Radio in the United States - wikipedia Radio in the United States This article is part of a series on the Culture of the United States of America Society History Language People Race and ethnicity Religion Arts and literature Architecture Art Dance Fashion Literature Comics Poetry Music Sculpture Theater Other Cuisine Festivals Folklore Media Newspapers Radio Cinema TV Mythology Sport Symbols Flag Great Seal Monuments Motto Anthem Bird World Heritage Sites United States portal Radio broadcasting in the United States is a major mass medium. Unlike radio in most other countries, American radio has historically relied primarily on commercial advertising sponsorship on for - profit stations. The U.S. does not have a national broadcaster that aims its programs at the general public. Nonprofit broadcasting typically comes in three forms : radio evangelism, community radio, and government - subsidized public radio, all of which rely at least to some extent on listener donations. Shortwave broadcasting in the United States includes federal government programs, as well as a limited number of privately managed broadcasts, for overseas audiences. Radio broadcasting became popular in the 1920s, alongside the new film industry. The arrival of television in the 1950s forced radio into a niche role, as leading participants moved into the much larger field of television. In the 21st century, radio has been adjusting to the arrival of the Internet and Internet radio. Contents 1 History 1.1 Pioneers 1.2 1920s 1.3 1930 - 1945 1.3. 1 Battle with the newspapers 1.3. 2 Advertising as the basis of profitability 1.3. 3 Growing importance of news 1.3. 4 Local radio in the Golden Age 1.4 Education 1.5 Television era 1.6 FM broadcasting 1.7 Talk radio 1.8 Satellite broadcasting 2 Broadcast call signs 3 Modern era 4 Public radio 5 Recent developments 6 See also 6.1 Public Radio Networks 6.2 Programs 6.3 Organizations 7 References 8 Further reading 8.1 Primary sources 9 External links History Pioneers In 1912, most amateur - radio transmissions were restricted to wavelengths below 200 meters ( i.e., frequencies above 1500 kHz ) to prevent interference to future commercial broadcasters. The beginning of regular, commercially licensed radio broadcasting in the United States in 1920, along with the concurrent development of sound and color film in that decade, ended the print monopoly of mass media and opened the doors to the immediate ( and pervasive ) electronic media. By 1928, the United States had three national radio networks : two owned by NBC ( the National Broadcasting Company ), and one by CBS ( the Columbia Broadcasting System ). Until 1943, there were four major national radio networks : two owned by NBC, one owned by CBS and one owned by Mutual Broadcasting System. Stations were connected by broadcast - quality, leased telephone lines. NBC 's second network became ABC, the American Broadcasting Company. 1920s By 1919, after the war, radio pioneers across the country resumed transmissions. The early stations gained new call signs. Some early stations were started by newspapers : the first to do this was 8MK ( today WWJ ) in Detroit, which was owned by the Detroit News. While many sources cite KDKA in Pittsburgh as the first station, and give its first broadcast as November 2, 1920, the question of who came first is still in dispute among historians. For example, there is evidence 8MK was on the air with Michigan state election returns on August 31, 1920 Many other early stations were owned by small companies, such as AMRAD ( the American Radio and Research Company, Medford Hillside MA ) ; by some accounts, it broadcast voice and music as early as March 1916, and was on the air sporadically till it began a daily schedule in May 1921, using call letters 1XE and later, WGI. Perhaps the best - known early station began as experimental station 8XK, which became KDKA in 1920. AM radio signals traveled long distances, and KDKA 's signal covered much of the country. The existence of early experimental radio stations encouraged young men ( and a small number of young women ) to build crystal sets ( with ear phones ) to listen to the new technical marvel. Entrepreneurs set up stations primarily with the goal of selling expensive console radio sets that the whole family could listen to, or which restaurants and shops would buy to attract customers. Until early 1922, there were fewer than forty commercial stations broadcasting. But in mid-1922, the so - called `` radio craze '' began, when several hundred new stations took to the airwaves, and thousands of people wanted to buy their own radio set. Even President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House. While `` direct advertising '' was not allowed in radio 's formative years, per the order of then - head of the Department of Commerce Herbert Hoover, station owners wanted this policy changed, since it was very expensive to operate a radio station. By 1926, when the National Broadcasting Company went on the air, advertising was gradually allowed. Madison Avenue recognized the importance of radio as a new advertising medium. Advertising provided the major funding for most stations. The United States never had a license fee for set users. The National Broadcasting Company began regular broadcasting in 1926, with telephone links between New York and other Eastern cities. NBC became the dominant radio network, splitting into Red and Blue Networks. The Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS ) began in 1927 owned and directed by William S. Paley. 