Hilbert College	History of Mass Communication: The History of Broadcasting: Radio and Television	- Home - Students - Tutorials - - Student Papers -
(Note: This paper was written at the University of South Carolina) by: Denise Levereaux, Jill Martin, Nick Holliday 1 November 1999 The wise people of the world recognized the enormous effects of the broadcast medium well before it actually became such a large force. In 1938, E. B. White said, "I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world. .. .We shall stand or fall by television, of that I am sure" (Meyer 1972). The evolution of broadcasting, beginning with the telegraph and ending with satellite television, has spanned well over a hundred-year period. The technologies and services that were invented in relation to the broadcasting industry would forever change the state of life as people knew it. Ironically enough, the first words ever to be broadcast over a telephone line were the prophetic question, "What hath God wrought?" Samuel B. Morse sent this perhaps too apt message on May 24, 1844, by stringing a line from the Supreme Courtroom to Baltimore, Missouri, transmitting a series of dots and dashes still used today in Morse code. These four words began a lengthy process that eventually resulted in the complex system of modern radio. The next major development did not come until 1872, when an article appeared in a Boston Newspaper reporting that a man named Joshua Coppersmith had been arrested in Wisconsin for attempting to exhort funds by exhibiting a "telephone" which could transmit voices. Everyone "knew" he was a fraud because all well-informed people were aware that it is impossible to transmit the human voice. Although the unfortunate Coppersmith received no benefit from his invention, in 1878, Alexander Graham Bell, known worldwide as the father of the telephone, got the first patent on it. Bell's first message has become infamous: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you" (St. John 1967). Not long after the advent of the telephone, communication started to become wireless. Although a diverse group of scientists contributed to this transformation, the man who gets the most credit for it is Gugliemo Marconi. Marconi took the developments of others, including those of Amos E. Dolbear, who received a patent for his wireless system capable of transmitting over a distance of half a mile, and combined them into a practical system of his own. He was the first to send a message over a distance of two miles, creating the radio antenna at the age of 20, and first to communicate over a telegraph with a moving ship. When he was still young, he was awarded a patent for his theory that the greater the height of a radio antenna, the greater the distance a sound can be communicated. Later on, in 1899, Marconi sent the first wireless message across the English Channel, a total distance of 85 miles. In December of 1901, Marconi made history yet again when he and a colleague overseas in Cornwall transmitted a very faint "dididit" signal, using a wireless kite apparatus, across the ocean for the first time ever. Soon after this revolutionary accomplishment, the use of wireless transmission exploded. Radio operators, called "Marconimen," sent wireless messages called "Marconigrams," and the U.S. navy began to use radio transmission rather than homing pigeons. The Marconi Company opened the first regular transatlantic wireless service in October of 1907 (St. John 1967). The birth of radio did not become "official" until late 1912, the year credited by the Los Angeles county recorder in a birth certificate reading, "I hereby declare that Miss Radio was officially born at 8:31 p.m., December 21, 1912, in the county of Los Angeles, California." On the day the certificate declares, William A. Poole made a voice broadcast from Long Beach to Los Angeles, close to 25 miles. Poole never found financial backers for his various radio inventions, however, so he spent much of his time searching for recognition he never received, calling himself "the forgotten father of radio" (St. John 1967). The first radio station is credited to Dr. Frank Conrad, of the Westinghouse Corporation. His experimental station, 8XK, was broadcast from his garage at night after Conrad returned from work. This experimental station was eventually assigned the letters KDKA, whose first "real" airtime would take place at 6 p.m. on November 2, 1920. The main material of the show would be the presidential returns of the election between Warren Harding and James Cox. Between news bulletins, KDKA played phonograph records as a diversion. This diversion didn't last long, however, for KDKA was beseiged with calls for less music and more returns. The broadcast of the election returns was a success that evening, however, for approximately 1,000 listeners tuned in that evening (St. John 1967). Radio evolved rapidly in the following years, until the use of radio as a political tool was crystallized by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930's. FDR's "fireside chats" proved a simple, complete way for the President to communicate with the country during the Great Depression. FDR's strong voice and dynamic speaking abilities did much to assuage public fears and promote participation and community effort in order to relieve the strain of the Depression (St. John 1967). While radio developed as a form of entertainment, it developed as a source of news as well. The