The 1930s is considered the real reason for the "golden age of radio"
By Marta DJORDJEVIC
Although who actually invented the first radio has been controversial (Italian physicist Gullemo Marconi and Serbian-American inventor and engineer Nicola Tesla were both fighting for the first patent), Marconi came to the fore in 1904, when the U.S. Patent Office officially called him the inventor of the new breakthrough technology. According to the APM report, in 1920, Americans owned their first commercially licensed radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: KDKA. On KDKA aired Warren M. After G. Harding's election to become the 29th president, the number rose rapidly, and by 1924, there were 500 radio stations available for listening.
According to the APM report, by 1930, more than "40 percent of U.S. households owned a radio." This has been called the "Golden Age of Radio". As PBS revealed, in 1930, 12 million Americans owned radios — up to 28 million by the end of the century.
The use of radios came during a turbulent period in history. Because the Great Depression caused widespread suffering to millions of Americans, families who could afford radios saw it as a popular source of entertainment and news that made them feel connected to the rest of the country. Today, there are more than 15,445 radio stations in the United States, and it's clear that broadcasting is still relevant, but its impact on society really began ninety years ago. Let's take a look at the real reasons why the 1930s are considered the "golden age of radio."
The concept of soap operas was born
These days, it's common for movie fans and TV fanatics to lash out at daytime soap operas. James Franco, who appeared in "General Hospital," elaborated on the concept in an article in Lapham's quarterly magazine, citing "dramatic plots, constant displays, unnatural lighting, inflated music, and lack of action." Interestingly, soap operas have been around for decades, and the familiarity with them makes fans look back even more.
It turns out that soap operas originated in the golden age of broadcasting. According to Classic FM, the word came about thanks to upcoming soap ads — the perfect sponsors of the audiences targeted at these radio shows. As explained in the old radio catalog, since the children were in school and the men were at work, housewives were the main consumers of those hours because the radio was her perfect companion and there was a lot of chores to do.
As highlighted by the Library of Congress, writers Anne Hummert, Irna Phillips, and Elaine Sterne Carrington have been hailed as pioneers in the development of soap operas, especially as Phillips is responsible for many of the still-common elements of soap operas today, such as "cliffs, pipe music bridges between scenes, and characters who appear simultaneously in different series." In fact, Phillips's legendary soap opera The Guiding Light has been called "the longest-running radio drama", successfully transitioning to television in 1952 (after 15 years of broadcasting) and ending in 2009 (source: Old Times Radio Directory)).
Cooking with the radio
For housewives in the 1930s who weren't interested in melodrama radio soap operas, thankfully she had another option: cooking shows. According to the Austin Chronicle, Betty Crocker was the first to have her own radio cooking show, the Bette Crocker Cooking School in the Air, which premiered in Minnesota in 1924 and aired nationwide two years later, and, remarkably, lasted "almost a quarter of a century." As it turns out, Betty Crocker wasn't actually a real person: the role was created by the advertising director, and 13 different actors played it during its long broadcast time.
Betty Crocker, however, isn't the only American master of cooking. As revealed in the Old Times Radio Catalog, nutritionist and chef Erma Perham Proetz launched the Mary Lee Taylor Project in 1933, working under the pseudonym of the eponymous character. At the time, Proetz was the advertising director at Gardner's advertising agency, and launching their show during the Great Depression meant a recipe "simple and economical" shared in a 15-minute clip featuring Gardner's star sponsor: PET Milk.
According to the company's website, PET's evaporated milk brand rose to fame during World War I and became a staple again during the Great Depression. The Mary Lee Taylor Project was a huge success, becoming the "longest-running radio cooking show" and continued until 1954 (Source: Old Times Radio Directory). Proetz saw praise for her creation, and in 1935 Fortune Magazine named her one of the 16 Most Prominent Women in American Business (Source: American Advertising Federation).
The kids have their own radio program
In addition to housewives, children are also huge consumer targets for daytime radio shows, and they get lost in the adventures of pop culture icons such as "Little Orphan Annie" and "The Flash Gordon." Interestingly, both characters start with comic book characters. As Radio World points out, the "Flash Gordon" comic was introduced in 1934 as a competitor to the sci-fi comic "Buck Rogers." The following year, "Lightning Gordon's Amazing Interstellar Adventures" debuted on the radio, closely following the plot of the strip as a "week-by-week adaptation."
On the other hand, according to the National Museum of Women's History, "Little Orphan Anne" was already popular in its radio premiere in 1930, given the radio drama introduced in 1924. For a number of reasons, "Little Orphan Anne" is revolutionary. First of all, it has the honor of "becoming the country's first children's program with a child as the protagonist". If that's not all, then the beloved heroine broke with the gender stereotypes of the 1930s and became the perfect role model for the "male-dominated" protagonist ocean.
