Internet Broadcasts Books

This book is a must have for anybody working in the broadcasting industry. I keep mine by my bedside and read snippets of it everyday and as a result my work is sooooooooo much better and my figures are up cos Valerie gives you all the tricks and tools of the trade you will ever need. If you are new to the industry or even if you have been in the industry for a while, this book is a must have cos it will show you ways of finding new ideas, staying on top of the game and it will stop you from going stale. it's a powerful radio bible that all educational & broadcasting institutions should encourage students & staff to read.

Eno Eruotor
Broadcast Journalist
BBC Radio Manchester

Creating Powerful Radio is a must-read/must-live-by for anyone who wants to succeed in art of talk radio. I live and breathe the spirit and direction of Valerie Geller's dead-on insight every day with my own show, and in programming each of the stations and networks I have directed. When I interview job candidates, I *always* ask if they have read Creating Powerful Radio, AND the companion producer's workbook. If the answer is 'no,' I will kindly ask them to come back and have a chat when they have. What Valerie shares between the covers of these books is a critical road map to understanding how to build a relationship with listeners and avoid the pitfalls that so many talk show hosts suffer from. Do you want to be a WINNER in talk radio? You're taking an important step in that direction when you not only read Creating Powerful Radio, but when you live, eat, drink, sleep and personify the concepts Ms. Geller has so generously shared for creative, entertaining people to be at the top of their game!

John McMullen
Chief Programming Officer
GAYBC Radio Network

Valerie Geller has a gift for breaking down the basics of broadcasting. While being on the radio seems like it is an easy task, Valerie Geller explains very important techniques for helping the beginner all the way up to the most seasoned pro. It is a way to think about radio as a larger medium, how to use the airways as a canvas, as an art. I highly recommend this and all of Valerie's books to anyone interested in radio broadcasting. These books should be in all broadcast schools and radio stations, no matter how large the radio station is. We all need reminding of how to create powerful radio.

"Creating Powerful Radio" is the most comprehensive work I have read on how to win in radio, and a potent weapon in any radio broadcaster's arsenal. It is well written and brimming with practical, real-world ideas that are easy to understand and implement. Its wisdom spans the nut-and-bolts to profound critical thinking rarely encountered in business today. For anyone who works, or aspires to work, in today's competitive radio landscape, Geller's essential intellingence should be required reading; if I had known in the late-1960s what I know now from reading "Creating Powerful Radio," KFRC in San Francisco would probably still be a top 40 station with a 30-share.

Not only have I heard Valerie speak, I'd follow her around with a tape recorder if I were you!!! This book and the workbook are the best! I would recommend this to the beginner as well as the seasoned radio personality!! Way to go Valerie!
Denise Pagano
WXXQ-Rockford's Country Q98.5
Morning show/Music Director

This book is a great resource to get introduced into the information graphics field and to brush up on your skills in order to make clean, concise news graphics. Everything you need to help you understand what the business is all about is explained in a clear, easy-to-understand format. For classrooms, the author helps you structure your lessons wonderfully, and for professionals, she reminds you what to strive for.

This book is great for the young reporter just getting started and as a reference in the newsroom. I especially recommend it to introductory and intermediate graphics programs at journalism schools everywhere!

Confused about how to conceptualize and execute information graphics? For journalists and graphic artists alike, this book is an invaluable resource for how to bring the two crafts together. The author takes care to provide real world examples that are clear and to-the-point and illustrate the topics at hand. This is an invaluable resource for small and medium-sized newsrooms in particular, as well as classrooms or individuals wanting to brush up on the state of the art of news graphics presentation.

This book is clean, simple, easy to understand. It's full of examples from daily graphics to large-scale graphics media thrive on. But, best of all, it gets right to the point of explaining why those graphics work. If you're an expert, you should get a copy as a reminder of what to shoot for and help check your work. If you're a student, you need one.

This is a great purchase for those who really need a foundation in the world of broadcast design. I have purchased other material from rich and glen before and they have really helped me out in alot of directions so once again my hat goes off to them. You get so much more for the price they charge and this book needs to be on your shelf. Great tips and insights!!!!!!!

The latest On The Spot book from CMP Books titled Broadcast Graphics, their very informative and short book of the hottest tips, was very informative with great nuggets of useful information. Not too much in any one gulp yet still gives you the "aha" factor. This book focuses mostly on Photoshop and After Effects in the broadcast arena (hence the title) and they even say this book is for those in television. However, the book also delves into keying, Illustrator, and script automation - so there's a little something for everyone. Let's face it, as a filmmaker you need to have a solid understanding of just about every facet of production and post-production and this book, with it's quick tips, can be helpful in a pinch. It's another arsenal in your toolbox. I only wish they had a quick index listing their tricks so when I'm really in a pinch I don't have to search thru the book trying to remember what chapter I saw the helpful hint. All in all, a great productivity time saver and quick read.

Not finished with this book but so far a witty and insightful book which focuses on graphic design beyond printed matter. This book explores the world of digital graphics and looks at new dimensions of graphic design and how designers will become part of a dialogue with the public. A scenario in which they receive feedback from an audience and perfect there design solutions based on feedback from viewers reactions etc.
And of course Heller has become an authority on Design Culture so this book is informed and up to date.

