The Electric Front Porch by Jacob Podber
Using oral histories, The Electronic Front Porch takes a revealing look at the impact of radio, television, and the Internet on the residents of rural Appalachia. Eighty-six of those residents provide a human diary documenting how early listeners and viewers chose, listened, and watched their programs, and perhaps most importantly, how electronic media affected their lives. The stories tracing the adoption of the Internet show how Melungeons, who historically have been perceived as "other", used electronic media to establish communities despite their geographical isolation.
These interviewees described how radio's arrival encouraged socializing and community in rural areas. TV's "hillbilly" stereotypes caused some participants shame, but others found pride in their inclusion in TV culture. Melungeons tracing genealogy on the Internet found a way to redefine their identity through contact with each other on the Internet.
In telling their stories, the participants raised complex issues of community, ethnicity, gender, and identity. By weaving together theories and methodologies from a variety of disciplines this study creates a multilayered context for understanding the significance of these oral histories in the study of American popular culture.
"The Electronic Front Porch fills a unique niche and void in the study of the role of electronic media in the culture of rural America. It is the successful culmination of years of thorough and insightful research by its author. The use of oral histories greatly enhances a work that is at once important and valuable to scholars and accessible and revealing to the general reader."
—Michael C. Keith, Associate Professor Communication Department, Boston College
JACOB J. PODBER is assistant professor in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He has published articles in Global Media Journal and Journal of Radio Studies, as well as a chapter in Global Media Studies: Ethnographic Perspective. Dr. Podber has won several awards, including the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award from the Broadcast Education Association and the Carl A. Ross Paper of the Year Award from the Appalachian Studies Association.
$35
