From Radio to Television

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From Radio to Television
For nearly three decades, AM radio dominated the
broadcasting business. While other technologies
slowly evolved in laboratories, broadcasting
developed along the pattern that had been
established in the 1920s. Networks matured, the
number of stations and receivers increased, and
radio became part of the fabric of American life.
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The Great Depression (1929 1937)
This is a scene of the Toronto Stock Exchange the
day of the crash. Immediately after this picture
was taken, the
income of almost every single Canadian family was
cut by more than half. By 1933, 26.6 of people
who were wage earners were unemployed.
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During the early 1930s, for the first time in
broadcasting history, the number of stations on
the air actually decreased. The decline occurred
both because of the Federal Radio Commissions
efforts to clear up interference among stations
and because of
the shortage of investment funds during the
Depression years. By 1937, however,
three-quarters of all U.S. homes had radios.
Families held on to their radios as a last link
to humanity.
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Coming into office early in 1933, Franklin D.
Roosevelt proved to be a master broadcaster, the
first national politician to exploit the new
medium to its full potential in presidential
politics. He lifted the nations spirits with
the ringing phrases in his
inaugural address (The only thing to fear is
fear itself), broadcast throughout the country
by both CBS and NBC, the only national networks
in 1933. Roosevelt was the first professional of
the art.
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Roosevelts distinctive, patrician voice became
familiar to every listener who tuned in to his
fireside chats, the term used to suggest the
the informality, warmth, and directness of these
presidential radio reports to the peoplea brand
new phenomenon in American politics. It was in
the most direct sense, wrote David Halberstam,
the government reaching out and touching the
citizen.
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The FCC takes over
Roosevelt also had an impact on the regulation of
communications. He urged the formation of a
communications commission to pull the telegraph,
telephone, and radio operations together.
Congress followed his lead and passed the
Communications Act of 1934. This act created a
seven-member Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to regulate all interstate electronic
communication, including broadcasting.
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Television and FM emerge
As they tuned in to radio entertainment and news,
listeners in the 1930s began to hear and read
more about radio-with-pictures, or television.
For its first quarter century, the word
broadcasting meant only amplitude-modulation (AM)
radio. Edwin Armstrong invented a much improved
alternative system using frequency modulation
(FM) in 1933. The FCC placed these frequencies
at 88-109 MHz, along with VHF locations. Meaning
TV frequencies shared ranges with radio
frequencies.
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The "War of the Worlds" Broadcast
No history of radio would be complete without
mentioning the famous (some would say "infamous")
"War of the Worlds" broadcast in October, 1938.
Together with John Houseman (later to become a
well-known actor) Wells, had come up with a radio
drama for Halloween night involving an invasion
from Mars. The show was in the form of a mock
radio newscast featuring supposedly live reports
from various parts of the United States tracing
the destructive advance of the Martians across
the country. .
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The show was in the form of a mock radio newscast
featuring supposedly live reports from various
parts of the United States tracing the
destructive advance of the Martians across the
country. It was clearly stated at the beginning
of the show that it was only a drama (a Halloween
spoof). However, people who tuned in after the
show had started didn't hear the disclaimer.
Keep in mind that this was during the time when
"radio was king" people were hearing about
various international crises on the radio, and
everyone was already a bit nervous about things
in the country (the country was on the brink of 
a world war).
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The show included various realistic sound
effects--all done "live," of course--that added
believability. Some people who were listening
were smart enough to tune to other radio
stations, and finding no similar doomsday
coverage, concluded that it was only a drama. A
great many didn't, and the show caused panic
across the country. People barricaded themselves
in their homes with guns loaded some people
jumped in their cars and tried to flee the areas
where the Martians were supposedly advancing and
many rushed to churches to settle things before
it was too late.
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Gone With the WindSets Box Office Records
This brings us to 1939, when one of the biggest
hits of all time was produced by David O.
Selznick, Gone With the Wind. This civil war epic
marked the first time the color process was
lavishly and expertly used. In terms of content
and innovations, however, Citizen Kane, produced
two years later by Orson Welles, is considered
the most notable U.S. film ever made.
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Decline of Radio Networks
For radio, the year 1948 marked both a high water
mark and the beginning of the end for
full-service network programming. In that year,
radio networks grossed more revenue than ever
before. But television was about to end their
rule. After WWII, technology shifted back from
the war efforts to everyday life. And the boom
for TV production began, signifying a new and
improved entertainment system. Advertisers
shifted over.
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1948 set
1946 set
1950-1951 set
1953-1954 color set
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A Decade Later
Radio suffered for nearly 10 years. But in the
early 1950s, a new sound of music began play on
a Cleveland radio station. They played a strange
new sound. A sound that combined elements of
gospel, harmony, rhythm, blues, and country.
They called it rock and roll. THEN came
Top-40 radio, a name referred to the practice of
limiting DJs to a prescribed playlist of current
bestselling popular recordings. Listeners
started coming back, and so did the advertising.
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Broadcasting

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