The evolution of television: 1927–1943

The fact that not everyone may like a given television program isn't news; but the fact that the demographic characteristic of race is associated with selective liking and disliking of network television programs that were designed to appeal to a “mass” audience may be surprising. The following article aroused a great deal of heated discussion when an early version was presented at the 1965 meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism, and should do so again after publication in these pages. James W. Carey is Research Assistant Professor in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Illinois.     

Race and Radio: The Alabama Negro Extension Service Broadcasts, 1940–1945

In July 1940, the Negro Division of the Alabama Extension Service began monthly radio broadcasts in an attempt to broaden its educational reach. Between 1940 and 1942, these radio broadcasts did more than educate African-American farm families; they also communicated ideological messages that were primarily racist and segregationist, representing the dominant ideology of the deep South. Starting in late 1942, the hegemonic demands of a federal government involved in a world war resulted in an ideological shift within the radio broadcasts of the Negro Extension Service. Analysis of the broadcasts provides evidence of the role radio plays in communicating dominant values and attitudes.     

The Beginnings of Radio Communication in Germany, 1897–1918

This article surveys the prehistory of broadcasting in the German Reich. It focuses on wireless telegraphy, where the Telefunken Company succeeded internationally with its quenched spark system on the eve of the war. Telefunken's system was developed as an efficient military technology between 1905 and 1908, and it soon became the core of Telefunken's successful attempt to break Marconi's monopoly in maritime radio communication. Encouraged by this success, Telefunken started to establish wireless transoceanic connections to build a global German radio network. The properties of radio broadcasting as a possible new mass medium only gradually became evident before 1918.     

The “Most Thrilling Invention Since the Radio Itself!”: The Evolution of the Radio Remote Control in the 1920s and 1930s

This article examines the early history of the media remote control, focusing on the technical development of radio remotes in the 1920s and 1930s. Using a co-evolutionary model of technical change, it considers the technical and social conditions that served as the foundation for the first radio remotes. Drawing on patent records, it then examines the development, firstly, of wired radio remotes and, secondly, of wireless radio remotes, offering evidence of a direct patent-based link between the latter and the earliest successful wireless television remote of the 1950s.     

Religious broadcasting: 1920–1965, a bibliography

The following bibliography is the first installment of an extensive bibliography of books, pamphlets, theses, dissertations, documents, addresses, unpublished mimeographed and other miscellaneous materials, and periodical articles on religious broadcasting. The years covered are from the dawn of American broadcasting up to the present. Of particular importance is the first section on “Sources of Bibliographical Information” on this subject.

Because of the length of the entire bibliography, only the sections on sources, theses and dissertations, books and pamphlets, and unpublished and miscellaneous materials will be published in this issue of the Journal. The section on periodical articles will be published in a forthcoming issue. It is also intended to update the entire bibliography from time to time.

The importance of religious broadcasting is well‐recognized by anyone who has ever completed the programming section of an FCC application form, or has ever examined the body of law that has ranged from the Scott and Schuler cases of yesterday to the Maclntyre case of today. Those readers who find this bibliography of interest might also wish to read FCC Commissioner Lee Loevinger's “Broadcasting and Religious Liberty” in the Winter 1964–65 issue of the Journal of Broadcasting.

The major portion of this bibliography was compiled as a part of the author's Ph.D. dissertation, completed in 1965 in the Department of Speech of Michigan State University. Co‐chairmen of the guidance committee were Drs. Kenneth G. Hance of the Speech Department and Walter B. Emery of the Department of TV‐Radio. It has been updated and corrected to July 1965. Dr. Dick is Associate Professor of Speech and General Manager of KSDA at La Sierra College in Riverside, California.     

