The History of the Radio
By          Logan Wyman, law5133@psu.edu
 
The          radio has been the first device to allow for mass communication. It has          enabled information to be transferred far and wide, not only nationally          wide but internationally as well. The development of the radio began in          1893 with Nikolai Tesla’s demonstration of wireless radio communication          in St. Louis, Missouri. His work laid the foundation for those later scientists          who worked to perfect the radio we now use. The man most associated with          the advent of the radio is Guglielmo Marconi, who in 1986 was awarded          the official patent for the radio by the British Government.
Old          Time Radio
The early uses of the radio were mainly for maintaining contact between          ships out a sea. However, this initial radio was unable to transmit speech,          and instead sent Morse code messages back and forth between ships and          stations on the land. During time of distress, a sinking ship would use          a radio messaged nearby vessels and stations on the land to ask for aid.          The radio saw a surge of use during the First World War. Both sides used          the radio to relay messages to troops and top officials as well as people          not on the battle front. At the end of the war, President Woodrow Wilson’s          Fourteen Points was sent to Germany via use of the radio. After the war’s          end, with the growth of radio receivers, broadcasting began in Europe          and The United States.
Europe’s most famous broadcasting station, the British Broadcasting          Company or BBC, began following in 1922. In fact, Marconi was one of the          founding members along with other prominent leaders in the field of wireless          manufacturers. Broadcasts began locally in London, but by 1925 it has          spread to most of the United Kingdom. The station aired plays, classical          music and variety programs. However, the newspaper industry maintained          a strong hold over the new. In 1926 this all changed due to a newspaper          strike in England. With no news being published it fell on the BBC to          supply the information for the public. In 1927 the BBC became the British          Broadcasting Corporation when it was granted it a Royal Charter. When          the Second World War began all the television stations shut down and it          fell on the shoulders of the radio to cover the war.
The          Radio Act of 1912 required all land radio stations and ship stations to          be staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Following the war radio saw its greatest advancements and a turn towards          its more modern form. The devastation of Britain made its citizens look          for an outlet in radio entertainment. People enjoyed listening to the          music, plays and discussion that the BBC played. During the 1960s with          the expansion of radio to FM more programs were played and local BBC stations          opened up across England. Radio in Europe continued to expand and in the          1990s new radio stations, like Radio 1, 4 and 5 began broadcasting with          genres like sports and comedy appealing to new audiences. As the BBC entered          into the new millennium its popularity continued to grow. Its broadcasts          of “The Century Speaks”, an oral history of the 20th century          and a reading of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” helped to gain more listeners. In 2002 the BBC expanded to the digital          market and saw its greatest expansion as new stations like 1Xtra, 5 Live,          Sports Extra, 6 Music and BBC 7 were launched and World Service were made          available to domestic listeners. The history of radio broadcasting in          the United States followed a similar path.
Radio broadcasting in the United States started with the Westinghouse          Company. The company asked Frank Conrad, one of their engineers, to start          regularly broadcasting of music, while they would sell radios to pay for          the service. Westinghouse applied for a commercial radio license in 1920,          and started their station KDKA, the first officially government licensed          radio station. The station’s first broadcast was the election returns          of the Harding-Cox presidential race. Westinghouse also took out ads in          the newspaper advertising radios for sale to the public. Soon, thousand          of radio stations emerged that played a wide variety of broadcasts and          reached people across the country that had bought or built their own receivers.          The home building of receivers created a problem in the market, since          people could simply build their own radios rather than going out to buy          them and the government was forced to step in. To curb this a government-sanctioned          agreement created the Radio Corporation Agreements, RCA, was formed to          manage the patents for the technology of the receiver and transmitter.          Companies like General Electric and Westinghouse were allowed to make          receivers while Western Electric was allowed to build transmitters. Also          in the agreements, AT&T was made the only station that was allowed          to engage in toll broadcasting and chain broadcasting. This paved the          way for the next step in radio development in America, radio advertising.
KDKA            - The first offically licensed radio station in Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
WEAF, an AT&T station in New York broadcasted the first radio advertisement          in 1923. Even with the RCA agreements, other station began radio advertising.          Most of the other radio stations were owned by private businesses and          were used exclusively to sell that company’s products. The RCA agreements          did create a problem though, it gave AT&T a monopoly over toll broadcasting          and therefore radio advertisements. To break the monopoly, NBC and CBS          were created and became the first radio networks in the late 1920s era.          Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow became the first radio journalists,          and by the end of the decade the radio had become an important source          for news in America. In the next decade war in Europe again broke out          and it fell on the radio to cover it. The radio acted to pacify and assuage          the worries of a confused and scared public. More importantly the radio          helped to pull together the nation’s moral and backing of the war          effort. With the end of the war in 1945 television saw its rise to prominence          and radio began to go on a slow but steady decline. But in the 1950’s          thanks to Rock and Roll the radio saw new life.
Following the Second World War the radio turned into its more recognizable          for of musical entertainment. AM stations played a top-40 time and temperature          format, which meant they played popular three minute songs in constant          rotation. All programming and music became aimed at a target audience          of ages twelve to thirty five, newly emerging “middle class”.          The sixties and seventies also saw the rise of FM radio. The new music          that FM aired began to pose a threat to the old top-40 music AM stations          still played in rotation, and the growing music of the hippie and psychedelic          generation took over the FM airwaves. Through the 80s and 90s radio broadcasting          continued to expand. Thousands of more stations sprung up playing all          different kinds of music, world, pop, rock, jazz, classical, etc… However, in the 21st century the radio has reached its greatest heights.
With the year 2000 the radio expanded into the satellite and internet          markets. The need for live DJ’s is dwindling since everything can          be done via a computer all the editing and broadcasting can be done using          hard drive of a computer. Jobs that used to take hours to do can now be          done with the simple click of a mouse. Car companies have paired up with          satellite radio stations like XM radio to offer special deals on satellite          radios which offer every kind of music, news, and entertainment stations          one could ask for.
XM            Radio is a popular form of entertainment in the United States.
From a tiny receiver that could transmit only sounds to a complex device          with satellites in space and wireless systems in cars, the radio has seen          tremendous development. The purpose of the radio, however, has remained          constant. From its inception the radio was created to communicate messages          in mass for. Whether it be strictly news stories like in its early days,          or binging new music to fans across the nation information is always being          shared via this device. In almost every country radios are present, and          in some it is a primary means for communication. Without its invention          our world would be vastly different, it offered the first true means of          mass communication and allowed leaders and people alike to impart valuable          information to each other with the ease and efficiency.
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