Distant Signals Author:Thomas P. Southwick This historical book explains how the cable industry started, who the key companies and leaders were how shaped it and what changes are occurring in the industry at the beginning of the 21st century. If you are involved or getting involved in the cable or television industry, this book is the perfect solution for making you an industry expert by... more » giving you the history, technology overview and future projections for the cable and television industry. This book tells the story of how cable grew from small mom-and-pop business that brought TV signals to small towns into a giant $40-billion-a-year industry providing service to some 65 million American homes and millions more around the world. Distant Signals is the first work to comprehensively examine the evolution of the cable business from its small beginnings to the powerful communications medium of today. The book covers the changes in technology, including the development of satellites, fiber optics, and digital signal transmission, that enabled the industry to grow. It also deals with the many attempts of government to regulate the industry and the innovative financial devices developed to fund the construction of cable systems. Southwick is a special correspondent with Cable World magazine, a magazine he helped found and for which he served as publisher. Before founding Cable World, he was managing editor of Multichannel News. Southwick, a cum laude history graduate from Harvard, began his foray into journalism as executive editor fo the Harvard Crimson. During his career, he's been a reporter and editorial writer at the Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass; a reporter at Congressional Quarterly magazine, Washington, D.C.; and press secretary to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) from 197701981.« less