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  4. Class 8, Radio

Class 8, Radio

  1. Electromagnetic Waves
    • 1.1 invisible electronic impulses similar to visible light
    • 1.2 discovered by James Maxwell
    • 1.3 radio waves could be harnessed
      • transmission (Tx)
      • reception (Rx)
    • 1.4 Heinrich Hertz: first recorded Tx & Rx of radio wave
  2. Wireless Telegraphy
    • 2.1 Guglielmo Marconi
    • 2.2 patented wireless telegraphy (1896)
    • 2.3 Marconi Wireless Telegraphy Company (1897)
      • British naval and commercial ships
    • 2.4 American Marconi (1899)
    • 2.5 wireless transmission across English Channel (1899)
    • 2.6 wireless transmission across Atlantic Ocean (1901)
    • 2.7 Other inventors
      • Alexander Popov
      • Nikola Tesla
  3. Wireless Telephony
    • 3.1 Lee deForest
      • audion triode vacuum tube (1906)
      • based on John Fleming’s diode tube
      • detected and amplified radio signals
    • 3.2 Reginald Fesseden
      • first voice transmission on Christmas Eve 1906
    • 3.3 broadcasting
      • transmission of radio waves to a broad public audience
  4. Regulation
    • 4.1 Sinking of Titanic April 1912
      • wireless distress signals
      • David Sarnoff operator at American Marconi
    • 4.2 Radio Act 1912
      • operators must obtain licenses
      • radio spectrum could not be owned
    • 4.3 US Navy, World War II
      • intervened in patent disputes
      • standardized technologies
      • closed all radio stations down in 1917
      • seized control of US based radio operations
  5. Radio Corporation of America
    • 5.1 patent pool established in 1920
    • 5.2 four companies
      • American Marconi
      • General Electric
      • American Telephone and Telegraph
      • Westinghouse
    • 5.3 Headed by David Sarnoff
  6. Broadcasting
    • 6.1 Frank Conrad, Westinghouse
    • 6.2 first scheduled broadcasts in 1920, Pittsburgh
    • 6.3 radio station KDKA
    • 6.4 helped to sell radio sets
    • 6.5 first radio stations
      • retail stores
      • newspapers
      • schools and churches
      • amateurs
    • 6.6 RCA would ultimately make US a commercially driven system of broadcasting
  7. Toll Broadcasting
    • 7.1 AT&T owned station WEAF (AM 660)
    • 7.2 based on “toll calling” principle
    • 7.3 sold first advertising in 1922
      • Queensboro Real Estate Company
      • Fifty dollar advertisement
    • 7.4 advertising became the primary revenue source for radio
    • 7.5 radio would become commercial
  8. Public Service Broadcasting
    • 8.1 BBC, 1922–23
    • 8.2 studied but spurned advertising supported model
    • 8.3 established a pubic radio monopoly
      • news
      • cultural
      • education
    • 8.4 supported by user license fees (usage fee)
  9. Network Broadcasting
    • 9.1 AT&T interconnected radio stations via telephone wires
    • 9.2 WNAC (Washington DC) aired programming originated on WEAF (1923)
    • 9.3 network stations
      • owned and operated
      • affiliated stations
    • 9.4 economies of scale
      • expensive programming produced at a central location
      • costs spread across many radio stations
  10. NBC
    • 10.1 National Broadcasting Company (1926)
    • 10.2 interconnected via AT&T telephone wires
    • 10.3 Dual network of radio stations
      • Red: WEAF (AM 660, New York) and former AT&T stations
      • Blue: WJZ (AM 770, Newark) and former “radio group” stations
    • 10.4 created a national culture over a local or regional broadcasting
    • 10.5 RCA purchased Victor Talking Machine Company: RCA-Victor (1929)
  11. CBS
    • 11.1 Arthur Judson & Columbia Phonograph Company
      • entered broadcasting
      • preempt RCA Victor’s dominance in radio and music
      • formed CPBS (1927)
    • 11.2 interconnected programming over Western Union telegraph network