Of course, just as PET Milk sponsored the Mary Lee Taylor Project for housewives, "Little Orphan Annie" owns the Arwatian Company. Listeners will collect Awarada's "box tops or labels" and mail them in, with the result that they receive an incentive to toy – a premium for all of the Avada brand. Of course, after competitors saw the success of Ah Huatian's ad in "Little Orphan Annie", many people copied the same model in other radio programs (source: National Museum of Women's History).
Popular show "Promoting Old-Fashioned American Family Values"
Not only did the Great Depression affect the American public economically; it also brought turmoil to the family dynamics in everyday households. According to Encyclopedia.com, as unemployment soared in the early 1930s, the "traditional" concept of men being the sole breadwinners in the family was challenged. When husbands suddenly find themselves spending more time at home and experiencing the concept of "humiliation" of applying for government assistance, quarrels with wives become more common, and as a result divorce rates rise.
Sadly, as Encyclopedia.com explains, young people from these troubled families "often remember their fathers being emotionally distant and indifferent," while others see their fathers drinking more often. Radio has played an important role in trying to reverse this disturbing family dynamic. According to PBS, popular radio shows starring heroes such as "Lone Rangers" and "Shadows" in turn point out "promoting old-fashioned American family values," thus reminding the public of what really matters.
Considering that millions of Americans owned radios in the 1930s, the concept of a family sitting together to listen to popular shows acquired a sense of "solidarity" according to Encyclopedia.com — not to mention that it was a free form of entertainment for those who couldn't afford more.
It is considered the "Internet of the 1930s."
It is undeniable that the invention of the radio paved the way for future modes of communication, such as television and the Internet, and took a revolutionary step toward ensuring that people connect with people around the world. By the end of the 1930s, an almost unbelievable 90 percent of Americans owned a radio — more than the number of people who owned a car or owned an indoor pipe, the historian Bruce Lenthall points out.
However, like some of the initial hesitations when the internet was introduced in the 1990s, not everyone fully welcomed this relatively new mode of rapid communication. Journalist Anne O'Hare McCormick wrote about radio in The New York Times in 1932, calling it a "great unknown force" (source: APM report), and went on to say that the experience of listening to this little machine was "jaw-dropping and almost anesthetizing to the mind." While McCormick eventually praised radio's ability to bring families together, another skeptic, scholar Jason Loviglio, warned listeners to absorb information carefully so as not to be influenced by irrational forces. ”
However, as APM Reports puts it, radio was indeed the "Internet of the 1930s," developing a being that was even seen as a "god-like presence" capable of covering entire countries, regardless of geographic and economic location.
News programming has revolutionized the way the public consumes current events
Although the first national news broadcast premiered in 1920, the golden age of radio truly revolutionized the way the public consumes current events in real time. In 1932, renowned pilot Charles Lindbergh kidnapped his 20-month-old baby, Charles, a radio station called "crime of the century," We Are Broadcasters reported. In fact, it was precisely because of the radio's "detailed description" of the missing child that Charles's body was found. According to the biography, the subsequent trial saw radio reporters provide "endless commentary and updates" — the first example of the public's obsession with real crime, which is still important today.
Another notable news moment in the golden age of radio was Herb Morrison's eyewitness report to the Hindenburg disaster of 1937. As detailed in the National Archives, it was "one of the most famous broadcasts in the history of broadcast journalism," and Morrison shuddered as describing the exact moment when the transatlantic passenger airship caught fire. Morrison detailed on Radio Chicago WLS: "There's smoke, there's flames, planes are falling to the ground," adding, "Oh humans, all the passengers are screaming here!" ”
By the end of the golden age of broadcasting, broadcast journalism had grown to the point of not merely reporting on what was happening. According to the Smithsonian Institution, this also evolved into "interviews, panel discussions, and documentaries."
Franklin M. D. Roosevelt's "Fireside Talk"
Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected office in 1933, and the United States had already suffered the Great Depression, which began with stock market crashes in 1929. Roosevelt found himself in the middle of the crisis; 1933 was the "lowest point" of the recession, with about 15 million people unemployed and "thousands of banks" shut down.
Thankfully, Roosevelt had a plan to quell widespread hysteria. On inauguration day, March 4, 1933, the newly elected president, the famous president famously told the public, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Over time, his calm demeanor will only get higher and higher — thanks in part to the golden age of radio. In addition to introducing the revolutionary New Deal as a means of boosting economic development, Roosevelt knew he had to connect with his fellow Americans. On March 12, Roosevelt gave his first "unofficial" speech on a nationwide broadcast, applauding the "fortitude and good temper" of the public while addressing the banking crisis, according to the Chronicle.
Roosevelt gave 30 more speeches between 1933 and 1944, which would be called his "fireside talk." According to PBS, these "chats" boosted the confidence of the masses, helped "people get closer to their president than ever before," and in turn provided the comfort people desperately needed.
A mania for science fiction
British writer H. Wells first published his now-legendary science fiction novel War of the Worlds in 1897. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the story witnessed a "meteor" crash into England, followed by a bloody clash between humans and "Martians". - Science fiction that is now considered a landmark.
Fast forward to October 30, 1938, and director and screenwriter Orson Wells aired an adaptation of "World Wars" on his "Mercury Theater in the Air" radio show. According to Smithsonian magazine, clever Wells decided to tweak the story to "turn it into a fake news bulletin describing the Martian invasion of New Jersey." outcome? There was a massive nationwide panic, and the next morning, on Halloween, Wells was "America's most talked about man," and newspapers across the country detailed his broadcast. "If I'm going to ruin my career, I couldn't be better," the star told reporters at the time. Sure enough, people were furious, and Wells described hearing "reports of mass stampedes, suicides, and angry listeners threatening to shoot him when they saw him."
While hysteria continues to cement itself as a defining moment in late '30s pop culture, some say the media exaggerated the whole test. According to "Get It Wrong: Debunking the Greatest Myth of American Journalism," while the radio program did freak out some people, most allegedly understood it as a Halloween prank, and the reports were "entirely anecdotal."
Music from the Golden Age of Radio
Of course, as today, music was very popular during the golden age of radio. As the University of Virginia explains, nightclubs closed during the Great Depression — meaning Americans don't have much to turn to for musical entertainment. As a result, music programs on radio (for those who can afford to own) flourish.
Big bands and swing music were popular in the 1930s, before the rise of solo singers like Frank Sinatra in the 1940s. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, this includes actions led by the likes of Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey. At the other end of the acoustic spectrum, NBC launched their "Radio Symphony" in 1937, a weekly orchestral radio program led by renowned conductor Arturo Toscanini. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these concerts are not only broadcast nationwide; New York-based shows are heard worldwide. The Radio Symphony elevated Tuscanini to a "mythological figure" (source: OpenEdition Journals), who worked at NBC until his retirement in 1954.
Meanwhile, overseas, "dance band music and hot jazz" were most popular in britain – a situation that changed with the start of World War II at the end of the decade. During this time, the BBC began playing "music at work" through factory loudspeakers as a means of "boosting morale and keeping the industry running" (Source: National Museum, Liverpool).
When will the golden age of radio end?
The beginning of World War II in 1939 marked the end of the golden age of broadcasting, or at least the sheer volume of family-friendly content such as children's programs and radio soap operas. As the DPLA explains, after Adolf Hitler invaded Poland in September, as France and Britain declared war on Germany, American families gathered on the radio to listen to "real-time wartime news." Of course, this was the first time families could listen to such a catastrophe, and over time the war swept across broadcast news networks across the country, relying on "overseas journalists from major networks," the Encyclopædia Britannica.
While radio news stations have become a habitual thing for the public due to other current events throughout the 1930s, World War II did give these broadcasts center stage and evolve. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, famous journalists of that era even traveled overseas to cover the war, such as CBS's Edward W. Bush. Edward R. Murrow. With the help of fellow journalist William L. Shirer, the two were stationed in London (which eventually grew into a full team of journalists) and broadcast to the United States, known for their iconic opening remarks, "This... It's London. ”
Back home, the radio station doesn't just report on the events of the entire pond. As detailed in the Encyclopædia Britannica, some programmes exist only to maintain public morale, while others are "for promotional purposes".
With the rise of television, the golden age of radio began to fade
There is no doubt that radio has had a major impact on today's society and popular culture, but as businesses produced new technologies, the glitz of radio began to fade. RCA, one of the biggest companies that helped bring the success of broadcasting to the masses, proved to be responsible for making television equally popular — a technology that "has been evolving since the late 1920s."
In April 1939, Franklin M. D. Roosevelt first appeared on television at the New York World's Fair — becoming the first U.S. president to do so. Although broadcasts were only seen on a few home televisions in New York, and the mechanism was "primitive," there is no doubt that the combination of sight and sound engulfed the audience. According to DPLA, these early TV shows were only 15 minutes long, up and down, and only needed a camera to shoot.
Sadly, television hasn't evolved as quickly as the public had hoped. As DPLA points out, the beginning of World War II halted the development of various technologies and experiments, and before 1947, "only a few thousand" households owned television sets. By the late 1940s and late 1950s, many of the top radio programs had shifted to television, and the television set itself had replaced the central presence of "furniture radios" in living rooms across the country. Thus, the golden age of radio came to an end (source: Economic History Association).
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Here comes the uncle:
Nowadays, the application of broadcasting in driving and other scenarios still exists and is indispensable, the golden age after the fading of glitz is still tenaciously surviving through market segments, do you still have the habit of listening to radio, from Desheng radio, Internet radio, to handheld APP... Are you aware of the FM3.0 era? Every time at this time, nostalgia will fill the heart, is there anything you want to say? Welcome to share!