Blog Post #3: Radio in the 1920s

Radio in the 1920s is what internet and television are to us today. Its everywhere and a main source of how people get their information. However, I believe the driving force behind radio's take over in the 1920s is the industries or institutions who used the radio to get their name out to the public.

When radio started gaining more and more recognition along with its technological innovations advertisers began to shift their focus into using radio as a way to advertise products. Industries helped shape radio to what it was then in a way that it brought the advertisers straight into the homes of the listeners. Advertisers frequently payed to have their commercials play during entertainment shows because they knew it would reach more people. Even though (as mentioned in the book) many people who controlled the radio stations thought too many advertisements would ultimately drive listeners away, however, "people were so enthusiastic about the new medium that they accepted the ads without much objection".

This new use of technology sky rocketed the industries way of being able to reach out to the masses. Advertisements during the twenties, in my opinion, were now shifting from putting up posters that seemed impersonal to now directly talking to possible consumers. For example WEAF was the first radio station to broadcast the first commercial and soon after advertisers immediately "responded to the opportunity, and commercial broadcasting grew quickly".