The golden era of radio was actually a cultural and social revolution gyrating from the power of wireless communication. In many ways the radio was to culture and society what mass production had been to commerce and industry. When public radio was introduced the world began to shrink and geographical and social boundaries began to blur, in short the seeds of globalization were sown. Cultural integration occurred and the information age began. However, such revolutionary conquest did not occur overnight, public radio had to estrange itself from military influence, fight a war with print media, fight FCC regulations, find sources of finance, then remove itself from the control of advertisers and finally triumph with instant news reporting during World War II.

The golden era of radio had all the ingredients of social revolution. It appealed to the common people, gave them a forum to voice their opinions on entertainment, propaganda, religion and politics. For the uninformed it was a source of education and finally there was a lot of emotion involved. People felt intimate with radio stars and celebrities, people absorbed every word that was said on air and during the Great Depression and World War II it was their source of solace and comfort. The radio during its golden age had become a family member and was more prized than any other possession an average family had. E. B. White wrote, “I live in a strictly rural community, and people here speak of “The Radio” in the large sense, with an over-meaning. When they say “The Radio” they don’t mean a cabinet, an electrical phenomenon, or a man in a studio, they refer to a pervading and somewhat godlike presence which has come into their lives and homes.”
This paper explores the revolutionary aspects of radio on society, culture and commerce during the 1920s and 1930s.
Before Radio: The Penny Press Era
From 1835 to late 1920s the Newspaper was the most widely used mass communication medium in the United States. During this era photojournalism, jazz journalism and responsible journalism was born. The competition amongst newspapers was intense and the market for news papers was wide and growing. Newspapers were sold by hawkers on the street and an average citizen read two or more newspapers a day. Advertisers began to place their ads in these papers which further reduced cost and made newspapers more affordable to the ordinary citizen. As a result newspapers were incredibly low priced and because of this fact this leadership era of newspapers is called the penny press era. (3. Newspapers Historical Perspective)

In 1848 the Associated Press was founded which is now the largest news gathering organization in the world. The Civil War further increased public interest in newspapers and consequently newspapers became more professional. By now newspapers were already influencing public opinion and political thoughts. In particular, newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst used his papers to instigate propaganda and rumors against his enemies. He used false reporting to create a war which did not happen and used spiteful and venomous editorializing against President William McKinley who was later assassinated. This legacy of vitriolic form of reporting would later influence radio shows and assimilate into an even more powerful form of religious and political propaganda. (3. Newspapers Historical Perspective)
During the 1920s tabloid or jazz journalism developed as a form of competition against entertainment radio. The theme of violence, murder and sex and celebrity news was used in gossip columns and stories. These papers often had flashy headlines and primarily designed to sell sensationalism. Sensationalism as it turned out was also a big part of non commercial radio during 1920s and radio gained popularity at the expense of tabloids as a more direct and appealing form of entertainment medium. (3. Newspapers Historical Perspective)

The penny press era of the newspapers actually began the mass communication movement but it did not create the hype which radio did. When radio was introduced as a new technology many newspaper publishers started operating broadcasting stations across the nation which broadcasted programs with similar themes found in tabloid newspapers. However, they did integrate a bit of culture and education with entertainment.
The radio it seemed had more potential than the newspaper. People could hear commentary of sport events, political speeches and religious sermons. But, for details they still turned to newspapers.

The New Technology
The radio age began when the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi transmitted a message in Morse code over a distance of 3 km. Soon after wireless telegraphy was implemented as a basic tool for communication in the maritime industry and laws were passed which required any vassal engaged in international trade to carry a radio and a radio operator. American inventor Lee De Forrest and Reginald Fessenden added sound to the wireless invention and in 1914 Edwin Howard Armstrong invented and patented the regenerative circuit which amplified radio signals. The amplification of radio signals meant that radio signals could now be broadcasted to the general public. However, little attention was given to commercial application of this invention. Many radio enthusiasts built inexpensive homemade radios and experimented with this new technology. In many ways the hobbyists were like today’s surfers on the internet, constantly exploring and searching. (Broadcasting Radio and Television)
In 1917 the government realized the massive implication of radio technology in the military for espionage and submarine warfare. The government feared the use of radios for the purposes of mass propaganda and espionage. Consequently, in 1917 the government confiscated all armature radios in the United States and implemented a ban on reception and transmission of radio signals lasted till April 19, 1919.

