History ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-11-2024

Abstract

This dissertation addresses questions about the contested claim to an authoritative historical voice on American radio from its earliest days in the 1920s to its role in the Second World War in the 1940s. My major arguments involve, first, how the development of radio news in the 1930s took on the nature of “history in the moment” with live event programming—something its rival, the newspapers could not do. Secondly, with the press of world events, I argue, history and the news increasingly seemed to dovetail into the other on the radio, and the American Historical Association debated the most effective way to both educate adults on news events while maintaining their voice of historical authority.

The entry of America into the conflict against the Axis paved the way for a new type of radio reportage, one advanced by European correspondents in the interwar period. New broadcasting formats such as the news roundup and transcribed recordings of live events, changed the way news is still reported in the media. Finally, I argue that personalities on the radio, and transatlantic broadcasts, brought the international into American homes in a manner unheard of before the advent of network radio.

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Degree Name

History

Department Name

History

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Jason Scott Smith

Second Committee Member

Dr. Durwood Ball

Third Committee Member

Dr. Caleb Richardson

Fourth Committee Member

Dr. Marco Briziarelli

Language

English

Keywords

American Radio, World War II, Communications

Document Type

Dissertation

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Available for download on Monday, May 11, 2026

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