Salt Lake Community College

Societal Impacts Research Paper:

Radio Broadcasting

Ashlin Rohbock
Elements & Issues of Digital Media 2500-400-F16
Susan Cohen
12/09/2016

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Ashlin Rohbock
COMM-2500-400-F16
Cohen
12/09/2016
Societal Impacts Research Paper: Radio Broadcasting
Up until one hundred and twenty eight years ago, radio broadcasting was not even a
possibility. And it wasnt for another sixteen years in 1904 that the first radio transition of music
[happened] at Graz, Austria. (WCBN) It then took an additional sixteen years for the KDKA to
broadcast the first regular licensed radio broadcast out of Pittsburgh, PA. (WCBN) Despite
radio having a short history, this single form of technology has had arguably one of the greatest
impacts on our society, ever. Radio and the world of broadcasting have had numerous effects on
our society, but two have been more influential that the rest. Radio has opened the doors to
limitless genres of music including the expansion of local artists as well as the military using
radio for not only a means of communication, but also as a weapon for war.
Before radio, most popular songs were distributed through piano sheet music and word
of mouth. This necessarily limited the types of music that could gain national prominence.
Although recording technology had also emerged several decades before radio, music played live
over the radio sounded better than it did on a record played in the home. (Lule) This article went
on to describe how venues such as Harlems Cotton Club would broadcast live performances
using their own radio transmitters so that this music could be hear on the radio nationwide. For a
while, radio stations mainly played swing jazz (because of the widespread audience) and artists
such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey and their jazz bands became
nationally famous through their radio performances, and a host of other jazz musicians flourished
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as radio made the genre nationally popular. (Lule) This was the start of a revolution of artists
getting recognition throughout the nation.
In addition to swing jazz the promotional power of radio also gave regional music an
immense boost. (Lule) This means that local radio stations had more freedom to play music that
was popular in that particular area. During the 1940s, southern stations were known for playing
country and folk whereas in other areas, rhythm and blues became popularized and recorded by
black artists. This was an especially monumental time because stations such as these were run
predominately by black individuals which showed community leadership, especially in a time
where few African Americans were in positions of power. Lule went on to say the following:
without programs that featured these country and blues artists, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash
would not have become national stars, and country music may not have risen to become a
popular genre. (Lule)
Radio has not only changed the way we listen to our music (and all the different types of
music that is available to us) but its also changed the way that dance and popular music was
performed. (Lule) Microphones made it so that vocalists could be better heard as well as giving
the opportunity for performers to have solos and lead parts throughout a song (which was
surprisingly discouraged before radio.) The spotlight of radio allowed the personalities of artists
to come to the forefront of popular music, giving them newfound notoriety. Phil Harris, the
bandleader from the Jack Benny Show, became the star of his own program. (Lule) Television
also owes a big portion of its success to radio. Directors, writers, and actors all took their talents
from radio and transferred those abilities to T.V.
Despite all the good that came from the golden era of radio, there were definitely some
who were opposed to all of this change. Jazz music (in particular) sparked a change especially
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in the lives of young, college students. [These students] challenged traditional notions of proper
behavior. Buoyed by the decades prosperity, young people threw raucous parties, drank illegal
liquor, and danced new, sexually suggestive steps at jazz clubs. (Sparknotes) This newfound
independence and rebelliousness also led to the decline in American morality. With a shift in
social thinking, sex became far less taboo than it had been previously. Sex was more openly
discussed and premarital sex more common. Such activity led naturally to the promotion of birth
control, though it was still widely illegalFemale sexuality was less suppressed, skirt hems
were worn higher, and makeup became more common.
In addition to the rambunctious behavior of the younger generation, jazz music sparked
other controversy as far as racism goes. The birth of jazz music is credited to African
Americans, but expanded and over time became modified to become socially acceptable to
middle-class white Americans. Those people who opposed Jazz saw it as music of people with
no training or skill. White performers were used as a vehicle for the popularization of jazz music
in America. Even though the jazz movement was taken over by the middle-class white
population, it facilitated the mesh of African American traditions and ideals with the white
middle-class society. (Wikipedia)
