Radio+in+America

__Radio in America__
Tharron Combs Eleanor Chalfoux

A radio is a machine that allows one to transmit many types of signals over very long distances. This seemingly simple mechanism has become an integral part of American society. Radio has progressed from its invention in the 1890’s to the easily accessible mean of communication it is now. Several characters the world over laid claim to the invention of the radio, but today only Guglielmo Marconi and Nikola Tesla are acknowledged for its creation. Marconi invented wireless telegraphy in the 1890s and shared the 1909 [|Nobel Prize in Physics] with Karl Ferdinand Braun for their contributions to the discovery and development of wireless telegraphy.
 * __What Is Radio?__**

Radio is transmitted over waves generally known as radio waves which were discovered by [|Heinrich Hertz] in 1888. He showed that waves could be produced and detected and could carry information for people to send and receive. Many scientists around the world held a series of tests that helped establish the different components of radio and led to its invention in the 1890s. Thomas Edison was among the many contributors that doesn't receive much credit for his work. Marconi bought Edison's patent on his electrostatic coupling system that Edison patented in 1891. In 1898, Marconi sent the results of a Kingstown Regatta to a Dublin newspaper, thus introducing the first sports radio broadcast. In 1899, Marconi opened the first radio factory in Chelmsford, Essex. In 1900, a radio link was established between Britain and France, and in 1901, a link was established with the USA. At first, radio was used for long-range communication during World War I and mostly for ships to navigate at sea. The US Navy was impressed by what radio had to offer and began to outfit all their fleets with radio transmitters. The government and Navy took control of all radio communication during World War I. Radio allowed them to set up stations, like along coast lines, to help control traffic and ease communication. On April 7, 1917, when the US entered the WWI, all commercial radio use was shut down, and the US government had the authority to do this because of the Radio Act of 1912. Radio use had become a "government monopoly" and was only used for the war. Citizens were banned from not only using, but owning radios during the war. The ban ended in 1919 and the government planned on turning the stations back over the the radio companies but the Navy wanted to keep radio as a government monopoly. They purchased the Federal Telegraph Company stations and a large number of the Marconi stations giving them the control most of the U.S. stations. Congress was not happy when they found out the Navy has purchased all those stations and made them give them back to the original owners. Radio transmissions with music and news were sent to hospitalized soldiers overseas. Radio also became popular in the agricultural industry among farmers.Weather reports were among the earliest radio broadcasts. Farmers also used radio to gather and share information.
 * __The Invention of Radio__**

[[image:radio.jpg width="356" height="296" align="left"]]
__**Early Implementation and Influence on American Society**__ Early programs reached only local audiences and by 1920 long distance broadcasting was possible. Radio was also a major component in Hoover’s presidential campaign and sports were eventually broadcasted as well. 8MK was the first station to broadcast on August 31, 1920 in Detroit. Radio became a family pastime and like shown in the picture at left, the Hardings as well as many other American families would gather to listen as a family. Radio featured many popular comedy acts, also known as "hams", such as Amos and Andy (pictured at bottom right). With the tidal wave of sound that was the Jazz Age, jazz singers such as Frances Sper at top right and big band music such as that of Benny Goodman, became standard fare at radio stations. Most musicians featured were white, as producers thought more people were likely to listen to white musicians than black ones, such as Louis Armstrong, who later gained popularity without the help of radio stations, and were featured on radio stations once they gained popularity.The radio became a trendy symbol of modern achievement and America's cultural life, and at the same time it became a status symbol for those who could afford to buy one.

This video is one of the jazz classic "Gloomy Sunday" by Billie Holiday, which, incidentally, was banned from airwaves in 1941, as it was deemed too depressing for the general public. A quick listen with special attention to the lyrics will show you why. []

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__**Influence on Business**__ The radio also became a mainstay of powerhouse electric companies in the United States such as General Electric, Westinghouse, and the American Telegraph and Telephone Company (aka AT & T). These companies all paid royalties to Marconi for his invention and contributed to his now considerable wealth. Once the government monopoly on radio use ended, the radio was in an ideal position to provide cheap advertising for many U.S. companies, considering that the vast majority of the American public had access to a radio and the radio stations had minimal operating costs so they charged very little for advertising.

__**Radio Today**__ Many people today believe radio to be obsolete due to the inventions of portable music devices such as Apple's Ipod and the cell phone. These people do not realize that FM (frequency modulation) radio is the technology that allowed the wireless transmissions of the first television in 1945 and the first cell phone in 1973. This same technology also allows the signals of 3G networks, Wi-Fi networks, and Bluetooth phones to be transmitted. Therefore, the radio has not become obsolete in the modern age, but perhaps even more important than it was at the time of its invention.

__**Citations**__
 * Mitchell, Jack W. Listener Supported: the Culture and History of Public Radio. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005. Print.
 * Bartlett, Richard A. The World of Ham Radio: 1901-1950 : a Social History. Jefferson, N.C. [u.a.: McFarland &, 2007. Print.
 * Lackmann, Ronald W., and Ronald W. Lackmann. The Encyclopedia of American Radio: an A-Z Guide to Radio from Jack Benny to Howard Stern. New York: Facts On File, 2000. Print.
 * //United States Early Radio History//. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. .
 * "Guglielmo Marconi - Biography." //Nobelprize.org//. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. .
 * Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. "American Life in the "Roaring Twenties"" //The American Pageant: a History of the Republic//. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.
 * Photograph. //SmpCTF Streaming Radio//. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .
 * French, Herbert E. //President Harding Installed a Radio in the White House//. Photograph. America's Library, Washington D.C. //America's Library//. United States Government. Web. 8 Feb. 2011. .
 * Photograph. //The Jazz Age//. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .
 * Photograph. //Episode Guide//. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .
 * Photograph. //General Electric//. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .
 * Photograph. //Westinghouse//. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .
 * Photograph. //Denver Stock Exchange//. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .