Radio broadcasting began in the "Roaring 20s." A time in America that saw the first tabloid newspaper appear. Reader's Digest, New Yorker Magazine, Time Magazine would also be born right along with radio. It was a time of unprecedented economic prosperity and social change. It was a time of a strong backlash of racism, fear of immigration and morality.
The 1920s and the world we are living in today are not all that dissimilar. Today, the wealth inequality is greater than it was in the early 1920s.
After World War One ended, America got tough on immigration. The most stringent set of immigration restrictions in American history was enacted with "The National Origins Act of 1924." It restricted the flow of immigrants from Europe (and elsewhere) to less than 200,000 per year. This fear of immigrants reignited the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK membership saw its membership rise to a new high in 1928. Reformers advocated for a more militant, less conciliatory stance.
Today the battle rages on over building a wall between Mexico and the United States and over immigration of Muslims.
While women had won the right to vote, they still couldn't go to college and most professions still excluded women. While women could now own property, they couldn't establish credit with a bank or get backing for a business venture.
Many felt that the only thing that changed in America when women were given the power to vote was prohibition; the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.
So while the United States tried to control alcohol in the 20s and failed, today we find America battling another illegal substance battle, marijuana, with much the same results.
People will find a way to do something they really want to do.
The 20s ushered in the first decade of modern mass media. American-made films not only captured the attention of American audiences, but the whole world. Every city would have at least one movie house by the end of the decade.
Because the movies were silent, musicians were in high demand for the movies. And because radio was all live, it too needed musicians to perform during each broadcast day.
The 20s also saw advertising agencies now develop departments devoted to the creation of radio advertising and soon the commercial radio jingle was born.
The Roaring 20s would end with Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression.
While this decade created favorable conditions for big business to prosper, the alliance of government and industry left labor unions out in the cold.
It was these times that radio was born.
The Great Recession of 2008 would be the environment that would see the Internet of Things born.
When commercial radio was born in 1920, it was hoped that it would bring about national unity. Those utopian hopes and dystopian fears would fall basically into four different areas.
I will let you draw your own conclusions on the success or failure of these goals for radio.
Broadcasting in America started out as a government-assisted oligopoly. The internet did too. Both, I would argue, now fall into the unlimited category. While I realize this is definitely true for the internet, I know others would quickly point out the limited amount of spectrum for AM and FM radio broadcasting. However, with the growth of FM translators and LPFM stations, it feels like it's unlimited.
The original system of a government preferred broadcasting system is being challenged today by the Internet of Things.
And covered in dust, is the original fundamental principle of operating in the public interest, convenience and necessity and not merely for maximum profits.
Ever had someone say that to you? How did it make you feel?
Well, all ideas start out as ugly.
Ed Catmull, CEO of Pixar writes in his book Creativity Inc. that early in the creative process every movie Pixar has ever made sucked. They all start out as "ugly babies" that are "awkward and unformed, vulnerable and incomplete." And that's OK, because the public never sees these "ugly Pixar babies." Catmull says it's the company's job to protect these original, fragile ideas from being judged too quickly. They understand that great ideas aren't born; they are created from ugly ones.
The problem today is too many ugly ideas are released to the world while they are still ugly. No one has invested the time, love and attention to craft them into something great. Or, just as bad, ideas not ready for broadcast are put on-the-air piecemeal. Radio is famous for doing this sort of thing when they change music formats and start off with 10,000 songs in a row. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. So why put something on the air that is not going to be what it will be when it's finished?
You don't see a Broadway show open without there being a lot of practice first. You don't see any type of performance art take to a stage without practice. "All of showbiz except for radio has rehearsals," observes programming genius George Johns. Why is that?
When Did Radio Stop Rehearsals?
Ron Jacobs, the first Boss Radio PD in America at 93/KHJ writes in his book KHJ Inside Boss Radio that before the new KHJ launched, every air personality and board engineer spent two weeks practicing for the station's debut. "Every word and every nuance was critiqued on the fly by Jacobs and (Bill) Drake," said Boss Jock Gary Mack. "More up! More energy! Faster! I remember the distinct odor of flop sweat. But every day got better, and we made our mistakes off the air," said Mack.
"Six hours every damn day I played the records. Read the commercials. Again and again, and yet again. The red phone never ceased ringing. Criticism was heaped upon me hour in, hour out. I began to picture Jacobs as the force behind the Spanish Inquisition. As the Marquis de Sade. Jack the Ripper. Eventually I was let out of the bag and given the six to nine pm shift," said Vance.
This was the way radio worked once upon a time. Nothing went on the air unrehearsed. Everything that went on the air was screened to insure it would meet the standards set by the station. "Ugly babies" were nurtured until they became great ideas that became great radio stations.
Great radio takes work. Great radio is exciting to listen to. Great radio gets results.
Let's make radio great again.