Radio’s Significance in American History; How Consumers have Become Producers of Content

By: Keegan Hartman

In its own respect, radio has become one of the most storied mediums in American history. From days like December 7th, 1941, when American households tuned into their radios for updates surrounding the attacks on Pearl Harbor. To days like November 22, 1963, when the United States learned of the tragic news that 35th US President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated while parading through a crowd of spectators in Dallas, Texas (AUDIO CLIP BELOW).

(LINK: ABC’s/ABC Radio’s Walter Cronkite addresses and updates the American people as details continue unfold surrounding the assassination of 35th US President, John F. Kennedy. Cronkite, who is reporting from ABC’s HQ in New York City, NY, receives live updates from ABC News correspondent Bob Clark who is/was “on the ground” in Dallas, TX the day of Kennedy’s assassination).

From the years 1933 to around 1944, radio was heavily utilized by the United States’ 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt. With the uprise in radio consumption taking place in America, around this time period, President Roosevelt utilized talk radio to address the American people with his daily “fireside chats”. Often times, these public addresses would take place in the evenings, and would last roughly 10–45 minutes per address. In the “fireside chats” roughly, thirty-episode span, Roosevelt would address and provide updates surrounding the Great Depression. During Roosevelt’s presidency, however, one of the most memorable radio addresses tied to his presidency came on the night of December 7th, 1941- the Pearl Harbor attacks. On this particular night, however, it is in fact Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Teddy Roosevelt, who addresses the American people about the events that unfolded off the coast of Honolulu, HI. Mrs. Roosevelt takes this time to update the American people about the events surrounding the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, and mentions the necessary steps that have been taken by President Roosevelt and Congress in regards to the heinous act that was committed.(LISTEN TO AUDIO BELOW)

(LINK: First Lady, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt addresses the American people on an NBC radio broadcast, providing updates on what steps have been taken by her husband, President Teddy Roosevelt, and the rest of congress, as it pertains to potential resolution to counter the horrendous act that was committed on innocent American lives).

In the time following World Wars I and II, it seemed as though radio was no longer a “go-to” medium for many households, as, by 1952, roughly 1.4 million households owned a television set. That number drastically increasing from 1947, in which 15,000 households owned a television. Around that same time, radio began to take on a new purpose as AM/FM radio for vehicles was first introduced in 1953 by Becker’s Mexico (LINK BELOW).

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By the 1970’s and the 1980’s, Americans became more enamored with cassette tapes to be able to play their own music as they drove. Then, by the early 1990’s, with the help of MTV hitting the television screens of American households in the late 80's, American radio and pop-culture thrived off of the latest rock-and-roll, R&B, and hip-hop tracks. This ushering in of new sounds and new genres painted a whole new purpose for how we operate and listen to radio. Although NPR and talk radio is still very alive and well, it has drastically decreased in popularity compared to music. Not to mention, podcasting has become a thing of its own with the help of many podcasting databases.

Flash-forward to now, we have created and implemented new ways to listen to our radios by pretty much serving as our own “radio producer”. Apps like Spotify, Pandora, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Apple Music have allowed us to “skip-to-the-music” and enjoy the content we love endlessly and commercial free. These apps have allowed users to construct playlists, archive songs with “liking” algorithms, and our devices have practically converted into a disc-jockey’s music log and soundboard. Additionally, consumers have and can become creators of content with the evolution of modern technology. You can now upload your own created music, your own podcasts, or whatever recorded content, with just the touch of a button. Audio content, such as podcasting, has really rose in popularity, especially over the duration of the past 2–3 years. With the pandemic’s impact on normalcy over the past year or so, many listeners of podcasts and radio have turned into producers of content themselves… myself included.