The Invention Of The Radio In The 1930's

Through out the 1920’s many inventions were created that altered human civilization. Transportation was successfully mastered. Radio communication was becoming more common and medicine was saving more and more lives every day.

The 1920’s, was a decade of change, when Americans owned cars, radios and other electronics for the first time. The cars brought great transportation and the need for new roads. The radio brought music and entertainment to all. Electronics became a wide phenomenon where it helped with things from transportation to cooking. The 1920’s was a new era which brought immense change to Americans but after WWI, the nation suffered with strikes and a targeted upon communists and foreigners. This was also the time of the red scare. The Red Scare had begun following the Bolshevik Russian Revolution of 1917; a nationwide fear of communists, socialists and anarchists.

It was not possible to call up a loved one off at war to catch up. In 1948 there was the Berlin Airlift, and 1949 NATO was established. In 1950 the McCarthy Hearings begin and are wildly popular on almost every radio station. In 1954 Brown v.Board of Education is decided and the Civil Rights movement begins to cause a stir in the early 60s. The Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy is assassinated, race riots, Tet offensive, the end o the Vietnam War, Watergate. All newsworthy events, each rich with detail and the only way the American public knew what was going on half way around the world was daily broadcasts in the paper and on the radio.

Many people bought radios, as they were cheap and effective. The radio was a useful tool for emergencies. If a weather emergency took place, people nearby would be warned hours before it hit due to the radio. It was also important in that the range of radios was limited. That way, the entire world would not know about a small thunderstorm in a small town. However, the reverse could be true. The radio also worked long range, and was important in telling the United States population if war had started, or about other big news, like the Stock Market Crash. The radio was also a very important form of communication in war. World War II was the first war that was a technology based war. The war had soldiers and commanders communicating and forming a strategy on the radio. The radio also sent propaganda to increase production for the war. The radio also had a huge impact on the 1920s because it spread religion, culture, and society news. The radio was the reason that the flapper lifestyle became popular, because it was broadcasted frequently on the radio. It also let people know about the Harlem Renaissance, a Black gathering of music and art, the Red Scare, where America tried to exterminate communism , and new laws such as Prohibition. A hugely important example of the radio was the Scopes Trial. This was a major debate between Scopes and the State, where Scopes broke the law by teaching evolution. Many expressed that the law banning the teaching of evolution

     The technology and science during the twenties was very important. Many new ideas and inventions were introduced to Americans that influenced their lives. Henry fords automobile changed American life. Ford wanted to “democratize the automobile”. He wanted to everyone to be able to afford an automobile and have one. To help this he paid his workers five dollars a day, for doing this he was known as the friend of the worker. Ford also lowered the price of his cars. The model t ford became the “family pet of the nation” (Gales research, 1998). By 1929, 23.1 million passenger cars were in use in the United States. The privacy and mobility offered by the car would transform the Americans lived. The spread of technology affected consumerism. The United States economy went through a steady growth and expansion during this time. The radio became very popular in the twenties. By 1922, 3 million Americans households had radios. Many new electric appliances such as: vacuum cleaners, toasters, washing machines, televisions and refrigerators were introduced. These appliances helped the American housewife. Women became America’s greatest consumer. People started going to see motion pictures. The first movies were called silent screens.

The television did not yet exist and radios did not enter widespread use until the 1920s and '30s. Technological improvements in the publishing industry starting from the linotype machine, the telegraph, telephone, and use of a chemical wood pulp process for making more durable newspaper spread across the country after the Civil War. Approximately 2 million newspapers were sold in the United States in

After the First World War, many people were looking forward to good times. The 1920’s presented people with this time of fast-paced fun and adventure. Entertainment was the foremost part of everyday life during the 1920’s. Radio introduced a whole new practice of entertainment to people’s everyday lives. Likewise, through the utilization of the radio, people were able to experience a new medium to entertain themselves. Furthermore, the radio changed the face of society’s culture through its widespread use. In addition, radios provided people with a new, effective and efficient means of communication. Radio was a fundamental aspect in people’s lives during the 1920’s as it provided many people with news and entertainment in their

The 1920s and 1930s were interesting years for education. The 1920s sparked a new time in the United States history. World War I had just ended and prohibition had begun. In addition, there were social changes coming about, such as the roaring twenties. It is interesting that the roaring twenties took place because at the same time, the 18th amendment had been passed, officially outlawing the sale, transport, and consumption of alcohol. Women also gained the right to vote with the passing of the 19th amendment. When the 1930s hit, the great depression impacted millions of Americans. Up until the beginning of WWII, unemployment rates were high in the country, and there were not relief programs until FDR took office.

The first commercial radio station in the U.S., Pittsburgh’s KDKA, hit the airwaves in 1920; three years later there were more than 500 stations in the nation. By the end of the 1920s, there were radios in more than 12 million households. People also went to the movies very often. The most important consumer product in the 1920s was the vehicles. Low prices (the Ford Model T cost just $650 in 1924) and large credit made cars affordable Luxuries at the beginning of the decade; by the end, they were almost necessities.

During the 1920s radios has become such a necessity for people across the country, it allowed them to listen to important broadcasts live instead of

Similarly, a new type of journalism was established that focused on the gossip and the culture more than the daily news. People were now more aware of certain trends; therefore, they were focused on entertainment like comic books and listening to the radio. The “roaring twenties” defined the norms of the American society and successfully reinforced the

The development of 1920s and 1930s media and technology was extremely influential upon the period of time immediately after. Media in the 1920-30s and its relevance to the years that followed, focusing on the western world. Through the journalism and writing movements during the era, new technology was exposed to the public and impacted events in the years that followed. The term technology can also apply to machinery, medicine and weaponry; however, none of them corresponded with the changes to media in the 1920s and 1930s. The evolvement of media and technology in the 1920s and 1930s impacted events during the era and later in the Second World War.

As the number of radios grew in the U.S., more people relied on this media for obtaining information and entertainment. During the Great Depression, when disappointment in the economy reached its peak, FDR resorted to speeches on the radio. These became known as “Fireside Chats” (Boorstin 624) during which FDR talked about the banking system and other economic concerns. In these chats, he could describe his actions and his reasoning so that everyone would understand what the government was doing (The Great Depression). The New Deal was a program designed to reverse the effects of the Depression. Some of the successful programs that it encompassed were ones such as the following:

In most households during the 1930s, this was one of the main living room items because of it’s size and importance (Feature Radio in the 1930s).

"News is not reality, but a supply of sources' potrayals of reality, mediated by news organisations."