Radio Journal

Radio gets a bum rap in pretty much every arena that you could imagine: from pop culture, to literature, to news coverage. Academia is no exception, so radio scholars have had to organize and remind their colleagues that radio is worth studying.

With that in mind, I wanted to share with you a few resources for radio scholars, including some journals, conferences, and organizations:

Radio Studies Network UK:  Founded in 1998 by radio scholars, this group is now part of the Media, Communication, and Cultural Studies Organization. They run an online discussion list and have organized international radio conferences (The Radio Conference) every other year since 2001. To read about last year’s conference in Toronto, take a look at Nick Rubin’s guest post on my blog Spinning Indie.

North American Radio Studies Network: Formed in 2004, this is a group of mostly North American radio scholars. Their website is full of links to academic resources (such as institutions with radio archives and a listing of radio courses and accompanying syllabi) and they also operate a discussion list.

International Radio Research Network: This group started in 2004 and is devoted to bringing together European radio researchers.

The Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media: Peruse the archives to read articles focused on every aspect of radio all over the world. The current issue is devoted to analyzing BBC Radio Listeners online. [Full disclosure: I had a piece about college radio published in a prior issue]

Journal of Radio and Audio Media: Formerly known as The Journal of Radio Studies, this publication of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) features articles from radio scholars on a variety of topics. The most recent issue has articles about the use of radio during times of crisis (including a paper on Hurricane Katrina) as well as a piece about the role of offensive language on morning shows.