theorized electric and magnetic forces that travel without wires
displacement current
Thomas Edison
circuits mimic each other when they’re in proximity
closely related to radio
Heinrich Hertz
generated electromagnetic waves
published his findings, 1888
did not see a use for transmitting electromagnetism
Electromagnetic Telegraph
Guglielmo Marconi, 1896
lower frequency waves
high-powered transmitters
larger, grounded antenna
demonstrated in Salisbury Plains, England, 1897
first commercial use of radio
Marconi Wireless
Marconi Wireless Telegraphy Company (1897)
British naval and commercial ships
Marconi radio telegraphs were common on large, ocean-going vessels, 1900
American Marconi (1899)
wireless transmission across English Channel (1899)
wireless transmission across Atlantic Ocean (1901)
RMS Titanic
April 14, 1912
carried obsolete Marconi equipment
spark transmitters
newer technology was available
continuous wave transmitters
Reginald Fesseden
radio operator did not receive warnings about icebergs
Radio Act of 1912
antitrust law had not applied to telecommunications
Wireless Ship Act, 1910
required large ships to have a radio and a licensed operator
Radio Act, passed August 1912
set emergency frequencies
prohibited interference with emergency communications
established international distress signal: SOS
set interoperability of radio stations
Reginald Fessenden
Canadian engineer
electrolytic detector, 1902
Christmas Eve, 1906
transmitted human voice and musical sound
amplitude modulation
AM radio
Lee de Forest
American inventor
audion: triode vacuum tube
largely based on Fleming’s and Fessenden’s designs
amplified electronic signal
transmitting and receiving human voice
Edwin Armstrong
American inventor
World War I engineer
regenerative circuit, 1914
capable of amplifying a signal multiple times
David Sarnoff
Marconi employee
became famous for relaying information from the Titanic
claims to have written Marconi a memo about a “radio music box,” c. 1915
established model commercial radio
becomes president of Radio Corporation of America
Amateur radio
crystal radio sets
homemade radio kits
popular between 1912 and World War I
World War I
Great War, 1914–1918
coming of age for wireless
military communication technology
US government seized all radio transmitting stations
US Navy control wireless radio technology throughout war
Radio Corporation of America
US government monopoly after World War I
wireless should be US owned and operated
required British Marconi to divest of American Marconi
established a patent pool, 1920
RCA Patent Pool
American Marconi
General Electric
American Telephone and Telegraph
Westinghouse
United Fruit
AT&T
established radio station
WEAF, New York
1922
innovators in commercial radio
Toll Broadcasting
similar to “toll calling” at a telephone booth
sold time on WEAF’s air for a fee
Queensboro Real Estate Company
residential development in Jackson Heights, Queens
Network Broadcasting
connected AT&T stations, 1923
WEAF (New York)
WNAC (Washington, DC)
used AT&T telephone network
allowed performers in one location to be heard throughout the network
created a national, mass culture
National Broacasting Company
September 1926
interconnected via AT&T telephone wires
Red network: WEAF and former AT&T stations
Blue network: WJZ and former “radio group” stations
Growth of NBC
coast-to-coast network, 1927
live entertainment programming
comedies
live musical performances
dramas
“soap operas”
end of vaudeville, 1930s
Columbia Broadcasting System
Arthur Judson & Columbia Phonograph Company
entered broadcasting to promote artists
challenge RCA Victor’s dominance in radio and music
formed Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (1927)
carried programming over Western Union network
Magic of Radio
Early radio was, before the Internet, the greatest open medium in the twentieth century, and perhaps the most important example since the early days of newspaper of what an open, unrestricted communications economy looks like.
Closed system
NBC
CBS
Radio Licensing
Congress created the Federal Radio Commission, 1927
radio should “serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity”
classified three kinds of stations
amateur stations: could not broadcast news, weather, sports, information, or entertainment
class A: low broadcasting power and limited hours of operation; educational stations labelled as “propaganda stations” by FRC
class B: high broadcasting power, “clear channel” stations; most affiliated with NBC; all live programming
effect of putting educational stations off the air
Golden Age of Radio
became the “electronic hearth” of the nation, 1930s–1940s
early programming was “informational, educational, cultural, relevant”
entertainment programming became more popular
modeled on Vaudeville
platform for comedians, musical variety, short dramas
children’s and family programming
Western dramas
comic book heroes
Amos and Andy
originated as a local program in Chicago, 1926
two white performers speaking in minstrel style dialog
Freeman Gosden
Charles Correll
carried over NBC network, 1929
protest over its “crude, repetitious, and moronic” dialogue, 1930
became a nationwide hit, 40 million listeners per week
adapted as a television show, 1951–1953
was on the radio until 1960
News Radio
emerged during Great Depression
three US wire services boycott radio news, 1933
CBS and NBC formed Press-Radio bureau, 1933
Edward R. Murrow, CBS European offices, 1937
World News Roundup, 1938
World War II
Germany invades Poland, 1939
Murrow, “This is London calling,” 1940
Japanese bombs Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
Roosevelt’s Fireside Chat, “we are now in this war”
radio news reports would persist throughout the war
Murrow’s description of liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp, 1945
FCC’s Blue Book
released March 7, 1946
Public Service Responsibility for Broadcast Licensees
over-commercialization of radio
wartime profits
lack of public service programming
lax quality standards
threatened government action
Radio, Post World War II
rise of television, 1950s
reverted to local content
news and sports
music
Top 40 format
promote records to teenagers
“Payola” scandal
recording industry grew because of radio
New Radio Formats
Top 40, Contemporary Hits Radio
heavy metal
classic rock
golden oldies
middle-of-the-road
classical music
talk radio
Ownership Regulations
original FCC rule of “sevens”
7 AM
7 FM
7 TV
1996 Telecommunications Act
lifted almost all ownership regulations
was to allow more competition
has concentrated ownership among a very few supergroup owners
has homogenized programming
has decreased minority-owned stations
Satellite Radio
FCC approved two companies, 1997
XM Radio
Sirius
wide variety of programming
subscription service
competition from digital media eroded subscriber base
XM and Sirius merged, 2008
Podcasting
Carl Malamud, “Geek of the Week,” 1993
file compression
Motion Picture Experts Group, late 1980s
MPEG–1, Level 3… mp3
reduced 50 MB file to 5 MB, without noticeable loss in quality