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Radio Act of 1912 first radio legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, which addressed the problem of amateur radio operators jamming the airwaves by regulating the licensing of transmitters

Radio Act of 1927 radio legislation passed by the U.S. Congress creating a Federal Radio Commission, stating that radio operators could own their channels if they operated them to serve the public interest, defining the broadcast band, and standardizing frequency designations

radio broadcasting broadcasting through radio technology. Evidence of a plan for radio broadcasting to the general public is found in a 1916 memorandum writ-

ten by David Sarnoff, an employee of American Marconi, which would eventually become the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Sarnoff recommended that radio be made into a “household utility.” The memo was given little if any consideration at first. After World War I ended in 1918, however, several companies took up Sarnoff’s idea for the mass marketing of home radio receivers very seriously. In an effort to boost radio sales, the Westinghouse Electric Corporation of Pittsburgh established what many historians consider to be the first commercially owned radio station to offer a schedule of programming to the general public. It was called KDKA, after it received its license from the Department of Commerce (which held regulatory power following the end of the war) in October 1920. KDKA aired mainly entertainment programs, including recorded music, using a phonograph placed within the range of a microphone. The station did not charge user fees, nor did it carry advertisements. Westinghouse used KDKA simply as an enticement for people to purchase home radio receivers. Radio broadcasting reached the pinnacle of its popularity and influence during World War II, when American commentator EDWARD R. MURROW changed the nature of news report-

ing permanently with his eyewitness descriptions of street scenes during the German bombing raids of London, delivered from the rooftop of the CBS news bureau there. U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt was among the first politicians to understand the power of radio as a propaganda tool. He used the radio to bypass the press and directly address the American people with his so-called fireside chats during the Great Depression. Roosevelt clearly understood that the emotional power of the voice would be much more persuasive than would any logical argument he might put into print. The chats continue to this day as part and parcel of the American presidency.