2007 Book Award of Merit Winner Announced
Randall Davidson Wins Award for History of Wisconsin Public Radio
Author Randall Davidson has won the Wisconsin Historical Society's 2007 Book Award of Merit for "9XM Talking: WHA Radio and the Wisconsin Idea" (University of Wisconsin Press, 2006). A three-member panel of judges independent of the Historical Society selected Davidson's book from a field of 21 nominees. Criteria for the award included factual accuracy, documentation, research methodology, graphic design, impact on the reading public, and overall contribution to the printed record on Wisconsin history.
"9XM Talking" provides the first comprehensive history of the University of Wisconsin radio station WHA, affiliated state-owned station WLBL, and the post-World War II FM stations that formed the backbone of the network known today as Wisconsin Public Radio. The book details how, with homemade equipment and ideas developed from scratch, the fledgling radio station endured many struggles to become a working example of the Wisconsin Idea by bringing the educational riches of the university to all residents of the state.
Dozens of historic photos and illustrations, many never before published, illustrate the ground-breaking book, which documents the radio network's claim to the title of "the oldest station in the nation."
The Wisconsin Historical Society Board of Curators' Awards Committee conferred the award at its meeting in Wisconsin Dells on Saturday, June 9. |
