The Dynamics of
Mass Communication
Seventh Edition
Joseph R. Dominick
Part 3
Electronic Media
Chapter 7
Radio
Radio History
Early Radio Milestones
1887
Heinrich Hertz sends, detects radio waves
1896
Guglielmo Marconi sends wireless signal in Morse
Code, sees promise of "wireless“ as a naval
communication medium
1906
Reginald Fessenden makes first device that can
broadcast human voice and music
1908
Lee de Forest invents vacuum tube which makes it
much easier to receive audio waves
WW I
Inventor patent wars hamper radio development;
U.S. Navy takes over and log jam is broken
Evolution of Radio as a Mass Medium
Big Business
Radio’s profit potential attracts big corporations; GE, AT&T, and
Westinghouse are early investors.
Mass Audience
In 1920, station KDKA, Pittsburgh, becomes the first to prove
radio can profit by targeting programming to general
audiences.
Better Receivers
Technical and cosmetic changes help turn radio into a “must
have” household appliance; 17 million sets sell by 1930.
Evolution of Radio
(Con’t)
Radio Goes Commercial
AT&T’s “air time for sale” idea quickly demonstrates advertising
can be radio’s chief revenue source.
Networks
NBC starts two networks in 1926; CBS follows with one in 1927.
By 1937, NBC has 111 affiliates, CBS 105.
Government Regulation
Unregulated airwaves prompt Congress to order chaotic radio
practices with the Radio Act of 1927.
Evolution of Radio
(Con’t)
The Depression: 1930-1940
Industry avoids bad times, thrives by becoming an inexpensive
escapist outlet for national audiences. Roosevelt creates
FCC in 1934 to regulate entire electromagnetic spectrum.
Seven-member board governs national resource.
Birth of FM
Invented mid 1930s, FM is curtailed by WW II, later by TV.
Radio Programs
Programming expands to drama, soap operas, comedy, news,
and westerns. Roosevelt becomes first “radio President.”
Evolution of Radio
(Con’t)
World War II
•
Network news thrives as public follows war developments
with “name” correspondents.
•
Ad revenues double during war years.
•
Supreme Court orders NBC to sell one of its two networks.
ABC is formed from that court order.
Innovation and Change: 1945-1954
In the nine years following WW II, the public’s
attention focuses on TV as the nation’s new
entertainment medium.
•
Radio switches from dramatic programming to airing
pre-recorded music, finds new markets and thrives.
•
FM’s development is further delayed by corporate and
public preoccupation with the new TV medium.
FM RADIO
(frequency modulated radio)
FM and TV share nearly same wavelength areas on the
electromagnetic wave band; in 1945, FCC gives TV the
FM bands and bumps FM into the 88-108-MHz band
where it remains today.
Though FM was technically better than AM (FM sounded
better and was less affected by static), FM radio stayed
in the shadows until the 1970s, partly due to WW II, a
preoccupation with TV, and regulatory hurdles.
Television’s Influence on Radio
•
TV’s entertainment advantage forces radio to
create new program formats. Talk, music, news
and sports, and religious shows debut as a result.
•
Though station revenues remain intact, network
affiliations are cut in half due to a lack of demand.
•
Profits rise as stations turn to local businesses to
provide primary advertising revenues.
Specialized Formats
Among the new program formats, pre-recorded music quickly
becomes a favorite offering. Some stations begin
specializing in certain music formats, none of which is
more popular than the “Top 40” genre.
DJs become new radio personalities themselves as they
intertwine personal talk and top 40 record hits.
The clock hour, a scheduling tool that specifies every
element of programming within a given time frame,
emerges.
Growth and Stabilization: 1955-1990
•
Stations double in number.
•
Profit potential of Top 40 format leads some record
companies to bribe DJs with payola schemes.
•
Format specialization continues, increases.
•
FM emerges as viable medium.
•
In 1965 FCC passes its “nonduplication rule.” No more
than 50% of content can be duplicated on AM/FM sister
stations; FM stations become attractive investments.
Growth and Stabilization: 1955-1990
(Con’t)
•
Country music becomes favorite FM format, followed by
adult contemporary
•
AM is home to talk, news, oldies, and religious formats.
•
National Public Radio (NPR) debuts in 1970 as the first
non-commercial network; it boasts 160 affiliates by
1980.
•
By 1970, FM controls 70 % of the entire radio audience.
The Volatile 1990s
•
Congress passes Telecommunication Act of 1966. It
allows unlimited station ownership, but limits the
number of stations that can be owned within same
market to eight.
•
As a result, an era of unprecedented station mergers
and acquisitions begins. Radio conglomerates flourish.
•
Original FCC philosophy of “localism,” which mandated
that stations should serve local interest, now replaced
with a corporate view: the public interest is served by
offering content that interests the public.
RADIO IN THE DIGITAL AGE
•
IBOC
(in band, on channel) technology now allows
simultaneous transmission of analog and digital signals;
digital radio debuts in 2001.
•
Satellite radio Aimed at expanding the commuter
market, direct-satellite-to-car technology offers 100
commercial free program formats for $10 monthly fees.
•
Internet radio With commercial free, highly specialized
formats, over 300 Internet-only stations now offer their
brand of programming plus Internet service options such
as chat, e-commerce, and content-related web links.
DEFINING FEATURES OF RADIO
Radio is . . .
• portable – small, convenient to carry
• supplemental – listening often a secondary focus
• universal – most people have one, tune in daily
• selective – niche medium of specialized audiences
ORGANIZATION OF THE
RADIO INDUSTRY
There are about 12,500 radio stations in the U.S., most of
which use local programming plus network and/or
syndicated shows.
While reliance on network programming is declining, the
new demand is for syndicated shows featuring hosts
such as Russ Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, and
Don Imus, plus a variety of other specialized content.
AM Station Classifications
While AM signals travel further, FM’s signals offer superior
sound quality and are less affected by interference.
AM has three station classifications:
•
clear channel
•
regional
•
local
FM Station Classifications
FM has three station classifications, also largely
based on a descending order of output power.
A 100,000-watt “C” station, for example, will
have more power than a “B” or “A” station.
Station Formats
Stations are best categorized by format, a type of consistent
programming designed to appeal to a specific audience
which, in turn, attracts advertisers trying to connect with
that audience type. There are three basic categories:

