Radio

With the rise of radio:

• Constant media connectivity became possible

• People could experience distant events in real time

• Instantaneous, one-to-many communication allowed “listening publics” to form

Radio emerged out of

Radiotelegraphy, often referred to as “wireless telegraphy” or “wireless”

With radio communication, _ are generated by a radio transmitter at one point and captured by a radio receiver at another

Electromagnetic waves

Radio transmitters and receivers were introduced by

Guglielmo Marconi (1897)

In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi transmitted a transatlantic wireless message from_ to _

England to Newfoundland

Initially, the wireless sent _ messages rather than sound

Morse Code

Brazilian priest Roberto Landell de Moura received patents in _and _for the invention of the wave transmitter, which was the basis for _

Brazil and the US, later radio transmitters and receivers

This technology allowed for the wireless transmission of

Sound

In Massachusetts in 1906, Canadian-born Reginald Fessenden used Wireless technology to transmit sound in the first

Public radio broadcast

“The remarkable property of the radio signal is its inherent _”

Publicity (Peters)

In Canada and the US, radio legislation following the Titanic disaster required:

• That ships constantly monitor distress signals

• That all radio broadcasters operate with a government-issued license

The ability to _ made possible by the wireless and dramatized by the sinking of the Titanic was part of a major change in the experience of the present” (Kern)

Experience many distant events at the same time

Key question for radio and time:

Whether the present is a sequence of single local events or a simultaneity of multiple distant events

Various media forms (radio, newspapers, film) emphasized _

Simultaneity

Initially, radio broadcasting was the work of usually

Male amateurs (amateur radio was sometimes called “ham radio”)

Amateur: it was diverse and chaotic field in its early years, in terms of

• Equipment

• Scheduling

• Ownership

• Financing

• Content

Around 1920, radio was increasingly being adopted by users who were interested in

Using the medium in more organized, systematic ways

David Sarnoff, later the head of the National Broadcasting Corporation in the US, described the radio as a

“Household music box”

In the early 1920s, _ appeared offering regular broadcasting including talk and music

Corporate radio stattions

In the US, corporate ownership was common, but in other countries that radio spread to, _ was commonplace

Government ownership

In these years, some of the first _ also appeared

Mass-marketed radio receiver sets

An important question that radio broadcasting had to consider

How would it pay for itself?

By the late 1920s, _ was commonplace, and ad airtime was sold in blocks

Radio advertising

Soon, advertising became so important to the radio networks that advertisers had a significant degree of

Creative control over the non-advertsing content of radio networks

Radio shows often were named after

Advertisers

By the 1930s, many prime-time radio programs were created and managed by _ on behalf of companies that wanted to advertise their products

Advertising agencies

Late 1920s: rise of the first

Large radio networks

Stations realized they could cut costs and by sharing their programming if they

Merged into larger networks

As a consequence of merging into larger networks,

Larger communities of listeners tuned in to the same shows

In the US, rapid expansion of radio in the 20s and 30s led to new

Government regulation

The Radio Act of 1927 put _ at the forefront

Public interest

Questions about how radio should be defined led it being defined as a

Broadcast medium in the Communications Act of 1934

Radio was defined as a broadcast medium because there was

No controlling who got the message: the audience it reached was public rather than private

Peters: “broadcasting, as legally defined, involves”

“Privately controlled transmission but public reception.”

Given this public reception, the messages transmitted via broadcast media are subject to

Regulation by the Federal Communications Commission in the US

Britain’s approach to radio _ from the US’s commercial model

Diverged

In 1926, the _ formed

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

BBC was a non-commercial organization whose leaders were

Appointed by the British government but had independence from government control

BBC operated within an

Ethos of public service

Radio in Canada began in _with _

1919, broadcasts by radio-set manufacturers who wanted to promote their products

By 1928, there were over _ licensed stations in Canada

60

Amid concerns about the influence of US radio stations in Canada, the _ was formed

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

CBC relied on

Many private radio affiliates

CBC seen as a

Hybrid of the US and Uk models with its mix of public and private stations, and mix of revenue sources (both tax-based and advertising-based)

One of the most famous and notorious occurrences in the history of radio

The War of the World’s broadcast, on October 30th, 1938

Describe the War of the Worlds broadcast

Orson Welles adapted a fantasy story by H.G. Wells about an attack on Earth by martians, changing the story so that it would seem plausible as a news broadcast