French in the Morning: Cajun Radio History

Comedians were the first big examples I could find of any kind of explicit “Cajun” characters on the airwaves, dating from the regretful blackface minstrelsy era. We'll move on to hear from "The Mayor of Bayou Pon Pon" Walter Coquille, Pinky Vidacovich on WWL New Orleans' Dawnbusters radio show, and the regional superstar Dave Petitjean

We start discussing the AMAZING 1959 master’s thesis about French-language radio from Elizabeth Roberts, a student from Louisiana State University. Her study provided a model for my own work in writing this book. We also get to hear some of my Louisiana French on the radio at KEUN Eunice

Where the scholar establishes the object of study, some definitions, and some theoretical perspective. I give my definition of “Cajun radio” and my way of viewing this phenomenon. I focus on this question: How does one ethnic group maintain its identity in the face of an overwhelming, assimilation-ist, homogenizing, corporate pop culture that seems to be enveloping not only the United States, but maybe even the world? I also look at humor. There’s a difference between exploitation and appropriation,