History and Origin of Radio

HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF RADIO
Introduction
Radio involves the process by which messages are sent through electrical waves. In other words,
sound would be sent and received through the waves (Sambe, 2008).
History of Radio
The history of Radio dates back to the 19th Century when Samuel Morse invented the electric
telegraph. With telegraph and telephone service confined to wires, the next challenge was to
produce a wireless system.
In 1873, James Clerk Maxwell published his well-known theory about the existence of invisible
electromagnetic energy, and in 1888, German physicist Heinrich Hertz proved the theory by
generating and transmitting electromagnetic waves, later known as "Hertzian waves".
It was not until young Italian Guglielmo Marconi ran experiments in his backyard, that a means
of communicating via the electromagnetic spectrum would become viable. Marconi registered a
patent in England in 1896 and launched a wireless telegraphy company in England and the U.S.
Still, like the telegraph, wireless telegraphy was limited to dots and dashes via point-to-point
communication. Its niche was primarily in providing ship to shore communications where
landline telephone service was impossible.
The wireless is perhaps best known for its role in the 1912 Titanic ship disaster when distress
calls were transmitted but not heard by a nearby ship, resulting in the loss of over 1,500 lives
before a distant ship receiving the signal could rescue the remaining passengers.
The final step toward the technical development of radio broadcasting was adapting the wireless
to carry continuous waves of speech and music. This ability to control electrons and amplify the
signal came with the invention of a vacuum tube called the "audion" in 1906 by Lee de Forest,
who subsequently dubbed himself the "Father of Radio". Other inventions, such as the
regenerative circuit, helped clear the way toward the development of a workable radio broadcast
system.
Early Operations
On Christmas Eve 1906, Canadian Reginald Fessenden made the first known public radio
transmission from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. Fessenden read, sang, and played a violin and
phonograph recording to surprised ship operators used to receiving only Morse code. For more
than a decade, others experimented with what was initially called "radiotelephony". De Forest,
for example, experimented with transmissions from New York City in 1907. Soon amateurs were
setting up ad hoc operations, and the public was building crystal receiving sets to hear the
sporadic transmissions. Yet development of the new medium was stalled when WWI diverted
resources to the war efforts.
Many countries claim to be home to the first, full-fledged radio "station", essentially defined as
having a regular programming schedule. One candidate in the U.S. was 8XK, an amateur station
operated by Westinghouse Engineer Frank Conrad from his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, garage.
Conrad "broadcast" recorded music, talk and sports scores and eventually got the attention of a
Westinghouse executive who recognized an opportunity to sell receivers. As a result, KDKA was
born on November 2, 1920, offering a daily hour-long schedule of music and talk.
In Russia, a powerful station was established in 1921, broadcasting for a few hours every day.
The new program was called the "Spoken Newspaper of the Russian Telegraph Agency" and
featured mostly news and propaganda material.
Ownership and financial support for early radio stations varied. In most countries, the respective
governments established and controlled the stations, oftentimes as highly centralized post,
telephone and telegraph (PTT) monopolies. Not until decades later did such countries as Italy
(1970s) and France (1980s) privatize their state-owned facilities.
Other countries, such as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and some in Latin America have
since taken steps toward deregulation (see Telecommunications Policy: see International
Communications and Media Networks). Today, stations in most countries depend at least partly
on government funds, sometimes provided through annual household or receiver license fees. In
the U.S., however, telecommunications ownership, beginning with the telegraph, was left largely
to the private sector.
Early U.S. radio stations were typically owned by educational institutions, churches, newspapers,
department stores, and radio equipment manufacturers/dealers such as Westinghouse, General
Electric, AT&T, and RCA. The latter sought to recoup the costs of broadcasting through
equipment sales while the notion of advertising was shunned. Eventually advertising proved to
be the most successful approach to station financing.
Growth and development

Through the 1920s, radio station growth soared in the U.S. and other industrialized nations. By
1924, more than a million U.S. households owned radio receivers (see Culture of Consumption).
Early programming consisted of phonograph recordings and live fare, such as orchestra music,
dramas, church services, sporting events and political addresses. Advertising agencies oftentimes
produced and owned programs. Networks such as Japan's Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) and the
National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in the U.S. soon developed and dominated, recognizing
the economic efficiencies of shared programming. Government regulation also took center stage,
with broadcasters in the U.S. asking for regulation to provide order to an ever-increasing
interference problem. Since airwaves do not conveniently stop at borders, international
conferences were also held to address spectrum management issues (see International
Communications and Media Networks).
Station growth slowed during the 1930s due to the Depression, but quickly recovered as listening
increased and more performers turned to radio. "Soap operas" developed as a staple of daytime
network programming. The first widely popular network radio entertainment program in the U.S.
was Amos 'n' Andy. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt also successfully used radio to deliver
his "fireside chats". Despite newspaper fears of competition, news wire services eventually
served radio. In fact, by the 1940s, many Americans considered radio to be the most important
source of political information. Still, more than half of all radio programming consisted of music.
Large stations continued to hire musical groups, while the networks oftentimes hosted "big band
remotes" from metropolitan hotel ballrooms. Small stations particularly relied on records, which
prompted the creation of music-licensing organizations in the U.S. to collect fees for copyright
holders (see Telecommunications Policy: see Popular Culture).
Until the 1930s, radio broadcasting was AM, or amplitude modulated. But in 1933, American
Edwin Armstrong developed FM (frequency modulated) radio, which promised a clearer, static-
free sound. Armstrong received little support for his competing technology, though, and
eventually built his own experimental FM radiostation, W2XMN, in 1939. Yet because of a
number of setbacks, Armstrong was never able to promote the service, which languished for
years.
By the early 1940s, war once again slowed radio growth. Yet WWII also positioned radio as a
reputable news medium, providing live, on-the-spot coverage of wartime events. Radio also
played an international role in psychological warfare. One result of the war was the U.S. creation
of an international broadcasting service that eventually became known as the "Voice of
America". German wartime technology also led to the development of magnetic-tape recording.
Audiotape recorders meant easier news coverage and the proliferation of syndicated
programming.
Radio's golden years soon followed with its popular postwar programming of more dramas,
variety shows, and quiz games. In 1948, U.S. radio networks grossed their highest revenues ever.
AM radio dominated in the States, while shortwave radio flourished in countries such as the
Soviet Union.
Definition of Radio
Radio can be defined as a medium used for sending and receiving messages through the air
using electronic waves. It is also about the activity of broadcasting programmes for people to
listen to the programmes being broadcast (Idebi, 2008).
Radio can also be defined as the broadcasting of programmes for the public to listen to. It is the
system of sending sound over a distance by transmitting electrical signals (BBC English
Dictionary, 1992).
Development of Technical Standards
Each manufacturer wanted to reap profits that would follow if their patents became the broadcast
standard. Some wanted black and white technology to be the standard, while others were
working on color and wanted government to wait for it to be perfected.
Other patents involved different lines of resolution, those row of lighted dots, or pixels, that
make up the picture image. In 1941, government and industry agreed that television would
present black and white pictures with 525 lines of resolution moving at a speed of 30 frames per
second.

History and Origin of Radio

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

History and Origin of Radio

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

History and Origin of Radio

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF RADIO

Growth and development

You might also like