COM 1450 Smith
Derek McGannon
Every morning, people worldwide tune into their favorite stations and listen to sports, their favorite music, and news from all around the planet. This global web of communication exploded with popularity last century and is still prevalent today making the radio one of the most impactful mediums of communication in the world today.
According to PBS.org the history of the radio first got its start in europe. The Italian inventor Guglielmo Macroni brought the first prototype of the radio out to the real world. He went from being a backyard scientist to the godfather of electromagnetic transmitting communications across the world. In 1899 Macaroni transmitted the results of a yacht race from the open sea to New York and history had been made. His popularity grew so much that 2 years later in 1901 he started a commercial wireless company to broadcast the first transatlantic signal. Guglielmo Macroni was the shoulder that others would stand on in the future and advance the work of the giant.
A Canadian scientist named Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first human voice christmas eve of 1906. The transmission in Massachusetts was sent all over New England and could be heard even in south eastern tip virginia. This breakthrough was literally unheard of; the fact that people could communicate to mass groups of people instantly was truly remarkable. This would give the evolutionary spark needed for others to bring about the rise of Entertainment broadcasting starting in the next decade.
The University of Michigan reports that entertainment broadcasting made its start in 1910 and by the turn of the 1930s public entertainment entered the golden age of radio. Cities were the biggest hubs for radio listeners as local news could be brought faster and more easily to listeners than printing thousands of newspapers. WW2 had a massive impact on the importance of the radio. Its first tactical implements were to give orders on the battlefields, but thousands of miles away at the same time the radio had a different function. Family and friends crowded around the radio to hear the latest news on movements abroad because everyone had a loved one in the fight. The often dismal war reports brought everyone to the radio, but people found joy and a reason to stay at the radio because of the birth of popular music.
The Radio is the main reason why today we listen to Olivia Rodrigo on repeat in malls, cars, and restaurants. Popular music found its start in jazz classics like louis armstrong and John coltrane but really spread with the showtunes from broadways. People would be able to listen to their favorite songs for free. This means without purchasing a record, a Broadway ticket or traveling to a jazz bar.
The Radio became a platform for local and world news, mass advertising, and popular music. The radio today brings us the same and so much more, and the impact has left us with 92% of Americans over the age of 18 listening to the radio at least once a week and 3 billion listeners worldwide. The radio truly impacted the whole world for the better.
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