Evolution of Radio Broadcasting
Introduction
• At
its most basic level, radio is communication through the use
of radio waves.
• This includes radio used for person-to-person
communication as well as radio used for mass communication.
• Both of these functions are still practiced
today. Although most people associate the term radio with
radio stations that broadcast to the general public, radio wave technology is
used in everything from television to cell phones, making it a primary conduit
for person-to-person communication.
The History of Radio
• The
history of radio can be traced through the lives of these people:
• Maxwell
• Hertz
• Heavyside
• Marconi
• De
Forest
• Armstrong
• Farnsworth
• Sarnoff
The Invention of Radio
• Guglielmo
Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio.
• As
a young man living in Italy, Marconi read a biography of Hienrich Hertz, who
had written and experimented with early forms of wireless transmission. Marconi
then duplicated Hertz’s experiments in his own home, successfully sending
transmissions from one side of his attic to the other.
• He
saw the potential for the technology and approached the Italian government for
support. When the government showed no interest in his ideas, Marconi moved to
England and took out a patent on his device. Rather than inventing radio from
scratch, however, Marconi essentially combined the ideas and experiments of
other people to make them into a useful communications tool.
• Guglielmo
Marconi developed an early version of the wireless radio.
• In
fact, long-distance electronic communication has existed since the middle of
the 19th century.
• The telegraph communicated
messages through a series of long and short clicks. Cables across the Atlantic
Ocean connected even the far-distant United States and England using this
technology.
• By
the 1870s, telegraph technology had been used to develop the telephone, which
could transmit an individual’s voice over the same cables used by its
predecessor.
• When
Marconi popularized wireless technology, contemporaries initially viewed it as
a way to allow the telegraph to function in places that could not be connected
by cables.
• Early
radios acted as devices for naval ships to communicate with other ships and
with land stations; the focus was on person-to-person communication.
• However,
the potential for broadcasting—sending messages to a large group of potential
listeners—wasn’t realized until later in the development of the medium.
Broadcasting Arrives
• The
technology needed to build a radio transmitter and receiver was relatively simple,
and the knowledge to build such devices soon reached the public.
• Amateur radio operators quickly crowded the
airwaves, broadcasting messages to anyone within range and, by 1912, incurred
government regulatory measures that required licenses and limited broadcast
ranges for radio operation.
• This
regulation also gave the president the power to shut down all stations, a power
notably exercised in 1917 upon the United States’ entry into World War I to
keep amateur radio operators from interfering with military use of radio waves
for the duration of the war.
• Wireless
technology made radio as it is known today possible, but its modern, practical
function as a mass communication medium had been the domain of other
technologies for some time. As early as the 1880s, people relied on telephones
to transmit news, music, church sermons, and weather reports. In Budapest,
Hungary, for example, a subscription service allowed individuals to listen to
news reports and fictional stories on their telephones.
• Around
this time, telephones also transmitted opera performances from Paris to London.
• In
1909, this innovation emerged in the United States as a pay-per-play phonograph
service in Wilmington, Delaware. This service allowed subscribers to listen to
specific music recordings on their telephones.
• In
1906, Massachusetts resident Reginald Fessenden initiated the first radio
transmission of the human voice, but his efforts did not develop into a useful
application.
• Ten
years later, Lee de Forest used radio in a more modern sense when he set up an
experimental radio station, 2XG, in New York City. De Forest gave nightly
broadcasts of music and news until World War I halted all transmissions for
private citizens.
Radio’s Commercial Potential
• After
the World War I radio ban lifted with the close of the conflict in 1919, a
number of small stations began operating using technologies that had developed
during the war. Many of these stations developed regular programming that
included religious sermons, sports, and news.
• As early as 1922, Schenectady, New York’s WGY
broadcast over 40 original dramas, showing radio’s potential as a medium for
drama. The WGY players created their own scripts and performed them live on
air. This same groundbreaking group also made the first known attempt at
television drama in 1928.
• Businesses
such as department stores, which often had their own stations, first put
radio’s commercial applications to use. However, these stations did not
advertise in a way that the modern radio listener would recognize. Early radio
advertisements consisted only of a “genteel sales message broadcast during
‘business’ (daytime) hours, with no hard sell or mention of price.”
• In
fact, radio advertising was originally considered an unprecedented invasion of privacy,
because—unlike newspapers, which were bought at a newsstand—radios were present
in the home and spoke with a voice in the presence of the whole family.
• However,
the social impact of radio was such that within a few years advertising was
readily accepted on radio programs. Advertising agencies even began producing
their own radio programs named after their products. At first, ads ran only
during the day, but as economic pressure mounted during the Great Depression in
the 1930s, local stations began looking for new sources of revenue, and
advertising became a normal part of the radio soundscape.
