History and Evolution of Radio: Key Events, Laws, and Industry Trends

telegraph

A system for transmitting messages over long distances using coded signals.

Morse code

A method of encoding text characters as sequences of dots and dashes.

wireless telegraphy

A form of telegraphy that uses radio waves to transmit messages without wires.

Wireless Ship Act of 1910

Legislation requiring ships to have radio equipment for safety communication.

Radio Act of 1912

A law that established regulations for radio communication and licensing.

Radio Corporation of America (RCA)

A major American electronics company involved in radio and television broadcasting.

network

A group of interconnected radio stations that share programming.

option time

A broadcasting arrangement where a network has the right to choose programming for a specific time slot.

Radio Act of 1927

Legislation that established the Federal Radio Commission and regulated broadcasting.

Federal Radio Commission (FRC)

The agency created by the Radio Act of 1927 to regulate radio broadcasting.

Communications Act of 1934

A comprehensive law that consolidated and updated regulations for all forms of communication.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The U.S. government agency responsible for regulating interstate and international communications.

transistors

Semiconductor devices used to amplify or switch electronic signals.

FM

Frequency Modulation, a method of encoding information in a radio signal.

AM

Amplitude Modulation, a technique used for transmitting information via radio waves.

format radio

A broadcasting approach that focuses on a specific style or genre of programming.

drive time

The time period during which radio listenership is highest, typically during morning and evening commutes.

news/talk

A radio format that focuses on news reporting and discussion.

National Public Radio (NPR)

An American non-profit media organization that produces and distributes news and cultural programming.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

A non-profit public broadcasting television service in the United States.

Public Broadcasting Act of 1967

Legislation that established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and supported public broadcasting.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

A private, non-profit corporation that funds public broadcasting in the U.S.

payola

The illegal practice of paying radio stations to play specific songs.

Telecommunications Act of 1996

A major overhaul of telecommunications law that deregulated the broadcasting industry.

War of the Worlds

A radio broadcast by Orson Welles that caused public panic due to its realistic portrayal of an alien invasion.

Tesla & Marconi

Inventors known for their contributions to the development of radio technology.

The Joe Rogan Experience

Ranks as one of the most-listened-to podcasts worldwide.

Crime Junkie

A highly popular true-crime podcast known for its narrative-driven storytelling.

Call Her Daddy

A relationship and life advice podcast that often tops charts, especially among younger listeners.

Huberman Lab

Hosted by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, this show focuses on health, science, and practical tools for self-improvement.

Radio Today

Radio industry has faced survival many times as new forms of mass medium have developed.

IHeartRadio

The biggest online radio company in the United States by a significant margin.

Gen Z Radio Listening

55% of Gen Z in the U.S. listen to AM/FM radio every day.

James Maxwell

Theorized the existence of electromagnetic waves in the 1860s.

Heinrich Hertz

Proved Maxwell's theories in the 1880s and advanced the development of wireless communication.

Guglielmo Marconi

Received a patent for wireless telegraphy in England in 1896.

Alexander Popov

Made parallel discoveries in Russia; sent and received wireless messages in May 1895.

Nikola Tesla

Invented a wireless system in 1892 and was later deemed the inventor of radio by the Supreme Court in 1943.

Lee De Forest

Wrote the first Ph.D. dissertation on wireless technology in 1899 and developed the Audion vacuum tube.

Reginald Fessenden

Engineer who worked for General Electric, improving wireless signals and conducted the first voice broadcast in 1906.

Broadcasting

Transmission of radio waves to a broad public audience.

RCA

Radio Corporation of America, acquired American Marconi and radio patents of other U.S. companies.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Developed in Great Britain in 1922 and funded by household licensing fees.

Frank Conrad

Westinghouse engineer who set up a crude radio station above his Pittsburgh garage.

KDKA

The first commercial broadcast station established by Westinghouse in 1920.

WEAF

The first radio station to regularly sell commercial time to advertisers.

NBC

National Broadcasting Company, created by RCA and shared with GE and Westinghouse.

NBC-Red network

The original telephone group that became known as the NBC-Red network.

NBC-Blue network

The radio group that became known as the NBC-Blue network.

David Sarnoff

RCA's first general manager who worked to extend RCA-NBC's position in the radio industry.

CBS

Columbia Broadcasting System, which became the top network in 1949 after a failed initial attempt.

William Paley

Bought a controlling share in CBS and introduced new concepts and strategies.

Edward Bernays

PR guru hired by William Paley to polish CBS's company image.

Lowell Thomas

The first CBS commentator who made strides to focus on news.

Edward R. Murrow

Reported from the field in WWII and helped CBS surpass NBC in revenues.

Hurricane reporting

Radio reporting that saved many lives during the 1935 hurricane in Miami and the 1938 hurricane in New England.

Amos 'n' Andy

A popular comedy by the 1930s that featured stereotypes of Black characters and was canceled in 1953.

Cultural mirror

Radio programming acts as a cultural mirror reflecting societal issues and trends.

Live music programming

Early radio programming that included live music daily and 15-minute evening programs.

Single sponsor programs

Most early radio programs had a single sponsor.

Fairness Doctrine

Allowed a station to editorialize provided it gave ample time to a balanced presentation of all responsible viewpoints on particular issues.

Repeal in 1987

Led to Far-Right Talk Radio Show.

Radio Reinvents Itself

Radio adapted and survived the arrival of television with adaptive innovations in technology and program content.

Small pocket radios

Created due to the invention of transistors, making radio portable.

2007 Payola Settlement

Four of the largest broadcasting companies agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a payola investigation by the FCC.

U.S. Law on Payola

A radio station must disclose songs they were paid to play on the air as sponsored airtime.

Recording and Radio Industries Cooperation

Began to cooperate with each other in the early 1950s.

Rampant during 1950s

Management took control of programming, but payola persisted.

Alan Freed

A significant figure in radio history.

Rotation

Playing top songs many times during the day.

Top 40 format

Practice of playing the 40 most popular hits in a given week as measured by record sales.

Program log

A schedule for radio programming.

Day parts

Segments of the day allocated for specific types of programming.

FM (frequency modulation) radio

Discovered and developed by Edwin Armstrong in the 1920s and 1930s, offering greater fidelity and clarity than AM radio.

Accentuated pitch

The distance between radio waves, enhanced in FM radio.

FCC

Federal Communications Commission, which opened up spectrum space for FM in the 1960s.

AM (amplitude modulation) radio

Stressed the volume, or height, of radio waves.

Progressive rock

An alternative to conventional formats, featuring hard-edged political folk music and protest rock.

Album-oriented rock (AOR)

A tamed variation of progressive rock.

Nonprofit radio

Government began authorizing noncommercial licenses in 1948, approving 10-watt FM stations.

Pacifica Foundation

Formed to run experimental public stations that often challenge the status quo.

Internet radio

AM or FM stations 'stream' versions of on-air signals, with new stations created exclusively for the Internet.

Satellite radio

A subscription-based national service originating with the launch of satellites to cover the continental United States.

SiriusXM

Formed by the merger of XM and Sirius in 2008.

Radio advertising

Constitutes 10% of media advertising, with only 20% of budget going toward programming costs.

Cumulus

Another major conglomerate in radio, which filed for bankruptcy in 2018.