1930 - 1945 Prior to 1927, U.S. radio was supervised by the Department of Commerce. Then, the Radio Act of 1927 created the Federal Radio Commission ( FRC ) ; in 1934, this agency was renamed the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) and is still in operation. Battle with the newspapers In the early 1930s, a furious battle broke out as the newspaper industry tried to block the transmission of news by radio. Advertising revenues were plunging during the Great Depression, and newspapers were desperate to protect their main flow of income from the upstart 's threat to the status quo. In one particular incident, the newspapers attempted to claim that a broadcast of the H.G. Wells story The War of the Worlds caused a mass hysteria among listeners who thought the broadcast was real news, a myth that continues to the present day. Hollywood briefly became involved, by preventing its stars from appearing on the radio ; it soon realized, however, that radio was not a direct competition and the greater visibility for their stars met even larger audiences. The newspaper attack failed, and the networks set up their own newsgathering and reporting system, which played a major role during World War II. A Federal Communications Commission decision in 1939 required NBC to divest itself of its Blue Network. That decision was sustained by the Supreme Court in a 1943 decision, National Broadcasting Co. v. United States, which established the framework that the `` scarcity '' of radio - frequency meant that broadcasting was subject to greater regulation than other media. This Blue Network network became the American Broadcasting Company ( ABC ). Around 1946, ABC, NBC, and CBS began regular television broadcasts. The small DuMont Television Network, was founded earlier ; it disbanded in 1956. In 1934, several independent stations formed the Mutual Broadcasting System to exchange syndicated programming, including The Lone Ranger and Amos ' n ' Andy. Advertising as the basis of profitability Paley at CBS was the first to fully realize that profitability depended primarily on maximizing the sales of commercials, which in turn meant reaching as large an upscale audience as possible. Surveys and polls could be used to determine not only the size of the audience, but their affluence. Frank Stanton, the president of CBS, worked with Columbia University sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld to develop techniques for measuring audiences. Before Paley, owners typically viewed their stations as stand - alone outlets or as the broadcast equivalent of local newspapers. It was their job to sell ads to local business. Individual stations bought programming from the network and, thus, were considered the network 's clients. Paley changed the business model by looking at national advertisers as the critical element. CBS therefore provided network programming to affiliate stations at a nominal cost, thereby ensuring the widest possible distribution for both the programming and the advertising. The advertisers then became the network 's primary clients and, because of the wider distribution brought by the growing network, Paley was able to charge more for the ad time. Affiliates were required to carry programming offered by the network for part of the broadcast day, receiving a portion of the network 's fees from advertising revenue. At other times in the broadcast day, affiliates were free to offer local programming and sell advertising time locally. Growing importance of news By 1940, the greatest audience attention was on the networks ' evening programs of variety shows, music, and comedy and drama. In the morning and afternoon, smaller audiences ( chiefly housewives ) listened to 61 soap operas. Phone - in talk shows were rare, but disk jockeys attracted a following through their chatter between records. The most popular radio shows during the Golden Age of Radio. The Jack Benny Program, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Goldbergs and other top - rated American radio shows were heard by 30 -- 35 percent of the radio audience. Fireside chat on government and capitalism ( September 30, 1934 ) President Franklin Roosevelt 's opponents had control of most newspapers in the 1930s ; press reports were under their control and involved hostile editorial commentary. Roosevelt 's solution was a series of 30 evening broadcasts in an informal, almost casual setting, dubbed `` Fireside chats. '' Historian Douglas B. Craig says that he, `` offered voters a chance to receive information unadulterated by newspaper proprietors ' bias '' through the new medium of radio. '' Roosevelt 's radio audiences averaged 18 percent during peacetime, and 58 percent during the war. His address of May 27, 1941, was heard by 70 percent of the radio audience. Radio 's instant, on - the - spot reports of dramatic events drew large audiences starting in 1938 in the run - up to World War II. Local radio in the Golden Age All broadcast stations are licensed locally, in the past with mandated obligations to their `` city of service, '' fulfillment of which for license renewal is today largely passé. For many a `` 250 - watt station in my hometown, '' expensive facilities emulated the networks ' in the form of multiple, acoustically fine studios in art deco style for local origination of music and variety programs, featuring local, mostly volunteer, talented teens and energetic young adults motivated by the possibility of being discovered. Local programs were `` sustaining '' ( covered by general ad revenue ), or the talent found their own sponsors and bought station time. Often paid just over minimum wage, `` combo operator - announcers, '' later called DJs, nevertheless came to consider themselves entertainers, often in fact becoming local celebrities, who cultivated `` on - air personalities, '' sometimes pairing one who was straight - laced with one playing the clown. Practical jokes by full - time staff were common, the unseeing audience none the wiser unless someone broke up laughing. Continuous station operations were manual ( until automation debuted in the 1970s ), and could originate programming only three ways : live ; live via remote telephone line ( including network feeds as well as store openings and church services around town ) ; or played from `` electrical transcription '' ( ET ) phonograph