Rise of the Radio in the United States - 1

Radio Part 1

       The radio became greatly popularized in America during the 1920's. It was the first medium of technology that was distributed information on a national scale. Later, television came along, phones became mobile and the radio was relegated to the past.  However the radio remains the first form of mass media that connected Americans across the country.

      Radio is thought be created by a man named Guglielmo Marconi, who lived in Italy as a young man. He experimented with early forms of wireless transmission by reading and replicating early experiments done by a man Heinrich Hertz. After he replicated the theories in the outlines he proceeded to go to the Italian government for support and money. The Italian government should no interest in his ideas, so he took them to England, hoping to finds funds.

      Marconi initially envisioned his invention as an improvement on the already existing telegram. He wanted it to be a way for long distance messages to be passed in places that the telegraph cables could not reach. Th potential for radio to be used as a source of mass information was only realized later, when they technology was further developed.

      The technology that is used in a radio is simple, relatively, and knowledge of how to recreate it soon reached the market. Although they were only short range, by 1912, the government began regulating the airwaves. Licenses were soon required and limited broadcast ranges for using and operating radio stations. By 1917, the government had the power to shut down radio stations and began to do so, because of worries with interference with war broadcasts.

      Before radio, telephones and other technologies had been used to spread news. For example, in the 1880s, there was a telephone service that would tell people stories. However the radio provided a way that was much more accessible to all people.

Sources:
https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_understanding-media-and-culture-an-introduction-to-mass-communication/s10-01-evolution-of-radio-broadcastin.html