After World War 1 in 1919, the radio bans were lifted. Small companies began popping up across the country, using the radio technologies that had existed before the conflict, but had been regulated, however, improved. These small companies would broadcast on regular schedules, to include religious sermons, music, sports updates and of course, the news.
KDKA was the first of these commercial stations and began broadcasting out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as early as 1920. Their first broadcast was made on November 2nd, 1920. This was Election Day that year and they wanted to use the power of the radio to get the news of the election to the people before the newspapers were printed that week. Republican Senator Warren G. Harding had won the election, and the American people now could not just read all about it, but hear it as well.
After the original successes of radio in the early years, companies began to offer a plethora of radio stations and services. New York's WGY broadcasted over 40 original dramas across the air, and the actors would perform original scripts that they had written. Businesses soon followed in suit, with even department stores having their own stations. These broadcasts did not include prices or even of selling, they would announce products during peak sales hours.
As with any new technology, radio brought controversy. Some people considered it an invasion of privacy, because even though they announced the news, sales and told stories the same as the paper, some people felt uncomfortable with it being someones voice in their family's home. Some even went as far as to say that radio eroded peoples abilities to think and called it a diversion from the realities of everyday life.
By the mid 1920's radio had become extremely popular. It was dominated by department stores, newspapers, churches and schools owned the majority of the radio waves. Soon the number of stations was too many for the airwaves. Soon radio interference became a problem and it began to get messy. The government decided to step in and enact the the Radio Act of 1927. A commission was created by the federal government called the FRC (Federal Radio Commission). The Commission was responsible for assigning licenses to specific channels. Although there were no specific laws regarding censorship, they controlled channels on the basis of whether or not it was obscene.
As a result of the radio broadcasting act, the airwaves were soon mostly dominated by large networks. By 1930, 70% of shares were controlled by NBC and CBS. In those years they earned more than 72$ million in profits. Non profit companies struggled to stay afloat and soon began to protest the FRC. They felt that commercial stations were being favored in terms of allocating channels.
Contrary to what some people might think, radio became even more popular during the Depression. The technology was relatively cheap to purchase and people could gather around them, listening together, creating a sense of community and forging a bond in the spirit of forgetting their daily troubles.
As the years wore on, radio only became more popular. People began to schedule their lives around when their favorite programs would come on. It was a way for information to be spread much faster and much more effectively than the newspaper. Radio became a central force in peoples lives and in bad times, provided a way for people to be distracted after or before work, to bond with their families and friends.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/KDKA
http://www.theradiohistorian.org/ge_stns/ge_stns.htm
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/03/08/kdkas-historic-broadcast/
http://americainclass.org/the-radio-as-new-technology-blessing-or-curse-a-1929-debate/
https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/radio-act-of-1927/
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