Radio Journalism

"Radio Journalism" introduces key themes in journalism studies to explore what makes radio reporting distinctive and lay out the claims for radio's critical importance in the news landscape. With their extensive experience in radio production and academics, authors Guy Starkey and Andrew Crisell take readers on a tour through the past, present and future of radio broadcasting, from the infancy of the BBC in the 1920s up to the prospect of rolling news delivered to mobile telephones. Grounding each chapter in a survey of scholarly writing on the radio, they explore the connections between politics, policy and practice, inviting critical reflection on who radio professionals are, what they do and why. Putting theory and practice into dialogue, this book is the perfect bridge between unreflective production manuals and generalised media theory texts. Witty and engaging, "Radio Journalism" provides an essential framework for understanding the continuing relevance of radio journalism as a profession, set of practices and arena for critical debate. Praise for the "Journalism Studies: Key Texts" series: "It is easy to describe a good textbook for a specific journalistic format! The ideal book has to satisfy a list of requirements that are also bullet-pointed in journalism assignment outlines. This is a text has to: synthesize the existing body of knowledge; explain concepts clearly; have a logical order of topics; and, provide enough information and directions to pursue further study. One may also hope it would include real life examples and be lucid, vivid and a pleasure to read. Hard to find? Not anymore. The new "SAGE series Journalism Studies: Key Texts" satisfies the main requirements on the list. Carefully planned and meticulously edited by Martin Conboy, David Finkelstein and Bob Franklin, the textbook series is a welcome contribution to the literature of journalism studies. All three books follow the same structural template: an overview of historical development; explication of the political and economic frameworks within particular types of journalism; a review of contemporary practices; social demographics; a comparative analysis of practices around the world; a summary of main conceptual approaches; an indication of future directions; and, recommendations for further reading. This strong organization resembles a template for a course outline. This is intentional because the series is aimed both at students and their practice-based lecturers, who often come straight from industry and need time to adjust to the academic environment. [The series] achieves its aim to bridge the sometimes too evident dissonance between journalism theory and practice! They successfully situate discussions about journalism in social and historical contexts. We see the faces of individual journalists, the circumstances of news production, the relationship with owners, the battle between the public service and the profit nature of news, the relevance of journalism work. The detailed account of the conditions under which newspaper, radio and alternative journalism is produced and performed make the "Journalism Studies: Key Texts" series mandatory reading for both journalism students and their lecturers". (Verica Rupar, "Journalism Studies").