Commercial Radio I

Amateur Operators / Distance Fiends

 * The history of radio is bound up with the early developers and adopters
 * Who were innovative men and boys building their own radio transmitters and receivers
 * The enjoyed being a part of this national community
 * They also competed for speed and distance

After World War I

 * US put pressure on British Radio Conglomerate "British Marconi" to develop an American holding company
 * The company they founded was Radio Company of America (RCA)


 * Odeon Vacuum Tube
 * Developed in WWI -> Allowed for audio and speech, not just a means of communicating morse code
 * The interest in radio increased as it became "more human"


 * Amateur Radio Fans -> Stop making transmitters as more and more professional content on the air
 * So they stopped making transmitters (the speaking part of the radio)
 * And became making only receiver

KDKA

 * 1923: Broadcast from a garage in Pittsburgh
 * From a Westinghouse engineers


 * Encouraged people to listen in, buy parts
 * Westinghouse realized they need to keep this man "on the air" because more people bought radio gear when he was on


 * This began the idea of fixed "broadcasting" stations
 * And first asked the question: should radio be paid for/how can it be profitable

Distance Fiends

 * Listeners loved to listen long-distances
 * Tuning in across the country was one of the chief thrills of radio


 * The Collective Memory of Radio Listeners -> recalled an idea of "national radio" a transnational experience, but they came in much more noiselessly


 * This impetus helped give rise to the idea of national radio industries -> that broadcast around the clock, around the country that sounded good.

Professional National Broadcast

 * Became desirable because many people bemoaned the
 * 1) Poor, amateur quality of local radio stations
 * 2) Also wanted a way to hear programs from around the country that would sound crystal clear


 * The solution was a "wired" system, that used telephone wires to pass along programming from a central studio (often in NYC) to many local stations

National Radio

 * Once established, national radio conglomerates were expensive to maintain (particularly the need for permanent transmission telephone wires)


 * So the questions was HOW TO PAY FOR PROGRAMMING
 * Should there be a subscription fee
 * Or advertising?
 * Or surcharge for buying a transmitters

Advertising

 * Once deemed the solution, quick to implement


 * Advertisers promised that radio was "latchkey to the home"
 * It would allow entrance into personal, intimate spaces
 * It was inescapable (you couldn't flip pages)


 * Interest in women as home economists
 * Targeted during daytime programming
 * Soap Operas were named because the storylines they presented were by Soap Companies

Indirect Advertising

 * Tried to make advertising less offensive
 * Used musicians that would be named for the company
 * i.e. Clicquot Club Eskimos -> Jazz Ensemble named for Massachusetts Ginger Ale
 * Branding was very ocassional and considered unobstrusive



Communications Act of 1934

 * Meant to further regulate industry
 * Instead, it only made things 'worse'


 * Educational institutions and non-profits were not protected or allowed to have the 15 % of available bandwidth that they had pushed for

Drawbacks of Commercial Radio

 * Too many ads
 * Structure of broadcasts became inflexible