This history of commercial radio networks in the United States provides a wealth of information on broadcasting from the 1920s to the present. It covers the four transcontinental webs that operated during the pre-television Golden Age, plus local and regional hookups, and the developments that have occurred in the decades since, including the impact of television, the rise of the disc jockey, the rise of talk radio and other specialized formats, implications of satellite technology and consolidation of networks and local stations.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• 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
• Bibliography