Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio is a non-fiction book by Tom Lewis, which traces the early development of radio broadcasting in the United States, published by HarperCollins in 1991.[2] The book was adapted into both a 1992 documentary film by Ken Burns and a 1992 radio drama written and directed by David Ossman.[3] The source of the title is from a quote by Lee de Forest.
Documentary
Ken Burns' documentary first aired on PBS on January 29, 1992, narrated by actor Jason Robards.[4] The film focused primarily [5] on the three pioneers[6] of radio in America: Lee de Forest, Edwin Howard Armstrong, and David Sarnoff.[7] The program interspersed audio and musical highlights of "old time" radio with the stories, achievements, failures, scams and bitter feuds between each of the main protagonists.[8] Among the interviewees featured are radio and television historian Erik Barnouw, dramatist Norman Corwin, and sportscaster Red Barber.[9]