David Sarnoff proposed in 1916 “a plan of development which would make radio a household ‘utility’ in the same sense as the piano or phonograph.” Marconi’s US Branch was unable to implement Sarnoff’s plans for the radio because of the ban on non military usage of radio in 1917. However, after the end of the war in 1918 and the removal of the ban on radio reception and transmission many companies began to explore the possibilities of mass production and marketing of home radio receivers. (Broadcasting Radio and Television)

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) introduced the concept of toll broadcasting in which AT&T charged fees for airing commercial advertisements on its stations. However, radio was not the first media to use commercial advertisements as a primary source of finance, long before radio newspapers printed advertisements and product endorsements. The first advertisement on WEAF (AT&Ts New York station) was a 12 minute long product description and advertisement. As radio would develop later on, so would the format of advertisements. Advertisements would become melodious, witty and short. (Broadcasting Radio and Television)
A number of other armature radio stations began operations during the 1920s. State Universities such as University of Iowa, Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin operated radio stations which broadcasted educational radio programs to rural areas.

For the better part of 1920s, the demand for radios was very high and selling radios was so profitable that it justified the use of commercial stations by radio manufacturing companies to boost radio sales. 60,000 households had a radio in 1922, this number increased to 10 million by 1929. At a 1922 radio conference in Washington, Herbert Hoover Secretary of Commerce commented that it was “inconceivable that we should allow so great a possibility for service and for news and for entertainment and education to be drowned in advertising chatter.” However, by late 1920s the market for radios began showing signs of maturity and the only viable funding option for commercial radio stations was the sale of advertising time. Radio became an industry geared towards the mass distribution of popular culture primarily funded by commercial advertisements. (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)
After the establishment of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1928, the CBS and NBC became the dominating network of radio stations in the United States. Radio expanded its coverage to even the remotest parts of the United States. Due to expansion more funds and finance were available to radio stations which in turn were able to air high quality entertainment programs. By 1934, 20 million homes received broadcasts from 600 radio stations in the country.

Radio evolved as a mass entertainment and communication medium and in its wake it created corporations which would influence public opinion and perceptions for decades. Marketing strategies of companies changed as the radio emerged and advisers found ways to make people buy things they did not need. Such was the impact of radio on advertising that the whole capitalistic economy depended on rigorous and convincing advertisements in the newspaper and especially on the radio to sell products. The radio was the new medium and an advertisement on the radio implied the products superiority. From the radio developed early theories on fashion and trends together with consumer behavior. In fact it can be said that transforming trends in society and cultural evolved from the radio during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Popular culture together with its trends and fashions evolved during this time. During the same period the American society became less resistant to change and consequently became more liberal.

Broadcasting: The Period of Awe
The radio influenced the 20th century in much the same way as the automobile did. People developed a taste for listening entertainment, in Tom Lewis’ words ‘The first modern mass medium, radio made America into a land of listeners, entertaining and educating, angering and delighting, and joining every age and class into a common culture. Radio meant that for the first time in history one person with a microphone could speak to many, influence them, and perhaps change their lives.’ (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)

The radio became the American family’s ‘electronic hearth’ and a constant companion of the family life in the 20s and 30s. It was the dominating culturing and nationalizing force which gave a chance to all mini cultures, societies and races in the United States to express their opinions and thoughts. Indeed every organization was trying to get into the radio business during the 1920s. Universities, colleges, churches, newspapers, banks, hospital, clubs, cities and town were all striving to have a share of the broadcasting experience. Tom Lewis wrote in “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s, “In Davenport, Iowa, the Palmer School of Chiropractics had a station; in New Lebanon, Ohio, the Nushawg Poultry Farm started one; in Cleveland, the Union Trust Company began broadcasting over WJAX; in Clarksburg, West Virginia, the Roberts Hardware opened WHAK; the John Fink Jewelry Company of Fort Smith, Arkansas began WCAC; the Detroit Police Department began the mnemonic KOP; the Chicago Tribune began WGN (World’s Greatest Newspaper); in San Francisco, the Glad Tidings Tabernacle delivered its message of salvation over KDZX; and in Milford, Kansas, over KFKB (“Kansas Folks Know Best”), Dr. John R. Brinkley lectured three times each day about the virtues of implanting goat glands to restore male potency.” (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)

