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being founded in 1969 to connect what would become Radio’s Digital Future
hundreds of local outlets. National Public Radio pro- By the late 1990s, radio was entering what will surely be
vided a national public affairs service along with local a lengthy transition from existing analogue AM and FM
expression and alternatives to pop music, including the broadcast transmissions to digital transmissions.The lat-
classics, which had all but disappeared from commercial ter are delivered from terrestrial stations in some countries,
stations. By the late 1990s, more than a thousand small while in others (including the United States) satellites
community stations operated, largely with volunteer transmit digital radio programming on a commercial-free,
staffs. In the United States, FM radio’s vastly better subscription basis. Digital radio provides vastly superior
sound quality and programming made it more popular sound quality but requires new receivers.After more than
than AM radio in the 1980s; by the end of the century it eight decades of service, sometime in the early twenty-first
was attracting more than 75 percent of the total U.S. century analogue AM and FM radio services are likely to
audience. Music of all kinds was more likely to be heard disappear in the face of these newer digital offerings.
on the growing number of FM stations (from 2,500 in While the changing technology will make for clearer sig-
1970 to nearly 8,000 by the end of the century). By the nals, there is no evidence thus far that it will either
1990s, talk and news formats dominated AM stations, improve or diminish radio programming.
many of the most popular programs featuring conserva-
Christopher H. Sterling
tive political commentators or religious broadcasters.
See also Communication—Overview; Telegraph and
Such programs—much like international propaganda—
Telephone
tended to reinforce like thinking by listeners, but proba-
bly persuaded a few to change their mind. Some politi-
cal campaigns were clearly affected by such broadcasts, Further Reading
but evidence was divided on their long-range impact. Albarron, A. B., & Pitts, G. C. (2000). The radio broadcasting industry.
Radio became more widely available in automobiles as Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Barnouw, E. (1966–1970). A history of broadcasting in the United States
well (half of all cars had an AM radio in the early 1950s; (Vols. 1–3.). New York: Oxford University Press.
by 1990 more than 95 percent had FM capability as well) Briggs,A. (1960–1995). A history of broadcasting in the United Kingdom
(Vols. 1–5.). London: Oxford University Press.
—important because of the increasing number of “drive
Codding, G. A. (1959). Broadcasting without barriers. Paris: UNESCO.
time” (commuting) listeners. Coe, L. (1996). Wireless radio:A brief history. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Changes in radio regulation in the United States Douglas, S. J. (1987). Inventing American broadcasting, 1899–1922. Bal-
timore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
allowed development of national chains of radio stations Douglas, S. J. (1999). Listening in: Radio and the American imagination.
run by a single entity, while one owner could own up to New York: Times Books.
Dunning, J. (1998). On the air: The encyclopedia of old-time radio. New
eight stations in the largest markets. Considerable con-
York: Oxford University Press.
troversy arose as to whether this harmed or aided diver- Hilmes, M., & Loviglio, J. (Eds.). (2001). Radio reader: Essays in the cul-
sity of programming, but most observers agreed that tural history of radio. New York: Routledge.
Katz, E., & Wedell, G. (1977). Broadcasting in the Third World: Promise
deregulation contributed to the trend of less news and and performance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
public affairs programming on U.S. stations. Keith,M.C.(2000).The radio station (5th ed.).Stoneham,MA: Focal Press.
McNicol, D. (1946). Radio’s conquest of space: The experimental rise in
After about 1990, the U.S. model of commercially sup-
radio communication. New York: Murray Hill Books.
ported popular music radio became more widespread Sterling, C. H. (1984). Electronic media: A guide to trends in broadcast-
worldwide. Some countries had adopted competing pub- ing and newer technologies, 1920–1983. New York: Praeger.
Sterling, C. H. (Ed.). (2004). Encyclopedia of radio (Vols. 1–3). New York:
lic service and commercial radio systems as early as Fitzroy Dearborn.
1974 (in Britain) and even the 1940s (in Canada). Oth- Sterling, C. H., & Kittross, J. M. (2002). Stay tuned: A history of Ameri-
can broadcasting (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
ers moved away from noncommercial systems to a com-
Woods, J. (1992, 1999). History of international broadcasting (Vols. 1–
mercially supported structure. 2). London: IEE.