9XM Talking: WHA Radio and the Wisconsin Idea

Amazon.com Price: $34.95 (as of 03/05/2019 03:40 PST- Details)

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Description

These words crackled in the headphones of crystal sets across the country in 1921 as the University of Wisconsin radio station 9XM started its regular schedule of voice broadcasts. Randall Davidson provides the first comprehensive history of the University of Wisconsin radio station, WHA; affiliated state-owned station, WLBL; and the post-World War II FM stations which might be the backbone of the network now referred to as Wisconsin Public Radio. 9XM Talking describes how, with homemade equipment and ideas developed from scratch, 9XM endured many struggles and became a tangible example of “the Wisconsin Idea,” bringing the educational riches of the university to all of the state’s residents. From the beginning, those involved with the radio station felt it will have to provide a service for the practical use of Wisconsin citizens.
    The book’s informative chapters cover the programs that allowed the medium of radio to benefit farmers and homemakers, to bring world-class educators into isolated rural schoolrooms, and to teach people in all places Wisconsin the whole thing from literature to history to touch-typing, long before any person came up with the term “distance learning.” Davidson concludes by discussing the claim that WHA has to the title “Oldest Station in the Nation.” This groundbreaking book is in keeping with archival materials dating back to the 1900s and includes dozens of historic photos and illustrations, many of which have never been published before.

Winner, Book Award of Merit for best Wisconsin history book, Wisconsin Historical Society

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