A History of Broadcasting in the United States

Preface: Why a History of Broadcasting in the USA? ix

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction: Broadcasting’s Beginning: The Big Bang 1

Part I: The Network Radio Era, 1921–1950 1

1. Industrial Innovation and Diffusion: The Radio Networks 13

2. Radio’s Social, Cultural, and Political Impact: The First Mass Medium 38

3. The Development of a New Aesthetic: Sounds 71

Part II: Transition, 1945–1957 105

4. TV Replaces Radio in the Living Room 107

5. Radio Reinvents Itself: Top 40 and Beyond 142

Part III: Network Television Dominates, 1958–1982 165

6. CBS, NBC, and ABC Covering the USA 167

7. Network TV’s Social, Cultural, and Political Impact 197

8. The Genre Machine: From Maverick to M*A*S*H 231

Part IV: Contemporary History, 1982–1996 279

9. Radio: The FM Era 281

10. Television: Remote Control Paradise 299

Epilogue: Still a Broadcasting Nation: 1996 and into the Future 338

Appendix: Sorry, Wrong Number 346

Index 353