Masterful Stories

John V. Pavlik is a Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the School of Communication and Information, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Pavlik has written widely about the impact of technological change on journalism, media, and society. His new book offers an historical perspective on the development of storytelling in the first electronic medium of mass communication, radio.

• AcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroductionChapter 1: A Theory of Masterful StoriesChapter 2: Golden Age Radio Plays: Examining 120 Case Studies Chapter 3: Radio’s Earliest Plays: Inventing the Medium’s Storytelling Form in the 1920s and 1930s Chapter 4: Radio Hits its Dramatic Stride: The Early 1940sChapter 5: Classics Continued Post WWII: From the Mid to Late 1940s Chapter 6: Post-WWII Radio Drama: Early to Mid 1950sChapter 7: End of an Era: Exemplary Plays from the 1950s and BeyondChapter 8: Concluding Reflections on Stories from Golden Age Radio

John makes the case that radio broadcast is baked into the recipe of American culture. He shows how The Golden Age of Radio is a template for today’s quality Podcast and radio story telling. Podcasters wanting to build and hold on to audiences have much to learn from this book.- Benjamin A. Davis, Assistant Professor, California State University Northridge"As an old Brazilian professor, I’ve been following John Pavlik’s career for many years. He is an international reference mainly for studies about the future of Journalism and New Media. Now, to my surprise, he is reaching back into the past. But instead of just examining old time Radio, Pavlik is in fact announcing a new "Golden Age of Internet" with ample access to the best in digital memories and archives. This is innovative and creative thinking; in summary, this is a "masterful book". -Antonio Brasil, Federal University of Santa Catarina