BOOK REVIEWS
95
The Quieted Voice:
The Rise and Demise of
Localism in American Radio
By Robert L. Hilliard and Michael C. Keith
Southern Illinois University Press, 2005
In The Quieted Voice, authors Hilliard and Keith provide a report on
the deregulation of radio in the United States, which became nearly complete in
the 1990s. The book focuses mainly on the history of radio regulations, which
began almost as soon as radio was bom. The Communications Acts of 1927 and
1934 started the process, which by 2005 had resulted in the conglomeration of
radio, and television, ownership.
“Radio began as a local phenomenon, bringing information, then
education, music and the arts, culture and entertainment to the communities in
which radio stations were located” (p. 1). Today, the music played on radio
stations has a good chance of originating from hundreds of miles away. Playlists
have become increasingly short, as the authors point out, despite promises and
assertions from big radio companies that major deregulation allowed by the
Telecommunication Act of 1996 would result in more diversity on radio. While
some companies, such as the oft-mentioned Clear Channel, have included some
semblance of diversity in the form of added formats like hip-hop and
“alternative,” radio listeners commonly complain about hearing the “same
songs,” a sentiment that reflects the continued “homogenization” of radio that
began when television came along.
Regarding radio content, the authors do not go into musical formats or
their history in great depth, nor the effects of broadcasting on popular culture,
per se. The critical issue discussed by the authors revolves around censorship
and the editorial influence of big business on what radio companies allow or
encourage their stations to broadcast. Since it’s cheaper to hire one program
director for several stations in an area, rather than one at each station, playlists
have become uniform, and rather than hiring a staff to operate each station,
automation has replaced the local deejay. Indeed, the authors cite an example of
police trying to contact a local radio station to warn listeners of an accident, only
to find no one was there to answer the phone.
Because the bottom line serves as the raison d'etre of media
conglomerates, variety and localism have fallen by the wayside, indeed, have
even been methodically eliminated. For example, “Clear Channel is regularly
accused of limiting playlists, favoring artists who tour through the company’s
concert wing. It denies such favoritism,” contend the authors (p. 142).
Additionally, political concerns affect what we now hear on the radio, as the
authors assert. The “myth” of liberal media meets the reality of
“overwhelmingly conservative” media ownership and control, as companies ban