    • 11.3 William Paley
      • established a payment system called option time
      • lured talent from NBC
        • Jack Benny; Frank Sinatra; Burns and Allen
  12. Federal Communications Commission
    • 12.1 established 1927 by the Federal Radio Act
    • 12.2 revised 1934 changed name from Federal Radio Commission
    • 12.3 licensees did not own their channel
      • mandated to serve “public interest, necessity and convenience”
    • 12.4 outlawed option time
    • 12.5 chain broadcasting ruling
      • 1941
      • forced NBC to sell Blue network
      • Edward J. Noble formed ABC network
  13. Golden Age of Radio
    • 13.1 1930–1950
    • 13.2 national mass medium, surpassing the local
      • variety programs
      • studio audience quiz shows
      • soap operas
      • programs as cultural mirrors
      • authoritative voice
    • 13.3 World War II
      • advertising revenues doubled
      • primary medium for information
      • Edward R. Murrow broadcasts on CBS
  14. Television
    • 14.1 Introduced in 1939
    • 14.2 Post World War II
    • 14.3 Dominant form of broadcasting
    • 14.4 Radio networks redirect resources to television
  15. Radio Adapts to Television
    • 15.1 transistor radios
      • transistors replaced de Forest-type vacuum tubes
      • Texas Instruments introduced the transistor radio for $40
    • 15.2 disc jockeys
      • program directos
      • playlists
      • rotation
    • 15.3 local focus
      • bluegrass (South)
      • blues (Chicago)
      • country and western (rural)
    • 15.4 formats
      • recorded music
      • news
      • talk
    • 15.5 Contemporary Hit Radio
      • Top 40
      • like a jukebox
      • Todd Storz, 1949
      • dominant form from 1950s to 1970s
  16. Frequency Modulation
    • 16.1 Edwin Armstrong (1930–33)
    • 16.2 Frequency Modulation vs. Amplitude Modulation
      • emphasized pitch over volume
      • offered static-free reception
    • 16.3 higher fidelity but shorter range than AM
    • 16.4 RCA delayed introduction of FM (1935)
    • 16.5 Allocated frequencies expanded in 1960s
    • 16.6 segmented audience
      • longer cuts
      • targeted formats
        • Top 40
        • new wave
        • metal
        • punk soul
        • classical
        • jazz
        • AOR
    • 16.7 FM would surpass AM radio in the 1970s
  17. Consolidation
    • 17.1 accelerated after Telecommunications Act 1996
      • relaxed national ownership restrictions
      • allowed local duopolies
      • extended license renewals
    • 17.2 Group owners
      • Clear Channel (866 stations)
      • Cumulus (572 stations)
      • CBS Radio (127 stations)
      • Entercom (100 stations)
      • Salem Communications (95 stations)
      • Cox (86 stations)
      • Univision (69 stations)
      • Radio One (53 stations)
      • Beasley Broadcast Group (44 stations)
      • Lotus Communications (27 stations)
    • 17.3 Cross ownership
      • radio
      • television
      • newspaper
    • 17.4 Advertising conglomerates
      • Clear channel
      • Ennis
      • Citadel
      • Entercom
      • Cumulus
  18. Commercial Radio
    • 18.1 Specialized Formats
      • News/Talk/Sports
      • Adult Contemporary
      • Contemporary Hit Radio
      • Country
      • Urban Contemporary
    • 18.2 Format clock (aka “hot clock”)
    • 18.3 Dayparts
      • morning drive, 6:00–10:00
      • daytime, 10:00 - 3:00
      • afternoon drive, 3:00 - 7:00
      • evening, 7:00 - 12:00
      • overnight, 12:00 - 6:00
  19. Non commercial radio
    • 19.1 College radio
    • 19.2 Religious radio
    • 19.3 Public broadcasters
    • 19.4 Low power radio (LPFM)
  20. Digital Radio
    • 20.1 satellite radio
    • 20.2 HD Radio
    • 20.3 podcasting
    • 20.4 Internet radio
      • Pandora
      • Spotify
      • Rdio