C. Francis Jenkins, Pioneer of Film and Television

Donald G. Godfrey is a broadcast educator, professional broadcaster, and historian. His many works include Philo T. Farnsworth: The Father of Television and the Historical Dictionary of American Radio. Godfrey is a past president of the national Broadcast Education Association (BEA), a former editor of the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, and served as president of the National Council of Communication Associations (CCA).

"Almost eighty years following Jenkins’ death, the story of his life and many achievements is finally being told."--Robin Vierbuchen Sproul, Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief, ABC News  "With his biography of Francis Jenkins (indeed, the first ever), Don Godfrey again demonstrates his "chops" as a historian willing to do the archival digging necessary to rescue a story worth telling. As in his earlier study of Philo Farnsworth, Godfrey sorts out the sometimes controversial pieces of a career that--for a time--seemed to show the way to widespread use of television. Especially interesting is Jenkins' creative work in both film and television at their very dawning. This is a life well worth reading."--Christopher H. Sterling, author of Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American Broadcasting and Sounds of Change: A History of FM Broadcasting in America "C. Francis Jenkins, Pioneer of Film and Television makes a substantial contribution to the literature on film and electronic communication. Godfrey's scholarship is exceptional and exhaustive. He left no stone unturned in compiling his resources to write this book."--Louise M. Benjamin, author of The NBC Advisory Council and Radio Programming, 1926-1945"Godfrey has produced a biography of the underappreciated inventor that excels both in its completeness and in its engaging readability. The book is an excellent example of history that is both thoroughly researched and eminently readable."--Journalism History "Media historians have not overlooked Charles Francis Jenkins, but neither have they given his story its due. Don Godfrey corrects this imbalance by probing traditional sources and cultivating evidence buried in unusual records--including Jenkins's 283 patents. C. Francis Jenkins is a much-needed improvement to existing histories and an indispensable reference for any future treatments of media technology. . . . brings an American visionary to life."--Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly