2. Radio Journalism
● What is Radio journalism? ● Current Audio
-Radio or audio journalism is Mediums:
AM/FM
a relatively new medium in HD
which news or information is Satellite
Internet
broadcast electronically
rather than print methods
such as newspapers or
posters.
3. Audio Vs. Broadcast
● What is the difference between
broadcast journalism and audio
journalism?
● Do audio and broadcast
journalism share any mediums
on which content is presented?
4. Tied Down
● With the establishment of the telegraph and telephone long distance
communication was achieved at exceedingly fast speeds.
● “But as wonderful as these amazing devices were, they shared a
common weakness - their messages could only go where their wires
led.” -FCC
5. The First Transmission
● In 1864 James Clerk Maxwell
predicted the existence of
electro-magnetic waves.
● It wasn't until 1890, however,
that Hertz was finally able to
send the first wireless signal.
7. The Coherer Wireless Detector
“In 1890, Edouard Branly,
Physics Professor at the
Catholic University of Paris,
found that a nearby
Coherer Device In Use electromagnetic disturbance
(spark) can lower the
resistance of a thin layer of
platinum deposited upon glass
and he is, thus, credited as the
inventor of the coherer
wireless detector.”
8. The Coherer Device Cont.
● The lowered resistance in the
tube allows a greater current to
pass through the device
● With the addition of a tapper,
● The filings for some reason dd the morse code could be sent
not un-clump after the wireless wirelessly across the country
signal ended and therefore a and eventually across the globe.
tapper was added to break each
signal.
9. When the Coherer device completes
the circuit, a “Click-Clack” sound is
produced. With some tweaks Morse
code was sent clearly and concisely.
10. The Birth of Wireless
With the joining of Coherer's and Hertz's technology practical
wireless devices were possible. Wireless telegraphy became a staple
of news broadcasting from the late 1890's to early 1920's. Most
notably, wireless telegraphy played out the events of the titanic
sinking in 1912.
11. The Man Behind The Broadcast
● It wasn't until the first year of the 20th century that radio as we know it
took form. Up until December 23rd, 1900 only wireless telegraphs
were possible.
● Reginald Aubrey Fessenden became the voice of a new era by sending
the first “broadcast” with voice superimposed on radio waves.
● By 1906 Fessenden was the first disc jockey, playing a music
broadcast to the ships of the United Fruit Company.
13. ● In the early 1920's
The 1920's
broadcast radio was
starting to take hold. It ● Some notable early radio
was popular since broadcasts:
journalist could be at the -November 2, 1920 and the
scene of the news being announcement of the
covered. Harding-Cox presidential
election results on KDKA.
-1925 and the following of the
Scopes Trial by WGN
-1927 and Charles
Lindbergh's transatlantic
flight.
14. The 1920's Cont.
● The intersection of radio, news, and politics created a prime
environment for radio and technology to grow.
● The earliest broadcast, such as that of Lindbergh's crossing of the
Atlantic captured the attentions of thousands of people of all ages.
15. The Biltmore Agreement Cont.
● The Biltmore Agreement created several key points:
– Radio networks could only produce two, five-minute
news broadcasts per day.
– Networks could not broadcast “breaking news”
– News advertising support was strictly not allowed.
– News could not be broadcast during newspaper-
selling periods
– Radio networks had to encourage listeners to read
newspapers for more details on stories.
16. The Press-Radio War Begins
● 1922 brought the release of a ● With radio gaining a
statement by the AP that footing as a news
prohibited radio stations from medium, the
broadcasting their news from Associated Press(AP)
their paper. Though largely started getting nervous.
ignored by stations at the time, it Newspapers wanted to
is believed to be the shot that overpower radios'
started the war. growth
● The ban by the Associated Press
only fueled radio's popularity and
influence through the 1920's. With
more wire services denying rights
to their papers for broadcasts,
radio networks began to turn away
and form their own news bureaus.
17. Gaining Speed
H.V Kaltenborn
● With news networks forced to create their own news
bureaus, 1929 and 1930 brought organized programming to
the table.
● Three regularly scheduled
newscast began and took over
the air as flagship shows.
-1929 brought The Headline
Hunter with Floyd Gibbons
on NBC.
-1930 next brought us the Lowell
Thomas and The News broadcast
and H.V Kaltenborn's regular newscasts on CBS.
18. The 1930's:
A Decade of War
● With regular news shows broadcasting almost daily, there came an
exponential growth in listeners.
● The Lindbergh kidnapping and eventually the trial of Bruno
Hauptman only fueled radio journalism's growth.
● Despite growth, network executives could feel the pressures of
establishing news bureaus, while publishers were feeling the
pressures of radio's popularity. By the end of 1933, both reached
their breaking points.
19. The Biltmore Agreement
In December of 1933, At the Biltmore
Hotel in New York City, a meeting
commenced between wire service
representatives, network executives, and
newspaper publishers. To discuss the
growing tensions between news
mediums.
20. A New Type of Broadcast
Commentary
● With radio networks limited in content and loosing revenue
from advertising, it wasn't long before executives went in
search of loopholes.
● In no time, a hole in the agreement was found and a new
chapter of radio journalism began.
● News commentary became the pillar of major network
shows. The Biltmore Agreement limited broadcasters to
certain rules, not commentators. Therefore allowing
networks to gain advertising revenue once again.
● All the major network hosts, like Lowell Thomas and H.V.
Kaltenborn soon dropped the broadcaster title for the new
commentator title.
21. The Flames of Radio
● Despite setbacks created by the Biltmore
Agreement, radio still managed to build its
audience base thanks to one very important
person: President Roosevelt.
● After his inauguration in 1933, he began
addressing the people through his radio
Fireside Chats. These addresses generated
strong listener-ship for radio networks,
with as much as 30% of the population
tuning in.
22. The Flames of Radio Cont.
Hindenburg Recording
● The Hindenburg Disaster of
1937 played a defining role in
the history of radio journalism.
● After touching the docking
pole, the Hindenburg burst into
flames and was completely
destroyed within 2 minutes.
● Herb Morrison from WLS of
Chicago capture this tragic
event on recording disks as the
events played out.
● This was the first recording
ever used on NBC radio
stations.
23. As One War Ends...
● With the increase in commentary news networks, the lack of
compliance from independent radio stations, and the increasing
popularity of Roosevelt's Fireside Chats, the Biltmore Agreement
collapsed.
● The spring of 1939 saw the official end of the Press-Radio War with
the Associated Press lifting the ban on radio broadcasts of wire copy.
● This new freedom of the radio press created numerous opportunities
that continued to build its listener base.
24. ...Another War Begins
Troops Invade
● H.V. Kaltenborn took to
the air and began
broadcasting reports
● One prime opportunity straight from Sudetenland
was the commencement of for 18 days, creating more
World War II. than 85 separate
broadcasts covering the
prewar Munich Crisis.
25. Another War Begins Cont.
● The prewar and World War II era hastened the development of radio
journalism bring it even closer to the Radio we see today.
● In 1938 CBS was the first Network to broadcast from overseas,
instead of taking news from the wire service.
● This overseas coverage helped push listener-ship up, with over 40% of
the population getting their news from radio stations.
● Several radio hosts became house hold names.
26. Post War Problems
● By the end of the war, nearly 60% of the population gathered their
news from broadcast networks.
● With the war over and radio at an all time high, it seemed like little
could happen to stop it's growth. But several technological
advancements over the next decade took a huge bite out of radio's
population.
27. Televisions Hit the Market
● Despite being introduced to the public in 1939, television did not
become mainstream until the late 1940's. This was mostly due to the
World War.
● When it finally gained momentum, though, radio and newspaper
publishers alike took a hard hit.
● Radio stations not only lost listeners, but many lost their hosts as well.
Several journalist like Walter Winchell migrated to TV programming
to make a new name for themselves.
28. AM goes FM
● Despite the weakening interesting in radio, the number of stations
popping up kept growing, and the number of frequencies, that were
empty, were declining.
● In 1945, the Federal Communications Commission made a decision to
move FM to its current frequency range of 88 to 108 MHz. This shift
made all prewar receivers obsolete.
● New standards set by the FCC continued to create a divide in radio
listeners and a segmentation formed.
29. AM Goes FM Cont.
● As FM became more mainstream, populations became more
segmented. AM radio, known for its focus on entertainment was
quickly losing out to the higher quality of stereophonic FM radio.
