A Note Regarding Resources: Items are listed on this page that enhance work with the topic discussed. Some older items, especially, may include dated practices and ideas that are no longer generally accepted. Resources reflecting current practices are noted whenever possible
Student Reading
Balcziak, Bill. Radio. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Enterprises, Inc., 1989.
This is an excellent, easy-to-read history of radio that brings the reader to current times. Includes glossary and index.
Coyle, Rebecca. The Media: Radio. Freeport, Long Island, NY: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1989.
A history of radio, how a radio works, and inside a radio station are included in this book. The author gives examples from the U.S. and Great Britain.
Wong, Michael A. A Day in the Life of a Disc Jockey. Mahwah, NJ: Troll Associates, 1988.
This is an easy-to-read account of a typical disc jockey’s day.
Advanced Reading
Alth, Max. Collecting Old Radios and Crystal Sets. Des Moines, IA: Wallace-Homestead Book Co., 1977.
This book tells how to get started on a collection and includes lists of organizations and museums; some interesting illustrations.
Arnold, Eleanor, ed. Party Lines, Pumps and Privies. N.p.: The Indiana Extension Homemakers Association, 1984.
This is the second volume in the Memories of Hoosier Homemakers series, based on the oral history project, Hoosier Homemakers through the Years.
Barnouw, Erik. A History of Broadcasting in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 3 volumes: Vol. 1, A Tower of Babel, to 1933, 1966; Vol. 2, The Golden Web, 1933-1953, 1968; Vol. 3, The Image Empire, Since 1953, 1970.
This is a standard source for the story of how radio and television became an important part of American life. An excellent resource.
Douglas, Susan J. Inventing American Broadcasting: 1899-1922. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.
The author traces the early development of radio and broadcasting and includes information regarding its impact on society.
Hellemans, Alexander, and Bryan Bunch. The Timetables of Science: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in the History of Science. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.
This is an excellent resource that could be used by students and adults.
Lackmann, Ron. Remember Radio. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons,1970.
There are hundreds of old photographs, scripts and copies of actual radio listings.
MacDonald, J. Fred. Don’t Touch That Dial: Radio Programming in American Life, 1920-1960. Chicago: Nelson-Hall,1979.
This work includes a history of radio and analyzes the types of programs and social themes during this period.
Ogden, Dale. “On the Air in Indiana.” Outdoor Indiana, Vol. 51, No. 9, October 1986, pp. 4-7.
This interesting article gives an overview of radio history with examples from Indiana.
Organization of American Historians. Magazine of History, Vol. 6, No. 4, Spring 1992.
Seven articles in this excellent issue focus on the 1993 topic for National History Day, “Communication in History: The Key to Understanding.”
Settel, Irving. A Pictorial History of Radio. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1967.
This book reviews the history and programs of radio, decade by decade through the 1960s; includes many photographs.
Additional Resources
“On the Air: Indiana Radio, 1920-1950” is a permanent exhibit at the Indiana State Museum; it includes the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. Located at 202 North Alabama Street, Indianapolis, 317-232-1637.
Indiana Broadcasters Association, Inc., Maximanage, Ltd. 11595 North Meridian Street, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46290, 317-573-2995.
This organization will answer inquiries from the public.
Indiana Historical Radio Society and Ed Taylor Radio Museum, 245 Oakland Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46201, 317-638-1641.
The Society Bulletin contains a wealth of visual material; the material is rarely identified as to source or date.