Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting Chapter 5

Maxwell and Hertz Discover Radio Waves  James Maxwell Theorized the existence of electromagnetic waves (1860s)  Believed a portion of these waves, later known as radio waves, could be harnessed to transmit signals  Heinrich Hertz Proved Maxwell’s theories (1880s) Advanced the development of wireless communication

Figure 5.1: The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Marconi and the Inventors of Wireless Telegraphy  Guglielmo Marconi Received a patent on wireless telegraphy in England in 1896  Alexander Popov Made parallel discoveries in Russia  Nikola Tesla Invented a wireless system in 1892 Marconi used much of Tesla’s work. Deemed inventor of radio in 1943

Wireless Telephony: De Forest and Fessenden  Lee De Forest Wrote the first Ph.D. thesis on wireless technology in 1899 Primary interest was wireless telephony Biggest breakthrough was the development of the Audion  Reginald Fessenden First voice broadcast

Regulating a New Medium  Radio Act of 1912 Required licensing Adopted the SOS distress signal  World War I Navy took control of radio. Corporate heads and government leaders conspired to make sure radio served American interests.

Regulating a New Medium (cont.)  The formation of RCA GE broke off negotiations to sell radio technologies to European companies, then took the lead in founding the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA became a monopoly and gave the United States almost total control over the emerging mass medium of broadcasting.

The Evolution of Radio  Frank Conrad Established the first commercial broadcast station, KDKA, in 1920  Charles “Doc” Herrold Began a station in 1909 that later became KCBS  U.S. Commerce Dept. Licensed five radio stations for operation in 1921

The RCA Partnership Unravels  AT&T Broke its RCA agreements in 1922 in an attempt to monopolize radio Began making and selling its own radio receivers Started WEAF in New York, the first station to sell advertising Created the first radio network  GE, Westinghouse, and RCA created their own radio group in response

Sarnoff and NBC: Building the “Blue” and “Red” Networks  David Sarnoff RCA’s first general manager Created NBC, which was shared by RCA, GE, and Westinghouse The original telephone group became known as the NBC-Red network, and the radio group became known as the NBC-Blue network.

Sarnoff and NBC: Building the “Blue” and “Red” Networks (cont.)  NBC affiliates Paid NBC to carry its programs NBC sold national advertising. Emphasized national programming  Sarnoff also Cut a deal with GM to manufacture car radios Merged RCA with the Victor Talking Machine Company

Government Scrutiny Ends RCA- NBC Monopoly  FTC charged RCA with violations of antitrust laws as early as  RCA bought out GE and Westinghouse’s shares in RCA’s manufacturing business.  Government accepted RCA’s breakup proposal before trial.

CBS and Paley: Challenging NBC  First attempt at CBS failed  William S. Paley Bought a controlling share in the company, and launched new concepts and strategies  Hired PR guru Edward Bernays  Used option time to lure affiliates  Raided NBC for top talent  Became the top network in 1949

Bringing Order to Chaos with the Radio Act of 1927  Radio Act of 1927 Stated that stations could only license their channels as long as they operated to serve the “public interest, convenience, or necessity” Created the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), which became the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with the Communications Act of 1934

Bringing Order to Chaos with the Radio Act of 1927(cont.)  Activist FCC went after the networks in 1941 Outlawed the practice of option time Demanded that RCA sell one of its two NBC networks  NBC-Blue was sold and became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).

The Golden Age of Radio  Early radio programming Only a handful of stations Live music daily 15-minute evening programs  Variety shows  Quiz shows  Dramatic programs Most shows had a single sponsor.

Radio Programming as a Cultural Mirror  The most popular comedy by the 1930s was Amos ‘n’ Andy Stereotyped black characters as shiftless and stupid Created the idea of the serial show Moved to TV and was the first show with an entirely black cast Canceled in 1953 amid the strengthening Civil Rights movement

The Authority of Radio  War of the Worlds Broadcast by Orson Welles on Halloween eve in 1938 in the style of a radio news program Created a panic in New York and New Jersey Prompted the FCC to call for stricter warnings before and during programs imitating the style of radio news

Transistors Make Radio Portable  Transistors Small electrical devices that could receive and amplify radio signals More durable and less expensive than vacuum tubes, used less power, and produced less heat Led to the creation of small pocket radios Made radio portable

The FM Revolution and Edwin Armstrong  FM (frequency modulation) radio Discovered and developed by Edwin Armstrong in the 1920s and 1930s  Greater fidelity and clarity than AM (amplitude modulation) radio  Lost RCA’s support to TV FCC opened up spectrum space for FM in the 1960s Surpassed AM radio by the 1980s

The Rise of Format and Top 40 Radio  Format radio Formula-driven radio Management controls programming Developed by Todd Storz in 1949 Used rotation Led to the development of the Top 40 format Creation of the program log and day parts

Resisting the Top 40  Expansion of FM in the mid- 1960s created room for experimenting. Progressive rock Experimental stations playing hard- edged political folk music Album-oriented rock (AOR) General classic rock

The Sounds of Commercial Radio  Listeners today are unlike radio’s first audiences in several ways. Radio has become a secondary or background medium. Peak listening time is during drive time rather than prime time. Stations are more specialized.

Format Specialization  Variety of formats News, talk, and information Music formats  Adult contemporary (AC)  Contemporary hit radio (CHR)  Country  Urban contemporary  Spanish language  Classic rock  Oldies

Figure 5.4: Most Popular U.S. Radio Formats, Ages 12+

Nonprofit Radio and NPR  Early years of nonprofit radio In 1948, the government began authorizing noncommercial licenses and approved 10-watt FM stations.  First noncommercial networks Public Broadcasting Act of 1967  National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) mandated to provide alternatives to commercial broadcasting

New Radio Technologies Offer More Stations  Satellite radio XM and Sirius merged to become Sirius XM Radio in Accessible through satellite radios, mobile devices, and cars with a satellite band  HD Radio Enables multicasting by AM and FM broadcasters and provides program data

Radio and Convergence  Internet radio Broadcast radio stations now have an online presence. Online-only radio stations like Pandora growing in popularity  Podcasting and portable listening A popular way to listen to radio- style programs on a computer or portable music device

Local and National Advertising  Radio advertising Comprises 10% of media advertising Industry revenue has dropped, but the number of stations keeps growing. Only 20% of budget goes toward programming costs. National networks provide programming in exchange for time slots for national ads.

Manipulating Playlists with Payola  Payola Record promoters paying deejays to play particular records Rampant in 1950s  In 2007, four of the largest broadcasting companies agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a payola investigation by the FCC.

Radio Ownership: From Diversity to Consolidation  Telecommunications Act of 1996 Eliminated most ownership restrictions in radio Together, iHeartMedia, Cumulus, and Townsquare Media:  Own roughly 1,700 radio stations (more than 11% of all radio stations)  Dominate the fifty largest markets  Control about one-third of the entire radio industry’s $17.6 billion revenue

Alternative Voices  In the 1990s, activists set up “pirate” stations to protest large corporations’ control over radio.  In 2000, the FCC approved noncommercial low-power FM (LPFM) stations to give voice to local groups lacking access.  Prometheus Radio Project Educates about low-power radio

The Demise of Local Radio The consolidation of stations into massive radio groups like Cumulus and Clear Channel in the 1990s and 2000s resulted in budget-cutting demands from the corporate offices and, ultimately, stations with less connection to their local audience.

Radio and the Democracy of the Airwaves  Influence of radio in the formation of American culture cannot be overestimated.  Early radio debates Requirement to operate in the “public interest, convenience, or necessity”  Trend of radio moving away from its localism