● The 1960's quickly divided the populations, and stations became more
targeted at specific audiences.
– FM focused on entertainment with only short news
bulletins throughout their shows.
– AM focused on news, commentary, and talk shows.
● With an increase in car radios, some stations became focused on
segments targeted directly at those listening during their commute.
30. An FM Exception
● Despite the FM bands becoming focused on high volumes of
entertainment, and low volumes of news, there was one station that
was an exception to this trend: National Public Radio(NPR)
● NPR is the radio side to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that
was created by Congress in 1967.
● At first it was mostly used by colleges and universities.
● High quality journalism was brought back to radio, and created a
niche in the market.
● For the first time in 1979, FM radio took a step ahead of AM in its
share of audience.
31. Maintaining a Presence
● The 60's, 70's, and 80's ● Radio coped, however, and
were tumultuous times for with the help of the
the radio industry. The Communications Act of 1984-
growing popularity of TV, which deregulated many parts
the division of populations of radio- networks slid
between AM and FM, and through the decades smoothly,
the surviving publishing taking changes with strides.
industry, truly strained all
media mediums,
especially radio.
32. Radio Today
● Today radio and radio journalism are still changing.
Broadcast media has flourished to a variety of
mediums including:
– AM Radio
– FM Radio
– HD Radio
– Satellite Radio
– Internet Radio
33. Radio Today Cont.
● The advent of satellite/internet radio has allowed stations to
return to the old days of large networks with syndicated
broadcasts coming from a single source.
● These two formats have also made a name for themselves
due to its highly deregulated format, allowing for a larger
variety of shows, low censorship, and the building of unique
audiences.
● Many cars in production today have grown from having just
AM or FM receivers to having AM/FM/Satellite receivers,
giving drivers an even greater diversity in listening choices.
● It should be noted, however, that satellite radio often
requires a paid subscription, something uncommon for radio
markets.
34. The Future of Radio Journalism
● Radio journalists will have to become more diverse in their
work.
● Despite declines in listener-ship, radio journalism will always
exist in one form or another.
● “It's not so much about quality of content, but rather quantity of
content”
● “People will pay for the truth”
35. The Future of Radio Cont.
● While some shows and hosts
continue to show strong ratings,
such as The Rush Limbaugh
Show(which has over 15 million
listeners), declines only back up
Derek's predictions for future
journalists.
● Only 1/5 of young adults listen
● Ratings are on a downward to radio now, and if the statistics
trend, the latest from 2012 show are any indication, this number
listener-ship down to 33% of the will also spiral downward.
population from 43% in 2000.
Yet these ratings remain above
newspapers, which hover around
only 29%.
36. The Future of Radio Cont.
● Over the next decade and beyond internet radio is going to play an
increasingly important role in the radio journalism industry.
● Smartphones have opened up the industry to completely new
mediums on which to develop radio journalims. Radio apps that
create “smart” playlists are becoming increasingly popular.
● Podcasts are also creating a place for themselves in the internet
radio world. These allow for people to download specific segments
and/or episodes of their favorite radio shows.
– Today, around 18% of the population downloads
podcasts.
37. Radio at Adelphi
● Adelphi University is no exception to the growing internet radio
trend.
● PAWS Web Radio is Adelphi's very own radio station that streams
24/7 from their studio in the Earle Hall Media Center.
38. References
● Asimov, I. Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology; the Lives
and Achievements of 1510 Great Scientists from Ancient Times to the
Present, Chronologically Arranged, rev. ed. New York: NY: Avon, 1976.
● Fuhring, John. "An Early Coherer Radio." An Early Coherer Radio. N.p., n.d. Web.
24 Mar. 2013. <http://www.geojohn.org/Radios/MyRadios/Coherer/Coherer.html>.
● "Guglielmo Marconi - Biography". Nobelprize.org. 16 Feb 2013
<http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1909/marconi-
bio.html>
● "History of Communications - RADIO: The Ideas That Made Radio Possible." FCC.gov.
Federal Communications Commision, 21 Nov. 2005. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.
● Jones, R. Victor. "The Branly-Lodge "Coherer" Detector." "Coherer" Detectors. Harvard
University, 03 Nov. 1999. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
<http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~jones/cscie129/nu_lectures/lecture6/coherers/coh
erer.html>.
