History of Radio

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.