Does radio have a future A historical perspective Essay

Does radio have a future A historical perspective - Essay Example The next decade saw several radio experimenters building their own radio receivers and by the evening of November 2, 1920, Westinghouse has launched KDKA as the first commercially licensed radio station (Encyclop?diaBritannica, 2011). From 1920 onward phenomenal successes were made in radio technology and broadcasting through research activities in Europe, North America, and Asia. The phenomenal success in the art and science of radio has greatly influenced human activities ranging from politics, economics, culture, and religion (NationalMuseumofAmericanHistory, 1933; BBC, 1940; Saul, 2009). However, recent advances in science and technology offers the same if not better means of communications that the radio offers. For instance, the internet offers better and more glamorous means of advertisement and communicating then the radio. With the presence of these technologies, one could not help but ask: does the radio have a future? The article seeks to answer this question from a histor ical perspective. History of the radio The radio has come a long way. Its journey to its present status differs in different societies. Different rules and regulations govern radio broadcasting in different countries. Even it development differs. Thus the history of radio and radio broadcasting will be explored under different countries. Radio and radio broadcasting in the United States Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian working in the United States, developed the first known radio program in the United States. With the use of Alexanderson’s Alternator in his experimental station at Brant Rock, Mass., on Christmas Eve, 1906 he succeeded in transmitting the first radio program over several hundred miles. Many experimental stations subsequently sprang up following the relaxation of the military restriction of radio at the end of World War I. Most of these early radio stations were operated by individuals who pursued radio broadcasting as a hobby. As the number of people who want to hear music from the â€Å"air† increased, the demand for radio receivers suitable for operation by the layman increased. This increase justified the establishment of stations for the sole purpose of broadcasting entertainment and information programs. On the evening of November 2, 1920, the first commercially licensed radio station, KDKA in Pittsburgh went on air with a broadcast of the returns of the Harding/Cox presidential election. Following the success of the KDKA broadcast and the musical programs that were presented on air, several radio stations were established. Indeed, by the end of 1921, a total of eight radio stations were operating the United States. The sales of radio receiving sets and component parts for use in home construction of such set boomed between 1921 and 1922. A phenomenal increase in the number of radio stations follows with 564 radio stations licensed by Nov. 1, 1922. In 1922, long-distance wire telephone lines were used to connect a radio station in New York City with one in Chicago to facilitate the broadcasting of the description of a gridiron football game. This innovation introduced a new idea, radio networking, into radio broadcasting. In 1926 the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) purchased WEAF in New York