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1. Radio and the Digital Age
James Moy

2. Overview
 Radio: n. the transmission and reception of
electromagnetic waves of radio frequency, esp. those
carrying sound messages
 Public broadcasting began in 1920
 Modern uses
 Music, talk/news, communication
First used to carry telegraph signals
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3. History of Radio
 First broadcasts preceded by decades of
research
 1860’s: James Clark Maxwell proves existence of waves
 1886: Heinrich Hertz manipulates waves
 1895: Guglielmo Marconi uses radio as medium for
communication
 1899: “wireless telegraphs” installed in ships
 1900: more improvements
 1915: Speech transmitted
 1919: RCA formed
 1920: Harding-Cox election, first govt. licensed program,
broadcasted
 1933: FM (frequency modulation)

4. Radio Programming
 News
 Opinion/talk show
 I.e. Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow QuickTimeª and a
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 Music
 Genre-specific stations
 Top 40’s
 Advertising
 Like many other media, most QuickTimeª and a
funding from ads
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 Ad time valued by expected volume
of listeners

5. Radio in the Digital Age
 The advent of digital technology redefined “radio
broadcasting”
 Arbitron now defines a radio station as:
 A government licensed FM/AM station
 An HD station
 An internet stream of a licensed station
 A satellite channel from XM or Sirius
 Internet enabled devices, mp3 players, and even CDs
posed competition to radio
 The community experience of radio is arguably
threatened by new forms of solitary listening

6. The Future of Radio
 Analysts are less skeptical of radio than of newspapers
 94% of Americans still own radios in their homes
 Radio “streaming” more flexible to listeners
 Local stations find niche with internet radio
 Integration of social media to music is returning us to
social listening and a new incarnation of radio
 Pandora, Spotify, 8tracks, etc.
Only time will tell how traditional stations will adapt to new
resources.