Chapter 29

By: Jessica Addario

RADIO JOURNALISM

Radio JournalismRadio Journalism has been closely tied to the changing

technology of the medium and the changing political

whim of the nation

1922-1938 – these years were marked by strife between

radio and newspapers

1938-1946 – these years saw rapid expansion of radio

journalism, largely driven by World War Two.

Radio Journalism 1946-1960 – this was the transitional period for radio

journalism due to the introduction of format radio and

to the expansion of T.V.

1960-1980 – radio journalism was influenced by greater

utilization of the FM band, forcing radio news to

redefine itself

1980-present – these years witnessed a rebirth of radio

journalism

Radio Journalism Earliest radio broadcast was November 2nd, 1920. KDKA

in Pittsburgh broadcasted the results of the Harding-

Cox presidential election.

In 1925, WGN in Chicago broadcasted from the Scopes

trial

In 1927, transatlantic flight of aviator Charles “Lucky”

Lindbergh captured audience attention

Radio Journalism In 1929-1930, regular scheduled news broadcasts on

networks began

Floyd Gibbons began “The Headline Hunter” for NBC in

1929

“Lowell Thomas and the News” premiered in September

1930

H.V. Kaltenborn began in 1930 with a broadcast on CBS

that was on three times per week

Radio Journalism First two years of the 1930’s was the coverage of the

Lindbergh kidnapping and trail of Bruno Hauptman, which

made news coverage, and the reputation of some news

reporters such as Boake Carter for CBS, increasingly popular

Newspaper publishers had recognized that radio was a force

that could not be ignored. This was known as the “Press-

Radio War”, and at stake was the power to control how news

would be distributed.

The Press-Radio War and Biltmore Agreement In 1922, the Associated Press issued a notice to

subscribers that AP news copy was not to be used for

broadcasting purposes.

This notice was ignored, since most newspapers owned

early radio stations

United Press and International News Service said they

would continue to provide copy to all subscribers,

especially during the 1924 Presidential election

17 years later, till 1939, Journalists were at war with

their own ranks

December 1933 meeting at Biltmore Hotel, NYBiltmore Agreement:

• Limited the radio networks to only five-minute newscasts

per day

• Newscasts had to be in mornings, but only after 9:30 a.m.,

and evenings only after 9:00 p.m.

• Copy only from the established wire services and no

breaking or up-to-the-minute news broadcast

• Radio news must not have any advertising support and

listeners were to be encouraged to consult their

newspapers for the latest news

Biltmore AgreementAllowed networks access to some wire services

restricted broadcast content to a format that would:

1. Be long enough to give important news

2. Not interfere in prime newspaper selling periods

3. Not compete with newspapers for advertising dollars

Biltmore Meeting, December 11th & 12th 1933 Foreshadowed “audience segmentation”- media would

agree to split up the audience with newspapers

concentrating on news and information and radio

concentrating on entertainment

Biltmore Agreement said nothing about commentary,

so commentators could be sponsored

Biltmore Meeting The agreement was crumbled under the combined

weight of pressure from independent radio stations and

all the commentary on the network airwaves

Press-Radio War ended in 1939, having to do with

economic reasons as it did 17 years earlier

Associated Press lifted it’s ban on radio transmission of

wire copy in spring of 1939

Hindenburg Disaster of 1937 The airship Hindenburg burst into flames as it landed

Commentator Herb Morrison was using a portable

recording device called a “disc-cutter” even though

recordings were not allowed on air.

The recording of the disaster was played and was the

first recording that was broadcasted on NBC

Herb Morrison

Radio Goes to War September 1938, after Hitler’s Nazi troops invaded the

Sudetenland, CBS’s H.V. Kaltenborn began one of the landmark

broadcasts

18 straight days of Munich crisis, Kaltenborn took bulletins from the

wire services and stories from reporters and turned them into a

stream of more than 88 separate broadcast; some lasting two

hours.

