Timeline of Radio
-
1892: The transmission of radio frequency energy
is frequently exhibited in Nikola Teslas experiments, he proposed that this
could be used for communication purposes.
-
1895: A wireless system was built by Guglielmo
Marconi that was capable of transmitting signals at long distances.
-
1901: The first successful transatlantic radio
communication was conducted by Marconi.
-
1904: The U.S. patent office reverses the patent
awarded of Tesla and awards Marconi with the patent for the invention of the
radio. Some speculate it is due to his financial backer, Thomas Edison.
-
1905: John Fleming invents the vacuum tube diode
that later helps Lee defrost create the three element vacuum tube called
Audion. The Audion is considered one of the most important developments in the
history of electronics.
-
1906: Fessenden uses an Alexanderson alternator
and rotary spark plug transmitter to make the first radio audio broadcast.
-
1912: The Wireless Ship Act requires all U.S.
ships travelling over 200 miles to be equipped with wireless radio.
-
1919: The government releases its control of all
patents and the Radio Corporation of America is established.
-
1920: Several radio stations claim to be the
first Radio station, some of which are KDKA Pittsburgh and 9XM University of
Wisconsin.
-
1927: The radio act of 1927 re-assigns stations
to clear frequencies and makes radio stations operate in the public interest.
-
1930: Amateur radio operators experiment with
frequency modulation (FM).
-
1933: People turn to radio for comfort and
entertainment during the great depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
becomes the first “Radio President”.
-
1933: Edwin Armstrong invents FM (frequency
modulation) radio. FM provides static free broadcasting and carries the full
frequency range of sound perceptible to the human ear.
-
1950: Television is such a big novelty that big
stars, programmes and advertisers defect from radio to TV. Radio begins to
localize and concentrate on playing records.
-
1954: Regency introduces the pocket transistor
radio, the TR-1, which was powered by a standard 22.5V battery.
-
1961: The first amateur radio satellite is
launched.
-
1963: The worlds technology focuses on space and
radio is different. The first radio communication Telstar, is launched into
space.
-
1984: RDS allows small bits of data to be
included in FM broadcasts, allowing stations to include artist and song information
on digital radio displays.
-
1990: Amateur radio experimenters begin to use
computers with audio cards to process radio signals, and the first digital
transmission begin to be broadcast.
-
1995: Progressive networks releases RealAudio,
which offers AM-radio quality sound in real time.
-
1998: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act forces
internet radio broadcasts to pay additional royalty fees in contrast to
traditional radio stations, which only pay publishing royalties.
-
2003: Online Internet radio is valued at $49
million.
-
2004: A neologism of broadcast and iPod, podcasting’s
success caused radio business to re consider established preconceptions about
audiences, production and distribution.
-
2008: By 2008, streaming music radios revenue
rose to above $500 million, nearly 13% of the American population had listened
to the radio online.
-
2011: Spotify adds radio to its repertoire.
Audience
When radio was first invented, it was mainly used for more
serious purposes, such as in ships travelling long distances (travel and news).
This means it had a very limited audience to begin with as the public would not
have had or necessarily wanted access to the information that was being broadcasted.
In more recent times, however, radio is used primarily for leisure, listening to
music, etc. Traffic updates are still broadcasted, however now it is not only
listened to for that. As what the radios have broadcasted has changed, so has
the audience, as now a younger audience also listen to the radio as well as older
people.