music

black or ethnic

news / talk
Format Homogenization
Many stations across the nation sound essentially the same for
good reasons:
1.
Owners believe that what works well in one city should work
well in another.
2.
Satellite program transmissions are standardizing content.
3.
Program choices are increasingly influenced by a limited
band of radio consultants and audience research firms.
Noncommercial Radio
Some 1,900 noncommercial stations are owned by non-profit
organizations, with most programming supplied by two
networks:

National Public Radio (with 530 affiliates); stations pay
NPR a usage fee based on audience size and budget. Most
stations also receive funding from the CPB, or Corporation
for Public Broadcasting, an agency funded by Congress.

Public Radio International Distributes programming from
station-based, independent and international producers.
OWNERSHIP IN THE RADIO INDUSTRY
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 encouraged a
strong trend toward radio station consolidation and
group ownership. As a result, several radio station
conglomerates now dominate U.S. markets, the
largest of which owns some 904 stations.
PRODUCING RADIO PROGRAMS
Most stations are divided into four departments
. sales
. news
. programming
. engineering
Most stations also employ two top positions:
. general manager
. program director
Putting Together a Program
Music Format: Uses a format wheel divided into program
element segments and the times they’re scheduled to air.
Talk Format: Staff produced, topics are geared to local
interests. These shows require more equipment, staff and
technical expertise than DJ-based programs.
All-News Format: The most costly of all formats, news
shows schedule specific spots for news, weather, sports,
business reports, and commercials. Their repeat story cycle
usually starts at the top or bottom of the hour.
RADIO ECONOMICS
At $20 billion annually, radio advertising holds 8 percent of
the advertising market. From 1993-2000, the industry
enjoyed 93 consecutive months of revenue increases.
Revenue comes from three main sources:
• national advertising (5 percent)
• regional or national spot advertising (16 percent)
• local advertising (79 percent)
GENERAL EXPENSES
A radio station generally incurs five types of expenses:
• technical
• programming
• selling
• administration
• news
FEEDBACK
Audience figures for radio stations are monitored by Arbitron,
which surveys 3,000 to 4,000 randomly selected listeners in some
262 markets nationwide. The results (usually only 40 to 50
percent of the surveys sent out), take two forms:
• ratings ratio of station listeners to all people in the market
• shares ratio of station listeners relative to the total number
of people in the market share actually listening to
radio at the same time
Examples of ratings / shares
Ratings
Example:
100,000 people in the market with 20,000
listening to station WXYZ
ratings = 20,000/100,000 or a 20 % rating
Shares
Example:
80,000 people are listening to radio with
20,000 tuned in to WXYZ
share = 20,000/80,000 or a 25 % share
Radio Audience Profiles
. 550 million radios in U.S. (over two per person); 1/3 are in cars
. on a typical day, 3/4 of all adults will listen to some radio
. average person has the radio on for about three hours daily
. most listen to radio during the twice daily rush-hour drive times
. FM listenership rising (72%), biggest increase from teenagers
. as people age, they tend to evolve from one format to another
End of Chapter 7
Radio