This book, first published in 1990, offers an in-depth analysis of the ‘fundamental beliefs’ of radio. This refers to the common understanding of what the radio enterprise is – and should be – about: entertainment and information. A major thrust of this book is to arrive at a set of fundamental beliefs about the values and the realities of the radio business in regard to entertainment programming – a set of beliefs that may or may not be right, or forever, but that might at least provide a basis for developing programming strategies. Most other books on radio programming describe the formats and programming that already exist. This one starts with a clean sheet of paper and the question ‘What do listeners really want from radio?’
1. An Overview of the Book Part 1. Radio’s Arena, Attributes and Audiences 2. Radio’s Arena 3. Radio’s Attributes 4. What Radio Audiences Want Part 2. Formats, Soundscapes and Voices 5. Format Structure and Management 6. The Structure and Appeal of Acoustic Space 7. Air Personality: the Structure of Spoken Gesture Part 3. Music Programming 8. The Appeals of Radio Music 9. Music Moods Research 10. The Components of a Mood-Evoking Music Progression 11. Factors in MOST – Mood-Oriented Selection Testing 12. Factors in MEMO – Mood-Evoking Music Order 13. Toward MERIT
Biography
David T. MacFarland