discs. ETs up to 16in diameter played 15 minute syndicated programs, mailed to stations by the thousands, many for government sales of savings bonds and military recruiting. Magnetic tape arrived after 1947 and the Bing Crosby / Ampex alliance. All sound was monophonic until introduction of the stereo LP in 1958, when sister stations `` simulcast '' the left signal on AM, the right on FM, requiring audiofans to set up two receivers. For both practitioners and attentive listeners, local radio during the Golden Age was fun. Education Radio in education began as early as April 1922, when Medford Hillside 's WGI Radio broadcast the first of an ongoing series of educational lectures from Tufts College professors. These lectures were described by the press as a sort of `` wireless college. '' Soon, other colleges across the U.S. began adding radio broadcasting courses to their curricula ; some, like the University of Iowa, even provided what today would be known as distance - learning credits. Curry College in Massachusetts introduced one of the nation 's first broadcasting majors in 1932 when the college teamed up with WLOE in Boston to have students broadcast programs. In the 1950s, television courses became popular. After 2000, Internet - based transmission of college courses came on line. 2012 was the `` year of the MOOC '' ( massive open online course ). Television era After 1955 television 's visual images replaced the audio - only limitation of radio as the predominant entertainment and news vehicle. Radio adapted by replacing entertainment programs with schedules of music interspersed with news and features, a free - form format adopted by NBC when it launched its popular weekend - long Monitor in 1955. During the 1950s automobile manufacturers began offering car radios as standard accessories, and radio received a boost as Americans listened to their car radios as they drove to and from work. Although this period saw the overall decline of the AM radio, some new stations, like the WGIV station in Charlotte dedicated to African American Music, were still coming up. In the 1950s, as a result of television 's increased popularity coupled with dramatically loosened restrictions on playing recorded music on air, the network model of radio dramatically declined. In its place was the first music radio format : top 40, the forerunner to modern contemporary hit radio. Top 40 stations could be operated locally and gave rise to the disc jockeys, who became prominent local celebrities in their own right. Top 40 became the outlet for the relatively new style of music known as rock and roll. FM Broadcasting FM radio, which was the successor to the failed Apex band ( also known as ultra-shortwave ) experiments of the 1930s, arrived in the United States after 1945, but it was not until the 1960s that it became widely popular. In 1945 the Federal Communication Commission shifted FM 's allocation of frequencies from 42 - 50 MHZ to 88 - 108 MHZ. This allowed FM much more room for growth when listeners arrived after 1960. The FCC later decided to reduce program duplication on AM and FM sister stations, giving the younger medium space to grow. The better sound fidelity of FM, the less static, dated a natural for musical programming. The first FM stations were primarily instrumental, featuring formats that would come to be known as easy listening and beautiful music, and were targeted at shopping centers. Other, later FM sign - ons became known for experimentation ; the early freeform stations eventually evolved into progressive rock, the first radio format designed specifically to showcase rock music. From progressive rock came album - oriented rock, which in turn spawned the modern formats of classic rock, active rock and adult album alternative. Top 40 radio would begin arriving on the FM band in the 1970s as FM reached critical mass. As the amount of archival music from the rock and roll era began to expand, oldies radio stations began to appear, later evolving into the modern classic hits and later adult hits formats. FM radio made a major expansion in the late 1980s with the FCC 's Docket 80 - 90, which expanded the number of available FM licenses in the suburban areas of the United States. Country music in particular, previously only heard on rural AM stations particularly in the Southern and Western United States, benefited from this docket, moving en masse to FM ; the beautiful music and easy listening formats mostly died out, with adult contemporary music taking its place. Talk radio Main article : Conservative talk radio Meanwhile, the AM band began declining. All - news radio became popular in the major cities in the late 1960s. As each successive radio format moved to FM, AM radio stations were left with fewer and fewer options. One of the last `` AM only '' formats was MOR, or `` middle - of - the - road '', the direct forerunner of adult contemporary music and adult standards. Talk radio, although it had a small following in the cities, did not achieve mainstream popularity until the 1980s, when a combination of factors led to the rise of conservative talk radio. The politically charged format swept the country, bringing stardom to one of its pioneers, Rush Limbaugh. Also rising to popularity in the late 1980s was sports radio, which was dedicated to talk about sports as well as the broadcasting of sports events. What few country stations remained on AM typically shifted to classic country and focused primarily on older music. While shock jocks had been in existence since at least the 1970s ( see, for example, Don Imus ) and the morning zoo radio format was popular among local stations beginning in the 1980s, the first shock jock to make a major national impact was Howard Stern, whose New York - based show was syndicated nationwide beginning in the early 1990s. Stern built a multimedia empire that incorporated television, books and feature films, which led to him bestowing upon himself