ABOUT THIS BOOK

From the Grand Ole Opry to the National Barn Dance, how radio changed life in rural America

Out of the Dark: A History of Radio and Rural America shows how radio—especially clear channel network stations—brought news, markets, weather, religion, and entertainment into isolated farm homes between the 1920s and 1950s, narrowing rural–urban divides while also sustaining distinctly rural tastes (e.g., barn dance music). Craig argues that battery “farm radios,” high power stations, and national networking transformed daily life, work rhythms, consumer habits, and political participation, making radio the central domestic technology of the Depression era and beyond.

Craig blends regulatory and industry milestones, such as the Radio Act of 1927, with sociological studies, USDA extension records, FCC surveys, census tables, and rich case studies including WLS Chicago’s “National Barn Dance,” WSM Nashville’s “Grand Ole Opry,” and others. He mines audience research, diaries, program schedules, and tables that track the spread of radio. The book’s distinctive contributions include detailed charts (ownership by region; clear channel assignments) and vivid narratives of stations, formats, and personalities that connected farm families to national culture while preserving local identity.

The book is ideal for scholars and students of US social, rural, and media history; communication policy and political communication; country and bluegrass music history; agricultural extension; and American studies. It will also engage librarians, curators, and public historians seeking context for rural collections; journalists and podcasters tracing the roots of today’s information ecosystems; and general readers interested in how radio re made community life long before the internet.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Steve Craig is the coauthor of Consuming Environments: Television and Commercial Culture and editor of Men, Masculinity, and the Media.

REVIEWS

“This history of the impact of radio on the rural US between the wars will interest historians and rural sociologists. The dramatic change in rural isolation due to the diffusion of radio is well researched and written. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” —CHOICE

“[Out of the Dark] vividly illustrates the dramatic social and cultural change radio brought to isolated rural Americans from the 1920s through World War II and the postwar years. Craig brings readers an intimate, detailed understanding of radio’s role in shaping rural audiences and general American society during the 20th century.” —Louise Benjamin, author of Freedom of the Air and Public Interest: Establishing First Amendment Rights on Broadcasting to 1935

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"Steve Craig's excellent book on the history of rural radio [is] well-written, readable [and] includes both statistical data and stories that bring rural radio alive. I am guessing that many people with rural roots would resonate to this book even if they don't teach media history as I do. Too often, media historians ignore the history of media outside New York and Washington, DC. This book is a welcome addition to that literature and the overall history of radio.” —Communication Research Trends

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1. "Out of the Dark"

Chapter 2. “Toward a Satisfactory and Regular Service”

Chapter 3. “So Many Good Programs": Rural Listeners and the Networks

Chapter 4. Clears, Regionals, and Locals: Radio Stations and Rural Service

Chapter 5. Radio in the Rural Home

Chapter 6. Connecting to the World: News, Politics, and Religion

Chapter 7. For Farm and Home: Agricultural Broadcasting

Chapter 8. Radio Advertising and the Rural Consumer

Chapter 9. Postwar Changes: Rural Radio in the Age of Television

Chapter 10. The Legacy of Rural Radio

Notes

Bibliography

Index