TV on the Radio/Radio on Television: European Television Heritage as a Source for Understanding Radio History

Abstract

Radio is only to a limited extent a ‘blind medium’. Visual and material aspects have long played a role in the way the medium has acquired meaning. While print has become a common source for radio history, audiovisual material – such as is preserved on the EUscreen portal with extensive metadata and potential for context – offers potential not just for understanding the evolution of television, but rather the entire mass-media ensemble. This article explores the possibilities and problems of using EUscreen as a source for a comparative and transnational history of radio, looking in particular at the visual iconography and narrative structures of audiovisual material found on the portal.