Radio's Second Century: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives

by John Allen Hendricks (Editor), Michael Brown (Foreword by), John Allen Hendricks (Contribution by), Bruce Mims (Contribution by), Lu Wu (Contribution by)

Overview

Winner of the 2022 Broadcast Education Association Book Award

One of the first books to examine the status of broadcasting on its one hundredth anniversary, Radio’s Second Century investigates both vanguard and perennial topics relevant to radio’s past, present, and future. As the radio industry enters its second century of existence, it continues to be a dominant mass medium with almost total listenership saturation despite rapid technological advancements that provide alternatives for consumers. Lasting influences such as on-air personalities, audience behavior, fan relationships, and localism are analyzed as well as contemporary issues including social and digital media. Other essays examine the regulatory concerns that continue to exist for public radio, commercial radio, and community radio, and discuss the hindrances and challenges posed by government regulation with an emphasis on both American and international perspectives. Radio’s impact on cultural hegemony through creative programming content in the areas of religion, ethnic inclusivity, and gender parity is also explored. Taken together, this volume compromises a meaningful insight into the broadcast industry’s continuing power to inform and entertain listeners around the world via its oldest mass medium—radio. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813598468
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	03/13/2020
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John Allen Hendricks is department chair and professor of mass communication at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He is the author or editor of eleven books, including The Radio Station: Broadcasting, Podcasting, and Streaming and The Palgrave Handbook of Global Radio.

Table of Contents

Foreword Michael Brown vii

Preface xi

Part I Contemporary Radio: Social and Digital Media

1 Digital Radio: Audio Listening from AM to FM to XM … and Beyond John Allen Hendricks Bruce Mims 3

2 Audience Research and Web Features of Radio Stations in a Time of Uncertainty Lu Wu Daniel Riffe 22

3 The Parasocial Nature of the Podcast Laith Zurawat 39

4 Social Media Analytics, Radio Advertising, and Strategic Partnerships Joseph R. Blaney 53

Part II Programming Matters: Localism, Personalities, and Audiences

5 The Shrinking Electronic Town Square: Localism in American Talk Radio David Crider 67

6 The Fandom of Howard Stern and Its Relationship to His Success: The "King of All Media" and a Dynamic Audience Rachel Sussman-Wander Kaplan 82

7 The War of the Worlds Broadcast: Fake News or Engaging Storytelling? John F. Barber 96

8 Unpredictable Programming: A Freeform Approach to Building Audiences Emily W. Easton 119

Part III Social Issues: Contemporary Overtones

9 Air to the Kingdom: Religion and the Soul of Radio Mark Ward Sr. 137

10 "A More Inclusive Public Service": Can NPR Serve All of America? John Mark Dempsey 154

11 The Sound of Yellow Rain: Resisting Podcasting's Sonic Whiteness Anjuli Joshi Brekke 173

Part IV International Perspectives: Modern Paradigms

12 Canadian Community/Campus Radio: Struggling and Coping on the Cusp of Change Anne F. MacLennan 193

13 Revenge of the Nerds: How Public Radio Dominated Podcasting and Transformed Listening to Audio Brad Clark Archie McLean 207

14 Reproducing Analog Pathologies in the Digital Radio Landscape: The Case of Greece Michael Nevradakis 231

15 Almost 100 Years of Women in Radio: Where Are We Now? Simon Order 255

Acknowledgments 273

About the Editor 275

Notes on Contributors 277

Index 283

Editorial Reviews

"How NPR can take cues from other broadcasters in its quest to broaden audience" by John Mark Dempsey 
 

Current

"One outstanding feature of the chapters is the variety of research methods used."

Journal of Radio & Audio Media

Named a Radio Book of the Year: "A very stimulating and thought provoking collection of 15 essays by US and Canadian academics on various aspects of radio....Excellent." 

Communication Journal

"Very readable, well-researched...I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in broadcasting."

Radio User Magazine

"An excellent read for a college student pursuing a degree in communications or journalism and needing insight into the radio industry. It’s also suitable for those who like to think hard about the roles that radio and audio play in our culture and how people interact with them."

Radio World

"This volume expands our understanding of radio as classic broadcasting and offers a diversity of themes relevant to its evolution. The chapters vary not only in their topics but also in their length, style, and theoretical and methodological approaches. This eclecticism may be especially useful for junior college students or new radio industry professionals in mapping the current trends and themes in radio research. Radio is entering its second century—it is already demonstrating and will undoubtedly demonstrate many more diverse paths of development."

Technology and Culture

At a time when radio’s fortunes and future are being impacted by new audio technologies, it’s fitting to remind people of its continuing relevance and value in society. As radio enters its second century of public service, this volume provides readers with a full-on assessment of all aspects of the eldest electronic mass medium through a series of astutely and incisively written essays.”  

Boston College - Michael C. Keith

"Despite the many permutations of the radio experience treated, Hendrick keeps the volume focused on the volatile world of radio broadcasting, explaining in his introduction that “although radio listenership ... remains robust in the second decade of the twentieth century, the fact remains that listener habits are changing and listeners are migratory. Taken together these essays interrogate a market of radio traditionalists, digital podcasters, and smart devices that expand radio’s history and legacy. Recommended."

Choice