The popularity of soap operas on radio made them a natural for the new medium of television, where soaps quickly became an audience favorite. As television soap operas developed, so did the level of sophistication in delivery, writing and production. This history of television's "golden age" soaps begins with an overview of earlier serialized entertainments. An analysis of early TV soap stars, personnel and production follows, taking 40 programs into account. Ensuing chapters offer in-depth treatments of the serials Search for Tomorrow, Love of Life, The Guiding Light, The Secret Storm, As the World Turns and The Edge of Night. Appendices include chronological and alphabetical directories of period daytime serials and rankings of the durability of programs, actors and actresses, announcers and sponsors.

"This history of 'golden age' soaps begins with an overview of earlier serialized entertainments that set the stage for the televised daytime soap. An analysis of early TV soap stars, personnel and production follows. Appendices include chronological and alphabetical directories of period daytime serials and rankings, actors and actresses, announcers and sponsors"--Provided by publisher.

For the last 150 years, advertising has created a consumer culture in the United States, shaping every facet of American life—from what we eat and drink to the clothes we wear and the cars we drive. In the United States, advertising has carved out an essential place in American culture, and advertising messages undoubtedly play a significant role in determining how people interpret the world around them. This three-volume set examines the myriad ways that advertising has influenced many aspects of 20th-century American society, such as popular culture, politics, and the economy. Advertising not only played a critical role in selling goods to an eager public, but it also served to establish the now world-renowned consumer culture of our country and fuel the notion of "the American dream." The collection spotlights the most important advertising campaigns, brands, and companies in American history, from the late 1800s to modern day. Each fact-driven essay provides insight and in-depth analysis that general readers will find fascinating as well as historical details and contextual nuance students and researchers will greatly appreciate. These volumes demonstrate why advertising is absolutely necessary, not only for companies behind the messaging, but also in defining what it means to be an American.

In the days before television, radio was the constant voice in American life. When radio spoke, America listened--especially to the men and women who spoke directly to their unseen audience. Sometimes formal, sometimes as familiar as the friend next door, their presence filled the airwaves: announcers, newscasters, sportscasters, showbiz reporters, advice consultants, emcees and breakfast chatterboxes. These radio personalities became as popular and familiar as the most public faces of the time. Here among profiles of more than 1100 "radio speakers" are famous names like George Ansbro, Red Barber, H.V. Kaltenborn, Dorothy Kilgallen, Edward R. Murrow, Louella Parsons, Walter Winchell and more. Also amply represented are hundreds of lesser known individuals who left indelible auditory impressions. Whether their fame was forever or fleeting, all were a part of the American voice during the grand epoch of network radio.

Since the debut of These Are My Children in 1949, the daytime television soap opera has been foundational to the history of the medium as an economic, creative, technological, social, and cultural institution. In Her Stories, Elana Levine draws on archival research and her experience as a longtime soap fan to provide an in-depth history of the daytime television soap opera as a uniquely gendered cultural form and a central force in the economic and social influence of network television. Closely observing the production, promotion, reception, and narrative strategies of the soaps, Levine examines two intersecting developments: the role soap operas have played in shaping cultural understandings of gender and the rise and fall of broadcast network television as a culture industry. In so doing, she foregrounds how soap operas have revealed changing conceptions of gender and femininity as imagined by and reflected on the television screen.

Legitimating Television: Media Convergence and Cultural Status explores how and why television is gaining a new level of cultural respectability in the 21st century. Once looked down upon as a "plug-in drug" offering little redeeming social or artistic value, television is now said to be in a creative renaissance, with critics hailing the rise of Quality series such as Mad Men and 30 Rock. Likewise, DVDs and DVRs, web video, HDTV, and mobile devices have shifted the longstanding conception of television as a household appliance toward a new understanding of TV as a sophisticated, high-tech gadget. Newman and Levine argue that television’s growing prestige emerges alongside the convergence of media at technological, industrial, and experiential levels. Television is permitted to rise in respectability once it is connected to more highly valued media and audiences. Legitimation works by denigrating "ordinary" television associated with the past, distancing the television of the present from the feminized and mass audiences assumed to be inherent to the "old" TV. It is no coincidence that the most validated programming and technologies of the convergence era are associated with a more privileged viewership. The legitimation of television articulates the medium with the masculine over the feminine, the elite over the mass, reinforcing cultural hierarchies that have long perpetuated inequalities of gender and class. Legitimating Television urges readers to move beyond the question of taste—whether TV is "good" or "bad"—and to focus instead on the cultural, political, and economic issues at stake in television’s transformation in the digital age.

How was it that America would fund its nascent national radio services? Government control and a subscription-like model were both considered! Soon an advertising system emerged, leading radio into its golden age from the 1920s to the early 1960s. This work, divided into two parts, studies the commercialization of network radio during its golden age. The first part covers the general history of radio advertising. The second examines major radio advertisers of the period, with profiles of 24 companies who maintained a strong presence on the airwaves. Appendices provide information on 100 additional advertisers, unusual advertisement formats, and a glossary. The book has notes and a bibliography and is fully indexed.

This work indexes books, dissertations and journal articles that mention television shows. Memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, and some popular works meant for fans are also indexed. The major focus is on service to researchers in the history of television. Listings are keyed to an annotated bibliography. Appendices include a list of websites; an index of groups or classes of people on television; and a list of programs by genre. Changes from the second edition include more than 300 new shows, airing on a wider variety of networks; 2000-plus references (more than double the second edition); and a large increase in scholarly articles. The book provides access to materials on almost 2300 shows, including groundbreaking ones like All in the Family (almost 200 entries); cult favorites like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (200-plus entries); and a classic franchise, Star Trek (more than 400 entries for all the shows). The shows covered range from the late 1940s to 2010 (The Walking Dead). References range from 1956 to 2013.

On January 12, 1926, radio audiences heard the first exchanges of wit and wisdom between "Sam 'n' Henry"--the verbal jousters who would evolve into Amos 'n' Andy and whose broadcasts launched the radio sitcom. Here is a detailed look at 20 of the most popular such sitcoms that aired between the mid-1920s and early 1950s, the three-decade heyday of radio. Each series is discussed from an artistic standpoint, with attention to the program's character development and style of comedy as well as its influence on other shows. The book provides complete biographical profiles of each sitcom's stars as well as several actors whose careers consisted primarily of supporting roles. Appendices include an abbreviated summary of 13 sitcoms beyond those discussed in the main body of the book, and a comprehensive list of 170 radio sitcoms. Notes, bibliography, index.

This work contains the histories of Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Art Linkletter's House Party, Break the Bank, The Breakfast Club, Bride and Groom, Can You Top This?, Dr. Christian, Dr. I.Q., Double or Nothing, Information Please, Queen for a Day, Stop the Music!, Strike It Rich, Take It or Leave It, Truth or Consequences, Welcome Travelers, and You Bet Your Life, all from the 1940s and 1950s. Included for each show are the premise it was based upon, the producers, host, announcer, vocalists, orchestra conductor, writers, and sponsors, and the air dates and ratings. Biographical sketches are provided for 177 individuals.