Timeline of Radio

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.