The start of WW2, September 3rd, 1939, after hearing British Prime

Minister Neville Chamberlain read the declaration of war against

Germany, started “what must be described as one of the greatest

and most turbulent periods of radio journalism in the history of the

medium.” Declare War

Radio Goes to War President Roosevelt, in 1933, broadcasts 40 speeches

with more than 30% of American listeners

1939, a roper poll showed that more than a quarter of

the population relied on radio for their news

March of 1938, CBS broadcasted the first overseas

news round up

Edward R. Murrow, Eric Severied and Charles

Collingwood of Paris, William Shirer of Berlin, were all

household names during WW2 broadcast

Edward R. Murrow

Charles Collingwood William Shirer

Television Onslaught At the end of the war, America was home to over 900

radio stations and more than 31 million families who used

radio

Television was suppose to be the new rage, but radio had

some new technological enhancements to keep it vital

Last years of 1940’s into 50’s, T.V. siphoned off the talent

that made radio the powerhouse communication medium

during the last three decades

Journalists Walter Winchell, Edward R. Murrow, Fred Friendly

and Douglas Edwards migrated from radio to T.V.

Television Onslaught1950, Murrow wrote a new program for CBS radio called

“Hear it Now” which lasted 18 months, then moved to

CBS T.V. called “See it Now”

Technological advancements in radio:

1. Smaller, lighter transmitters developed for war

efforts allowed journalists to report live from many

places

2. Development of recording tape

3. T.V. equipment was still very large and bulky and

videotape was in its infancy during this period

Television OnslaughtRadio re-enacted news stories, using a shorter, immediate

reporting of breaking news format with high fidelity “sound

bites” that added the voices of actual newsmakers to the

immediate coverage

More and more radio stations were going on air during the

1950’s, but a falling radio audience number; fell from an

average of 13 in 1948 to a rating of one in 1956

AM band was getting crowded with signals so new

technologies developed again, changing the public face of

radio and American radio Journalism

“Find Me” Radio and Audience SegmentationEarly 1960’s, radio was put into automobiles calling it “drive

times” when audiences turned to their radio for news and

entertainment

1965, FCC ruled that FM stations in markets, with

populations greater than 100,000, could duplicate no more

than 50% of a companion AM stations programming

Newscasts were positioned earlier in the morning to target

people in their cars and barns

1961, Gordon McClendon started the first all-news AM radio

stations, XETRA

“Find Me” Radio and Audience Segmentation1960-1980, radio changes:

1. From AM to FM and FM stereo

2. Network oriented programing

3. Highly localized programing

4. From being the major provider of broadcast news

and information to being a player in a much more diverse

area

Through a 20 year period of enormous social upheaval,

radio journalism managed to adapt to changes

Satellites and Deregulation: Radio JournalismRadio Act of 1927 thrown out in 1984. The Communication Act

was rewritten, allowing fewer content restrictions and loosening

ownership restrictions

Many broadcasters, since the early 1980’s, have found satellite-

delivered programming to be a cost effective way to bring both

news and entertainment programming to their listeners and

advertising revenue to their owners

Quasi-Journalist personalities Paul Harvey, Larry King, Howard

Stern, Don Imus, Rush Limbaugh are radio commentators that

have used radio in ways no others have ever used it; tabloid-

style formats, all-talk formats, and all-news formats. (1960’s)

Satellite and Deregulation: Radio Journalism1992, FCC loosened its rules and allowed a single owner

to operate two AM and 2 FM stations in markets with at

least 15 stations

Telecommunications Act of 1996, lifted the National cap

on radio stations and ownership and further

homogenizing the news and information available on

radio

Present- news on radio is used in cars and for people in

their workplace and is still the least cost-effective way to

get important information out immediately.

Modern Day• Radio journalism is now called audio journalism because it

encompasses more than just radio

• 93% of people still listen to radio every day; a 6% increase in

revenue

• According to The Pew Research Center for the People & the

Press, people spend more time listening to news on the radio

each day than they do reading newspapers or getting news

online

• Chart

• Top Radio Listened to

Modern Day• 2010, people spent an average of 15 minutes listening to radio news,

which went up one minute since 2008. Television is 32 minutes,

newspapers 10, and the internet is 13

• 22% of Americans said that AM/FM radio had a big impact on their

lives, while 54% said cellphones, 44% said iPhones, 45% BlackBerries.

49% said broadband internet

• NPR is growing; 3% last year with 27 million weekly listeners

• Radio may be on the brink of rapid change as use of other

technologies grow

• Cell phone usage will soon surpass radio.

• chart2