Global Radio

Global Radio: From Shortwave to Streaming provides an overview of the global dimensions of radio, from its earliest forms to its modern digital and networked systems. This book provides an insight into the global politics and global social impact of radio over many decades of technological changes and industry transformations.

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Global Radio: From Shortwave to Streaming chronicles the development of radio as a global medium. In this book, Shaheed Nick Mohammed examines the evolution of radio from its early uses as little more than a novelty into a set of powerful systems for international exchanges of news, culture, and political influence. In doing so, the book follows the development of radio as a wireless form of the telegraph, its evolution into a medium for sound transmission across the air, and its adaptation to digital networked audio and transmissions technologies. Mohamed also outlines the myriad changes in the radio industry in numerous contexts around the globe and over time, including the early development of commercial and non-commercial broadcasting in the United States, Europe, India, and China and the evolution of so-called “international broadcasters.” As radio played a part in colonial politics, it also figured prominently in the politics of the post-colonial. Within the broader context of global radio, this book examines several former colonies and the transformation of radio from a tool of empire into an instrument of national development. It also focuses on instances in which developing nations have used radio to bridge the gap between rural audiences and digital networked technologies, connecting them to the global information superstructure. Scholars of media studies, communication, radio studies, international relations, and political science will find this book particularly useful.