Radio


 * Radio [[image:old_radio_1.gif width="155" height="158"]]**

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**The History of Radio**
Guglielmo Marconi first created the concept of radio in 1896. He invented the wireless telegraph that would transfer a message in Morse code using radio waves. His Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company had many stations throughout Europe and the United States that would receive and transfer messages to incoming and outgoing ships. In 1912 the regulation of airwaves began when the United States Congress passed the Radio Act of 1912 allowing the Department of Commerce supervise the licensing of radio.

**Broadcasting**
By 1906, radio was not only used for transmitting signals and messages in Morse code. The invention of the vacuum tube by Lee De Forest played a pivotal role in the use of radio, now allowing the reception of voice, sound, and music. Reginald Fessenden was the first person to experiment with radio waves concerning voices and music. The radio could now be used for recreational use and as a way to pass time as opposed to its original use for the Navy. The Radio Act of 1927 was created to enforce restrictions regarding the number of radio stations broadcasting at night and standardized frequency destinations as well as created the Federal Radio Commission.

**Rise of the Radio**
National commercial networks were created in 1927. The Radio Act of 1927 informed radio audiences which channels stations were on. Clearer radio signals were developed which caused more people to listen to radio broadcasting. Due to the mass audience of radio, advertisers now used radio to advertise their products. Radio became more entertainment content based in order to draw in more listeners. Advertising via radio became so popular that it became the main form of paying for radio. Radio broadcasting was used to report breaking news, tune in viewers to weekly soap operas, and to listen to popular music. Radio was the predecessor to early television.

**The Impact of Radio**
Nowadays, radio does not seem like the dominant form of media due to the rise of television, computers, and the internet. However, radio has made an impact on the use and popularity of television, computers, and the internet by being the first form of media allowing an everyday audience to listen to news occurring around the world, keep up with popular music genres, and to stay tuned and up to date with soap operas. Television and the internet now allowed the audience to view and listen to what was happening as opposed to just hearing about it. Radio is still a very popular form of media; radios are used as daily alarm clocks, a way to make long commutes seem a lot shorter, and radios are still used to keep listeners up to date with popular music with weekly top 40’s. By listening to a catchy song on the radio, a listener will most likely go online and download the song. If a television is not accessible to a person when breaking news is being reported, he or she will probably listen to what is happening on the radio rather than go online, search, and read about the event. The radio will never stop being a popular form of media and is often taken for granted but without it, life would seem so dull and exclusive from the world.

**Work Cited**
STRAUBHAAR, Joseph and LaROSE, Robert (2001). //Media Now. Communications Media in the Information Age//. 3rd Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.