Radio Technology and Wu's Cycle: History and Evolution

Although its existence is simply taken for granted by most people today, radio was a modern communication technology that changed the world in fundamental ways at the turn of the twentieth century. Guglielmo Marconi invented the first viable radio in 1895. To trace the history and evolution of this technology and its effects on society, this paper reviews the literature concerning how radio follows the pattern of what Tim Wu terms "The Cycle," including the timeframe of radio technology and three of its key steps. The paper outlines the historical cause-and-effect factors that led to the invention, disruption, and consolidation of radio technology. A discussion of the reasons for the division or reorganization of radio technology is followed by an assessment of whether radio technology exemplifies how modern communication technologies become centrally controlled and whether any technologies can remain "open." Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning radio technology and Wu's "The Cycle" is presented in the conclusion.

According to Bellis, the term "radio" can alternatively "refer to either the electronic appliance that we listen with or the content playing from it," but in any event, the technology "started with the discovery of 'radio waves' or electromagnetic waves that have the capacity to transmit music, speech, pictures and other data invisibly through the air" (3). Like other modern communication technologies, the invention of the radio proceeded in a series of stages, building on previous research until Marconi finally created the first viable radio in 1895.

Like the telegraph, which it rapidly outpaced in terms of use, the adoption of radio technologies occurred in stages, but the medium quickly gained acceptance and increasing popularity among the American public within the first few decades of the twentieth century. In this regard, Laird reports that "Radio fueled the radical shifts in U.S. culture between World War I and World War II" (467). One of the most pronounced shifts was the manner in which radio served to create a sense of national identity among the far-flung peoples of the United States — an especially significant outcome during the two world wars that followed. Laird also notes that, "By speeding the flow of information, news, music, entertainment, and advertising to once isolated areas, radio smoothed out the starkest differences between urban and rural life and brought rural citizens a greater sense of national belonging" (467).

Together with electricity, the automobile, and the telephone, radio technologies had an enormous impact on life in rural America, but in many ways radio was the most important medium during its heyday. Laird emphasizes that among these technologies, "Radio was the only one that needed no major infrastructure, like modern roads or wiring. Quickly embraced, radio introduced urban and consumer values to rural audiences, planting seeds for further changes" (468). Besides its entertainment value, radio also offered significant commercial opportunities for generating advertising revenues, and the U.S. government's interest in the medium resulted in the development of a three-tiered network comprised of (1) regional and local stations, (2) clear-channel network affiliates, and (3) border stations (Laird 468). Laird defines border stations as "super-powered stations located just across the Mexican border that broadcast programming in English with the specific intent of reaching large U.S. audiences" (468). Although disrupted by the introduction of television in the early 1950s and the Internet in the 1990s, radio itself disrupted other communications technologies during its fifty years of peak popularity, most notably the telegraph.

Although long-distance electronic communications had already been available for half a century, the introduction of radio at the turn of the twentieth century was an enormously disruptive force for the telegraph. Like radio, the development of the telegraph also proceeded in stages. According to Blondheim, the first stage involved persuading American consumers that the telegraph was a viable communications medium, which was accomplished through live demonstrations. The second stage involved convincing consumers, as well as the public and private sectors, that the telegraph could serve their various interests. The final stage involved attracting a sufficient number of consumers and investors to develop a profitable commercial industry (Blondheim).

The ability to communicate over long distances virtually instantaneously was an innovation that may have appeared irreplaceable to contemporary observers, who could not conceive that anything could be better than the telegraph. It quickly became apparent, however, that radio was the "next big thing" that nearly spelled the end of the telegraph. By late 1920, the first commercial radio station in America, KDKA, began broadcasting in Pittsburgh (Gugliotta). Since that time, radio has played a transformational role in shaping American society and creating a major new industry. Gugliotta maintains that "radio has transformed society three times, not to mention giving birth to the entire field of electronics" (1).

The first transformation concerned the effects radio had on developing a sense of nationalism among a diverse American population. The second involved the growth of a new multi-million dollar industry with a corresponding effect on the nation's economy (Gugliotta). The third and perhaps most important transformation involved the manner in which the military forces of the United States and other countries applied radio technologies during both world wars. Gugliotta reports that "Military use of radio communications expanded enormously [after World War I when] governments started to understand radio's immense potential, not only for communications but also as a weapon: radio detecting and ranging, better known as radar" (3). Despite the introduction of other communications technologies during the second half of the twentieth century, radio remains a popular medium in the United States today, and innovations have enabled a far greater broadcast spectrum than was once thought possible (Gugliotta 3).

The historical record makes it clear that federal governmental regulatory action played a significant role in the burgeoning radio industry by providing market protections to major actors at the expense of smaller concerns and ultimately the American taxpayer. Wu points out that:

"The federal government's role in radio and television from the 1920s through the 1960s, for instance, was nothing short of a disgrace. Government's tendency to protect large market players amounts to an illegitimate complicity [particularly its] sense of obligation to protect big industries irrespective of their having become uncompetitive." (202)

Regulatory actions such as those taken by the Federal Radio Commission — which eventually became today's Federal Communications Commission — provided additional opportunities for major actors to gain access to the more desirable frequency bands, with smaller actors "moved by regulators to less desirable locations farther up the radio spectrum" (Gugliotta 2).