the title of `` King of All Media. '' Stern left terrestrial radio in 2005. Satellite Broadcasting Satellite networks began replacing landline - based models in the 1980s, making possible wider and quicker national distribution of both talk and music radio. At the same time, the traditional networks started collapsing : NBC Radio and Mutual both were acquired by syndication company Westwood One, while ABC ( both radio and television ) was acquired by Capital Cities Communications. CBS would later acquire Westwood One, only to spin it off in 2007 ; as of 2015, Westwood One is now in the hands of Cumulus Media. ABC would end up in the hands of The Walt Disney Company, who broke the radio network up in 2007 ; Disney owns portions of the old network, while the rest of it is in the hands of Cumulus. Mutual was dissolved in 1999, replaced by CNN Radio, which itself was dissolved in 2012. CBS still owns much of its original network, the last of the four major networks of the Golden Age to do so ; its programming is mostly funneled through Cumulus. Two other major commercial networks have appeared since the 1990s : Premiere Networks, the division of iHeartMedia, and the Salem Radio Network. Premiere owns the radio distribution rights to the current `` fourth major network '', Fox ( which owns no radio stations ), and distributes that company 's news and sports radio broadcasts. iHeart 's immediate predecessor, Clear Channel Communications, benefited from the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which allowed for greater media consolidation, and built a large empire of both large and small market radio stations ; Clear Channel, having overextended itself, jettisoned most of its small - market stations ( as well as its now - dissolved television division ) in the late 2000s. The Salem Radio Network, a division of Salem Communications ( which outside of radio also has a large Internet operation ), primarily has a Christian / conservative focus and specializes in Christian music, preaching stations and conservative talk radio, both owning stations and producing original content. Oaktree Capital Management briefly attempted a foray into building a radio network when it purchased the assets of several struggling radio networks in the late 2000s ; while it still owns stations through its Townsquare Media holding company, it has since spun off its network holdings ( which operated under the Dial Global brand ) to Cumulus. Direct - to - consumer subscription satellite radio began appearing in the United States in the early 2000s, but despite heavy investment in programming has continually lost money and has less than a tenth of the reach of terrestrial radio. The two competing satellite radio services, Sirius and XM, merged to form Sirius XM Radio in 2009 and now has a government - regulated monopoly on the format. Broadcast call signs Further information : List of radio stations in North America by media market While broadcast radio stations will often brand themselves with plain - text names, identities such as `` cool FM '', `` rock 105 '' or `` the ABC network '' are not unique. Another station, in another city or country, may ( and often will ) have a similar brand ; the name of a broadcast station for legal purposes is, therefore, normally its ITU call sign. Broadcast stations in North America generally use call letters in the international series, with common conventions followed in each country. In the United States, the first letter generally is K for stations west of the Mississippi River and W for those east of the Mississippi ; all new call signs have had four characters since 1930, although there are historical three - character calls still in use ( such as WOR in New York City, WBZ in Boston, WOL in Washington DC, WSB in Atlanta, WMC in Memphis, WGN in Chicago, KOA in Denver, KSL in Salt Lake City, KEX in Portland, Oregon, KUT in Austin, and KFI in Los Angeles ). A 1940 QSL card for WWV, indicating its early location in the U.S. state of Maryland ( now in Colorado ) Modern era This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2015 ) The expansion and dominance of FM radio, which has better audio quality but a more - limited broadcast range than AM, represented the major technical change in radio during the 1970s and 1980s. FM radio ( aided by the development of smaller portable radios and `` Walkman '' headsets ) dominates music programming, while AM has largely shifted to talk and news formats. Talk radio became more popular during the 1980s as a result of improved satellite communications, the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine and ( by the mid-1990s ) extensive concentration of media ownership stemming from the Telecommunications Act of 1996. While before the 1980s talk radio was primarily a local phenomenon, the development of national spoken - word programming contributed to the renewed popularity of AM radio. However, this popularity is fading as previously AM - only stations begin moving their operations to FM simulcasts or translators, and as the audience of talk radio ages. Both FM and AM radio have become increasingly specialized. Music formats ( for instance ) comprise a variety of specializations, the top five in 1991 being `` country and western '', `` adult contemporary '', `` Top 40 '', `` religion '' and `` oldies ''. Radio has been shaped by demographics, although to a lesser degree than television ; modern radio formats target groups of people by age, gender, urban ( or rural ) setting and race. As such, freeform stations with broad - spanning playlists have become uncommon on commercial radio. In an era in which TV is the predominant medium, the reach of radio is still extensive. Ninety - nine percent of American households in 1999 had at least one radio ; the average is five per household. Every day, radio reaches 80 percent of the U.S. population. Revenue more than doubled in a decade, from $8.4 billion in 1990 to more than $17 billion in 2000. Radio continues to prevail in automobiles and offices, where attention can be kept on the road ( or the task at hand ) while radio is an audio background. The popularity of car radios has led to drive time being the most listened - to dayparts on most radio stations, followed by midday ( or the `` at work '' shift ). Transistor radios, a technology that has been available since the 1950s, were the method of choice for listening to music on the go for most of the late 20th century, before digital media players and later smartphones ( many of which have FM radios as part of their hardware ) took those roles in the 20th century. The majority of programming in the United States is in English, with Spanish the second-most popular broadcast language ; these are the only two languages with domestically produced, national radio networks. In the largest urban areas of the United States, `` world ethnic '' stations may be found with a wide variety of languages ( including Russian, Chinese, Korean and the languages of India ) ; relatively widespread languages French and German have comparatively few radio outlets ( in the case of German, due to the fact that most of its speakers are Amish or from similar sects and thus shun radio technology ). French speakers can generally receive programming direct from Canadian broadcasters, which are receivable across the Canada -- US border and a handful of local stations serving the Haitian diaspora and Creole populations also serve areas in the southeast. Until the 1980s, most commercial radio stations were affiliated with large networks such as ABC, CBS, the Mutual Broadcasting System, NBC, and others ( e.g., RKO in the 1980s ). The traditional major networks that had dominated the history of American radio up to that point began to be dissolved in the 1980s ; RKO was forced to break up in a billing scandal, while NBC Radio and Mutual sold their assets to up - and - coming syndicator Westwood One, which itself would be bought by rival CBS in the 1990s. ABC maintained most of its radio network until 2007, when it sold off most of its stations to Citadel Broadcasting and later Cumulus Media ( it maintains two specialty networks, sports - oriented ESPN Radio and youth top 40 Radio Disney, the latter of which has largely shifted to Internet radio ; ABC still produces radio programming in addition to its terrestrial networks ). CBS sold off Westwood One to private equity interests in the late 2000s as well, but unlike its rivals maintained ownership of its flagship stations. As of 2012, most commercial radio stations are controlled by media conglomerates and private equity firms such as Bain Capital ( Clear Channel Communications ), Oaktree Capital Management ( Townsquare Media ) and Cumulus Media. Public radio Main article : NPR Unlike most countries, the national and state governments in the U.S. do not operate any stations or networks directed at its own domestic citizens. It does operate networks overseas through the Broadcasting Board of Governors ; the most widely known of these networks is Voice of America, which serves a general worldwide audience ; other networks target specific geographic regions. Broadcasting Board of Governors networks were, until 2013, expressly forbidden from being marketed to American citizens ; they still neither own nor affiliate with any AM or FM station. The U.S. also provides the American Forces Network, a service for American armed servicemen stationed overseas that mostly relays commercial programming ; AFN broadcasts are restricted to listeners in Japan, Korea and parts of Europe. In lieu of a national broadcaster, the United States government instead subsidizes nonprofit radio programming through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 1998, the number of U.S. commercial radio stations had grown to 4,793 AM stations and 5,662 FM stations. In addition, there are 1,460 public radio stations. Most of these stations are run by private foundations, universities and public authorities for educational purposes and are financed by donations, foundations, subscriptions and corporate underwriting. Much public - radio broadcasting is supplied by NPR ( formerly National Public Radio ). NPR was incorporated in February 1970 under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 ; its television counterpart, PBS, was also created by the same legislation. ( NPR and PBS are operated separately from each other. ) The BBC World Service has been distributed in the United States since 1986 ; until July 2012 by PRI, and since then by APM. Recent developments A new form of radio which is gaining popularity is satellite radio. Sirius XM Radio has a monopoly on the technology after the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. Unlike terrestrial - radio broadcasting, most channels feature few ( or no ) commercials. Satellite - radio content is not regulated by the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ). Cable radio, a slightly older technology, has also become widespread ; Music Choice is the market leader in this field, with its primary competitors being Sirius XM, Muzak, DMX, Sonic Tap and Canada - based Galaxie. CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks specialize in talk radio. Cable radio has the disadvantage that it requires a cable TV hookup, limiting its use outside the home. Unlike the mandated digital television transition, the U.S. government has not mandated a transition to digital radio, although it allows digital radio to be broadcast. The national standard is HD Radio, a proprietary in - band on - channel format that allows digital and analog signals to be broadcast simultaneously. Radio companies aggressively marketed HD Radio throughout the 2000s, touting its clearer signal and capacity for digital subchannels, but the technology never caught on with the general public. The negatives were cost, signal reception problems, a general lack of quality