American Radio Networks

Jim Cox, a leading radio historian, is an award-winning author of numerous books on the subject. A retired college professor, he lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments      Preface: Fascination      1. The Net Rewards of Radioland: With the Twist of a Wrist      2. The Proceeds of Experimentation: Getting Ready to Play for Real      3. National Broadcasting Company: The House That Sarnoff Built      4. Columbia Broadcasting System: The House That Paley Built      5. Mutual Broadcasting System: The Network for All America      6. American Broadcasting Company: A Nobleman’s Dream      7. The Regional Hookups: Local Radio Gone Wide      8. Washington Watchdogs: Safeguarding the Airwaves      9. Remuneration: The Hardest Nut to Crack      10. Czar Wars: The Empire-Builders Fight Back      11. Halcyon Days: A Showtime Sampler      12. Sight Radio: No Renaissance for Imagination      13. The Spinmeisters: Rancor Among the Ranks      14. Raconteurial Resurgence: The Spielers Have Their Say      Epilogue: When You Wish Upon a Star      Appendix. Ex Chains: Webs of Extinction      Chapter Notes      Bibliography      Index

“an entertaining, informative history of the major radio networks and their programming. Recommended”—Choice; “Begun with 2002’s Say Goodnight Gracie, and continue with 2008’s Sold on Radio, the medium’s best modern historian has capped the most well-written and informative history of radio in recent memory with this tome. This triumvirate of books should stand for some time as the definitive history of classic radio’s beginning, maturation, and demise”—Old Time Radio Digest.