1920

Radio Station

If we could get in our time machine, go back to 1912, and stand on the deck of the sinking Titanic, there is something we would see overhead that marked the beginning of a new era in communication. The Titanic had two masts, one at either end of the ship, and a long wire stretching between them. This was the antenna for a 5,000-watt sparkgap radio, and the Titanic was using it to send out Morse code distress signals.

The Titanic put radio on the map. Because of that disaster, the Radio Act of 1912 required ships to monitor for distress calls 24 hours a day and set up a system for the US government to license radio stations.

By 1920, the first AM radio station was broadcasting in the United States: KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA. What had happened between 1912 and 1920 was the mass production of vacuum tubes, accelerated by World War I. Vacuum tubes gave electrical engineers the ability to create amplifiers for radio transmitters and receivers. Once engineers created the equipment, radio exploded in popularity. Everyone had to have a radio. By 1922 there were more than a million radio receivers in the US. Hundreds of organizations—newspapers, colleges, department stores, and individuals—had created radio stations. The Golden Age of Radio was born.

NBC started in 1926 and CBS started in 1927. Government regulation changed to make the advertising model possible in radio. With a revenue stream in place, there was a good reason for broadcasters to expand and plenty of money to pay for content.

This whole story is fascinating. The war led to tubes, which led to radios. The result was an entirely new way of thinking—instantaneous, electronic, free mass media to millions of people through nationwide networks funded by advertising. None of that existed in 1920. By 1930 nearly half of United States homes had radios. With the Great Depression starting, radio provided an inexpensive form of news and entertainment. Electrical engineering had created a massive societal change.

SEE ALSO Telegraph System (1837), Titanic (1912), Tape Recording (1935).

A young woman turns on an early-model radio.