programming on the subchannels, and ( especially on AM HD stations ) adjacent - channel interference. HD Radio 's primary use has been to exploit an FCC loophole to allow low - power broadcast translators to carry HD subchannels in analog, thus giving radio station groups the ability to program more program services in a market than the federally mandated maximum number of stations allowed. FMeXtra is another subchannel service authorized for use in the United States, although that service is generally limited to voice transmissions due to lower bandwidth. Internet radio, digital music players and streaming - capable smartphones are a challenge to terrestrial radio. Unlike satellite radio, most Internet stations do not require a subscription ; several of the more popular ones use algorithms which allow listeners to customize the music they want to hear and select new music which may interest them. The proliferation of internet - based stations ( which are more numerous and easier to set up than their television counterparts ) creates a threat of audience fracturing beyond that experienced by television due to cable and satellite providers. Although not nearly to the extent that AM radio has declined in neighboring Canada, AM radio has also begun to decline in the United States. To partially combat this, radio ownership groups have increasingly moved their signals to FM, either through low - power broadcast translators ( primarily on small, independent and / or rural stations ) or through simulcast on full - market FM stations. The AM - to - FM phenomenon began primarily in mid-sized markets, where there is more bandwidth and less competition, but has since progressed even to New York City, where as of 2012 sports - talk AM stations WEPN and WFAN have both acquired FM stations with the intent to either move or simulcast their AM programming. By 2013 most of the AM / FM simulcasts had been discontinued, in part due to redundancy and the fact that most listeners to AM stations stayed with AM while very few new listeners were picked up on the FM side. See also Call signs in North America List of 50 kW AM radio stations in the United States List of United States radio networks Amateur radio Crossley ratings, polling to rate size & composition Internet radio, online streaming Radio News Magazine for Amateur radio fans War Emergency Radio Service, WWII List of AM - band radio station lists issued by the United States government Public Radio Networks National Public Radio Public broadcasting Public Radio International Programs Grand Ole Opry Radio drama Organizations Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences References Abridged from U.S. State Department IIP publications and other U.S. government materials. Jump up ^ Thomas H. White, `` United States Early Radio History '', p. 4. Archived from the original 2012 - 04 - 16. Jump up ^ Jim Cox, American Radio Networks : A History ( 2009 ). Jump up ^ Erik Barnouw. A Tower in Babel : A History of Broadcasting in the United States to 1933. Oxford University Press, 1968, p. 34. Jump up ^ Zack Stiegler. `` Radio Revisionism : Media Historiography and the KDKA Myth. '' Journal of Radio & Audio Media ( Vol. 15, # 8 ), 2008, pp. 90 - 101. Jump up ^ `` The News Radiophone to Give Vote Results. '' Detroit News, August 31, 1920, pp. 1 - 2. Jump up ^ `` Music Sent by Wireless. '' Boston Globe, March 27, 1916, p. 8. Jump up ^ Willard DeLue. `` Those Amazing Years. '' Boston Globe, March 15, 1950, p. 19. Jump up ^ Lynn Boyd Hinds, Broadcasting the local news : The early years of Pittsburgh 's KDKA - TV ( Penn State Press, 2010 ) Jump up ^ Michael B. Schiffer ( 1991 ). The Portable Radio in American Life. University of Arizona Press. p. 46. Jump up ^ `` 35 Radio Broadcasting Stations Now Active, '' Charlotte Observer, March 3, 1922, p. 2. Jump up ^ `` Radiophone for the White House. '' ( Jersey City NJ ) Jersey Journal, February 9, 1922, p. 10. Jump up ^ `` Radio Congress. '' Time, October 20, 1924, p. 20. Jump up ^ Susan Smulyan, Selling radio : The commercialization of American broadcasting, 1920 - 1934 ( Smithsonian Inst Press, 1994 ) Jump up ^ Sally Bedell Smith, In All His Glory : the Life and Times of William S. Paley and the Birth of Modern Broadcasting ( 1990 ) Jump up ^ William B. Ray, FCC : The ups and downs of radio - TV regulation ( 1990 ). Jump up ^ Gwenyth Jackaway, `` America 's press - radio war of the 1930s : A case study in battles between old and new media, '' Historical Journal of Film, Radio & Television ( 1994 ) 14 # 3 pp 299 - 314 Jump up ^ Mark R. Levy, `` The Lazarsfeld ‐ Stanton Program Analyzer : An Historical Note. '' Journal of Communication ( 1982 ) 32 # 4 pp : 30 - 38. Jump up ^ Lewis J. Paper, Empire : William S. Paley and the Making of CBS ( 1987 ) Jump up ^ Billboard. 21 April 1945. p. 6. ISSN 0006 - 2510. Jump up ^ Alice Goldfarb Marquis, `` Radio grows up, '' American Heritage ( Aug / Sep1983 ) 34 # 5 pp 64 - 80. Jump up ^ Douglas B. Craig ( 2005 ). Fireside Politics : Radio and Political Culture in the United States, 1920 - 1940. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 156. Jump up ^ Craig, Fireside Politics p 156 Jump up ^ Erik Barnouw ( 1968 ). A History of Broadcasting in the United States : Volume 2 : The Golden Web. 1933 to 1953. Oxford UP. p. 6. Jump up ^ Gerd Horten ( 2002 ). Radio Goes to War : The Cultural Politics of Propaganda During World War II. University of California Press. Jump up ^ Robin Miller `` American Radio Then & Now : Stories of local Radio from the Golden Age '' ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` Tufts College to Give Radio Lecture Course. '' Olympia ( WA ) Daily Recorder, March 25, 1922, p. 5. Jump up ^ `` U of I Offers Full Credits in Air School. '' Rockford ( IL ) Daily Register, October 5, 1925, p. 4. Jump up ^ Robert J. Blakely, To serve the public interest : Educational broadcasting in the United States ( Syracuse Univ Press, 1979 ). Jump up ^ Laura Pappano, Laura. `` The Year of the MOOC. '' The New York Times Feb. 12, 2012, online Jump up ^ Christopher H. Sterling, and Michael C. Keith, eds. Sounds of change : A history of FM broadcasting in America ( U. of North Carolina Press, 2008 ) Jump up ^ Frank Hoffmann and Jack M. Dempsey, and Martin J. Manning, Sports - Talk radio in America : Its context and culture ( Routledge, 2012 ). Jump up ^ White, Thomas H. ( 2012 - 01 - 01 ). `` Mystique of the Three - Letter Callsigns ''. