Radio Pioneers Pulled Words, Music and World Events Out of Thin Air

 
VOICE ONE: 
 
I'm Barbara Klein.

 
Over the years, radio has become one of the most important forms of communication.  It can be used for two-way communication, such as between a ship and land.  Scientists even use radio to communicate into space.  And radio broadcasts let people send words, music and information to any part of the world.
 
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The first experimental radio broadcasts in the United States were made in the early nineteen hundreds.  One of the first broadcasts came from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in nineteen ten.  It included music by the great singer Enrico Caruso. An American inventor, Lee De Forest, produced that broadcast.  
 
Only a few people could hear the broadcast.  Some were people in the New York area who had built radio receivers.  Some ships at sea and military radio stations received the broadcast.  Many newspapers of the day reported on the event.  The name of Lee De Forest became part of broadcasting history. 
 

 
De Forest developed some of the technology used in early radio. During his lifetime, he invented hundreds of devices that were used in telephones, shortwave radio broadcasts, and similar technology.

 
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Edwin Armstrong also was a leader in using radio to reproduce
sounds clearly.  This process became known as frequency modulation, or FM radio.  FM radio provided better sound reproduction and less noise or interference than traditional AM radio.  Armstrong also developed radio receivers that became widely used.

the first American radio station.  It broadcast results of the
American presidential election in November, nineteen twenty.
That is generally considered the start of professional radio
broadcasting in the United States.

 
VOICE ONE:

nineteen twenties and the early nineteen fifties.  This period is
known as the Golden Age of Broadcasting.

 
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Listeners also could hear the voices of reporters covering World War Two.  Edward R. Murrow became famous for reporting about the war.  People sometimes could hear guns and bombs exploding during his report.
 
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VOICE ONE:

In the United States, the rise of television in the nineteen fifties ended the Golden Age of Radio Broadcasting. More and more people started to watch television.  Most of the popular shows disappeared from radio.

 
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VOICE TWO:
 
This program was written by George Grow. It was produced by Caty Weaver.  I'm  Steve Ember.
 
VOICE ONE:
 
And I'm Barbara Klein.  Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.