History of Radio PDF

### The History of Radio **Early Development** - **1890s -- Early 1900s:** Significant advancements in radio technology, with key milestones in wireless communication. - **1887:** **Heinrich Hertz**, a German physicist, successfully detected radio waves, laying the foundation for futu...

### The History of Radio **Early Development** - **1890s -- Early 1900s:** Significant advancements in radio technology, with key milestones in wireless communication. - **1887:** **Heinrich Hertz**, a German physicist, successfully detected radio waves, laying the foundation for future radio technology. - **1895:** **Guglielmo Marconi** built the first successful wireless telegraph, able to send Morse code over long distances. - **1906:** **Reginald Fessenden** broadcasts the first voice transmission over radio waves, introducing broadcasting to the public. - **1907:** **Lee De Forest** invented the **audion** tube, a vacuum tube that amplified weak radio signals, significantly advancing radio technology. **The Birth of Broadcasting** - **1920:** **KDKA**, based in Pittsburgh, became the first commercial radio station in the U.S., broadcasting the results of the Harding-Cox presidential election. - **1923:** **American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T)** began connecting radio stations into a network, facilitating the spread of national broadcasts. - **1926:** **NBC (National Broadcasting Company)** launched with its **Red** and **Blue Networks**, marking the creation of a network-based model for radio. - **1927:** The **Federal Radio Commission (FRC)** was established to regulate the growing number of radio stations, later becoming the **Federal Communications Commission (FCC)** in 1934. **Golden Age of Radio (1930s-1940s)** - **1930s-1940s:** Known as the Golden Age of Radio, radio became the primary entertainment and news source for American households. - Iconic radio programs like **Amos \'n\' Andy**, **The Lone Ranger**, and **The Shadow** captivated audiences. - During **World War II**, radio served as a critical tool for wartime news, with reports from correspondents like **Edward R. Murrow** gaining worldwide attention. ### Key People in Early Radio - **David Sarnoff:** Head of **RCA (Radio Corporation of America)**, Sarnoff is credited with transforming radio into a national medium. His vision for the **radio music box** shaped the future of broadcasting. - **Frank Conrad:** An engineer at **Westinghouse** in Pittsburgh, Conrad became one of the first people to broadcast recorded music and news. His work directly led to the creation of **KDKA**, the first commercial radio station. **The Rise of Networks** - **1934:** The **Federal Communications Commission (FCC)** was formed, consolidating radio regulation and ensuring fairness across the airwaves. - **NBC and CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System):** By 1937, **NBC** had 111 affiliates, and **CBS**, led by **William S. Paley**, had 105 affiliates, both becoming the dominant players in the broadcasting world. - **1930s-1940s:** Radio networks began to sell national advertising time, marking the beginning of the **commercial radio model**. ### Radio in the Television Era - As television began to rise in the **1950s**, radio technology evolved with the **transistor revolution**, which made radios smaller, more affordable, and portable. - **FM Stereo (1961):** The introduction of **FM stereo technology** drastically improved sound quality, with **FM radio** becoming a dominant force in music broadcasting. - **Rock and Roll:** Radio played a crucial role in the rise of **rock and roll**, with **Alan Freed** popularizing the genre as a disc jockey and helping to bridge racial divides in music. - **Top 40 Format:** The **Top 40 format**, which played the 40 most popular songs repeatedly, became a key part of the **Baby Boom** era\'s listening habits. ### The History of Recorded Music **Early Sound Recording Inventions** - **1877:** **Thomas Edison** invented the **phonograph**, the first device capable of recording and playing sound. The first recorded words were **"Mary had a little lamb."