Donald G. Godfrey

Methods of Historical Analysis in Electronic Media

Contents: Preface. Part I: Traditional Historiography. D.G. Godfrey, Researching Electronic Media History. L.M. Benjamin, Historical Evidence: Facts, Proof, and Probability. M.D. Murray, Oral History Records. M.E. Beadle, Visual Evidence. Part II: Eclectic Methods in History. K.H. Youm, Legal Methods in History of Electronic Media. J. Armstrong, Applying Critical Theory to Electronic Media History. R.K. Avery, Quantitative Methods in Broadcast History. Part III: A New Look at Electronic Media. M.C. Keith, A Survey of Cultural Studies in Radio. C. Allen, Television Broadcast Records. M.R. Bensman, New Media and Technical Records. Part IV: New Perspectives in Topical Issues. R.A. Lind, Understanding the Historical Context of Race and Gender in Electronic Media. T. Larson, Local Broadcasting History Research Methods. D. Cressman, Exploring Biography. Part V: For the Record... C. Howell, Dealing With the Archive Records. C.H. Sterling, Assessing the Record: A Century of Historical Research. Appendix: Adapting Historical Citations to APA Style.

The Rogue Elephant of Radio Legislation: Senator William E. Borah

This study, based on primary sources, explores the role of Idaho Senator William E. Borah in getting the Senate — and government — to finally act to pass the first national 1927 Radio Act. Borah represented a long and continuing progressive tradition in the 1920s age of business. His concern about preserving freedom of speech from government brought him into conflict with many, including his own Republican President Calvin Coolidge, who wanted to keep closer federal control over radio.

Lee de Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film

At long last we have a biography of Lee de Forest, the self-proclaimed ‘‘father of radio.’’ Mike Adams brings to life the story of a great inventor. De Forest’s inventions, like many others of his time, did not bring him great wealth; nevertheless he made a living and a difference in the world of electronic media. It was his famed audion tube that was arguably his most significant contribution to technology, a contribution that brought us broadcast and electronic media sound. Most surprisingly in Adam’s work, the reader will discover that Lee de Forest’s contributions went well beyond radio’s sound technology. They include how soundon-film got into the movies. Adam’s work is carefully documented from the archives of the Perham de Forest Papers, San Jose; the Case Research Laboratory, Auburn, New York; and the Seaver Center for Western History, Los Angeles, California. It is illustrated throughout with historic photographs from the time and includes appendices of De Forest’s writings and primary patents. We see the life of De Forest as an individual and ‘‘as a tortured lone inventor’’ (p. xii). A great deal of controversy surrounded him. He was called dishonest, unethical, and was constantly in the courts of law as well as the courts of historical opinion. Adams has not ignored these dramas, but writes to reflect ‘‘both how he succeeded and failed, won and lost, yet was ever active in promoting his ideas about the new electronic mass media’’ (p. xiv). The book is organized into ten chapters walking the reader through life, controversies, inventions, and contributions. Chapters 1 and 2, ‘‘Born to Invent’’ and the ‘‘Race for Wireless’’ take us through the foundations of wireless and talking pictures. Beginning with the significance of Edison’s work (pp. 4–7) and the phonograph, Adams notes its importance as it relates to wireless communications including those