Origins of Radio
On 31 August 1920 the first
known radio news program
was broadcast by station 8MK, the unlicensed predecessor of WWJ (AM) in
Detroit, Michigan. In 1922 regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment began
in the UK from the Marconi Research Centre 2MT at Writtle near Chelmsford, England:
an Italian inventor, proved the feasibility of radio communication. He sent and
received his first radio signal in Italy in 1895.
|
Year
|
What
happened
|
|
1895
|
Guglielmo Marconi built a wireless
system capable of transmitting signals at long distances
|
|
1981
|
Marconi
conducts the first successful transatlantic radio communication.
|
|
1905
|
John
Felming invents the vacuum tube diode that helps to invent the Audion
|
|
1912
|
The
wireless ship act requires all U.S. ships travelling over 200 miles off the
coast to be equipped with the wireless radio
|
|
1919
|
Radio
Corporation of America (RCA) is established
|
|
1920
|
The
first radio program is broadcasted
|
|
1923
|
The Radio
Act of 1927 re-assigns to clear frequencies to make radio stations for the
public
|
|
1933
|
People
use radio for entertainment during the Great Depression.
Edwin
Armstrong invents FM (frequency modulation) radio.
|
|
1950
|
TV
takes over radio
|
|
1963
|
The
first radio communication satellite, Telstar, is launched into space
|
|
1984
|
RDS
allows small bits of data to be included in FM broadcasts, allowing stations
to include artists and song information on digital radio displays.
|
|
1990
|
Began
to use computers with audio cards to process radio signals, and the first
digital transmissions begin to be broadcast
|
|
1998
|
The
Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Internet radio to pay additional royalty fees
|
|
2003
|
Online
internet radio value is at $49 million
|
|
2004
|
Podcasting
became popular
|
|
2008
|
Streaming
music allowed radio’s revenue to rise above $500 million.
|
Audience
This has
changed massively as in the 1920s the radio was the people’s only real new
technology for entertainment. This meant it had a mass audience for quite a
while especially throughout the Great Depression when entertainment was needed
in order for people to cope. Although the audience decreased in 1950 due to the
Television being introduced. Radio wasn’t the new craze anymore and was out shined by the likes of moving pictures.