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 10. Jump up ^ Thomas H. White. `` Mystique of the Three - Letter Callsigns ''. Retrieved 2011 - 07 - 15. Jump up ^ George H. Gibson Public Broadcasting ; The Role of the Federal Government, 1919 - 1976 ( Praeger Publishers, 1977 ). Jump up ^ Michael P. McCauley, NPR : The trials and triumphs of National Public Radio ( Columbia University Press, 2005 ) Jump up ^ http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/press/archive/pr_0323.12.html Jump up ^ Chad Navis and Mary Ann Glynn, `` How new market categories emerge : Temporal dynamics of legitimacy, identity, and entrepreneurship in satellite radio, 1990 -- 2005. '' Administrative Science Quarterly ( 2010 ) 55 # 3 pp : 439 - 471. Jump up ^ John Allen Hendricks, and Bruce Mims, The Radio Station : Broadcast, Satellite, and Internet ( CRC Press, 2014 ) Jump up ^ John Nathan Anderson, `` Radio broadcasting 's digital dilemma. '' Convergence : The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies ( 2012 ) : 1354856512451015. Further reading Aitkin Hugh G.J. The Continuous Wave : Technology and the American Radio, 1900 - 1932 ( Princeton University Press, 1985 ). Barnouw Erik. The Golden Web ( 1968 ) ; The Sponsor ( 1978 ) ; A Tower in Babel ( 1966 ). ( all Oxford University Press ) ; Comprehensive history of American broadcasting Covert Cathy, and Stevens John L. Mass Media Between the Wars ( Syracuse University Press, 1984 ) Cox, Jim. Radio Journalism in America : Telling the News in the Golden Age and Beyond ( McFarland, 2013 ) Cox, Jim. American Radio Networks : A History ( McFarland, 2009 ) Cox, Jim. Radio After the Golden Age : The Evolution of American Broadcasting Since 1960 ( McFarland, 2013 ) Craig, Douglas B. Fireside Politics : Radio and Political Culture in the United States, 1920 - 1940 ( 2005 ) Dimmick, John, and Daniel G. McDonald. `` Network radio oligopoly, 1926 - 1956 : Rivalrous imitation and program diversity. '' Journal of Media Economics ( 2001 ) 14 # 4 pp : 197 - 212. Douglas, Susan. Inventing American Broadcasting, 1899 - 1922 ( Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989 ) Dunning, John. On The Air : The Encyclopedia of Old - Time Radio ( Oxford University Press, 1998 ) Gibson George H. Public Broadcasting ; The Role of the Federal Government, 1919 - 1976 ( Praeger, 1977 ) Hilmes, Michele. Only Connect : A cultural history of broadcasting the United States ( Wadsworth, 2007, 2nd ed. ) Jackaway ; Gwenyth L. Media at War : Radio 's Challenge to the Newspapers, 1924 - 1939 ( Praeger, 1995 ) Lackmann, Ron. Encyclopedia of American Radio ( 2nd ed. 2000 ), Over 1000 short articles ; not much changed from first edition which was entitled Same Time... Same Station ( 1995 ). Lazarsfeld Paul F. The People Look at Radio ( University of North Carolina Press, 1946 ) Leblebici, Huseyin, et al. `` Institutional change and the transformation of interorganizational fields : An organizational history of the US radio broadcasting industry. '' Administrative science quarterly ( 1991 ) : 333 - 363, Highly influential article. in JSTOR McCauley, Michael P. NPR : The trials and triumphs of National Public Radio ( Columbia University Press, 2005 ) McChesney ; Robert W. Telecommunications, Mass Media, and Democracy : The Battle for the Control of U.S. Broadcasting, 1928 - 1935 ( Oxford University Press, 1994 ) Maclaurin W. Rupert. Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry ( Macmillan, 1949 ; reprinted by Arno Press, 1971 ) McCourt ; Tom. Conflicting Communication Interests in America : The Case of National Public Radio ( Praeger, 1999 ) online Ray William B. FCC : The Ups and Downs of Radio - TV Regulation ( Iowa State University Press, 1990 ) Rosen Philip T. The Modern Stentors ; Radio Broadcasting and the Federal Government 1920 - 1934 ( Greenwood, 1980 ) Slater Robert. This... is CBS : A Chronicle of 60 Years ( Prentice - Hall, 1988 ) Smith, F. Leslie, John W. Wright II, David H. Ostroff ; Perspectives on Radio and Television : Telecommunication in the United States ( Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998 ) Sies, Luther F. Encyclopedia of American Radio : 1920 - 1960 ( McFarland, 2d ed. 2 vols., 2014 ) Sterling, Christopher H., and Kittross John M. Stay Tuned : A History of American Broadcasting ( LEA / Routledge, 2002, 3rd ed. ). Sterling, Christopher H., and Michael C. Keith. Sounds of change : A history of FM broadcasting in America ( Univ of North Carolina Press, 2008 ) Terrace, Vincent. Radio 's golden years : The encyclopedia of radio programs, 1930 - 1960 ( 1981 ) White Llewellyn. The American Radio ( University of Chicago Press, 1947 ) Primary sources Kahn, Frank J. ed. Documents of American Broadcasting ( Prentice - Hall, 4th ed., 1984 ), Focuses on regulatory issues External links Broadcasting timeline : `` History of American Radio '' from a Pennsylvania State University website Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences of America Radio in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands Telecommunications History Beacon Broadcasting Cable protection system Cable TV Communications satellite Computer network Drums Electrical telegraph Fax Heliographs Hydraulic telegraph Internet Mass media Mobile phone Optical telecommunication Optical telegraphy Pager Photophone Prepay mobile phone Radio Radiotelephone Satellite communications Semaphore Smartphone Smoke signals Telecommunications history Telautograph Telegraphy