9XM Talking: WHA Radio and the Wisconsin Idea

Davidson, Randall

ISBN 10: 0299218708 / ISBN 13: 9780299218706

Published by University of Wisconsin Press, 2006

About this Item

Black cloth-covered boards with white titling on the spine. Top corners of the boards and bottom corner of the spine are slightly bumped, otherwise corners are sharp. The dust jacket has light scratches and marks, as well as light wear on corners. There is a wrinkle on the lower back corner of the dust jacket that corresponds to the bump on the bottom of the book's spine. The author has signed on the title page underneath his printed name. May be a first edition, but it is not stated on the copyright page. Inside pages are clean and unmarked. Includes black and white photographs, appendixes, notes, bibliography, index and station index. 405 pages. From the book cover: "The fascinating history of the pioneering and innovative work of Wisconsin s educational and public radio stations, from the first broadcast by the experimental station 9XM to the network of stations known today as Wisconsin Public Radio." Shelf: B-5.

Seller Inventory # 240905LW

Bibliographic Details

• Title: 9XM Talking: WHA Radio and the Wisconsin Idea
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0299218708
• ISBN 13: 9780299218706
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • NONFICTION
  • Wisconsin / Midwest
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

These words crackled in the headphones of crystal sets around the country in 1921 as the University of Wisconsin radio station 9XM began its regular schedule of voice broadcasts. Randall Davidson provides the first comprehensive history of the University of Wisconsin radio station, WHA; affiliated state-owned station, WLBL; and the post-World War II FM stations that are the backbone of the network now known as Wisconsin Public Radio. 9XM Talking describes how, with homemade equipment and ideas developed from scratch, 9XM endured many struggles and became a tangible example of "the Wisconsin Idea," bringing the educational riches of the university to all the state's residents. From the beginning, those involved with the radio station felt it should provide a service for the practical use of Wisconsin citizens.
    The book's informative chapters cover the programs that allowed the medium of radio to benefit farmers and homemakers, to bring world-class educators into isolated rural schoolrooms, and to teach people all over Wisconsin everything from literature to history to touch-typing, long before anyone came up with the term "distance learning." Davidson concludes by discussing the claim that WHA has to the title "Oldest Station in the Nation." This groundbreaking book is based on archival materials dating back to the 1900s and includes dozens of historic photos and illustrations, many of which have never been published before.

Winner, Book Award of Merit for best Wisconsin history book, Wisconsin Historical Society

About the Author

Randall Davidson joined Wisconsin Public Radio in 1990 as a news producer and news anchor. He is also the network's chief announcer and serves as the unofficial historian of WPR. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.