Radio
Radio
Radio
Radio becomes Americas second national mass medium after magazines
99% of Americans homes have radios
95% of Americans cars have radios
40% of Americans listen to the radio between 6 am and midnight
7% of Americas bathrooms have radios in them
Radio: A technological Leap
1835 Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrates his electromagnetic telegraph system
March 10, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell sent a message to his associate Thomas Watson with the aid of his new invention, the telephone
Heinrich Hertz experiments with radio waves that become known as Hertzian waves and leads to the development of radio broadcasting
Guglielmo Marconi used Morse, Bell, and Hertz ideas to transmit waves without the aid of wires
In 1912David Sarnoff relayed news from Nantucket Island that he received distress calls from the Titanic on his Marconi wireless device
Federal Government Polices the Airwaves
Federal government decided to regulated broadcasting almost as soon as it was invented
The Radio Act of 1912 required licenses for people who wanted to broadcast or receive messages
KDKA Launches Commercial Broadcasting
October 27, 1920 the U.S. Department of Commerce used the powers of the Radio Act of 1912 to license KDKA as the nations first commercial station
The Radio Audience Expands Quickly
In 1922 Americans spent $60 million on receivers
More than 500 stations began broadcasting in 1922
The Radio Act of 1912 would accept commercial sponsors
Blanket Licensing
In 1923 the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) sued several stations for payment, claiming that broadcasting ASCAP licensed music on the radio meant that people would buy less sheet music
Commercial Sponsorship
The success of commercial sponsorship was a way to support radio
Station WEAF in New York charged $100 for every 10 minutes
The cost of airing programs was solved
Congress Regulates Radio
The Radio Act of 1927 formed the Federal Radio Commission under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce
Limitations of air space required government regulation
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was formed in 1934 to regulate the expanding wireless medium
War of the Worlds
October