Broadcasting School And The History of Radio

Though it's one of the youngest industries in the world, radio broadcasting nevertheless has a storied history from Marconi to Morse, orchestra to alternative, college indie rock to Top Forty. As a broadcasting school student, you should have decent baseline knowledge of the industry you're about to enter, so read on for a rundown of the basic facts that everyone should know about radio.

1. Who exactly invented radio is still in question, but it's generally agreed upon that broadcast radio came about through two events: in 1893, electrical engineer Nikola Tesla demonstrated the viability of wireless communications, and two years later, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi developed actual working radio communication, sending the first radio signal in 1895.

2. The first radio program broadcast as we know happened in 1906 from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. It consisted of the broadcaster playing O Holy Night on his violin and reciting a passage from the Bible. If you're a broadcasting school student, we recommend you choose something different for your own first broadcast.

3. 1920 was the next big year for radio broadcasting, with August 31st bringing the first radio news program out of Detroit, the first college radio station starting up in October at Union College in Schenectady, New York, and a live performance of the opera Parsifal at the Coliseo Theater in Buenos Aires airing from Argentina on the 27th of August. 1922 brought the advent of the first regularly-scheduled entertainment broadcasts from the Marconi Research Centre in England. While you're unlikely to need these facts for a broadcasting school pop quiz (as broadcasting school doesn't generally have pop quizzes), knowing the general timeline certainly won't hurt you!

4. Radio soap operas debuted in 1930 and remained a dominant form of entertainment for bored housewives for the next few decades until television sets became affordable and thus more common. At the height of the radio boom, as a Halloween special on October 30, 1938, this popularity led to the infamous broadcast of an adaptation of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, a classic science fiction novel about an alien invasion of Earth. Presented by legendary director Orson Welles as a series of news bulletins, this broadcast ignited fury and panic when listeners tuning in late took what they were hearing as actual news. While arguably impossible in this information age of television and the internet, if you don't get a clear picture of how important radio is while you're in broadcasting school, reading up on this event can give you an idea of just how influential radio broadcasting can be!

5. Radio broadcasting school was created for people just like you who want to get into radio without the risk, hassle, and high cost of first attending college or university. While others wrestle with unnecessary homework and 101 classes just to get to the courses they really need before graduating to an estimated 12% job placement rate, as a broadcasting school student you might even have a job before you finish up your apprenticeship. The National Broadcaster's Training Network is here to help you become the next big name in radio. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity and find out more at http://www.learn-by-doing.com/ today!