THE BEGINNING OF RADIO BROADCASTING

In the 1906, the Audion Tube, a vacuum tube that amplified wireless signals was invented by American scientist, Lee DeForest. He saw radio as a means of broadcasting. He looked beyond the limitations of point to point communication (ship to ship or ship to shore) that heralded the ideas and inventions of Marconi and others before him. These inventions paved the way for the reliable transmission of clear voices and music.

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DeForest in 1907 writes in the prospectus for his radio company:

“It will soon be possible to distribute grand opera music from transmitters placed on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House by a telephone station on the roof to almost any dwelling in Greater New York and vicinity… The same applies to large cities. Church music, lectures, etc., can be spread abroad by Radio Telephone.”

With the possibility of broadcast ascertained, radio stations went on air causing chaotic broadcasting that encouraged the United States government, during World War 1 to order the closure of all transmitting and receiving stations for radio communication. This was exacerbated by patent fights and lawsuits that financially strangulated the competitors, causing the almost two decades delay in introducing radio to a mass audience. By the take over, the US improved the technology for military use.
By the end of the war, radio broadcast had improved and it was introduced to a mass of waiting audience. Radio broadcast became an entertainment and commercial success.