Term paper on First Radio Broadcasts

First Radio Broadcasts

The first major radio broadcast took place in November 1920 when Westinghouse-owned station KDKA in Pittsburgh aired the presidential election results. Commercial programming began soon after and proved greatly popular. Both the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS) were established during the 1920s, as was the government’s Federal Radio Commission, which became the Federal Communications Commission in 1934. By 1930 an estimated 40 percent of American households possessed radios, whose annual sales totaled more than $800 million. Popular radio figures of the era included singer Rudy Vallee and sports announcer Graham McNamee.

Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Identify the most popular radio programs of the 1920s and discuss why they were popular.

2. Compare radio’s coverage of the 1920 presidential election with current media coverage of presidential elections.

3. What were the effects of radio on American life during the 1920s?

4. Discuss the early years of NBC or CBS.

5. Compare the early government regulation of radio broadcasting with today’s government regulation of the media.

REFERENCE SOURCES

The ABC-CLIO Companion to the Media in America . Daniel W. Hollis. Santa Barbara , CA : ABC-CLIO, 1995. Alphabetically arranged entries treating people, events, and issues. A solid reference work that is part of the publisher’s series.

The Big Broadcast, 1920–1950 . Frank Buxton and Bill Owen. Blue Ridge Summit , PA : Scarecrow, 1996. Alphabetically arranged entries of important radio programs and topics. Includes narrative descriptions, cast lists, and theme music.

Handbook of Old-Time Radio: A Comprehensive Guide to Golden Age Radio Listening and Collecting . Jon D. Swartz and Robert C. Reinehr. Blue Ridge Summit , PA : Scarecrow, 1993. Treats more than 2,000 different programs with cast lists, network affiliation, announcers, length, story-lines, and availability.

Historical Dictionary of American Radio . Donald G. Godfrey and Frederic A. Leigh, eds. Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1998. Recent historical dictionary that covers issues, events, and personalities.

Radio and Television Pioneers: A Patent Bibliography . David W. Kraeuter. Blue Ridge Summit , PA : Scarecrow, 1992. Cites the patents of forty radio and television inventors in chronological order from the beginning of radio in the nineteenth century to 1976.

Radio Broadcasting from 1920 to 1990: An Annotated Bibliography . Diane F. Carothers. New York : Garland , 1991. Comprehensive bibliography covering the history of broadcasting from its beginnings to the present.

Radio Music Live: 1920–1950, a Pictorial Gamut . Morris N. Young and John C. Stoltzfus. Highland City , FL : Rainbow Books, 1998. Recent reference work providing a chronology of radio music along with numerous photographs.

GENERAL SOURCES

Aitken, Hugh G. J. The Continuous Wave: Technology and American Radio, 1900–1932 . Princeton , NJ : Princeton University Press, 1985. Detailed history of American radio with an emphasis on technological considerations during the first three decades.

Barfield, Ray E. Listening to Radio, 1920–1950 . Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1996. Recent, concise history of radio programs and programming beginning with the early years.

Campbell, Robert. The Golden Years of Broadcasting: A Celebration of the First Fifty Years of Radio and TV on NBC . New York : Scribner’s 1976. Interesting and informative history of the network and its programming.

Chester , Edward W. Radio, Television, and American Politics . New York : Sheed and Ward, 1969. Revealing historical description of the media role in politics. The treatment of radio is more accurate than the treatment of television influences, which have changed considerably since the publication date.

MacDonald, J. Fred. Don’t Touch that Dial! Radio Programming in American Life, 1920–1960 . Chicago : Nelson-Hall, 1979. Interesting account of radio programming over a period of forty years, with insight into the nature of popular culture.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Douglas, George H. The Early Days of Radio Broadcasting . Jefferson , NC : McFarland, 1987. Concise and revealing history targeted to the early period.

Rosen, Philip T. The Modern Stentors: Radio Broadcasters and the Federal Government, 1920–1934 . Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1980. Focused history on radio broadcasting and U.S. government policy during the early years.

Schmeckebier, Laurence F. The Federal Radio Commission: Its History, Activities, and Organization . (1932). Reprint. New York : AMS, 1974. Concise and informative account of the FRC. Originally issued as Number 65 of Service Monographs of the United States Government and developed by the Brookings Institution.

Smulyan, Susan. Selling Radio: The Commercialization of American Broadcasting, 1920–1934 . Washington , DC : Smithsonian Institution, 1994. Brief examination of economic development through advertising and corporate sponsorship of radio broadcasting during the early years.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

DeLong, Thomas A. Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960 . Jefferson , NC : McFarland, 1996. Comprehensive work providing biographical sketches of radio personalities from the early years on.

Vallee, Eleanor, and Jill Amadio. My Vagabond Lover: An Intimate Biography of Rudy Vallee . Dallas : Taylor Publishing, 1996. Recent biography by the entertainer’s widow.

Vallee, Rudy. Let the Chips Fall . Harrisburg , PA : Stackpole Books, 1975. Rudy Vallee’s autobiography written when he was in his midseventies.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

The Class of the 20th Century: 1901–1939 . New York : A&E Home Video. 1992. Videocassette. The first of a six-part set extending to 1976–1990 that treats early radio in the context of parallel events. Narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. Each video is 96 minutes.

WORLD WIDE WEB

Messere, Fritz. ‘‘The Davis Amendment: Overview of the Controversy.” Documents of the Federal Radio Commission . 1996. http://www.oswego.edu/ messere/FRCdavis.html Brief overview of the controversy surrounding this 1928 amen dment to the Radio Act of 1927. Leads to other FRC documents.