Book Review by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, www.LondonOntarioGolf.com
The Radio Station Eighth Edition
Author: Michael C. Keith

If you're a radio aficionado like me, then you can't get enough information on anything and everything broadcast related. There's a reason I entered the field of broadcast journalism: late-1970s and early-1980s evening radio talk shows out of the northeast U.S., including WWWE Cleveland and jock talk with Pete Franklin comes to mind. In fact, as a teenager, I was hooked on everything from CB Radio exchanges with my neighbourhood pals, to listening in on shortwave broadcasts from overseas.

I remain a radio nut, so when The Radio Station, Eighth Edition: Broadcast, Satellite, and Internet by Michael C. Keith (Focal Press, 2009) crossed my desk, I had to turn off The Golf Channel and put on my radio headphones - and put on my reading glasses.

Without a doubt, this is the most comprehensive book on commercial radio stations ever to be assembled. With 343 pages containing a cornucopia of radio station information, The Radio Station, Eighth Edition is a must-have for any radio hobbyist. From the current state of radio, station management, programming, sales, production, ratings, engineering, syndication - and much, much more - Keith's latest book is a comprehensive guide to not only traditional radio broadcasts, but also includes the latest on satellite and Internet radio.

In all, there are 11 chapters bursting with information on AM and FM radio, digital and high-definition radio, Internet broadcasts, satellite and cable productions, and even information on jobs and equality in radio - and that's all in Chapter One. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on programming, news and promotion.

Keith writes with a style that is easy for everyone from the novice radio enthusiast to the seasoned radio geek to understand, yet he spares no details on the current state of radio. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone working in broadcast journalism, and those who aspire to enter the field. In fact, anyone who enjoys listening to radio should keep this book beside a radio as a perfect hobby companion.

The Radio Station, Eighth Edition sells for $47.75 US at Amazon.com.

The Radio Station, Eighth Edition: Broadcast, Satellite, and Internet
by Michael C. Keith
Focal Press
ISBN 978-0-240-81186-4
$47.75