I discuss trends (Chapter 10) including the forthcoming "fleeting expletives" case now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

I'm reading this book right now, but haven't finished it, but was so pleased with the volume that I wanted to make a few comments. I might have more to say when I complete it.

I bought this book after starting to bone up on digital TV, and realized that I could use a good, comprehensive review on analog TV, on which I'd become rusty. I'm not a professional in the field but an interested amateur, and was looking for a good book on the subject. In fact, it's primarily about digital TV, but there are excellent reviews of analog TV principles, including chapters on wave propagation; frequency sources; basic analog receiver principles and design, with discussions of the most important components, such as modulators and demodulators, amplifier principles; analog to digital conversion; phase locked loops and synchronization issues in general, analog and digital filters, consumer video and networking, cable television, satellite TV, and other topics.

So this book fit the bill. The book covers dozens of topics, from more descriptive to fairly techical, although there isn't too much math. But you still need to remember enough about the most important circuits and devices in the communications field to benefit from it. For example, there is a detailed discussion of why a simple diode-based envelope modulation detector, which is basically employed as a half-wave rectifier, doesn't work very well due to the diode's poor response characteristics, including higher noise, a tendency toward overmodulation distortion, and low power output and amplification, and why a transistor-based one with the collector biased to near saturation is better, providing a 15 to 20 db improvement. And then they explain why synchronous detectors, consisting of a phase-locked loop and multiplier circuits, are even better. The articles often discuss the problem with the basic approaches, as in the above case, and how to resolve them with better and more advanced designs.

Many of the chapters are still pretty technical despite the lack of math, so don't let that fool you. In other words, your background should be at least as good as Schrader's classic, introductory volume on Electronic Communication before reading this, which is a book used in junior college technical courses in electronics.

One chapter I found especially good, although quite dense with information, was the chapter on television reception of signals. It's the best 50-page review of the subject I've seen, and is written by a team of half a dozen authors. The articles are often written by more than one expert in the field.

Subjects covered include analog and digital TV, cable TV, broadcast TV, and satellite TV. The satellite chapter is a little short, but then that would require a whole volume by itself, such as Roddy's volume on the subject, Satellite Communications, which I can also highly recommend.

The book is now seven years old, but keep in mind this is more of an intermediate book covering many of the fundamentals as well as a lot of the more advanced material. Much of it is far beyond the basics, however, although perhaps not at the highest level with all the complex engineering math. My advanced math probably isn't at that level anymore, either, but if you can read and understand this, you'll probably know far more than anyone except an experienced broadcast engineering professional.

This is an impressive volume and despite the price, was money well spent for me given all the quality information, especially considering how difficult it is to condense such a broad field into one book. But this volume does an excellent job of that.

It gives the reader a great introduction on webcasting concept, technology, theory and implementation. It is a great book for beginners as well as for amateur technicals. A must for all people interested in webcasting.

From the beginning the authors tell you their style is going to be conversational and it is. They write like broadcasters. Students can gage authenticity for themselves by looking at what a person has done and these two authors have valid credentials. I decided to do a little Internet investigation myself and discovered that Sharyl Attisson has her own consulting firm for would-be journalists.

Since my background is TV journalism before entering management and acedeme, I can relate to a lot of the "war stories" they share. Like one of the other reviewers mentioned, the section near the end on advise for people entering the field is solid. I did those things myself when I was getting started.

This book covers the news gathering process as well as writing. They add an ethics dimension in every part of the book. Also they make sure students have a clear understanding of the most basic terms used in the industry. Other writers would do well to follow that example alone, if nothing else.

Jam-packed with more clear, practical info than any I've seen. A bit pricey but it's comparable with other required broadcast texts and better editorially. My favorite was the Careers chapter.

This is a fine book. I appreciate the concision and depth, certainly an asset of the authors' experience. This could be the best book on broadcast writing, but the price is too steep. This is a good $30 book, but to ask $50 is too much for students going into the lowest paid position requiring a college degree.

I was intrigued by the idea a book written by Ms. Attkisson and other current on-air professionals. I was not disappointed. It teaches writing while providing thought-provoking anecdotes and examples taken from the authors' real experiences.

I found "Writing Right for Broadcast and Internet News" very helpful in explaining how TV writing is translated to online writing. I was also impressed by how current it was, including examples from the September 11 attacks.

I especially liked the added bonus information on salaries, and career advice from professionals like Kerry Sanders, who's been all over TV reporting from Iraq for NBC.

In my TV writing class, we used the AP Broadcast News Handbook, which, as the title implies, is almost entirely a "Style Guide". We also used the Prentice-Hall Handbook for Writers, which is old and had nothing to do with the specifics of TV writing. "Writing Right" has a basic broadcast Style Guide, but the one in the AP Book is much more comprehensive.

"Writing Right" is more about the basics of finding and writing great news stories. For that, I heartily recommend it to anyone considering a career that requires writing news copy.

