Title: Radio History
1Radio History
2Early Radio Main Themes
- Wired/Wireless
- Bi-directional one to one
- Uni-directional
- Central transmitter to passive receivers
- broadcasting
- Public interest/commercial interest
- Culture/Community Formation
3Radio/Technology
- Radio waves
- electro-magnetic energy, radiating in waves
- Heinrich Hertz (1888)
- lab experiments
- telegraph without wires (Hertzian waves)
4Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937)
- Land-Ship
- Trans-Atlantic signal (1901)
- Marconi Wireless Telegraph Signal Co
- trans-Atlantic
- first commercial service
5Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932)
- first voice transmission
- radiotelephone(1900)
- Shore-to-ship broadcast 1906
6Early Radio-Telegraph
- Morse Code
- Shipping/distress calls
- Titanic (1912)
- Simultaneity of Experience
- Worldwide Network
7Amateur Radio
- Technical expertise
- home-made radio sets
- Exploratory listening-distance
- Middle-class boys/men
- Unregulated frequencies
- Bi-directional
8Amateur Radio
- Pranks
- All Titanic Passengers Safe
- Obscene/false message
- Lots of radio traffic
- Radio Act of 1912 (US)
9World War I (1914-18)
- Military control
- Naval/ Shell-spotting
- Ban citizen use
- Post-1918, oppose
- amateur uses
- foreign ownership
10Early Broadcast Radio
- One-to-one
- DXing, 1920-1924
- Voice/sound
- One-to-many Broadcasting
- (Telephone Broadcasters)
- Frank Conrad/KDKA, 1920
- XWA, Montreal, 1920
- RCA, 1921
11Early Radio
- 1921 2 radio stations
- 1925 100s in US/CDA
- Dept stores churches newspapers universities
- Non-commercial origins
- Public interest/limited spectrum
12Network Radio ATT (1925)
- 25-station network
- long distance lines
- sell time on transmitters, air time, to
advertisers - purchase blocks/ provide own programming
13Content/Culture Commercial Radio
- NBC (1926-)
- public service
- high-brow
- non-sponsored programming
- Symphony theatre, etc.
- CBS (1928-)
- more advertising
- ad agencies produce shows
- soaps crime dramas
- lowest common denominator
14Programming
- Music classical dance bands (Tommy Dorsey)
- Variety Shows (Bob Hope)
- Drama
- daytime serial Guiding Light
- evening anthology Mercury Theater on the Air
- Childrens Shows
- Comedy Li'l Abner Amos n Andy
15Radio as Mass Medium, ca. 1935
- US
- Private ownership (NBC, CBS)
- Advertising-supported
- Popular fare
- UK
- BBC government-run monopoly
- Taxes, license fees
- High-brow/cultural uplift
16Radio in Canada
- Radio-Telegraph Act, 1913
- Dept. Marine Fisheries
- XWA, first license (1919)
- 1 licence fee per set
17CDN Radio
- 1928 60 stations
- low power intermittent service
- Roy Thomson, CFCH
- minimal regulations
- diverse ownership
- selling radio sets
- Edward S. Rogers
- Entertainment/Commercial
18Networking CNR Radio Dept
- first network, mid-1920s
- concerts, operas, plays, health talks, grain
price reports - 3 hours weekly, 1929
19US Radio in CDA
- Radio-wave interference
- US listening (80)
- NBC w/ Montreal affiliate
- Can CDN radio compete?
20Road to Public Ownership
- Royal Commission on Broadcasting, 1928-29
- Canadian Radio League, 1930
- Graham Spry
- The State or the United States
21Aird Commission Recommendations, 1929
- state broadcasting organization, modelled on BBC
- foster national spirit/citizenship
- nationalize private radio stations, with
compensation - defensive expansionism
22Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, 1932
- State monopoly on network broadcasting
- Extend radio coverage
- Produce/transmit programs
- Purchase/construct stations/transmitters
- CRBC stations//private stations
- Partisanship
23Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1936
- More autonomy
- Assured funding
- Dual function
24CBC Carrier/Content
- 8 stations 16 private affiliates
- Strong transmitters
- US/UK shows (entertainment, talk)
- Canadian content
- The Happy Gang NHL
25 The Barrelman
- Joey Smallwood
- NFLD Folk Tradition
- ethnic nationalism
- foreign consumerism
- imagined community
- modernity
26Peculiar Hybrid of CDN Radio
- Commercial interest
- Corporate power
- NBC/CBS
- Low-Brow Culture
- Entertainment
- Advertising-supported
- Public Interest
- The State
- BBC/CBC
- High-Brow Culture
- Educational
- Tax/license fee supported
27Midterm Exam 23 Feb, 7-9pm
- Section 1 (5X5 25 points)
- Identify/Significance of 5 of 8 terms, concepts
- Section 2
- 15 multiple choice questions (15 points)
- 2 hours
- Closed Book
- Covers Lectures and Readings
28Sample Question The State or the United States
- Graham Spry chairman Canadian Radio League
- early 1930s lobby for Aird Commission
recommendations re public broadcasting - McChesney article
- culminate in 1932 est. of Canadian Radio
Broadcasting Commission
29The State or the United States
- State government as bulwark against US
broadcasting which predated broadcasting in
Canada - high culture/ low culture
- Canadian sovereignty /US cultural/economic
imperialism