** - **1880s:** **Alexander Graham Bell** and his associates developed the **graphophone**, which replaced Edison's tinfoil with a wax cylinder, improving sound quality. - **1890s:** **Emile Berliner** invented the **gramophone** that used flat discs rather than cylinders, which would eventually become the standard for sound recording. **The Rise of Record Labels and Formats** - **1910s-1920s:** **Victor Talking Machine Company**, founded by **Eldridge Reeves Johnson**, became one of the leading manufacturers of phonographs and records, later merging with RCA. - **1920s:** The **78 rpm** phonograph record became the dominant format for recorded music, although it had limited song length. - **1940s-1950s:** The **\"Battle of the Speeds\"** led to the adoption of **33 1/3 rpm LPs** for albums and **45 rpm records** for singles, which became the industry standards. - **1950s:** The rise of **multitrack recording**, pioneered by **Les Paul**, allowed for the separation and mixing of different instruments and vocals, transforming music production. **Rock and Roll and the Changing Music Landscape** - **1950s:** The **\"rock and roll\"** era exploded, with artists like **Elvis Presley**, **Jerry Lee Lewis**, and **Little Richard** bringing a new sound to mainstream music. - **1960s:** **Berry Gordy Jr.** founded **Motown Records**, which became the dominant label in soul music, discovering artists like **Diana Ross** and **Stevie Wonder**. - The **British Invasion** led by **The Beatles** transformed the global music scene and influenced countless American artists. ### The Digital Age of Music **Digital Revolution** - **1990s-2000s:** The rise of **MP3 technology** allowed music to be digitally compressed and shared, leading to the emergence of online music services like **Napster**, **iTunes**, and eventually **Spotify** and **Apple Music**. - **2004:** **Chris Anderson**, editor-in-chief of *Wired*, popularized the **long tail** concept, indicating the growing availability of niche music through online platforms. - **2007:** **Steve Jobs** launched the **iTunes Store**, enabling users to buy individual songs, further contributing to the decline of physical albums. - The **\"Death of the Album\"** era marked the transition from full-length albums to single-track downloads. ### Key People in Music and Sound Recording - **Les Paul:** Pioneer of **multitrack recording**, a technology that allowed musicians to record and mix multiple audio tracks separately, significantly influencing music production. - **Berry Gordy Jr.:** Founder of **Motown Records**, who helped shape the **soul** and **R&B** genres. - **Elvis Presley:** Known as the \"King of Rock and Roll,\" his groundbreaking career helped establish rock and roll as a dominant genre in the 1950s. - **Diana Ross:** Lead singer of **The Supremes**, Motown's most successful act, later achieving solo success. - **Chuck Berry:** A major influence in the development of **rock and roll** with his distinctive guitar playing and lyrics focused on youth culture. ### Television Development and Innovation **Early Television Pioneers** - **John Logie Baird (1924):** Scottish inventor who demonstrated the first working television, using mechanical technology. - **Philo Farnsworth (1920s):** American inventor known as the \"father of television,\" who developed the first fully electronic TV system. - **Vladimir Zworykin (1930s):** Russian-American engineer who developed the **kinescope**, improving the television image quality. **Post-War Expansion and Growth** - **1950s:** The introduction of **color television** in the U.S. revolutionized how people watched TV, with major networks like **CBS**, **NBC**, and **ABC** dominating the industry. - **1960s:** **Cable TV** gained traction, offering more channels and better reception than traditional over-the-air broadcasts. **Modern Television** - **1970s:** The rise of **VCRs** and the ability to record television programs brought significant changes to viewing habits. - **1990s:** **High-definition television (HDTV)** became popular, providing clearer and sharper images. - **2000s-Present:** The rise of **streaming services** like **Netflix**, **Hulu**, and **Amazon Prime Video** has led to a shift from traditional TV to on-demand viewing. ### Television Broadcasting and Programming **Genres and Formats** - **Sitcoms:** TV shows with comedic content, usually following a standard formula with a consistent set of characters and settings. - **Dramas:** More serious TV programming, often centered around professions or high-stakes situations like crime, law, or medicine. - **Reality TV and Contests:** Cheap to produce, reality TV surged in the 1990s, with shows like *Survivor* and *Big Brother*. - **News and 24-Hour Coverage:** The rise of **CNN** in 1980 marked the start of **24-hour news programming**, which changed how news was delivered. **Changes in Distribution** - **Cable TV and Narrowcasting:** The move towards **narrowcasting** allowed specialized channels (e.g., **MTV**, \*\*Nick