Right-Wing Pirate Radio Broadcasting in Israel: The Political Discourse About Channel 7, 1993–2003

This study examines an Israeli right-wing pirate radio station, Channel 7. Channel 7 was established in 1988 as a sea-based pirate radio station of the right-wing block in the religious-Zionist movement. Three questions were posed in the research: (a) What is the social representation of right-wing pirate radio station in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) discussions? (b) Did Yitzhak Rabin (Israeli Prime Minister) assassination influence the social representation of Channel 7 in the Knesset discussions? and (c) How does right-wing Knesset Members' social representation of Channel 7 differ from that of left-wing Knesset Members? An analysis of 115 parliamentary debates held in Israel between 1993 and 2003 referring to Channel 7 suggests the Knesset tended to affirm right-wing argumentation, Rabin's assassination strengthened right-wing as well as left-wing contentions, both right-wing and left-wing MKs tended to preserve the status quo and avoid changes, and right-wingers turned down left-wing demands for regulation.     

Symposium Introduction: Farm and Rural Radio—Some Beginnings and Models

Although radio is used principally for entertainment in many countries, it also plays a vital role in providing information to rural and farm populations. It is a lifeline to many groups and individuals in developing countries. Early experiments with radio in the U.S. were directed in large part to farm listeners. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed significant radio services for farmers. Radio has made dramatic contributions to agriculture and farming, including the recognition and support of women in managing and operating farms, and currently includes network services that aid farmers and rural populations all over the world.     

Radio Reverb: The Impact of “Local” News Reimported to Its Own Community

According to recent data, more than 40% of radio stations now do news for stations outside their own market. This “outsourced news,” as one former Federal Communications Commission commissioner called it, raises questions about how local news decisions are made when removed from their local context. Using research on news conventions and decision-making processes, and data from field work in a small radio market served by news produced in a large market, this study frames issues of news selection and presentation within the context of a deregulated environment where the lines of what is “local” in local news are blurring.     

Boys to Men: Age,Identity, and the Legitimation of Amateur Wireless in the United States, 1909–1927

Although amateur radio remained popular for 100 years, it faced a crisis of legitimacy during the 1910s. The damaging behaviors of some operators threatened amateurs with banishment from the airwaves. Through an analysis of archival material from various sources, this paper demonstrates that in order to distance themselves from the actions of malevolent pranksters, responsible wireless operators tapped into contemporary cultural debates about maturity and the emergence of adolescence. As a result, amateur operators legitimated themselves in the eyes of the public while carving out a distinct space for youth hobbyists.     

Siegel,David S. and Siegel,Susan. (2007). Radio and the Jews: The untold story of how radio influenced America's image of Jews, 1920s–1950s

Bolivia is one of the most successful examples of alternative media used for helping to create a “critical citizen movement” to dynamize the “social contract.” Through recovering historical Bolivian tradition based on radio experiences with communication for social change, this study works to describe the last legal and political changes referring to the community communication, its future lines of work, and the role of the alternative media networks on their change or their consolidation, based on the “reticular profit” concept, the study of their increased number of partners, and analysis of legal documents.     

The functional approach to presidential television spots: Acclaiming,attacking, defending 1952–2000

This study examined the impact that instructional technology use, course design, and instructor and student sex differences have on students’ initial perceptions of affect toward the course and the instructor. Participants included 864 students who were randomly assigned to read one of 16 scenarios that manipulated the amount of instructional technology use across two types of courses with either male or female instructors. A factorial analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect for technology use on students’ initial affect, as well as a significant two‐way interaction effect of technology use by student sex. Planned cell comparisons revealed that technology use has primarily a curvilinear effect, whereby students in the minimal and moderate technology use conditions reported higher levels of initial affect than students in the no technology and complete technology conditions. For the two‐way interaction effect, planned cell comparisons revealed that female students reported higher levels of affect as the amount of technology use increased from minimal to moderate amounts of use, whereas male students reported lower levels of affect across the same two conditions. Overall, the results highlight the importance of using instructional technology within a framework of pedagogical methods designed to achieve specific instructional objectives.