A dictionary of Marshall McLuhan’s quotations

Radio, in contrast to the telephone permits the listener to fill in a good deal of visual imagery. The radio-announcer or disc jockey stands out loud and clear, while the voice on the telephone resonates in isolation from the visual sense. Nobody ever wrote a lament about: “All alone by the radio” but “All alone by the telephone” is a classic of the twenties that is a resounding prophecy of high-rise living in the present time.
“Putting on the Media” (1971), p 2
Year: 1971
Chapter: Telephone
Compiled by William Kuhns
© 2026, The Estate of Marshall McLuhan