Chapter 6 outline: Radio

n  Chapter 6
Radio

n  History: How Radio Began

Ø  Marconi’s invention (1896)

Ø  Titanic disaster

Ø  Radio Act of 1912

Ø  Navy’s role: World War I

Ø  Marconi sells to GE

Ø  GE, RCA & AT&T’s patents

Ø   

n  Broadcasting Begins

Ø  Conrad starts first regular radio broadcasts (1920)

Ø  Westinghouse opens station KDKA in Pittsburgh

Ø  Stores, others see potential

Ø  Commerce Department issues licenses (1923)

n  Broadcasting Begins

Ø  Sarnoff: ‘household utility’

Ø  Key vision: entertainment

Ø  WEAF: first ‘commercial’

Ø  U.S. model: music supported by advertising

Ø  BBC alternative

Ø  AT&T sells network to RCA

n  Rise of Radio Networks

Ø  RCA’s network: NBC (1926)

Ø  CBS creates rival network

n  O&Os and affiliates

Ø  Live music, news, comedy, drama, sports, suspense

Ø  FCC vs. chain broadcasting (1941)

Ø  World War II: Murrow

n  Competition from TV

Ø  After 1948, TV explodes

Ø  Radio networks focus on TV

Ø  Audiences & ads shift to TV

Ø  Radio: more localized format

Ø  Rise of playlists, DJs, Top 40

Ø  Growth of FM radio in 1960s

n  Pop music

n   

n  Network Radio in the ’90s

Ø  Centrally produced formats

Ø  Radio ownership groups

Ø  Syndication of programs

Ø  1996 Telecommunications Act lifts national caps

Ø  Clear Channel grows to 1,100 stations (now 850)

n  Radio in the Digital Age

Ø  Satellite radio (XM, Sirius)

Ø  Internet radio

Ø  Podcasting

Ø  Apps for smartphones

Ø  Challenges for conventional radio: declining advertising, competition, shifting tastes

n  Technology Trends

Ø  Electromagnetism

n  Amplitude modulation (AM)

n  Frequency modulation (FM)

Ø  High-definition radio (digital)

Ø  Satellite technology

Ø  Internet streaming

Ø  HD radio stations

n  Radio Stations and Groups

Ø  Countervailing trends

n  More new entrants

n  Fewer major players

Ø  Large groups with many stations across country

Ø  Crossownership (Disney owns radio stations)

n  Inside Radio Stations

Ø  Administrative, technical, programming & sales

Ø  Centralized group staff

Ø  Ads plunged in 2008-09

Ø  20-25 main syndicators

Ø  Non-commercial radio:
low-power FM, public radio

n  Genres Around the Dial

Ø  Format clocks, playlists

Ø  Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR)

Ø  Role of radio ratings

Ø  Music genres evolving

Ø  Talk radio (especially AM)

Ø  National Public Radio

Ø  Radio programming services

n  Top Radio Formats

Ø  Country

Ø  News, news/talk, sports

Ø  Adult contemporary

Ø  Contemporary hits

Ø  Spanish

Ø  Urban, R&B

n   Media Literacy

Ø  Who controls airwaves?

Ø  Concentrating ownership, reducing diversity?

Ø  Obscene, indecent speech

Ø  New fees on Internet radio

n  SoundExchange & Pandora