first person to tackle the idea of broadcast reporting was Edward R. Murrow. Murrow and his team of journalists set the standards for on air reporting for years to come. Radio documentaries became popular during this time as well, with paid actors often reenacting actual events (St. John 1967). In 1925, the idea of networked radio stations came into play when twenty stations were hooked together by telephone lines in order to broadcast a speech by President Coolidge simultaneously. This act inspired entrepreneurs, and a year later the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was born. The Columbia Broadcasting company was created in 1927, and in 1934 NBC sold its Blue Network, which became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (St. John 1967). With the rise of networks it became easier for radio shows to be broadcast in many different places. Also, in 1934 the ban on recorded material was lifted, and many radio stations began pre-recording their shows. By the 1940's variety shows, soap operas, and sports broadcasts were universal favorites among Americans (St. John 1967). Perhaps the greatest invention for radio occurred in post-World War II America. This invention was the transistor. Replacing the large and bulky radio tube, the transistor performed the job of amplifying the signal picked up by an antenna. About one-one hundredth the size and weight of a radio tube, the transistor allowed for radios to become small enough to be carried in a pocket. With the invention of the transistor, the potential listening audience jumped by millions, for now everyone could have a radio (St. John 1967). The rapid growth of radio use made necessary the need for governmental regulation. The Communications Act of 1934 provided for the creation of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), whose job would be "to regulate all interstate and foreign communications by wire and radio" (Roman, 1996). The FCC's regulation of broadcast media consists of a three-part system that encompasses allocation of frequency space, assignment of stations, and regulation of existing stations. The commission serves the legislature by making rules and policy. It consists of eight bureaus: The Mass Media Bureau, The Common Carrier Bureau, the Private Radio Bureau, the Field Operations Bureau, the Field Operations Bureau, the Cable Services Bureau, The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and the International Bureau. This may seem like a lot of bureaus, but the FCC's regulation of Broadcast Media is intentionally left vague so not to infringe upon the first amendment rights of broadcasters (Roman, 1996). Although broadcasting was technologically possible in 1920, the technology for picture transmission developed more slowly. Early experimentation began in the late 1800s. Andrew May, an Irish telegrapher, discovered in 1873 that it is possible to send an electric current through selenium more easily in sunlight than in darkness. In 1883, Paul Nipkow, a German scientist, invented a spinning disc with holes in it that allowed light through in a structured pattern, thus "scanning" images. American Charles Francis Jenkins and Englishman James Logie Baird were the most prominent scientists in 1923 in transmitting shadows by wireless in a lab setting. They used the principle of the Nipkow scanning disc to accomplish this, although the disc proved to have limited practicality. Meanwhile, both Philo T. Farnsworth and Vladimir K. Zworykin discovered how to use an electronic beam to scan pictures rather than a mechanical disc. Each method of scanning had its supporters, and the arguments between the two were heated (Wallace 1964). The Federal Communications Commission, established in 1934 by the Communications Act, both encouraged experimentation and slowed progression down by refusing to set standards for transmission and reception; the FCC did not want manufacturers to stop experimenting, and yet programs could not be developed until the people buying the television receivers had some assurance that the receiver would actually pick up the transmitter signal. This would require a consensus on technological standards that did not exist. To resolve this, the Radio Manufacturers Association established the National Television System Committee to develop standards so that all receivers could pick up transmissions from stations within a certain range and so that later developments would not render earlier receptors obsolete (Wallace 1964). By 1938, the FCC had authorized 19 stations, but there were only a few regularly broadcast programs. At this time, however, few receivers were available to the public. A landmark broadcast came in 1939 when the National Broadcasting Company's experimental television station broadcast Franklin D. Roosevelt's opening speech at the April 30 New York World's Fair. As public programming immediately increased, manufacturers and broadcasters became much more interested in television, and developments came at a rapid-fire pace. By June of 1940, 26 experimental stations were operating and 59 more had applied to the FCC for new stations. Research began in the same year on coaxial cable and microwave relay systems for use in the distribution of television programs. Also in 1940, slightly more than a year after the World's Fair broadcast, NBC broadcast parts of the Republican national convention via coaxial cable from Philadelphia to New York, and RCA and CBS