Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991)

Empire of the Air rules the waves!

this is a great video for broadcast history. A little too focused on de Forest, but overall gives a decent picture of who did what when. September 29, 2008

The Future is in the History

It was an enlightening experience and one that Ken Burns meticulously wove together in an entertaining documentary.
It left me rather open mouthed at the tenacity of these inventors to make something out of literally nothing. They knew they were onto something big and this reflected well in their fierce ambitions, open jealousy, criticism and bitter litigation.
It wasn't fair then and it isn't now.
But it was admirable and almost impossible what these three, De Forest, Sarnoff and most notably Armstrong, achieved for what they, then, could not have foreseen.
The explosion of media we have today.
Blessing or a curse?
Pity there wasn't more about Marconi. March 8, 2008

A Window To The World...The First Information Super Highway

In many ways I find Empire of the Air to be the finest documentry by the highly acclaimed film maker, Ken Burns. Certainly The Civil War is grander and more episodic. Jazz is perhaps more entertaining. And Baseball touches the very soul of America. But Empire of the Air demonstrates how far reaching radio changed the entire political, entertainment and economic landscape of America in the first half of the twentieith century. The impact of radio stands unprecidented in the field of invention.

Think about it, if you were involved in almost any industry in America during radio's golden era, it more likley than not was dependant upon radio. Radio created new markets for soaps and soups, remedies and hair-care products, oil and gasoline, tobacco and beer, soda pop and sweets, milk and dairy products, insurance and automobiles, clothes washers and vacuum cleaners and almost any other consumer product available at the time. Radio also provided an information super highway that was unimiginable before its time. Farmers could get up-to-the-minute weather reports. World events were reported on a real-time basis and sporting events were brought right into a young boy's home. The radio dial became a beacon to global news.

Imiagine a world with all this and entertainment that could captiviate an entire family for hours at a time. Surely it was miraculous to be listening to Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Red Barber, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bob Hope or Billy Sunday right in one's own living room. You felt as if you were transported accross the globe to historic events. You could hear the sounds of artillery at places like Dunkirk, The Arden Forrest and Normandy. You were a living witness to the towering achievements of the early twentieth century. Events like Lindberg's Atlantic crossing, Caruso's debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera House and Babe Ruth's infamous "called-shot" at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The story of radio and its principle inventors and innovators is beautifully told in photographs and archival recordings. Ken Burns expertly guides us into the lives of Lee DeForrest, the self proclaimed "father of radio", Edwin Armstrong, brilliant pioneer and visionary and David Sarnoff, who lived by the credo, "I don't get ulcers, I give them". We see how fierce battle lines were drawn first between De Forrest and Armstrong and later between Armstrong and Sarnoff. Each man fighting to leave his indelible stamp on the invention and the industry.

Yes, radio may seem primitive in this age of computer enlightenment, but in a simpler and much gentiler time radio was an extraordinary window to the world and the first true information super highway. Empire of the Air is essential viewing for anyone wishing to gain insight and a greater understanding of the communications revolution of the twentieth century. Let Ken Burns guide you along the way.

February 24, 2008

Radio Finest Hours

This is a must watch for all students of Radio Broadcsating.
Great photography, ecellent insights into the race to be the dominate
player in broadcasting.
This story has got it all, greed, backstabing, egos, power.
In fact the more the radio drama unfolds, its a wonder broadcasting
even got off the ground.
Top marks to Ken Burns for putting it all together.
Highly Recomend.
Brian. June 26, 2007

Fascinating and compelling retelling of pivotal American history

Ken Burns' documentary about the invention and growth of commercial, broadcast radio is first-rate, pitch perfect. As a portrait of American ingenuity and American cutthroat business, here is a key tale in the epic story of "how the future began." Television, cable TV, cellular radio,... all sprouted from this early 20th Century phenomenon. Worth showing to your kids. June 4, 2007

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