The Arts and Media - Radio

The original form of broadcast media, radio, was developed and refined during the late 1800s and early 1900s, initially gaining use for experimental and governmental purposes. A radio distress signal helped save many lives when the Titanic sank in 1912, and radio was used by the military during World War I. The first commercial broadcast was transmitted in 1920 by KDKA in Pittsburgh, and the 1930s and 1940s saw a golden age of radio entertainment, with such classic shows as "The Shadow" and "The Jack Benny Program" heard by millions of Americans across the country.

In 1950 ninety million radios were in use in homes, compared to just ten million televisions. The balance soon shifted, however, and with the widespread adoption of television by Americans, radio was relegated to back-burner status, delivering recorded music, news, farm reports, and weather, but with far fewer entertainment programs. The rise of rock and roll music gave radio a new lease on life, however, and the late 1950s and 1960s were another golden era, this time for AM (amplitude modulation) radio broadcasts featuring personality disc jockeys such as Murray the K and Wolfman Jack. The late 1960s also saw the spread of FM (frequency modulation) radio, which broadcast a high-fidelity stereo signal.

Radio continues to prove a popular medium with Americans in the twenty-first century. In 2004 almost 13,900 radio stations were broadcasting around the country, according to research firm Arbitron, Inc., in Radio Today—How America Listens to Radio (2004 edition). Of these, more than 80% were advertiser-supported commercial outlets.

According to Arbitron, the percentage of Americans who listened to radio weekly was roughly the same for every age group, approximately 90% to 95%, with those over sixty-five listening slightly less. People ages thirty-five to forty-four spent the most time listening, approximately twenty hours per week for women and twenty-two hours, forty-five minutes for men. While the number of men and women listening was roughly equal in most age groups, Arbitron found that in the youngest group (ages twelve to seventeen), more girls listened, and they spent more time listening than boys (fifteen hours per week versus eleven and three-quarters hours for boys).

Many Americans listened in the car while driving to or from work. Daily listenership figures peaked at seven A.M., noon, and from three to five P.M. More than one-third of listeners were in cars between six and ten A.M., while 43% were in cars between three and seven P.M. This number dropped to 26.1% from seven P.M. to midnight, according to Arbitron.

Different age groups listened to different types of radio stations. Those between twelve and seventeen preferred contemporary hit radio, urban, and alternative stations, while those eighteen to twenty-four listened mostly to alternative, along with contemporary hit and urban. Between twenty-five and thirty-four, the most popular formats included alternative, rock, Spanish-language, urban, contemporary hit, and adult contemporary. Americans ages thirty-five to forty-four preferred rock, adult contemporary, new adult contemporary/smooth jazz, and oldies. For those ages forty-five to fifty-four, oldies topped the list, followed by new adult contemporary/smooth jazz. Those ages fifty-five to sixty-four preferred classical music, adult standards, new adult contemporary/smooth jazz, and news/talk/information. Americans sixty-five and above preferred adult standards, classical, and news/talk/information.