The history of American broadcasting is the story of the emergence and transformation of the two most important mass communication mediums of the 20th century -- radio and television. The magazine Radio Broadcasting chronicles radio's early adoption by hobbyists and the debates about how the medium should be organized and regulated. Citizen groups believed radio served a vital public service and should remain outside of commercial interests. Electronics corporations, on the other hand, saw the potential to harness the radio medium toward profitable ends. The business interests ultimately won, and American radio became a medium of publicly owned airwaves that were, in fact, controlled by advertising-supported corporations. This same ownership and regulatory model was later applied to television.
Radio Age presented the point of view of the most important corporation in the broadcasting landscape, RCA (Radio Corporation of America), which both manufactured receivers and controlled the NBC network. Radio Age emphasized the new products and research RCA was bringing to market. Television, in particular, received considerable coverage.
Extensive Runs
Broadcasting (1931-1963)
- Description
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This trade paper began in 1931 with a focus on radio, but as the TV industry expanded in the post-World War II era, the paper increasingly became devoted to television (even the title changed to BROADCASTING TELECASTING). Developments in technology, policy, advertising, and programming were covered. The paper's advertisements and articles reveal the intricate relationship among sponsors, stations, program suppliers, and station representatives -- the industry's term for middle-men who represented numerous local stations in negotiations with national sponsors. The success of particular stations or programming choices are frequently trumpeted in BROADCASTING'S advertisements -- always with the goal of selling more of something, such as a film program or a station's spot advertising time. -- Eric Hoyt, 2014
- 1931-32
- 1933
- 1935
- 1936
- 1937
- 1938
- Jan-Jun 1938. Vol 14 (Broadcasting and Broadcasting Yearbook) | Read | Download |
- Jul-Dec 1938. Vol 15 | Read | Download |
- 1939
- 1940
- 1941
- 1942
- 1943
- 1944
- 1945
- 1949
- 1950
- 1951
- 1952
- 1953
- 1954
- 1955
- 1956
- 1957
- 1958
- 1959
- 1960
- 1961
- 1962
- 1963
The Phonogram (Ed. Virginia H. McRae, North American Phonograph Company, 1891-93)
The Phonogram (Ed. Herbert A. Shattuck, National Phonograph Company, 1900-02)
Edison Phonograph Monthly (1903-1916)
Heinl Radio Business Letter (1930-1950)
National Association of Broadcasters Reports (1931-1948)
NBC Transmitter (1935-1947)
Phonograph Monthly Review (1926-1932)
Radio Age: Research, Manufacturing, Communications, Broadcasting, Television (1942-1957)
- Description: Radio Age was published by RCA - the Radio Corporation of America - to
promote current and future technological developments and major programming events on NBC.
Despite the title's reference to radio, the emphasis throughout is on the future promise of television. Digitized by the Prelinger Library.
- Oct 1942-Jul 1945. Vol 2-4 | Read | Download |
- Oct 1945-Jul 1948. Vol 5-7 | Read | Download |
- Oct 1948-Jul 1950. Vol 8-9 | Read | Download |
- Oct 1950-Oct 1952. Vol 10-11 | Read | Download |
- Jan 1953-Oct 1954. Vol 12-13 | Read | Download |
- Jan 1955-Oct 1957. Vol 14-16 | Read | Download |
The Radio Annual (1938-1948)
The Radio Annual and Television Year Book (1949-1964)
Radio Broadcast (1922-1930)
- Description: Radio Broadcast supported home listeners of the new technology of radio - for building or buying a receiving set to explaining the technology used by the new radio stations. Throughout the magazine shows the cultural influence of radio as it evolved from hobbyist to mainstream. Digitized by the Prelinger Library.
- May-Oct 1922. Vol 1 | Read | Download |
- Nov 1922-Apr 1923. Vol 2 | Read | Download |
- May 1923-Oct 1923. Vol 3 | Read | Download |
- Nov 1923-Apr 1924. Vol 4 | Read | Download |
- May 1924-Oct 1924. Vol 5 | Read | Download |
- Nov 1924-Apr 1925. Vol 6 | Read | Download |
- May 1925-Oct 1925. Vol 7 | Read | Download |
- Nov 1925-Apr 1926. Vol 8 | Read | Download |
- May 1926-Oct 1926. Vol 9 | Read | Download |
- Nov 1926-Apr 1927. Vol 10 | Read | Download |
- May 1927-Oct 1927. Vol 11 | Read | Download |
- Nov 1927-Apr 1928. Vol 12 | Read | Download |
- May 1928-Oct 1928. Vol 13 | Read | Download |
- Nov 1928-Apr 1929. Vol 14 | Read | Download |
- May 1929-Oct 1929. Vol 15 | Read | Download |
- Nov 1929-Apr 1930. Vol 16 | Read | Download |
Radio Today (1935-1939)/Radio and Television Today (1940-1941)
The Record Changer (1943-1957)
Sponsor (1946-1964)
- Description
- Subtitle varies: The Buyers of broadcast advertising; The weekly magazine TV/radio advertisers use; the national weekly of TV & radio advertising. Scanned & sponsored by the University of Maryland, College Park.
Swing (1945-1953)
- Description: The official magazine of Kansas City's WHB radio station, SWING printed far more than the station's schedule (which, as the title SWING suggested, relied heavily on music). From 1945 to 1953, SWING offered readers something eclectic every month -- profiles of entertainers on one page, discussions of citizenship in the postwar world on the next, with write-ups of nightlife offerings in KC, Chicago, and New York mixed in. WHB spent decades lobbying the FCC for clear channel status; the magazine's ambitious scope may have been part of the station's attempt to legitimate itself. But it was SWING'S first editor, Jetta Carleton, who later wrote a celebrated novel, that gave the magazine its distinctive style. -- Eric Hoyt, 2015
- 1945 | Read | Download |
- 1946 | Read | Download |
- 1947 | Read | Download |
- 1948 | Read | Download |
- 1949 | Read | Download |
- 1950 | Read | Download |
- 1951 | Read | Download |
- 1952 | Read | Download |
- 1953 | Read | Download |
Talking Machine World (1906-1928)
Television Digest with AM-FM Reports/Electronics (later Weekly Television Digest) (1945-63)
Select Holdings
Best Broadcasts of 1938-39 (1939)
Best Broadcasts of 1939-40 (1940)
Cylinder Lists: Columbia Brown Wax, Columbia XP, Columbia 20th Century, and Indestructible (Index to Columbia Cylinders, 1896-1908, by Tim Gracyk, 2000)
Don McNeill's Breakfast Club (1942, 1944, 1952)
Education by Radio (1932-1937)
Radio Album: Life Stories and Portraits of the Radio Stars (1932)
Radio Daily (1937-38, 1949)
The Radio Dealer (1922-1923)
Television Programming Catalogues (1957)
- Movies from A.A.P.: Programs of Quality from Quality Studios (1957) | Read | Download |
Variety Radio Directory (1937-1941)
Victor Records Catalog (1914)
What's On the Air (1929-1931)
Who's Who on the Air? (1932)
