The History of Radio Broadcasting, Essay Example

The history of radio has a long and storied past, beginning in approximately 1799 when William Herschel discovered the electromagnetic spectrum; his purpose was to establish how light and heat were associated.  The electromagnetic spectrum is a term used to describe many types of radiation, which is energy that travels and spreads out: visible light, such as that which comes from lamps and radio waves, which are emitted from radio stations.

In Scotland, during the 1860s a physicist named James Maxwell forecast the existence of radio waves and in 1886, Heinrich Rudolph Hertz was able to demonstrate that rapid varieties of electric current could be projected into space in the form of radio waves that resembled those which came from both heat as well as light.  In the United States, an American dentist was able to successfully achieve “wireless telegraphy” by creating a meter was connected to a kite which caused another one to move.  This was the first known occurrence of wireless aerial communication.

By 1891, radios (or what we would call “wireless telegraphs”) started to be utilized on ships at sea, which helps to cut down on the isolation of men who were at sea for long periods of time, helping to bring improvement to reliability and safety of the crew. Guglielmo Marconi was able to demonstrate the possibilities of radio communication, sending his first radio signal in Italy in 1895.  Four years later, he said the first wireless signal across the English channel, and by 1901, he received the letter “S” transmitted from England to Newfoundland.  This represented the first successful transatlantic radiotelegraph message.  An example of its use on ships was when the Titanic sank, and this signals sent by a wireless device such as that created by Marconi were used to call for help and resulted in many lives saved.

After the Titanic incident, great interest in the possibilities of radio broadcasting followed, with a view towards its commercialization and use by the general public.  In 1916, Harold Power, who had created American Radio and Research Company broadcast the first continuous radio show in the world, coming out of Tufts University and lasting for 3 hours.  That company eventually became the first one to present a daily broadcast, as well as being the original broadcaster of radio dance programs, university professor lectures, and the weather.  Edwin Armstrong, an inventor, developed many of the most significant features that are part of modern radio broadcasting: regeneration, or the use of positive feedback which greatly increased the sound of received radio signals so that they were audible without headphones, and wide-band frequency modulation, or what became widely known as FM radio which made it possible for listeners to have a static-free listening experience that had much improved sound quality.

Another pioneer in broadcasting was Lee DeForest, who created an experimental radio station in New York in 1916, broadcasting the first radio advertisements as well as the first presidential election report by radio.  Like other radio broadcasters, he had to stop broadcasting the United States entered WWI, and eventually when he resumed had relocated to California, establishing a station , KZY.  Eventually DeForest used his radio broadcasting to inform the public about the presidential election returns of November, 1920, sending out bulletins every  hour.  In addition, he went on to broadcast music which featured opera stars as well as national anthems, songs, and religious hymns.

David Sarnoff was another instrumental figure in the development of radio.  He built and develop the AM broadcasting radio business that, for most of the 20^th century, became the prototypical radio standard until the emergence of FM radio.  He formed Radio-Keith-Orpheum, or RKO, as well which became a tremendous film production company.  Finally, William Paley was another giant in a radio broadcasting field; his father, brother-in-law, and other business partners purchased a radio network of 16 stations called the Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System, or CBS.  William Paley quickly understood the tremendous financial potential of radio, and changed the business model by developing successful programming as well as by recognizing the crucial significance of advertising to keep the stations successful.