Media In The 1920's

Media has changed and evolved over about the last century, initially gathering and dispersing information through forms of media including books and newspapers, eventually growing into radio and magazines. After the era of radio, television became the best new thing, along with the internet, leaving the original formats for media transportation to be pushed into the background. When thinking about the past and how much media has evolved over the years, the most intriguing aspect of the history of media has to be the shift from the widespread, popular radio era to the new technology on the street, television. Radio, being the most popular during the 1920’s, began with weather and farm reports, transitioning into news reports by the 1930’s on

These programs would bring households together to listen for a limited time each night, in which they would enjoy shows including, “The Lone Ranger” and “Molly,” and especially to tune in to the President’s fireside chats (text, p.136). Even during this time period, popular companies embarking in the radio industry continued to improve the future of entertainment. Radio businesses like CBS and RCA viewed the evolution of televisions, expanding them throughout homes, as a way to skyrocket their profits. Television manufacturing established a strong rise by the year 1941, when the Federal Communications Commission created a standard for broadcasting and competing companies were allowed to produce TV’s, starting with black and white picture. Color television was then brought to market in the early 1950’s and blew up by the late 1960’s. Even with the end of an era like radio broadcasting, which brought

Having only a couple programs available to view established a sense of closeness and comparability, tuning in each night for shared experiences with the rest of the country. Partaking in the viewing of major historical events, such as the moon landing or presidential debates, sparked democracy-based communities all around. But, as television and technology continues to evolve, so do people. Growing up, the common thought processes revolving around television and media are that entertainment and fun were the highlights of this technology. As you get older, however, we realize what a big difference there actually is when compared to our youthful views. Being that the internet’s growth is focused on contrasting interests and money, TV services are allowing for a much wider range for entertainment. As explained in “Media & Culture,” this created a gap between the experiences being shared by individuals within our democratic society (text, p.188-189). Each individual has their own interests, so having common shows between people becomes more difficult, resulting in that gap in the democracy. Parallel to the growing entertainment industry, money and profit are also becoming major factors when contributing to the growth of TV. It’s crazy to think that television started off as being marketed for free, while nowadays it’s getting more and more