The radio began with Frank Conrad, an engineer who set up an early radio station above his garage in Pittsburgh. With new wireless technology, which was developed by Guglielmo Marconi in the late 19th century, a large audience gathered around Conrad's "station". The bosses of the area saw the potential of the radio business and urged Conrad to expand his station into something more profitable. On November 2, Conrad announced that Harding was the next President. This message was heard all over the country. By 1922, Conrad's station was one out of 500.
For the listener, other than the cost of radio, which was mass produced and therefore cheap, radio was free. Stations made money buy putting advertisements. By 1926, the first American radio network, National Broadcast Company, was created. Regional differences began to dissolve as Americans listened to the same sporting events and the same music. With the radio, a mass national commerical and entertainment culture boomed.
Sources:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/46g.asp
https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/history/articles/hhoover.html
This is a great post on the use of the radio during the 1920s. I like how you mentioned how Roosevelt used the radio during his presidency because it is important to know that the radio was also a pitfall during a moment of his presidency. During the Great Depression, when the New Deal was trying to gain traction with the American people, Father Couglin and Huey Long, two well- known advocates for their people's views, used the radio to belittle Roosevelt and his "New Deal" plan. Though Roosevelt was able to reach millions of users to advocate for his plan, the radio was also used by his opponents to stop his New Deal.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post. I enjoyed reading about the history of how the radio began. During the depression, anyone who owned a radio could listen to Roosevelt's fireside chats. Radio not only helped to give updates, but it was also a source of entertainment. It was a source of comfort and hope for the people and sports updates and music kept the people distracted from the bad times.
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