All this while radio manufacturers were increasing and improving their product lines and radios were analyzed for their aesthetic appeal and technological superiority in much the same way as people nowadays regard cars. Sales of radios were increasing a dramatic rate and people were so taken by the radio that they would listen to anything. People were awed by the concept of hearing sounds through the air. Broadcasters typically gave the public a mixture of soaps, concerts, recorded music and stories. However, broadcasters also aired their own advertisement for example advertisement for their newspapers or manufactured radios. The primary purpose of the big broadcasting stations was to increase the popularity of their company’s products. (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)

These early broadcasting stations also broadcasted national events such as the KDKA Harding-Cox election broadcast during the early 1920s. This was a landmark in radio achievement; listeners did not go to the town squares and listen to the long campaign speeches of Presidential candidates where there was always the threat of public riot and a rebellious crowd. Instead candidates would give brief speeches on radio to an invisible audience. Later the Hoover campaign would utilize the radio for campaign purposes. The radio brought a new way of politicizing.
In 1927 NBC covered the arrival of America’s hero Charles A. Lindbergh by linking 50 stations in 24 states. This special broadcast was covered by announcers perched atop the Washington Monument, on the dome of the Capitol and the roof of the US Treasury. An estimated 30 million people listened to the broadcast, a number unprecedented in human history before this event. No media during that time had the power to captivate the audience in such large numbers. People who had listened to that broadcast were awed by the power of radio. The American nation had been brought together to witness a single event. Naturally people were overwhelmed by nationalistic feelings and emotions. A sense of belonging was created in the hearts of the American people, regional and state boundaries did not matter any more. During the 1920s radio provided coverage of boxing title fights, concerts, football and baseball games. Priests and Fathers delivered their sermons on radio and politician rallied for votes on the radio. Tom Lewis writes, “Increasingly, people ceased to refer to themselves just as Pennsylvanians, Coloradans, Californians, Oregonians, or Texans; radio brought the nation into their homes and gave them a national identity.” (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)

Herbert Hoover, who was initially against commercialization of radio, used the radio for the advertisement of his Presidential campaign in May 1928. Radio became a campaign tool and the Hoover campaign believed that personal appearances were a thing of the past, meanwhile a New York Times journalist wrote “It is believed that brief pithy statements as to the positions of the parties and candidates which reach the emotions through the minds of millions of radio listeners, will play an important part in the race to the White House.” Speech writing was forever transformed. Candidates realized that they were essentially imparting to a listening rather than a reading audience. Americans could now listen to the State of the Union and Inaugural addresses, Presidential Nominating Conventions which were previously private became national events. The most striking impact of radio on political campaign was that the candidate who displayed greater radio oratory prowess usually won. (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)

During this era the first seeds of the information era were sown. Radio was the fastest means of broadcasting information during the 1920s and often the slogan ‘be the fist to know’ was used. Newspapers and magazine became secondary sources of news. People wanted summaries of events and news; they wanted the important fact rather than a long narration of irrelevant information. People began to think in economic terms, they measured the opportunity cost of listening to irrelevant information and forgoing the engaging entertainment provided by another station. The attention span of the American people became smaller and hence the distinct American culture of being to the point evolved. This was a significant step taken by the American public with staggering implications for businesses, society and culture.

The Great Depression: The Era of Entertainment
The radio provided entertainment and life to the dull and troublesome periods of the Great Depression. People become closer to their radio sets than their other worldly possessions. The radio connected the people to the world and specially the American people who despite their hardships were keeping a very positive and jovial mood on air. The radio became a retreat for the common person, as an advertising agency once said “America should laugh and dance its way out of the depression.” (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s. )

Previously American families played music and sang songs rather than listen to recorded music and music played on the radio. The music creation culture of the American family was lost when radio took over. People were now content to just listen to music on the radio and become passive listeners rather than active participants. The separation of entertainment from homes to the radio brought about the still prevailing celebrity culture and national entertainment. People now turned to radio stations for music, drama, commentary, comedy and soaps.
People who could not afford concert and drama tickets and people who lived in remote areas had access to high quality entertainment medium via the radio. The growth of radio networks encouraged the rise of national culture and identity. While the influence of radio continued to grow, the radio itself began to digress from the original inspirational theme of being a ‘people’s university’. Educational and inspirational programs were still being aired but the main emphasis was on light comedies, popular music and variety. Current affair analysis and serious dramas were aired very infrequently. Gradually the American public came to know the radio as being less of a learning medium than an entertainment medium.

