If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. Show If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. Celebrating 100 Years of Commercial Radio November 2, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary of what is widely recognized as the first commercial radio broadcast when Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, under the call sign KDKA, broadcast the live returns of the Harding-Cox presidential election. Over the last century, radio transformed from a cumbersome, experimental medium to a mobile, modern format that ushered in new technologies like television and cellular telephones. Within just four years of the initial KDKA broadcast, 600 stations existed in the U.S. and radio’s rapid popularity contributed to our shared national identity by providing syndicated news, sports, and music. For many, radio was the fastest reliable way to receive updates about national and world events. Since 1934, the Commission has worked to ensure that radio regulations remain reasonable and current to make way for innovation and evolving technology. Radio continues to be a relevant form of mass communication and remains one of the few free services to anyone with a receiver. The Commission’s approval of new technologies and revitalization of radio regulations will ensure commercial radio is relevant for years to come. The following timeline highlights major milestones and historic events in commercial radio’s 100-year history from 1920 to the present.
Additional Historical Material Relating to Radio on the FCC Website:Annual Reports of the FCC and FRC
FCC > Media Bureau > Audio Division Why was 1930 and 1940 the Golden Age of the radio?Golden Age of American radio, period lasting roughly from 1930 through the 1940s, when the medium of commercial broadcast radio grew into the fabric of daily life in the United States, providing news and entertainment to a country struggling with economic depression and war.
What happened to radio in the 1950s Explain?In the 1950s, television surpassed radio as the most popular broadcast medium, and commercial radio programming shifted to narrower formats of news, talk, sports and music. Religious broadcasters, listener-supported public radio and college stations provide their own distinctive formats.
What era is the radio?Before the 19th century, wireless radio communication in everyday life was a thing of fantasy. Even after the development of the radio in the late 1800s, it took many years before radios went mainstream and became a household fixture.
Why was it called the golden age of radio?Radio as a medium reached its peak—the so-called Radio Golden Age—during the Great Depression and World War II. This was a time when the world was rapidly changing, and for the first time Americans experienced those history-making events as they happened.
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