Blog #4 EOTO Tech

In 1899 a man named Guglielmo Marconi telegraphed the results of yacht races from a ship out at sea to a station on land in New York. In 1900 Marconi filed patent No.7777 for  "Improvements in Apparatus for Wireless Telegraphy"; in 1943 the Supreme Court overturned that patent, believing thatSir Oliver Lodge, Nikola Tesla, and John Stone had priority in the development of the radio-tuning apparatus. Shortly after this in 1901, Marconi had started his own company and transmitted the first transatlantic signal. 

It was not until the 1920's though, that radio really began to boom. From 1922-1927 the number of radio stations increased from just thirty stations to six hundred and eighty-one radio stations. From 1922-1927 radio equipment sold went from $60m to $426m. From 1927-1935 the amount of money spent on radio advertisements grew from $4.8m to $112.6m. The growth of radio in the 1920's into the 1930's really was incredible. It grew the profiles of athletes, led to the creation of the first syndicated radio shows, and gave Americans at home access to almost instant news

Americans at home received almost instant access to the news, for instance: In 1925 the inauguration of President Calvin Coolidge was broadcast, in 1933 President Roosevelt began speaking to the nation through broadcasted fireside chats, and in 1938 H.G Wells' The War of the Worlds was broadcast, leaving many Americans in a state of frenzy believing that the State of New Jersey was being invaded by Martians. In 1941 Americans were able to receive live updates on the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Before the radio, Americans would have had to wait at least until the next day to receive any sort of national and sometimes local news. The predecessor of the radio, the printing press, allowed Americans to consume news faster than ever, however, any breaking news would have to wait at least until the next morning when the papers when out. The radio revolutionized the speed at which we consume news. A great majority of Americans most likely would never have been able to hear a presidential inauguration, hear a president speak directly to them, or listen to their political leaders debate without the invention of radio. The radio gave many Americans a way to hear what was going on in their country, but it also gave soldiers an ear on the battlefield.

Radio became a way for the military to communicate and better coordinate with its units. Rather than wait days for orders in a letter, it led to instant communication between commanders and their units. Radio transmissions began to become intercepted during World War II, so the United States Marine Corps selected 29 Navajo men, the Navajo Code Talkers, who created a code based on the complex, unwritten Navajo language. The code was incredibly effective during the war and still has not been cracked today.

The radio eventually was surpassed by the invention of the Television as the most popular form of broadcast. Even though it is no longer the most popular medium, the impact radio has had on the world has been tremendous. While the radio came with some negative effects (misinformation), it revolutionized the way and speed in which we are presented our news. Today the radio is still a thing, and still popular. Car radio remains by far the most popular, with 89% of car buyers believing broadcast radio should be standard in every vehicle. The radio was at one point the most popular medium for entertainment and news, and while not the most popular, it still commands the ears of millions of Americans.