Saleable Compromises: Quality Cultures in Finnish and US Commercial Radio

In media and communications research, quality has usually been connected to non-commercial broadcasting, and commercial radio has been its opposite. However, commercial radio has always had its own quality culture, a shared understanding of successful performance and desirable outcome of the working process.But what is quality in commercial radio broadcasting and how this quality culture is composed? Is it determined directly by ratings and revenues - or are there any other cultural or social values which affect the development and change the conceptions of quality in commercial radio?This study examines how the conceptions of quality in Finnish and US commercial radio are historically constituted and what are the major differences and similarities in quality cultures in contemporary Finnish and US commercial radio. It also offers a new integrated theoretical approach to study quality and quality culture, drawing on multiple theories from media and communications studies, media economics, political economy, quality management and cultural studies. Read more