The second most impactful benefit that has arisen from radio is the fact that it can be used
in conjunction with military and government use. Radio was also used as a way to generate
propaganda for World War II. The War Department established a Radio Division in its Bureau of
Public Relations as early as 1941. Programs such as the Treasury Hour used radio drama to raise
revenue through the sale of war bonds, but other government efforts took a decidedly political
turn. Norman Corwins This Is War! was funded by the federal Office of Facts and Figures (OFF)
to directly garner support for the war effort. (Lule) The article also went on to describe how
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programs such as this would prepare listeners for all the personal sacrifices that come along with
war including death.
Another huge breakthrough in radio technology was the radar. Radar began with the
observation that lightning gives off a radio signal, and Scottish engineer Robert Watson-Watt,
working as a meteorologist, thought he could exploit this phenomenon to warn pilots of
approaching storms. Using a directional antenna, he found he could scan the skies and pick up
lightning. Then he realized that if he transmitted radio pulses as well as listened to them, he
could bounce a signal off a targetan approaching aircraft, for example. By measuring how long
it took for echoes to return to the antenna, he could know not only the bearing of the target but
also its range. (Lule) This was a monumental discovery because at this point in time, it was the
start of World War II and these 19 radar stations gave Britain the total edge.
The First World War was Americas first debut as a global military power, and although
many Americans were swept up in a patriotic call to arms, a small but vocal minority of
socialists, anarchists, pacifists and civil libertarians opposed American militarism. The men and
women who spoke out against the war faced some of the greatest state repression in the history
of the United States. Their stories are testament to how fragile civil liberties and freedom can be
when threatened by militarism and the security state. (Washington.edu) The reason why
protestors of the First World War are equally if not more significant (to the protests of the
Vietnam Era) is because this was our countrys first warmeaning, these were the first people to
ever protest in an anti-war movement.
The second time around (World War II) the fight between isolationists and
interventionists over Americas future role in the world, [was] a fight that turned into a political
and sometimes real brawl for the presidency in the 1940 election, proved lower and even more
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vicious than what passes for political discourse today. (Wortman) This was quite an interesting
perspective because oftentimes, we look at a moment in history and talk about how awful and
horrible it is, and that we never want to end up down that same road again. But the reality of it is,
were actually worse off now than the people of the 1940s. That is not to discredit the many
efforts of those who protested against war and presented alternative options that fighting in a
world-wide battle.
In conclusion, the world of radio broadcast has impacted our society in a way that was
never even anticipated or imagined. Radio has not only changed the way we listen to music, but
its shaped our lives and who we are today. Radio revolutionized society and created a sense of
freedom, sexuality, and empowerment in a world that had yet to see these beautiful entities. In
addition to this, radio broadcasting has created beautiful benefits in the world of promotion and
shown how important communication is. Americans have learned how to take important issues
and raise awareness by spreading the word on air, and this has even expanded into governmental
and military use. From radio, radar tracking has sprung and changed the way the world will fight
wars from forever on.
The purpose of this paper was not to only write about the successes of the radio, but to
give an all-around informative background on how far radio broadcasting has come in the past
one hundred and twenty eight years. Weve discussed the influence that radio has not only had on
Americans, but other parts of world and how its okay for not everyone to agree on different
aspects of our American history. Whats important is that we stay united as a country (differences
aside) and continue to progress forward as a nation under God.

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Bibliography
"CBN History: Radio/Broadcasting Timeline." CBN History: Radio/Broadcasting Timeline |
WCBN-FM. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.
"December 2016." Discover Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.
"Jazz Age." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.
Lule, Jacke. "Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication, v.
1.0." Flat World Knowledge. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.
"Reds, Labor, and the Great War: Antiwar Activism in the Pacific Northwest." World War I
Antiwar Movement. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.
SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.
Wortman, Marc. The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast Company, n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

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