Making radio : early radio production and the rise of modern sound culture, 1920-1930

"The opening decades of the twentieth century witnessed a profound transformation in the history of modern sound media, with workers in U.S. film, radio, and record industries developing pioneering production methods and performance styles tailored to emerging technologies of electric sound reproduction that would redefine dominant forms and experiences of popular audio entertainment. Focusing on broadcasting's initial expansion during the 1920s, Making Radio explores the forms of creative labor pursued for the medium in the period prior to the better-known network era, assessing their role in shaping radio's identity and identifying affinities with parallel practices pursued for conversion-era film and phonography. Tracing programming forms adopted by early radio writers and programmers, production techniques developed by studio engineers, and performance styles cultivated by on-air talent, it shows how radio workers negotiated a series of broader industrial and cultural pressures to establish best practices for their medium that reshaped popular forms of music, drama, and public oratory and laid the foundation for a new era of electric sound entertainment."--Publisher's description The Early Twentieth Century Witnessed A Profound Transformation In The History Of Modern Sound Media, As Professional Radio Workers Developed Production Practices And Performance Styles For Broadcasting During The 1920s, Its Initial Decade Of Expansion In The United States. Mapping The Programming Forms Pursued By Early Writers And Programmers, Production Techniques Adopted By Studio Engineers, And Performance Styles Cultivated By On-air Talent, Making Radio Shows How Workers Within This Burgeoning Industry Negotiated Pressures From Regulators, Station Owners, Sponsors, And Critics To Develop Defining Sets Of Craft Practices For One Of The Century's Most Influential Studio Arts. Radio Workers' Struggles To Institutionalize Standards Of Professional Practice And Win Broader Cultural Acceptance For Their Medium, The Book Argues, Secured Broadcasting's Place In American Culture And Established Key Precedents For Neighboring Film And Record Industries That Guided Their Own Conversions To Electric Sound. Making Radio Reveals Radio As The Missing Link In The History Of Modern Sound Culture, Showing How Radio Workers Shaped Listening Sensibilities For A New Era Of Electric Sound Entertainment. Cover......Page 1 Half title......Page 2 Making Radio......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Introduction: Making Radio: ​A Production-​Oriented Approach to Early Broadcasting......Page 14 1. Making Radio Time: Managing Broadcasting’s Sonic Flows......Page 28 2. Making Radio Genres: Radiogénie as a Force in Early Program Development......Page 58 3. Making Radio Music: Creating the Radio Sound......Page 82 4. Making Radio Drama: Creating Sound Fictions......Page 110 5. Making Radio Talk: Taming Electric Speech......Page 138 Conclusion: Mediamaking and the Making of Media Labor......Page 170 Appendix: A Note on Sources......Page 178 Abbreviations......Page 182 Notes......Page 186 Bibliography......Page 226 Index......Page 238 Long before the network era, radio writers and programmers developed methods and performance styles that were grounded in emerging audio technologies. Making Radio reveals radio as the missing link in the history of modern sound culture.