demonstrated their new color systems, which reverted to the whirling disc method buth this time with color filters. In 1941, NBC began public colorcasting (Wallace 1964). Advertising became a hot topic in television as broadcasters realized that TV cost much more than it made. In 1939, the FCC granted limited permission for commercial exploitation of television, but it rescinded it when it discovered that a manufacturer was trying to sell receivers although there were no set standards for receiver technology. The commission gave in, however, and on July 1, 1941, commercial television began. It did not last long; from later in 1941 until 1945, the growth of commercial public television was halted by World War II. There were no new stations, and no new TV receivers were available to the public. By the time the FCC's "freeze" lifted in 1945, 150 applications for new stations had been filed. The resurgence in interest was only ephemeral, however, and from mid-1946 until March 1947, television experienced a lull in interest. Some possible reasons were high costs, few sets in public hands, the possibility of obsoletion of black and white television, no facilities for connecting stations into networks, and the more promising state of radio. The situation did not reverse until 1947, when the FCC denied Columbia Broadcasting System permission to operate its version of color TV, thus reassuring people that black and white television was not about to become obsolete. The change in the public's attitude was striking; by June 30, 50,000 receivers were serving 300,000 people, and by mid-1948, 50,000 new receivers were being added each month (Wallace 1964). The technology of TV was improving fast. In 1948, networks came into being that were connected by coaxial cables, and by the fall of 1949, 24 cities were linked in this manner. Another major development came on September 4. 1951, when Harry Truman's Japanese peace negotiations in San Francisco were broadcast transcontinentally. Immediately following this, full transcontinental commercial operation began (Wallace 1964). Even though the technology side of television was developing rapidly, the growth of new stations hit yet another major roadblock. The FCC did not process any television applications from September 30, 1948, until April 11, 1952, as it attempted to determine how to make the supply of channels come closer to the demand for them. When licensing began again in 1952, there were 70 new channels, but they were all in Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) rather than the traditional Very High Frequency (VHF). From 1953 to 1955, the purchase of receivers increased and the number of stations expanded. Over 91% of all homes in the United States had at least one television set in 1964. Before 1963, however, most receivers could only pick up the channels 2-13, which were the VHF frequencies. Because UHF stations had a smaller audience, they also had fewer advertisers, which meant less money and poorer quality. Because the quality was poor, people would rather pay less for receiver that would only pick up VHF than pay more for one that could pick up UHF. Thus, the cycle continued and the quality of UHF did not improve. Finally, on April 30, 1964, Congress enacted a law requiring all TV receivers shipped in interstate commerce to be able to receive channels 2-83, including UHF (Wallace 1964). Even as the VHF/UHF conflict struggled on, another battle was going on behind it--the battle between color and black and white TV. The FCC gave permission in 1950 for CBS's color TV system to be used in commercial television. The system had drawbacks; it was incompatible with black and white TV and used the mechanical disc rather than being totally electronic. Challenges to the decision delayed the actual start of CBS colorcasting until June of 1951; a year later, the National Production Authority stopped the manufacture of color receivers because of its use of materials needed in the Korean conflict. Finally, in December 1953, the FCC approved the National Television System Committee's color TV system, which was both electronic and compatible with the current black and white systems. Color TV was slow to catch on--the public complained that color sets were expensive and difficult to use--but eventually the advantages of color won out, and color television became the standard for all sets (Wallace 1964). Another traditionally important issue is who owns the means of broadcast in this country? This has been regulated throughout the short history of broadcast media by the FCC, but since its inception in 1934, it has followed a general pattern of deregulation. The FCC's mission is to control monopoly, promote diversification, and prohibit undue concentration of broadcast properties. Roman comments that "though the FCC was designed to be a watchdog agency, its oversight has been at best inconsistent and somewhat arbitrary. Indeed, the agency's record is more notable for its partisan support of the industries it regulates than for its objectivity." In 1940, the FCC established a policy that provided that no single entity could own more than three stations. After the broadcast industry applied pressure, the FCC raised the allotment of owned stations to five in 1944. In 1960, the FCC expanded television station ownership to seven: five VHF and two UHF. Continuing its tradition of loosening monopoly regulation, in 1991 the commission increased the ownership limit