During the iQSo's, in a frontier atmosphere of enterprise and sharp struggle, an American television system took shape. But even as it did so, itspioneers pushed beyond American borders and became programmers to scores of other nations. In its first decade United States television was already a world phenomenon. Since American radio had for some time had international ramifications, American images and sounds were radiatingfrom transmitter towers throughout the globe. They were called entertainment or news or education but were always more. They were a reflection of a growing United States involvement in the lives of other nationsan involvement of imperial scope. The role of broadcasters in this American expansion and in the era that produced it is the subject matter of The Image Empire, the last of three volumes comprising this study.

Television is a form of media without equal. It has revolutionized the way we learn about and communicate with the world and has reinvented the way we experience ourselves and others. More than just cheap entertainment, TV is an undeniable component of our culture and contains many clues to who we are, what we value, and where we might be headed in the future. Media historian Gary R. Edgerton follows the technological developments and increasing cultural relevance of TV from its prehistory (before 1947) to the Network Era (1948-1975) and the Cable Era (1976-1994). He begins with the laying of the first telegraph line in 1844, which gave rise to the idea that images and sounds could be transmitted over long distances. He then considers the remodeling of television's look and purpose during World War II; the gender, racial, and ethnic components of its early broadcasts and audiences; its transformation of postwar America; and its function in the political life of the country. He talks of the birth of prime time and cable, the influence of innovators like Sylvester "Pat" Weaver, Roone Arledge, and Ted Turner, as well as television's entrance into the international market, describing the ascent of such programs as Dallas and The Cosby Show, and the impact these exports have had on transmitting American culture abroad. Edgerton concludes with a discerning look at our current Digital Era (1995-present) and the new forms of instantaneous communication that continue to change America's social, political, and economic landscape. Richly researched and engaging, Edgerton's history tracks television's growth into a convergent technology, a global industry, a social catalyst, a viable art form, and a complex and dynamic reflection of the American mind and character. It took only ten years for television to penetrate thirty-five million households, and by 1983, the average home kept their set on for more than seven hours a day. The Columbia History of American Television illuminates our complex relationship with this singular medium and provides historical and critical knowledge for understanding TV as a technology, an industry, an art form, and an institutional force.

Presented in a single volume, this engaging review reflects on the scholarship and the historical development of American broadcasting A Companion to the History of American Broadcasting comprehensively evaluates the vibrant history of American radio and television and reveals broadcasting’s influence on American history in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. With contributions from leading scholars on the topic, this wide-ranging anthology explores the impact of broadcasting on American culture, politics, and society from an historical perspective as well as the effect on our economic and social structures. The text’s original and accessibly-written essays offer explorations on a wealth of topics including the production of broadcast media, the evolution of various television and radio genres, the development of the broadcast ratings system, the rise of Spanish language broadcasting in the United States, broadcast activism, African Americans and broadcasting, 1950’s television, and much more. This essential resource: Presents a scholarly overview of the history of radio and television broadcasting and its influence on contemporary American history Contains original essays from leading academics in the field Examines the role of radio in the television era Discusses the evolution of regulations in radio and television Offers insight into the cultural influence of radio and television Analyzes canonical texts that helped shape the field Written for students and scholars of media studies and twentieth-century history, A Companion to the History of American Broadcasting is an essential and field-defining guide to the history and historiography of American broadcasting and its many cultural, societal, and political impacts.

The Broadcast Century and Beyond is a popular history of the most influential and innovative industry of the century. The story of broadcasting is told in a direct and informal style, blending personal insight and authoritative scholarship to fully capture the many facets of this dynamic industry. The book vividly depicts the events, people, programs, and companies that made television and radio dominant forms of communication. The latest edition includes coverage of all the technologies that have emerged over the past decade and discusses the profound impact they have had on the broadcasting industry in political, social, and economic spheres. "Broadcasting as a whole has been completely revolutionized with the advent of YouTube, podcasting, iphones, etc, and the authors show how this closing of world-wide broadcasting channels affects the industry.