The Rise of Radio Networks
• Not
long after radio’s broadcast debut, large businesses saw its potential
profitability and formed networks. In 1926, RCA started the
National Broadcasting Network (NBC). Groups of stations that carried syndicated
network programs along with a variety of local shows soon formed its Red and
Blue networks. Two years after the creation of NBC, the United Independent
Broadcasters became the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and began competing
with the existing Red and Blue networks.
• Although
early network programming focused mainly on music, it soon developed to include
other programs. Among these early innovations was the variety show.
This format generally featured several different performers introduced by a
host who segued between acts. Variety shows included styles as diverse as jazz
and early country music. At night, dramas and comedies such as Amos ’n’
Andy, The Lone Ranger, and Fibber McGee and Molly filled
the airwaves. News, educational programs, and other types of talk programs also
rose to prominence during the 1930s.
The Golden Age of Radio
• The
so-called Golden Age of Radio occurred between 1930 and the mid-1950s. Because
many associate the 1930s with the struggles of the Great Depression, it may
seem contradictory that such a fruitful cultural occurrence arose during this
decade. However, radio lent itself to the era. After the initial purchase of a
receiver, radio was free and so provided an inexpensive source of entertainment
that replaced other, more costly pastimes, such as going to the movies.
• Radio
also presented an easily accessible form of media that existed on its own
schedule. Unlike reading newspapers or books, tuning in to a favorite program
at a certain time became a part of listeners’ daily routine because it
effectively forced them to plan their lives around the dial.
Broadcasting In India
• Broadcasting
began in India with the formation of a private radio service in Madras
(presently Chennai) in 1924.
• In
the very same year, British colonial government approved a license to a private
company, the Indian Broadcasting Company, to inaugurate Radio stations in
Bombay and Kolkata.
• The
company almost went bankrupt in 1930 but the colonial government took away the
two transmitters and the Department of Labour and Industries started operating
them as the Indian State Broadcasting Corporation.
• In 1936, this very Corporation was renamed All
India Radio (AIR) and was controlled by the Department of Communications. When
India became independent in 1947, AIR was made a separate Department under the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The
early history of Indian radio broadcasting in independent India set the
parameters for the succeeding role of television in the nation.
• At
Independence, the Congress government under Jawaharlal Nehru followed three
major goals: firstly, to achieve political integration; secondly, to attain
economic development; and finally, to achieve social modernization.
• Indian
broadcast media was expected to play an important role in all three areas. In
those days radio was considered as an integral medium of communication,
primarily due to the absence of any motion medium.
• All
the national affairs and social changes were informed through the waves of
broadcast media and within no time, popularity of radio spread nationwide.
Indian radio proved to be a prime medium of social integration.
• The
story of FM radio is one of success and tragedy. In the mid-30s, Major Edwin
Armstrong, an inventor who had already devised a successful circuit to improve
AM radio, came up with a whole new approach to transmitting radio signals.
• Armstrong
was clearly a technical genius. Although his life was cut short, he's still
considered the most prolific inventor in radio's history.
• Even
though he had improved AM radio in significant ways,
• Armstrong
was well aware of AM radio's major limitations:
• static
interference from household appliances and lighting
•
limited audio quality (frequency response and dynamic range)
•
Night-time interference between many stations (co-channel interference),
because of ionosphere refraction, especially in rural areas.
• FM
Radio was first introduced by All India Radio in 1972 at Madras and later in
1992 at Jalandhar.
• Phase
One: In 1993, the government sold airtime blocks on its FM channels in Madras, Mumbai,
Delhi, Kolkata and Goa to private operators, who developed their own programme
content.
• Ameen
Sayani, one of the most popular radio announcers of Indian Radio, is presently
working for Red FM.
• He
attained fame with Binaca Geetmala and Bournvita Quiz Contest and ruled over
the airwaves during 1950s and 1960s. His elder brother Hamid Sayani has also
been a radio personality of international fame.
• The
celebrity actor Sunil Dutt started his career in Indian media through Radio.
Vijay Kishore Dubey and Shiv Kumar Saroj are also two of the popular radio
announcers of Indian Radio.
• In
many countries, non-profit radio broadcasters thrive. They have become the
platforms for the languages, voices and views of citizens and local communities
that would otherwise be ignored.
• There
are over 1000 community stations in Latin America and over 2500 non-commercial
educational stations in the USA. Post-apartheid South Africa, a democracy much
younger than India, is currently listening to around 100 community broadcasters.
• It
is this wave of the radio revolution that has missed India thus far. Radio even
though many consider it an obsolete medium in this generation, still has its
use.
• People
may not hear it to receive news or to send signals but they hear it without
even realizing it. Many broadcasters thought that maybe the time for Radio is
over with the introduction of i-pod’s and MP3 players but with the beginning of
online radio, it is safe to assume that the Radio is making a come back.
Write short notes on:
Identify the major technological
changes in radio as a medium since its inception.
• Explain
the defining characteristics of radio’s Golden Age.
• Read
About :
- Satellite Radio
- HD Radio
- Internet Radio and Podcasting
- Internet Radio
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