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Patrica Molyneux
Instructor Jason Allen
Comm 1500
11 Mar 2012
Did Video Kill the Radio Star?
Radio started decades before 1922, but it was not till then that it reformed into
commercial radio broadcasting. Since it’s invention in the 1800’s radio has seen its share of hard
times throughout the decades. From the invention of the television to varying harsh degrees of
government regulation and the many advances in technology radio has always seemed to adapt
and change with the times. It is this quality in radio that will keep it one of the leading mediums
for mass media for decades to come.
The invention of the radio has been credited mainly to Guglielmo Marconi “The Father of
Radio” (Media Culture pg 112) who took the ideas of Heinrich Hertz and Samuel Morse to
produce the first radio wave. After this in 1896 Marconi will go on to patient his Invention in
wireless telegraphy, in 1897 he would start the Marconi Wireless Telegraph company also
known as British Marconi and later known as American Marconi. Marconi would continue his
success by sharing the Nobel Prize for his contribution to wireless telegraphy in 1909 (Media
Culture pg 111-112).
After all great inventions and leaps in technology there will come some form of
government control or regulation, in 1912 congress passed the radio act of 1912. This act which
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was an amendment to the 1910, act which “required larger vessels of all nationalities visiting
U.S. ports to install radio equipment by July 1, 1911” (earlyradiohistory.us/sec023.htm); this act
was amended to cover all vessels. This would just be the start of a long list of government
regulations and agency’s to help control one of the biggest mediums of communication of our
time.
The first radio broadcast by Charles Herrold nicknamed “Doc” was the first radio
broadcaster, he started at his college with a small student audience. From that first broadcast in
1909 to the broadcast of the national election returns of Cox-Harding in 1920. Radio was starting
to take shape as more and more people got involved with radio broadcasting. When radios
broadcasting first started shows were performed live, usually for only one performance and most
radio actors and broadcasters worked for free or did it as a hobby from home. In this time radio
seemed to be growing at a slower pace as society and government tried to figure out what to do
with this new form of mass media, especially after the lifting of certain restrictions put in place
due to World War 1. “In 1923 through 1926 a large proportion of sets were home-made; many
sets were of "crystal" type” (Memphis.edu). At this time there were probably no more than
2,000,000 radios in homes throughout the United States.
Once wireless radio came along and was discovered to be a viable profitable industry and
it was found there was a ton of money to be made, the formation of some of the biggest
corporations and media outlets in history came to be. This activity would have started with the
purchase of American Marconi by General Electric (G.E) in 1919. General Electric would then
turn American Marconi into Radio Corporation of America (RCA). It was companies like this
that would revolutionize the radio industry.” In early 1922, the American Telephone &
Telegraph Company began promoting the controversial idea of using advertising to finance
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programming. Initially AT&T claimed that its patent rights gave it a monopoly over U.S. radio
advertising, but a 1923 industry settlement paved the way for other stations to begin to sell time”
(earlyradiohistory.us/sec023.htm). After the monopoly dispute in 1923 companies like American
Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) and Westinghouse along with G.E would create an industry of
networks and radio products to last well into the future of radio broadcasting and advertising.
The first sponsored program on the radio was broadcast in 1922 by AT&T, but sponsored
programming and advertising didn’t really take off until after 1926. By the end of 1926 RCA had
bought out a section of AT&T and in a merger with Westinghouse and G.E formed the network
NBC. It was after this commercial advertising on the radio really started making big money
going from 300,000 to 400,000 a year in 1926 to roughly 60,000,000 by the end of 1930
(mephis.edu). This also led to the increase of radio networks that were mostly privately owned
until they would sell out or become affiliate stations of NBC.
By 1927 the industry had gotten so chaotic congress passed the radio act of 1927. Unlike
the act of 1912 which was intended more for maritime use by ships and ship to shore use by
radio. The act of 1927 which dealt with a lot of issues of free speech also led to the creation of
the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) which was intended to be a temporary office to oversee
licensing and the public interest. This office would later become the Federal Communication
Commission (FCC) that would have a tighter hold on broadcasting regulations and later on
television, cable, and internet (Mark Goodman).
In the 1930s despite the great depression the radio still kept soaring in revenue with
approximately 12,000,000 million sets in homes throughout the U.S. By the mid 1930s this
number had grown to approximately 22,000,000 (earlyradiohistory.us). With the increasing
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development of programming and advertising the radio continued to endure. By the end of the
30s the radio was still going strong, but was yet to face its greatest challenge to date the
advancement of television by the end of the 1940’s.
Although the first television broadcast was in 1927 television didn’t really take off till the
end of the 1940’s and beginning of the 1950’s, before 1947 the number of televisions in U.S
homes could be measured in the thousands. By the end of 1951 the sales of television sets had
surpassed radio receivers and listening had declined drastically. Radio shows such as Bob Hopes
radio show lost half its audience, which made a lot of these shows switch to a television format.
Shows like Bob Hopes and Howdy Dowdy could now be seen on television instead of listened to
on the radio, not only did television steal radios programming but it stole it’s advertising as well.
Most forms of advertising on television were developed over time from radio “by the end of the
1950’s television would become the dominant force in mass medium and cultural force” (Media
and Culture).
“Few inventions have had as much effect on contemporary American society as
television” (Mitchell Stephens). Even thought television became so popular radio seemed to be
able to keep its own identity. With different programming and advertising strategies on television
radio would again build its popularity. Programming such as game shows and after noon soap
operas which were first conceived of on radio, would take on different forms and in turn help
radio broadcasting. Eventually by 1980 television would fight back again with the introduction
of Music Television (MTV) this would bring about the age of the VJ.
Back when MTV used to play music they created what is still known as the video jockey
(VJ) like the disk jockey (DJ) of the radio. Like the eight tracks did to records and compact disk
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to cassette tape the VJ took on popularity for a short amount of time. Now in a time where IPod’s
and mp3 players, the internet and media on the go, will radio still survive? Was the first video on
MTV true “Did Video Kill the Radio Star” (History.com)?
In conclusion I would have to say through my research, no video didn’t kill the radio star
just beat him up a little bit. From the start of the first radio broadcast the industry has had
struggle after struggle from advances in technology to advances in society and no matter what
has endured the tests of time. In my belief radio is here to stay for a lot longer than it’s been
around and will continue to stay one of the top mediums for mass communication and
entertainment.
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Works Cited
Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos. Mass Media and Culture 7.
Bedfords/St.Martin: Hohnstine, 2011. Print.
Dr. Marvin R. Bensman. “The History of Broadcasting, 1920-1960”. Ohio.edu, N.d.
Web. March 02, 2012
Goodman, Mark. “THE RADIO ACT OF 1927 AS A PRODUCT OF
PROGRESSIVISM.” Vol 2. Issue 2 pg1. Database. Web. March 03 2012.
History.com. “Aug 1st 1981 MTV Launches” This Day in History. A&E Television
Network, N.D.Web.March 02, 2012.
Stephens, Mitchell. “History of Telivision.” Grolier Encyclopedia nyu.edu N.d. Web.
March 03,2012
Thomas H. White. “A Wireless Message”. United States Early Radio History. N.P,
March 11, 2003. Web. March 03 2012.
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