Biographical profile of one of the titans of American broadcasting, David Sarnoff, a pioneer in the field of radio and television who founded the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and established a telecommunications and consumer electronics giant Radio Corporation of America (RCA). He ushered in the world of commercial radio and was instrumental in the evolution of television, dueling with Philo Farnsworth, Vladimir Zworykin and other inventors for the right to be called the father of tele...

This anthology of hard-to-find primary documents provides a solid overview of the foundations of American media studies. Focusing on mass communication and society and how this research fits into larger patterns of social thought, this valuable collection features key texts covering the media studies traditions of the Chicago school, the effects tradition, the critical theory of the Frankfurt school, and mass society theory. Where possible, articles are reproduced in their entirety to pres...