This is an account of why the language of the Web is and should be so different, and a how-to guide for successful online communication with your audience. Along the way, the author provides many examples to illustrate solid points. Highly recommended.

Anyone involved in Search Engine Marketing should read this book. If more of my peers in the industry would read this book, the Web would be a better place. My only knock on the book is that it is fairly basic and would appreciate a new edition at some point.

After reading a string of very poor SEO books I've been lucky to hit upon another string of some of the best business and web marketing books available. Net Words by Nick Usborne is no exception to that latter trend. This is easily one of the most fantastic books I've read when it comes to web marketing. Nick has an incredibly easy to read style of writing and offers plenty of examples providing real differences between good copy and great copy.

Great copy is what Net Words is all about. Whether you're developing copy for your website, newsletter or email campaign, Nick gives us usable concepts and ideas on how to make your copy unique, interesting and (best of all) able to convert your visitors into customers. Net Words isn't just about creating good copy, its about creating an environment through words. It's about creating an experience for your users that make them keep coming back to you for more.

I have yet to read a more important book on copywriting than this one!

The book is very compact and well written. Nick Usborne wrote this book based on his own experiences as online copywriter. You can tell, because he provides a lot of examples of issues that are exclusively Web related and also about differences between copy writing for the "real world" and the unique challenges and subtle differences to the copy writing for the Internet. Some things that work great offline in its specific environment such as print magazine or Television don't work the same way online, because peoples behaviour and expectations are different.

People are still people, be it "offline" or "online" which makes a lot of the classic rules of copy writing as true on the Internet as they are in the real world.

This makes the book a good choice for offline copy writer who want to start writing copy for a Website, Blog or eZine as well as for Internet Marketers who want to learn the basics of Copy writing to improve the copy on their existing Websites.

Just FTI, Nick Usborne has an Email Newsletter you should sign up for. Search the Internet and I am sure you will find it.

You don't want to read a book about writing that is badly written. As far as I can tell, Usborne figured that since the book is offline, it should not follow the high-impact rules of writing that he would use online.

Well, online and offline writing is not THAT different! This book is turgid and useless. Other books on the market are superior.

Instead of offering copywriters solid suggestions or advice based on experience, Lewis instead gambles that he will reach similarly jaded, sarcastic and negative readers who are eager to ride alongside him on his high horse.The author seems more interested in listening to his own embittered critique of others' work than in instructing readers with real information.

I disagree strongly with most every advertisement he holds up as an example of ineffective copy writing and/or visual communication.It is almost as if Lewis belives his zealous slashing of others' work can replace helpful examples. It is unfortunate that a book like this gets published with such a promising title. Lewis doesn't even come close to providing any sort of tangible help for copywriters who want to increase their repertoire or get another professional perspective.

Herschell Gordon Lewis, the author of many writing books, including Cybertalk That Sells, has updated his book, On the Art of Writing Copy. This book offers a fresh approach to learning the in's and out's copy writing. By gleaning from the many actual printed ads and rules provided in the book, every reader will begin producing better copy.

Lewis provides bold and creative solutions to creating copy for any occasion - including traditional and online advertising campaigns, corporate usage, news reporting, fund-raising, and general correspondence. Throughout the book, Lewis presents actual printed magazine advertisements that demonstrate various methods of communicating - his insightful critiques of them will help readers to structure, clarify, and polish up their own work.

Lewis has mastered the art of writing and so will his readers who apply the contents of this book. Specific instruction includes choosing and using words, exercising care in selecting words, manufacturing words for impact, creating effective sentence structure, producing motivational copy, writing guarantees, and targeting specific audiences. His short course on grammar and usage will help readers improve their writing skills. They will see immediate results.

This book will cater to the writing needs of many, including Web developers and online businesses. They will find this book particularly useful for creating professional-grade Website copy, e-marketing newsletters, and e-mail correspondence. This book would make a great writing class instructional guide. This book is essential reading!

I took this book off my shelf to write a blurb for a bibliography and in flipping through it, realized just how much I learned from Herschell Gordon Lewis about the subtle nuances of writing copy. He understands the power of words like few other marketing experts I know. I highly recommend this and all of his other books on writing copy.

Again, Herschell Gordon Lewis has written a great teaching volume on copy and ads.

In just the first four chapters, I ended up writing three new approaches to sell my wares. And, there are twenty three (23) or nearly Two Dozen more chapters for inspiration.

As an engineer turned merchant, the biggest drawback to the works of H G Lewis is his assumption that the reader actually understands the English language. This is sometimes a shock to an engineer who defines a sentence simply as : " It starts with a big letter, and ends with a period." Reading these works actually improves my understanding of my native tongue.

The examples used are quite up to date. Lots of visuals are presented for one to relate the ideas.

I specifically appreciate seeing the many examples of High Tech (modest budget) ads which he has selected as examples of Hucksterism. Clever guys substiting cleverness for understanding - a deadly combination.

I look forward to making money from reading this work.

Oh, it is also just plain fun to read as well.

James D Buch PhD - too old, too educated and too experienced for today's Aerospace High Tech (read more easily, salary too high and harder to manage than some less expensive young kid.