part I. The War Ends and the Picture Begins -- 1. The Quiet After and Before: Radio's Victory and Short Peace -- 2. Assault of the Infant: Television Takes Over the Living Room -- 3. Together ... but Separate: When the Two Worked as One -- 4. The Word Is the Thing: The Substance of Sound -- 5. In Mourning and Evening: "The Way It Was" Radio -- 6. Reinventing Itself: A Winning Formula Is Found -- Part II. The Second Coming of Radio -- 7. Home of the Hits: Going to the Top 40 -- 8. Airy Personas: New Legends of the Of' Airwaves -- 9. At the Top of the Hour: And Now the News -- 10. Chatter that Matters: Words Without Music -- 11. The Good Air: As a Public Trustee -- 12. The Bad Air: Those Tuneout Factors -- Part III. The Times and Bands Are A-Chan gin' -- 13. People's Radio: A Medium for Everyone -- 14. Under Suspicion: Behind Every Set -- 15. Equality for Some: A White Man's Medium -- 16. Descent from Dominance: AM's Fall from Grace -- 17. Ascent of Fidelity: FM 's Rise to Power -- 18. Shock Waves: Polluting the Air -- Part IV. Into the New Millennium -- 19. Business by the Book: Impressions Count -- 20. Going Public: Noncommercial Radio -- 21. Tum of the Screw: Tubes and Wires in a Box -- 22. Hoarding the Air: Stations in the Fold -- 23. In the Air Ahead: The Future of Radio -- 24. Seems Radio Is Here to Stay, by Norman Corwin: A Play for Broadcast -- Further Reading -- Index.