| Texas Signs on: The Early Days of Radio and Television Contributor(s): Schroeder, Richard (Author) |
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ISBN: 0890968136 ISBN-13: 9780890968130 Publisher: Texas A&M University Press OUR PRICE: $29.65 Product Type: Hardcover Published: May 1998 Annotation: For more than seventy-five years, the airwaves of Texas have buzzed with broadcast signals, beginning with a play-by-play Morse code transmission of the football game played by the University of Texas and Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day, 1921. Filled with anecdotes gleaned from his extensive oral history interviewing for the project, Texas Signs On visits the colorful personalities that have filled the state's studios and booths (and business boardrooms) for seven decades: Dizzy Dean, Cactus Pryor, Amon Carter, NBC's Dave Garroway, sports-caster Bud Sherman, Gordon McLendon, Bob Wills, the Light Crust Doughboys, and many others. Schroeder even explains the absence of channel 1 from the old rotary VHF dials. He addresses historic firsts: the arrival of network television in Texas in 1952, the first live televising of political conventions, the establishment of KUHT in Houston as the nation's first educational station and of KCOR in San Antonio as the first Spanish-language station in the United States. The first murder trial broadcast in history was by Waco's KWTX. This trip down memory lane for those who experienced the early days of radio and television records important oral history that might otherwise be lost. It also offers a valuable introduction to the entrepreneurial innovations and government regulation that have marked the development of the Texas airwaves. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Performing Arts | Radio - History & Criticism - Social Science | Media Studies - Performing Arts | Television - History & Criticism |
| Dewey: 384.540 |
| LCCN: 97-46657 |
| Series: Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students Texas A & M University (Hardcover) |
| Physical Information: 1.01" H x 6.35" W x 9.51" (1.46 lbs) 288 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Southwest U.S. - Geographic Orientation - Texas |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: On Thanksgiving Day, 1921, a man in Waco listened intently to a series of dots and dashes coming over his crystal radio receiver. The electronic signal spelled out "T FP 8Y L." The man took off his headphones, walked over to a window, and with a megaphone yelled out that window, "Texas forward pass; eight yard loss." He was receiving the broadcast account of the annual Turkey Day football rivalry between the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas and Texas University, being played at Kyle Field in College Station and broadcast in a play-by-play, coded account over 5XB, the college's amateur radio station. For television, the early 1950s were the key years. Network television reached the state, with the first live televising of political conventions. Soon, KUHT was established in Houston as the first nation's educational station, and KCOR in San Antonio became the first Spanish-language station in the United States. The first murder trial in broadcast history was by Waco's KWTX. "Color Day," the first color program in Texas and only the second local color show in the nation, was televised by WBAP in Fort Worth. For some eighty years, then, the airwaves of Texas have buzzed. Richard Schroeder traces the first fifty years of the development of broadcasting in the state from its inception through the formation of commercial stations, to the regulation of the airwaves by the federal government beginning in 1928, and beyond. He describes programming, financing, network development, and anti-regulation protest broadcasts. Filled with anecdotes gleaned from his seventy-nine oral history interviews for the project, Texas Signs On has almost the immediacy of a broadcast itself. The drama of pioneering days--radio in the 1920s, television in the 1950s--is re-created in "living color." Throughout, the story is spiced with anecdotes and the colorful personalities that have filled the state's airwaves (and business boardrooms) for seven decades: Dizzy Dean, Cactus Pryor, Amon Carter, Harold Hough's inception of ringing a cowbell on WBAP, sportscaster Bud Sherman, Gordon McLendon, Bob Wills, the Light Crust Doughboys, pirate radio stations, and many others. Schroeder even explains the absence of channel 1 from the old rotary VHF dials. In his engaging narrative, Schroeder offers an insight into the challenges both radio and television faced along the way and how they were overcome. This interesting, well-written book has more than nostalgia value; it offers understanding of the amateur efforts, entrepreneurial innovations, and government regulation that have marked the development of the Texas airwaves. It provides context and historical comparisons for the transitions now facing the broadcast media, and it records important oral history that might otherwise be lost. Moreover, it offers a wonderful trip down memory lane for those who experienced the early days of radio and television and still remember them fondly. |