Teleprinter ( teletype ) Telephone The Telephone Cases Television Timeline of communication technology Undersea telegraph line Videoconferencing Videophone Videotelephony Whistled language Pioneers Edwin Howard Armstrong John Logie Baird Paul Baran Alexander Graham Bell Tim Berners - Lee Jagadish Chandra Bose Vint Cerf Claude Chappe Donald Davies Lee de Forest Philo Farnsworth Reginald Fessenden Elisha Gray Erna Schneider Hoover Charles K. Kao Hedy Lamarr Innocenzo Manzetti Guglielmo Marconi Antonio Meucci Radia Perlman Alexander Stepanovich Popov Johann Philipp Reis Nikola Tesla Camille Tissot Alfred Vail Charles Wheatstone Vladimir K. Zworykin Transmission media Coaxial cable Fiber - optic communication Optical fiber Free - space optical communication Molecular communication Radio waves Transmission line Network topology and switching Links Nodes Terminal node Network switching ( circuit packet ) Telephone exchange Multiplexing Space - division Frequency - division Time - division Polarization - division Orbital angular - momentum Code - division Networks ARPANET BITNET Cellular network Computer CYCLADES Ethernet FidoNet Internet ISDN LAN Mobile NGN NPL network Public Switched Telephone Radio Telecommunications equipment Television Telex WAN Wireless World Wide Web Category Portal United States articles History By event Timeline of U.S. history Pre-Columbian era Colonial era Thirteen Colonies military history Continental Congress American Revolution War American frontier America 's Critical Period Drafting and ratification of Constitution Federalist Era War of 1812 Territorial acquisitions Territorial evolution Mexican -- American War Civil War Reconstruction Era Indian Wars Gilded Age Progressive Era African - American civil rights movement 1865 -- 1896 / 1896 -- 1954 / 1954 -- 1968 Spanish -- American War Imperialism World War I Roaring Twenties Great Depression World War II home front Nazism in the United States American Century Cold War Korean War Space Race Feminist Movement Vietnam War Post-Cold War ( 1991 -- 2008 ) War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq War Recent events ( 2008 -- present ) By topic Outline of U.S. history Demographic Discoveries Economic debt ceiling Inventions before 1890 1890 -- 1945 1946 -- 91 after 1991 Military Postal Technological and industrial Geography Territory counties federal district federal enclaves Indian reservations insular zones minor outlying islands populated places states Earthquakes Extreme points Islands Mountains peaks ranges Appalachian Rocky National Park Service National Parks Regions East Coast West Coast Great Plains Gulf Mid-Atlantic Midwestern New England Pacific Central Eastern Northern Northeastern Northwestern Southern Southeastern Southwestern Western Rivers Colorado Columbia Mississippi Missouri Ohio Rio Grande Yukon Time Water supply and sanitation Politics Federal Executive Cabinet Civil service Executive departments Executive Office Independent agencies Law enforcement President of the United States Public policy Legislative House of Representatives current members Speaker Senate current members President pro tempore Vice President Judicial Courts of appeals District courts Supreme Court Law Bill of Rights civil liberties Code of Federal Regulations Constitution federalism preemption separation of powers Federal Reporter United States Code United States Reports Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency Office of the Director of National Intelligence Uniformed Armed Forces Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Coast Guard National Guard NOAA Corps Public Health Service Corps 51st state political status of Puerto Rico District of Columbia statehood movement Elections Electoral College Foreign relations Foreign policy Hawaiian sovereignty movement Ideologies anti-Americanism exceptionalism nationalism Local government Parties Democratic Republican Third parties Red states and blue states Purple America Scandals State government governor state legislature state court Uncle Sam Economy By sector Agriculture Banking Communications Energy Insurance Manufacturing Mining Tourism Trade Transportation Companies by state Currency Exports Federal budget Federal Reserve System Financial position Labor unions Public debt Social welfare programs Taxation Unemployment Wall Street Society Culture Americana Architecture Cinema Cuisine Dance Demography Education Family structure Fashion Flag Folklore Languages American English Indigenous languages ASL Black American Sign Language HSL Plains Sign Talk Arabic Chinese French German Italian Russian Spanish Literature Media Journalism Internet Newspapers Radio Television Music Names People Philosophy Public holidays Religion Sexuality Sports Theater Visual art Social class Affluence American Dream Educational attainment Homelessness Home - ownership Household income Income inequality Middle class Personal income Poverty Professional and working class conflict Standard of living Wealth Issues Ages of consent Capital punishment Crime incarceration Criticism of government Discrimination affirmative action antisemitism intersex rights islamophobia LGBT rights racism same - sex marriage Drug policy Energy policy Environmental movement Gun politics Health care abortion health insurance hunger obesity smoking Human rights Immigration illegal International rankings National security Mass surveillance Terrorism Separation of church and state Outline Index Book Category Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radio_in_the_United_States&oldid=826602084 '' Categories : Radio in the United States History of radio Entertainment in the United States Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from May 2015 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Deutsch Монгол Edit links This page was last edited on 20 February 2018, at 01 : 17. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did radio become popular in the us
Answer: in the 1920s