“Murrow was a cut stone with an astonishing number of facets. He was born in a cabin with an outhouse, and behaved like an English squire, when he was not acting like a lumberjack, or an intellectual gadfly, or a cowboy, or a philosopher, or a daredevil, or a social crusader, or a raconteur, or a hermit. He could be found firing at metal ducks in a Times Square shooting gallery or shooting at grouse on the moors of an English country estate. He could spin dialect stories at a crowded bar or go for twenty-four hours without uttering a word to a house guest. He could send his son to the most prestigious schools, all the while telling the boy that college was not important to a successful life. He was either telling friends how humble his own origins were or insinuating into the conversation that his wife’s ancestors came over on the Mayflower. He was a handsome man and an elegant dresser who bristled at anyone who made mention of his striking appearance. He was impervious, even oblivious, to the charms of most women, yet became involved with an aristocratic beauty and nearly destroyed his marriage. He spent his professional life in world capitals, yet liked to imagine that he would be happier at a small-town college. He made a good deal of money, yet felt guilty about it and was so openhanded that it seemed at times that he was trying to give it all away. His pastimes were those of the he-man, yet he was a favorite of intellectuals. He had everything to live for, but he gambled his life dozens of times flying unnecessary combat missions. He could condemn a war, as he did in Korea, yet find it irresistible. He was modest, even flip, with colleagues about his physical bravery, but wrote letters to his parents presenting an almost maudlinly heroic self-image. He had every reason to be a happy man. He was not. I was drawn to his life because he was the preeminent figure in a profession that he essentially fathered. It is difficult for any thinking person not to be simultaneously mesmerized and repelled by the hold of mass communications over the modern world. Murrow’s story is integral to that phenomenon.” — from Joseph E. Persico’s foreword to Edward R. Murrow: An American Original “If one is curious to find out what makes some people stand out above the rest, what makes a person a hero, the story is in Edward R. Murrow: An American Original. Murrow had talent, drive, intelligence, personality and vision... In comprehensive detail, with dramatic, well-told anecdotes and insight and perceptiveness, Joseph E. Persico describes a man of extraordinary natural gifts, human failings and stunning accomplishments... a well-organized and readable trip through Murrow’s public and personal life... Mr. Persico is a diligent researcher who clearly won the confidence of the people he needed, most especially Murrow’s widow, Janet... [He] is an able reporter and a fine storyteller whose taste, tact and skill have produced an appropriate biography... We should be grateful to this book for reminding us that television once had, and on occasion still has — when someone is willing to put up a fight — the surprising and the exceptional.” — Joan Konner, The New York Times “Persico’s distinguished and compellingly readable biography does not slight the stuff of the Murrow legend — his humble origins as the son of a North Carolina dirt farmer, his work as a lumberjack in the Pacific Northwest, his invention of himself as a dashing and dapper foreign correspondent, his pioneering broadcasts from London during the Blitz, his televised showdown with Joseph McCarthy. But, then, Persico goes far beyond the myth and shows us the real man — to his surprise, and perhaps to our own... the book is rich with intimate anecdotes, recounted by a sympathetic but unadoring biographer, drawing on first-person sources who were close enough to Murrow to detect the cracks in the plaster saint of journalism... Persico brings to Murrow the intellectual discipline of the historian, the polished and memorable prose of the accomplished biographer... a fast but substantial and satisfying read.” — Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times “[T]he conjunctions of events that propelled [Murrow] into a career that didn’t exist until he created it is an absorbing tale that Persico tells compellingly. He also has a keen eye for some of the other towering egos that came to populate the scene.” — Anne Chamberlin, Washington Post “Persico has produced a work which reveals... Murrow’s spirit and his passion for broadcast journalism... Persico tells us what drove this man to such professional heights. This is the work to read for insights into Murrow’s personality, beliefs, feelings, foibles and frustrations. Persico’s work is likely to become the most popular biography of Murrow. He interviewed the right people and his research was faultless and well-documented in the book... His writing is entertaining, revealing, and alive with characters, stories, suspense and humor... Persico causes the reader to share the emotions, the tensions, and the passions felt by Murrow and those close to him. Persico’s is an excellent book to put on a reading list for students, either graduate or undergraduate, it is an especially appropriate selection for those studying the role of broadcasting in our society and the current debate over the public trusteeship of broadcast licensees.” — Edward Funkhouser, Journalism Quarterly “A plain-spoken, essentially favorable, and near definitive appraisal of the accomplished, angst-ridden man who almost single-handedly made broadcast journalism a respectable profession. Persico secured the cooperation of Murrow’s widow, Janet, and other family members; he also had access to private papers not available to previous biographers... As one result, the author is able to add telling detail to the largely familiar, often romanticized record of Murrow’s career... Persico’s diligent research has enabled him to offer a coherent, revelatory narrative that addresses Murrow’s shortcomings and setbacks as well as his triumphs. His informed, evenhanded text clears the air of myth-makers’ hyperbole without tarnishing in any significant way the achievements of a complex, charismatic broadcast pioneer.” — Kirkus

Examines how, for much of the twentieth century, the BBC supported the British empire, and how it sought to link listeners in Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Considers the impact of the end of empire on British broadcasting.

Before stories of King Arthur and Robin Hood were adapted and readapted for film, television and theater, radio scriptwriters looking for material turned to Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur (1485) and Howard Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883). Throughout the 1930s to the mid-1950s, their legends inspired storylines for Abbott and Costello, Popeye, Let's Pretend, Escape, Gunsmoke, The Adventures of Superman and others. Many of these adaptations reflect the moral and ethical questions of the day, as characters' faced issues of gender relations, divorce, citizenship, fascism, crime and communism in a medieval setting.

A Companion to 20th-Century America is an authoritative survey of the most important topics and themes of twentieth-century American history and historiography. Contains 29 original essays by leading scholars, each assessing the past and current state of American scholarship Includes thematic essays covering topics such as religion, ethnicity, conservatism, foreign policy, and the media, as well as essays covering major time periods Identifies and discusses the most influential literature in the field, and suggests new avenues of research, as the century has drawn to a close

Methods of Historical Analysis in Electronic Media provides a foundation for historical research in electronic media by addressing the literature and the methods--traditional and the eclectic methods of scholarship as applied to electronic media. It is about history--broadcast electronic media history and history that has been broadcast, and also about the historiography, research written, and the research yet to be written. Divided into five parts, this book: *addresses the challenges in the application of the historical methods to broadcast history; *reviews the various methods appropriate for electronic-media research based on the nature of the object under study; *suggests new approaches to popular historical topics; *takes a broad topical look at history in broadcasting; and *provides a broad overview of what has been accomplished, a historian's challenges, and future research. Intended for students and researchers in broadcast history, Methods of Historical Analysis in Electronic Media provides an understanding of the qualitative methodological tools necessary for the study of electronic media history, and illustrates how to find primary sources for electronic media research.