no topic needed

Name
Professor
Course
Date
The culture of early wireless and radio broadcasting
Communication over long-distances has been in existence ever since the mid-19th Century. People used the telegraph to communicate messages using a series of short and long clicks. Using this technology, far distances like England and the United States were connected with cables crossing the Atlantic Ocean. By late 1870s, the technology had been used in the development of the telephone, which was able to transmit one’s voice over the cables by its predecessor. Early radios were used as devices of communication between naval ships and stations on land; “person-to-person communication” was the center of attention. Nonetheless, the broadcasting potential – “sending messages to a large group of potential listeners” – was not realized until later on in the advancement of the communication means (Butsch 193).
In the early 1990s, the young boys and men connected headphones to the battery-powered boxes to get an immediate sense of their nation. It was an emotional and cultural experience that formed part of their lives. With no fixed frequencies or programs, they listened to everything that was aired. The amateur radio presenters aired everything they thought as important. Radios promoted nationhood. In the colonial period, the natives were united through listening to signs of unity and signs of differences (Douglas 196). The radios were also used for entertainment through music and for story-telling. People would sit down at the same time to hear comedies and dramatic performances.

The boys and men formed a group of amateurs that worked to improve the transmission of the radio frequencies. They made discoveries such as crystals that rectified radio waves. They were celebrated as ambitious and genius Americans. However, some of them got involved in spreading false and obscene messages mostly targeting the US Navy. This led to congressional and public opinion of restricting amateurs from transmitting. The Titanic accident gave the Congress and the public a significant view of radio transmissions. Many lives were lost because the ships had no wireless on board. They understood the importance of wireless equipment and operators on ships. The Radio Act of 1912 required all amateurs licensed. They improved their image and were reliable in providing impromptu information. And at one time, an amateur sent signals of two ships that collided. As a result, most of the passengers were saved, and this marked the importance of radios (Douglas 198).
Radios were a culturally nationalizing force with different programs that aimed at capturing the ‘national’ culture while others defended local and regional authority. The radio brought people together as those of one culture. The listeners expressed unself-conscious openness to the listeners. The listeners were personally attached to the announcers and entertainers and gave them gifts (Butsch 199). They would write to the performers expressing their gratitude and satisfaction. Radio-listening became part of the people’s daily practice. Some (especially women) were day-time listener since the programs were on childcare and home-making and some were evening listeners.
The radio promoted individualism. The people preferred to entertain themselves in their homes instead of going to the public centers. With more inventions, portable radios were introduced, and adverts in newspapers encouraged each person to own the radio. Even within families, they were encouraged to have their own personal radios so that they can listen to their stations of choice. More different programs separated the young and old, girls and boys; everyone wanted to listen to what he/she could associate with (Butsch 207).
Works Cited
Douglas, Susan J. Listening in: Radio and the American imagination. U of Minnesota Press, 1999.
Butsch, Richard. The making of American audiences: From stage to television, 1750-1990. Cambridge University Press, 2000.