Radio wasnt invented on a certain day or by a certain person. It is a collection of ideas and discoveries put together.
James Clerk Maxwell and Hienrich Hertz were responsible for electromagnetic waves in the 19th century. Guglielmo Marconi discovered how to turn those waves into coded messages.Lee De Forest and Reginald Fessenden turned coded messages into human speech in the early 20th century. However it wasnt until 1920 that Harry P. Davis used radio for a public form of communication.
Early Radio from Google Images
The first Radio station was KDKA. It was based in Pittsburgh and launched by Westinghouse. The network made its money by selling radios until 1922 when the phone companies started charging tolls.
Early Station from Google Images
KDKA’s first broadcasting was the Harding-Cox election. Radio was a new news media. It announced news and played music as well as programs/shows. Radio kept up to date with Presidential elections and wars.
Radio Journalism became the voice of the newspaper.
Radio proved that it was a force in the United States when The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1947.
Radio broadcasters had a simple short style of reporting. Sentences are short and easy to comprehend. Much in part to the fact because in the 1920s many people were not smart enough to comprehend anything complex.
Radio now has grown into a mass media. There are over a million stations including FM, AM, and XM.
Radio is now mostly used for entertainment and music. The main sources for news are now Television and The Internet.
(Information Taken from “A History Of News” Mitchell Stephens)
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