USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi (pictured at right) first developed the idea of a radio, or wireless telegraph, in the 1890s. His ideas took shape in 1895 when he sent a wireless Morse Code message to a source more than a kilometer away.

Detailed explanation-2: -On November 2, 1920, station KDKA made the nation’s first commercial broadcast (a term coined by Conrad himself). They chose that date because it was election day, and the power of radio was proven when people could hear the results of the Harding-Cox presidential race before they read about it in the newspaper.

Detailed explanation-3: -Radio fostered a real-time national conversation during challenging times of Depression and world war. And it became the single greatest force (before television and the internet) in developing a mass culture of sports, entertainment, news and advertising.

Detailed explanation-4: -Neither illiteracy nor even a busy schedule impeded radio’s success-one could now perform an activity and listen to the radio at the same time. This unprecedented reach made radio an instrument of social cohesion as it brought together members of different classes and backgrounds to experience the world as a nation.