Radio

Radio was the first broadcast medium

Media no longer had to be physically distributed

Public did not have to travel anywhere to get access to media

Created a privatized and individualized media experience

Radio in America was privately owned and entertainment oriented

Radio Facts

• The average household has between 6 and 7 radios -- there are more than twice as many radios in the U.S. as people.
• Nearly all cars have radios
• Teenagers and adults average 22 hours a week listening to radio
• More than 11,000 stations on the air in the U.S.
• Thousands of stations are online: See the MIT List of Radio Stations on the Net

Radio History

1895 - Guglielmo Marconi demonstrated the power of electromagnetic spectrum. His invention was called the "wireless."

1906 - Lee De Forest created the audion tube to make voice transmission possible

1906 - Reginald Fessenden played recorded Christmas music over the air on Christmas Eve

1906 - 1920 Many amateurs constructed their own transmitters and receivers

1910 - Enrico Caruso broadcast live from the New York Metropolitan Opera House.

1920 - First licensed radio station KDKA (Pittsburgh)

1922 - WEAF (New York) airs first advertisment

1939 - Edwin Armstrong develops FM (frequency modulation).

Radio Links

Radio Days

New York Times article about War of the Worlds

Jeff Miller's Broadcasting History Pages

Church of the Sonic Guitar

History of Rock 'n Roll -- Sound Bites