to twelve stations so long as television stations don't operate in markets that collectively contain more than 25 percent of the nations television homes. Most recently, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 removed any limitation on television station ownership providing the stations owned by a single entity don't reach more than 35 percent of the United States. (Roman 1996). Considering the deregulation of the broadcast industry raises some interesting questions. The FCC was established to control monopolies, protect free enterprise, and to protect the public good. This causes one to question why our government is deregulating this industry. Who benefits from one entity controlling so much of a share of the television industry? I don't think it is the common American who watches several hours of television each day. Television is probably the main source of information for many people in this country. Is it beneficial to reduce those who control the information to fewer individuals? I think the only beneficiary of the deregulation are monster conglomerates who have an inherent advantage in the first place due to their size and available resources. The people don't benefit due to lack of innovation on the part of the innovators, lack of diversity in who controls what they see (who is doing the agenda setting?), and the nonexistence of an opportunity to become entrepreneurs. The government loses because capitalism and our democracy are both weakened. I wonder why questions like this aren't raised to the public. Could it have anything to do with who makes the evening new? With the vast amount of new technology being created at the end of the 21st century, the potential for the television industry is boundless. For example, a small group has chosen to turn away from the godsend of satellite communication and explore the potentials of fiber-optics. Fiber optics are appealing because the transmission rate for a cable made these glass fibers is almost unlimited, and speed is a plus for the modern society, who always wants "more, faster, now." (Roman 1996). Another technological advance that is on the rise is that of High Definition television. The first operational HDTV system was introduced by the Japanese Broadcasting Company in 1981. The main difference between HDTV and regular television is that HDTV transmits at a bandwidth of 8.1 MHz, whereas traditional television broadcasts at 4.5 MHz. HDTV has not caught on as quickly as other technologies because, until a compatible system can be made, it would make approximately 80 billion dollars worth of TVs obsolete! (Roman 1996) Despite these technological advances, there is the great possibility that, with the 21st century, television is "on it's way out." With the advent and rise of the Internet, where one can do just about any thing at any time, not much room is left for conventional television programming. Perhaps television, like radio and newspapers, must eventually succumb to the changing times. Bibliography: Arnheim, Rudolph. (1971) Radio. Arno Press and the New York Times. Barfield, Ray (1996) Listening to Radio 1920-1950. Praeger. Brown, Les. (1977) The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television. The New York Times Book Company, Inc. Camporesi, Valeria. (1990) " 'We Talk a Different Language.' The Impact of US Broadcasting in Britain, 1922-1927." Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television. Carfax Publishing Co. Vol. 10, No. 3. Cheseboro, James W. (1979) "Communication, Values, and Popular Television Series-A Four Year Assessment." Television: The Critical View. second edition. University of Texas Press The FCC. (1999) The FCC Home Page. Online: http://www.fcc.gov/. Greb, Gordon G. (1959-60) "The Golden Anniversary of Broadcasting." Journal of Broadcasting. Volume 3. Association for Professional Broadcasting Education. Hilmes, Michele. (1997) Radio Voices. University of Minnesota Press. Hirsch, Paul M. (1977) "The Role of Television and Popular Culture in Contemporary Society." School Review. Vol 85. No. 4. Reprinted in Television: The Critical View, second edition. University of Texas Press. Mayer, Martin. (1972) About Television. Harper and Row. The Media History Project. (1995-1996) Television History. Online: http://www.mediahistory.com/teevee.html. Roman, James. (1996) Love, Light, and a Dream: Television's Past Present and Future. Praeger Publishers. Slide, Anthony (1991) The Television Industry. Greenwood Press. Smith, Anthony. (1995) Television: An International History. Oxford University Press. St. John, Robert.(1967) Encyclopedia of Radio and Television Broadcasting. Cathedral Square Publishing Company. Tarroni, Evelina. (1964)"The Aesthetics of Television." Screen Education: Reports and Papers on Mass Communications. Reprinted in Television: The Critical View, second edition. University of Texas Press. Taylor, Glenhall (1979) Before Television. A.S. Barnes and Company. U.S. Congress. (1959-60) "Harris Subcommittee Report: 50 Years of Broadcasting Regulation." Journal of Broadcasting. Volume 3. Association for Professional Broadcasting Education. "Videotape-Progress Report." (1957) Telefilm Magazine. Reprinted in Journal of Broadcasting. Volume 2. Association for Professional Broadcasting Education. Wallace, Wesley H. (1964) "Growth, Organization, and Impact." Understanding Television: An Introduction to Broadcasting. 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