Radio thrived during the Great Depression and radio legends were born. The program Amos n Andy was perhaps the most popular radio shows of all time. Charles J. Correll and Freeman Fisher Gosden, stars of Amos n Andy earned more than $100,000 from NBC in 1933. This is a clear indication of the relative prosperity in the radio industry. Moreover the stars of Amos n Andy were black faces and this show would mark the beginning of the African American influence on comedy and broadcast shows. The radio industry generated huge funds from advertisements and advertisements in turn kept the consumer buying convenience and consumption related products. In a way, if it was not for radio the economic machinery of the United States would have ground to a halt.
Radio broadcasts during the early 1930s were mainly financed by sponsors. The broadcasts were interrupted by commercial announcements. Convenience and consumption related goods accounted for 86% of the networks revenue. Cigerrates, cigars, toothpastes, coffees and laxatives were the most frequent advertisers. Advertisers used rating companies to evaluate the popularity of radio shows. As advertisers contributed heavily towards the revenue of radio stations they were in a position to dictate the contents of radio shows. Soon radio shows operated at the mercy of advertisers, and advertisers had no interest in news and educational programs. (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)
Advertisements too changed in nature, in contrast to the first advertisement aired on radio in 1922 which was a 12 minute long sales pitch, advertisements of 1930s were short, melodious and witty:
When you’re feeling kinda blue
And you wonder what to do,
Ch-e-ew Chiclets, and
Chee-ee-eer up! (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)
It seems that during the great Depression radio chose to remain silent on the extraordinary events which were transpiring in America and abroad. News and news commentary were marginalized and almost no mention of depressing events and disasters in the country were made. Radio had forgotten its primary goal of being a ‘people’s university’. These blatant passivenesses to surrounding events lead George Bernard Shaw to declare “All Americans are deaf and blind—and dumb.” However, not everyone on the radio was silent; there were announcers and broadcasters who wanted a social revolution. Father Coughlin accused the rich for being “dulled by the opiate of their own contentedness” He organized his listeners into a National Union of Social Justice and The Radio League of the Little Flower. Father Coughlin’s propaganda included the slogan “Democracy is over” and the rage against international banks who he blamed for the country’s problems. (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)

Another Star of the depression era was the Kingfish Baton Rouge Huey who had a very appealing conspiratorial style of speaking and was very popular. Baton Huey called the newspapers ‘lyin’ nrewspapers’, and he claimed that although the lord had invited everyone to a feast “Morgan and Rockefeller and Mellon and Baruch have walked up and took 85 percent of the vittles off the table.” Listeners of Kingfish organized the ‘Share the Wealth’ clubs and usually did whatever the Kingfish asked them to do. Such was the power of radio during those days.

When President Roosevelt came to office during the Depression, he declared a bank holiday as “the first step in the government’s reconstruction of our financial and economic fabric.” President Roosevelt then sought to gather the nation and address them by the most powerful medium of mass communication, the radio. The President gave ‘fireside chats’ on radio despite heavy criticism from newspapers and in March 1933 the President addressed the nation trying to explain them the current banking crisis. The President talked to the American public as a teacher would to a student and remarkably the public understood every word he said. The President’s talk went a long way towards restoring consumer confidence and removing fears and miss understandings relating to the banking crisis. This in itself was a mini revolution aided by the radio. (Lewis, Tom. “A Godlike Presence”: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s.)
After the creation of the Federal Communications Commission in 1934, radio broadcasting was examined and charged for not fulfilling the goals of education and cultural enrichment. As a result radio stations improved their programs and included more educational material. NBC introduced a new orchestra and CBS aired high quality dramas such as Corwin’s “They Fly through the Air with the Greatest of Ease.” The FCC regulations only served the purpose of increasing the quality of programs that were aired.

During the World War II, radio was the only medium which provided battle news directly from the battle zones to listeners around the world. The role of radio changed again, during and after the World War II the radio would not just serve as an entertainment medium but would also serve as news reporting medium.