2. Radio Journalism
Radio Journalism has been closely tied to the changing technology
of the medium and the changing political whim of the nation
1922-1938 – these years were marked by strife between radio and
newspapers
1938-1946 – these years saw rapid expansion of radio journalism,
largely driven by World War Two.
3. Radio Journalism
1946-1960 – this was the transitional period for radio journalism
due to the introduction of format radio and to the expansion of
T.V.
1960-1980 – radio journalism was influenced by greater utilization
of the FM band, forcing radio news to redefine itself
1980-present – these years witnessed a rebirth of radio journalism
4. Radio Journalism
Earliest radio broadcast was November 2nd, 1920. KDKA in
Pittsburgh broadcasted the results of the Harding-Cox presidential
election.
In 1925, WGN in Chicago broadcasted from the Scopes trial
In 1927, transatlantic flight of aviator Charles “Lucky” Lindbergh
captured audience attention
5. Radio Journalism
In 1929-1930, regular scheduled news broadcasts on networks
began
Floyd Gibbons began “The Headline Hunter” for NBC in 1929
“Lowell Thomas and the News” premiered in September 1930
H.V. Kaltenborn began in 1930 with a broadcast on CBS that was
on three times per week
6. Radio Journalism
First two years of the 1930’s was the coverage of the Lindbergh
kidnapping and trail of Bruno Hauptman, which made news coverage,
and the reputation of some news reporters such as Boake Carter for
CBS, increasingly popular
Newspaper publishers had recognized that radio was a force that could
not be ignored. This was known as the “Press-Radio War”, and at stake
was the power to control how news would be distributed.
7. The Press-Radio War and Biltmore Agreement
In 1922, the Associated Press issued a notice to subscribers that AP
news copy was not to be used for broadcasting purposes.
This notice was ignored, since most newspapers owned early radio
stations
United Press and International News Service said they would
continue to provide copy to all subscribers, especially during the
1924 Presidential election
17 years later, till 1939, Journalists were at war with their own
ranks
8. December 1933 meeting at Biltmore Hotel, NY
Biltmore Agreement:
• Limited the radio networks to only five-minute newscasts per day
• Newscasts had to be in mornings, but only after 9:30 a.m., and
evenings only after 9:00 p.m.
• Copy only from the established wire services and no breaking or
up-to-the-minute news broadcast
• Radio news must not have any advertising support and listeners
were to be encouraged to consult their newspapers for the latest
news
9. Biltmore Agreement
Allowed networks access to some wire services restricted
broadcast content to a format that would:
1. Be long enough to give important news
2. Not interfere in prime newspaper selling periods
3. Not compete with newspapers for advertising dollars
10. Biltmore Meeting, December 11th & 12th 1933
Foreshadowed “audience segmentation”- media would agree to
split up the audience with newspapers concentrating on news and
information and radio concentrating on entertainment
Biltmore Agreement said nothing about commentary, so
commentators could be sponsored
11. Biltmore Meeting
The agreement was crumbled under the combined weight of
pressure from independent radio stations and all the commentary
on the network airwaves
Press-Radio War ended in 1939, having to do with economic
reasons as it did 17 years earlier
Associated Press lifted it’s ban on radio transmission of wire copy
in spring of 1939
12. Hindenburg Disaster of 1937
The airship Hindenburg burst into flames as it landed
Commentator Herb Morrison was using a portable recording
device called a “disc-cutter” even though recordings were not
allowed on air.
The recording of the disaster was played and was the first
recording that was broadcasted on NBC
Herb Morrison
13. Radio Goes to War
September 1938, after Hitler’s Nazi troops invaded the
Sudetenland, CBS’s H.V. Kaltenborn began one of the landmark
broadcasts
18 straight days of Munich crisis, Kaltenborn took bulletins from the wire
services and stories from reporters and turned them into a stream of
more than 88 separate broadcast; some lasting two hours.
