Resubmission: Module 1 : Technology through History

Radio in United Kingdom

The radio has been the first device to allow for mass communication. It has enabled information to be transferred everywhere, not only nationally wide but internationally as well. The development of the radio began in 1893. This was done after Nikolai Tesla’s demonstration of wireless radio communication in St. Louis, Missouri. This laid a foundation for the perfection of radio that is currently used today. However, there is a man closely associated with the advent of radio.  This man was known as Guglielmo Marconi. In fact, the British Government awarded him the official patent for the radio in 1986. (Wyman, n.d)

(Wyman, n.d)

Initially, the radio was used to maintain contacts between ships out a sea. This type of radio could only send Morse code messages back and forth between ships and stations on the land. Moreover, during time of disasters such as sinking, the ship would use a radio messaged nearby vessels and stations on the land to ask for aid. In the following period, the use of radio gained prominence. For example, the First World War relied heavily on the use of radio. Those in the war used the radio to relay messages to troops and top officials as well as people not on the battlefront. After the war’s end, there was change of the way radio was used. This led to growth of radio receivers. Consequently, broadcasting began in Europe, and The United States. (Wyman, n.d)

 

 The British Broadcasting Company or BBC began the favorite station at the time. This station began in 1922. One of the founding members was Marconi together with other prominent leaders. Initially, the Broadcasts was done locally in London. However, it spread to most of the United Kingdom by 1925. Some of the things aired included plays, and classical music. On the other hand, the newspaper industry maintained a strong hold over the new. This changed after a newspaper strike in England in 1926. As a result, the BBC took over the role of supplying information to the public. With no news being published, it fell on the BBC to supply the information for the public. In the following year, the BBC became the British Broadcasting Corporation when it was granted it a Royal Charter. The improved information through broadcasting came to a complete stop in World War II. Therefore, the responsibility of covering the news was left to the radio. (Wyman, n.d)

                                               (Wyman, n.d) 

 

The war led to the advancement of radio. This took place through adoption of a more modern form of the radio. Moreover, most of the British citizens relied on the radio for entertainment because of the devastating effects of the war. People enjoyed listening to the music, plays and discussion that the BBC radio played. The form of entertainment increased as radio expanded to more FM programs. As a result, most of the people accessed local BBC stations. Moreover, local BBC stations opened up across England. This expansion was also witnessed in the 1990s. This happened as new radio stations began broadcasting with genres like sports and comedy appealing to new audiences. The continuous growth and popularity of the BBC radio was witnessed in the new millennium. The station continued to gain prominence through its favorite programs such as “The Century Speaks” and a reading of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.  In the first decade of millennia, the station adopted the digital market. This helped the station achieve its greatest expansion through new stations such as 1Xtra, 5 Live, Sports Extra, 6 Music, and BBC 7. These were also were made available to domestic listeners. (Wyman, n.d)

 

Radio Broadcasting History in United States

The history of radio broadcasting in the United States followed a similar path. In this country, the Westinghouse Company initiated radio broadcasting. The company asked Frank Conrad, one of their engineers, to start regularly broadcasting of music, while they would sell radios to pay for the service. The company applied for a commercial radio license in 1920. Their first station was in KDKA. This was the first officially government licensed radio station. The first program of the station was the election returns of the Harding-Cox presidential race. Moreover, the company took out ads in the newspaper advertising radios for sale to the public. After this period, a number of stations emerged. They played a wide variety of broadcasts and reached people across the country that had bought or built their own receivers. However, a problem existed due to the home building of receivers. They created a problem in the market, since people could simply build their own radios rather than going out to buy them. This forced the intervention of the government to curb this development. Consequently, a government-sanctioned agreement created the Radio Corporation Agreements, RCA. This was formed to manage the patents for the technology of the receiver and transmitter. Companies like General Electric and Westinghouse were allowed to make receivers while Western Electric was allowed to build transmitters. In addition, in the agreements, AT&T was made the only station that was allowed to engage in toll broadcasting and chain broadcasting. This paved the way for the next step in radio development in America, radio advertising. (Wyman, n.d)

(Wyman, n.d)

The first radio advertisement was done in 1923. This was done by WEAF, an AT&T station in New York. However, other companies disagreed with the RCA agreement and began radio advertising.  Additionally, there were other radio stations owned by private businesses. These were mostly used to sell that company’s products. However, problems arose due to The RCA agreements. This is because the agreement gave AT&T a monopoly over toll broadcasting and therefore radio advertisements. This monopoly was only broken after the creation of NBC and CBS. These became the first radio networks in the late 1920s era. Consequently, this led to emergence f first radio journalist. They included Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. In the following period, the radio had become an important source for news in America. In the wartime, radio acted as a vital source of information. It also acted to pacify and assuage the worries of a confused and scared public. More importantly, the radio helped to pull together the nations moral and backing of the war effort.  The television prominence was only achieved after the end of World War II, and at the same time radio influence declined. The revival of the radio only took place in the second half of 19th century. This was due to the emerging Rock and Roll at the time.

The event after the war made the radio turned into due to musical entertainment. All programming and music became aimed at a target audience of ages twelve to thirty five, and the newly emerging “middle class”. The new music that FM aired began to pose a threat to the old generation. Through the 80s and 90s radio broadcasting continued to expand. Thousands of more stations sprung up playing all different kinds of music such as world, pop, rock, jazz, and classical. However, in beginning of millennia, the radio has reached its greatest heights.
For example, the radio expanded into the satellite and internet markets. The need for live DJ’s is dwindling. This is because everything can be done via a computer. For example, editing and broadcasting can be done using hard drive of a computer. Moreover, Jobs that used to take hours to do can now be done with the simple click of a mouse. (Wyman, n.d)

(Wyman, n.d)

 

From a tiny receiver that could transmit only sounds to a complex device with satellites in space and wireless systems in cars, the radio has seen tremendous development. The purpose of the radio, however, has remained constant. From its inception, the radio was created to communicate messages in mass form. In almost every country, radios are present, and in some, it is a primary means for communication. Without its invention, our world would be vastly different; it offered the first true means of mass communication and allowed leaders and people alike to impart valuable information to each other with the ease and efficiency. (Wyman, n.d)

 

What Impact did Radio have on Society?

The radio has impacted the world in various ways. With the invention of the Radio, the impact of the Radio was immediately felt around the world. The impact on society was evident immediately. The Radio offered to people the ability to have communication with other people.
Societies all over the world began to evolve, change and flourish with this new and amazing machine bringing new ideas and information to them. Broadcasts of all types could be heard by anyone who would listen. Being able to learn about others, whether they were in your own town, or in another part of the world had been unheard of, until the creation of the radio. No longer did you have to wait for mail to arrive, lots of pertinent information came across the airwaves daily.
Radio also gave entertainers and musicians another way to share their talents. This in turn changed society by opening up a completely new world of entertainment to the masses. It also brought about new jobs and different ways for advertisers and station owners to increase their profits, and hence affecting the socio-economics in this country. ("According to Kate: What Impact did Radio have on Society?", 2012)

 

Reference 

 Wyman, L. (n.d.). The History of the Radio. Retrieved November 13, 2013, from http://www.personal.psu.edu/jtk187/art2/radio.htm

According to Kate: What Impact did Radio have on Society? [Web log post]. (2012, January 22). Retrieved from http://kathleenkaiser.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/what-impact-did-radio-have-on-society.html