Radio's Civic Ambition: American Broadcasting and Democracy in the 1930s

Abstract

The book argues that the civic ambition of American radio in the 1930s and 40s centered on the production of self-governing and opinion-forming individuals - a cluster of ideas that the book names radio's civic paradigm. A range of programs, from classical music broadcasts to multi-opinion radio forum discussions of public affairs, were designed to promote both civic engagement and individualization. The "public interest" regulation of radio, and continuing broadcaster anxiety about further political reform to broadcasting, meant that at least until the end of WW2, American radio did not just create popular entertainment, but also fostered programs of high civic ambition, aimed at changing n..