The start of WW2, September 3rd, 1939, after hearing British Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain read the declaration of war against
Germany, started “what must be described as one of the greatest and
most turbulent periods of radio journalism in the history of the
medium.” Declare War
14. Radio Goes to War
President Roosevelt, in 1933, broadcasts 40 speeches with more
than 30% of American listeners
1939, a roper poll showed that more than a quarter of the
population relied on radio for their news
March of 1938, CBS broadcasted the first overseas news round up
Edward R. Murrow, Eric Severied and Charles Collingwood of
Paris, William Shirer of Berlin, were all household names during
WW2 broadcast
16. Television Onslaught
At the end of the war, America was home to over 900 radio
stations and more than 31 million families who used radio
Television was suppose to be the new rage, but radio had some
new technological enhancements to keep it vital
Last years of 1940’s into 50’s, T.V. siphoned off the talent that
made radio the powerhouse communication medium during the
last three decades
Journalists Walter Winchell, Edward R. Murrow, Fred Friendly and
Douglas Edwards migrated from radio to T.V.
17. Television Onslaught
1950, Murrow wrote a new program for CBS radio called “Hear it
Now” which lasted 18 months, then moved to CBS T.V. called “See
it Now”
Technological advancements in radio:
1. Smaller, lighter transmitters developed for war efforts
allowed journalists to report live from many places
2. Development of recording tape
3. T.V. equipment was still very large and bulky and videotape was in
its infancy during this period
18. Television Onslaught
Radio re-enacted news stories, using a shorter, immediate reporting of
breaking news format with high fidelity “sound bites” that added the
voices of actual newsmakers to the immediate coverage
More and more radio stations were going on air during the 1950’s, but a
falling radio audience number; fell from an average of 13 in 1948 to a
rating of one in 1956
AM band was getting crowded with signals so new technologies
developed again, changing the public face of radio and American radio
Journalism
19. “Find Me” Radio and Audience Segmentation
Early 1960’s, radio was put into automobiles calling it “drive times”
when audiences turned to their radio for news and entertainment
1965, FCC ruled that FM stations in markets, with populations
greater than 100,000, could duplicate no more than 50% of a
companion AM stations programming
Newscasts were positioned earlier in the morning to target people
in their cars and barns
1961, Gordon McClendon started the first all-news AM radio
stations, XETRA
20. “Find Me” Radio and Audience Segmentation
1960-1980, radio changes:
1. From AM to FM and FM stereo
2. Network oriented programing
3. Highly localized programing
4. From being the major provider of broadcast news and
information to being a player in a much more diverse area
Through a 20 year period of enormous social upheaval, radio
journalism managed to adapt to changes
21. Satellites and Deregulation: Radio Journalism
Radio Act of 1927 thrown out in 1984. The Communication Act was
rewritten, allowing fewer content restrictions and loosening ownership
restrictions
Many broadcasters, since the early 1980’s, have found satellite-delivered
programming to be a cost effective way to bring both news and
entertainment programming to their listeners and advertising revenue to
their owners
Quasi-Journalist personalities Paul Harvey, Larry King, Howard Stern, Don
Imus, Rush Limbaugh are radio commentators that have used radio in
ways no others have ever used it; tabloid-style formats, all-talk
formats, and all-news formats. (1960’s)
22. Satellite and Deregulation: Radio Journalism
1992, FCC loosened its rules and allowed a single owner to operate
two AM and 2 FM stations in markets with at least 15 stations
Telecommunications Act of 1996, lifted the National cap on radio
stations and ownership and further homogenizing the news and
information available on radio
Present- news on radio is used in cars and for people in their
workplace and is still the least cost-effective way to get important
information out immediately.
23. Modern Day
• Radio journalism is now called audio journalism because it encompasses
more than just radio
• 93% of people still listen to radio every day; a 6% increase in revenue
• According to The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, people
spend more time listening to news on the radio each day than they do
reading newspapers or getting news online
• Chart
• Top Radio Listened to
24. Modern Day
• 2010, people spent an average of 15 minutes listening to radio news, which
went up one minute since 2008. Television is 32 minutes, newspapers 10,
and the internet is 13
• 22% of Americans said that AM/FM radio had a big impact on their lives,
while 54% said cellphones, 44% said iPhones, 45% BlackBerries. 49% said
broadband internet
• NPR is growing; 3% last year with 27 million weekly listeners
• Radio may be on the brink of rapid change as use of other technologies
grow
• Cell phone usage will soon surpass radio.
• chart2
