"A premise of this unique encyclopedia is that radio broadcasting is so pervasive that its importance can be easily overlooked. More than 600 articles provide ample illustration of the role this medium plays throughout the world. From radio's invention to radio on the Internet, the cross-referenced and thoroughly indexed articles analyze over 100 years of topics, programs, issues, people, and places, and provide leads to further reading. Some 250 photographs "give visual context to an often unseen world." Scholars, old-time-radio admirers, and curious readers will appreciate the unparalleled comprehensiveness of this source."--"The Top 20 Reference Titles of the Year," American Libraries, May 2004.

Produced in association with the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Encyclopedia of Radio includes more than 600 entries covering major countries and regions of the world as well as specific programs and people, networks and organizations, regulation and policies, audience research, and radio's technology. This encyclopedic work will be the first broadly conceived reference source on a medium that is now nearly eighty years old, with essays that provide essential information on the subject as well as comment on the significance of the particular person, organization, or topic being.

The history of television in Chicago begins with the birth of the medium and is defined by the city's pioneering stations. WBKB (now WLS-TV) was the principal innovator of the Chicago School of Television, an improvisational production style that combined small budgets, personable talent, and the creative use of scenery and props. WNBQ (now WMAQ-TV) expanded the innovative concept to a wider audience via the NBC network. WGN-TV scored with sports and kids. Strong personalities drove the success of WBBM-TV. A noncommercial educational station, WTTW, and the city's first UHF station, WCIU, added diversity and ethnic programming. The airwaves in Chicago have been home to a wealth of talented performers and iconic programs that have made the city one of the country's greatest television towns. Chicago Television, featuring photographs from the archives of the Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) and the collections of local stations and historians, gives readers a front-row seat on a journey through the fi rst 50 years of Chicago television, 1940-1990. Founded in 1982 by broadcaster Bruce DuMont, the MBC Web site offers over 10,000 digital assets.