Radio's Hidden Voice: The Origins of Public Broadcasting in the United States (review)

History is written by the winners. Advocates of a radio and television system driven by profits won the struggle over the shape of broadcasting in America, and, not surprisingly, chroniclers of broadcasting have generally portrayed commercial broadcasting as right, good, and inevitable.

Today that verdict of history is in doubt. Commercial radio seems anything but triumphant. Except for Rush Limbaugh's daily harangues, the most listened to programs on radio are public radio programs. NPR's Morning Edition attracts a larger audience in the morning than any other morning radio or television program, including The Today Show and Good Morning America.

The verdict is in doubt, too, because leaders in all media fear for the future of advertising-supported content. The Internet allows advertisers to deliver their messages directly to the most likely potential customers based on their purchasing histories. No longer do advertisers need to subsidize content to lure audiences to their messages.

Increasingly, media leaders are seeing virtues in not-for-profit structures once considered un-American. University-based, foundation -supported investigative journalism centers are emerging at the state level. Several independent not-for-profits perform similar functions nationally. Some propose to restructure the New York Times as a not-for-profit.

The advertising model for media no longer seems inevitable. In fact, it no longer seems viable. Today, a revisionist take on broadcast history seems more relevant than traditional mainstream interpretations. And none more so than Richard Slotten's Radio's Hidden Voice: The Origins of Public Broadcasting in the United States.

A senior lecturer at the University of Otago, New Zealand, Slotten combed the archives of the pioneering AM stations at American land-grant universities in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, and found surprisingly coherent philosophies of public service. The focus on AM university stations is significant because these stations could potentially serve broad audiences. Educational stations that emerged subsequently on FM were far more constricted in their visions because they operated on a band that had few listeners. The pioneer AM stations provide the philosophical foundation for public service media because they could make a difference in the lives of people and communities, and Slotten makes clear they sought to do so.

He links land grant university radio stations with the extension mission, informal, not-for-credit continuing education. AM educational stations represented the values and expertise of higher education using the conventions of broadcasting rather than the conventions of the classroom. Listeners heard an informal flow of practical advice, "quality" entertainment and culture, and discussion of issues and ideas.

Radio's Hidden Voice may surprise listeners to contemporary public radio with the generalization that university stations did not engage in journalism, the hallmark of public radio today. They did no original reporting and most stayed clear of political controversy in all of their programs. They might welcome an academic or two to provide history and context to current issues, but they did not bring in political figures or provide anything close to a public forum.

The book reports that WSUI, the University of Iowa station, stayed clear of "any issue of a controversial nature to which listeners might object." The University of Illinois Board of Trustees declared three areas off limits for discussion on WILL, "partisan political issues," "sectarian religious questions," and "questions involving equality or relationship of races." While perhaps stated less explicitly, all university broadcasters embraced this attitude to one degree or another.

Slotten's attempt to portray the University of Wisconsin's WHA as an exception actually proves the rule. He reports thatWHA introduced "political education" in the 1930s, providing airtime for politicians and policy advocates to make their cases. This important initiative should not be confused with independent journalism, however. While WILL and WSUI eschewed controversy to maintain positive relationships with state government, WHA took a more proactive approach to the same end. Which politician would not...