The 2019-2026 era marks the 100th anniversary of commercial radio as a mass medium. Historians may
disagree which year should be treated as the birth of this era, but the consensus tends to be
KDKA/Pittsburgh's broadcast of 1920 Presidential Election coverage as an important early time marker.
In 1922 New York City station WEAF signed on the air and began setting the pace for the emerging
radio industry. That year the United States Commerce Department began to issue a surge of many new licenses
to radio operators across the country. The rise of national radio networks (NBC in 1926 then CBS in 1927)
had a dramatic influence on the direction of the commercial radio industry.
This extensive research is a collection of articles about the radio industry's development from the
roaring twenties through the 21st century. It includes a theme song of the same name. A common thread
running through these stories is that radio was originally planned by the government as a public
service funded by sponsors that had informative content to share. The advertiser's job was to help
consumers make informed decisions. But the original concept for radio that "the public owns the airwaves" seemed
to become ancient history by the late 20th century.
Over time hyperbolic commercialism became the driving force of radio, which was what
early regulators warned about. Except, they warned highly commercial content would be a tune-out for
listeners. It turned out, though, that emotionally-charged radio advertising helped big brands and small businesses
attract attention in the market.
After TV became the most popular form of media in the 1950s, radio was forced to reinvent itself.
Radio stations went from broad variety and block programming to niche formats based on demographics.
The following are deeper stories that cover radio's evolution from just a few stations per market
to thousands of AM and FM stations around the planet. The proliferation of internet podcasting this
century has led many radio professionals to include podcasting as part of today's radio industry.
Past Playlist Research Articles by Alex Cosper
Social Music Talk Interviews: Includes 91X/San Diego radio legends Michael Halloran, Max Tolkoff,
Bryan Schock, Nicole Sandler, Dwight Arnold, Rob Tonkin and more
