History of Radio

The radio was the mass communication device, which enabled information to be transferred far and wide. The development of radio began in 1893 with Nikolai Tesla’s demonstration of wireless radio communication in St. Louis, Missouri. His work laid the foundation for those later scientists who worked to perfect the radio now we use. The man most associated with the advent of the radio is Guglielmo Marconi, who in 1986 was awarded the official patent for the radio by the British government.

Europe’s most famous broadcasting station, the British Broadcasting Corporation or BBC, began its operations locally in London in 1922. In fact, Marcony was one of the founding members along with other prominent leaders in the field of wireless manufactures. By 1925 the BBC broadcast was spread to most parts of the United Kingdom. The station aired plays, classical music, and variety programmes. However, the newspaper industry maintained a strong hold over the new. In 1926 this all changed due to a newspaper strike in England. With no news being published it fell on the BBC to supply the information for the public.

When the Second World War began all the television stations shut down and it fell on the shoulders of the radio to cover the war. But, following the Second World War the radio entertainment began focusing on musical programmes. AM stations played a top-40 time and temperature format, which they meant they played popular three minute sons in constant rotation. All the programmes were aimed at youngsters and newly emerging ‘middle class’. The sixties and seventies saw the rise of FM radio.

The radio broadcasting has undergone tremendous change since the year 2000. Editing and broadcasting has now become easier with the advent of computer-aided technologies. Satellite radio stations and internet radios are now blooming along with the traditional terrestrial radio stations.