It reaches millions of people every minute of the day, it costs us
virtually nothing and yet we take it entirely for granted. Superseded by
television as the primary source of entertainment and information,
radio still has a unique place in the mass media spectrum.

While
the textual properties and reception of film and television have
received considerable critical attention, until now radio has only
really been considered in terms of its history and its modes of
production. 'On Air' adopts a wide-ranging theoretical and critical
approach. It provides an in-depth examination of radio's codes (speech,
music, noise and silence),and the conventions of using these codes and
the dominant modes of reception. The text offers a vocabulary and
methodology for analysing radio programmes, drawing on work by both
media theorists and professional broadcasters in Britain, Australia, and
North America. Written by an academic and a practitioner, 'On Air'
provides a critical overview of radio for media students, as well as
suggestions for practical activities, a time-line of major events in the
history of radio, and a glossary of key terms.