.o0|'Meena'|Oo.: Radio Research

Radio Research

A few decades ago, it would have been pure wishful thinking for an ordinary citizen to listen to the latest music out or even the rulers of the country. Any new pronouncements would have taken considerable time to reach the man in the streets. But today, ask a beggar in any city of the United Kingdom whether s/he can recognize a voice of importance, the chances are highly in favor of an affirmative reply. Radio has invaded the life of almost everybody. However, most people often don’t understand the processes involved when it comes to radio or how it has changed overtime.

1800's
From the beginning of the early 1800's until the new developments in recent years, radios have helped to provide communication as well as entertainment throughout the society of many cultures.

1895 The first major breakthrough in the radio technology occurred in 1895 when the first patent for the radio was granted to Guglielmo Marconi. Though the idea was around, the actual devices that made the technology possible was not readily available until 1901. For this era, the radio technology was limited to communications with ships in case of an emergency.

1907
In 1907, the first commercial transatlantic radio service was created. From there, the technology continued to draw interested engineers and inventors from all sorts of industries.

With many great minds working on this idea, it wasn’t long before radio stations began to pop up throughout the world. In the United States, there is speculation about the actual first radio station. Much of the debate lies in the actual definition of what a radio station constitutes as well as what they were supposed to do. KCBS is often regarded as the very first commercial radio station in the country, but there are others that produced regular radio programming and other services around the same decade. KDKA in Pittsburgh, for instance, began producing communication over the radio waves in 1920.

1919
In 1919, a University of Wisconsin-Madison radio station boasted the first human speech to go out over the airwaves. It was only a matter of two years before music was one of the more common uses that people were using the radio for.
1920
The first radio frequency used was the AM frequency in 1906 during World War I. Because of its reliability, it was also the most popular frequency for broadcasting beginning in 1920. The AM frequency remained the dominant frequency for broadcasting for over three decades. This period is often referred to as the Golden Age of Radio. Radio stations during this time produced a wide variety of entertaining programs. In addition to music, radio stations also played dramatic episodes of programs, such as Amos ‘n’ Andy and Superman. Radios also became the preferred method for communicating the news of the day.
1950's
While the AM frequency was popular for broadcasting throughout the 1950s and beyond, researchers began developing the FM in the 1940s as an alternative to FM. This method became popular during the 1960s and took hold throughout the 1970s. It was more popular than the AM signal because it could transmit on any frequency. Although its original purpose was intended for classical music lovers and educational purposes, the FM method was a favorite for rock music in the 1960s. It wasn’t until 1978, however, that the FM programming had more listeners than the AM.

In recent years, radio has made even more developments that have made listening to your favorite music even easier. With a simple internet connection, you can listen to streaming audio from almost any radio station all over the world. A new trend in radio broadcasting is also the podcast. This is where individuals put together a recording that resembles a radio show and then post it online for anybody to listen to.

In my opinion, with all the advancements that have just been made in recent years, there is no telling where the radio technology will lead to next. The wide variety of radio programs are becoming more enticing to people throughout the world because of its availability and simplicity.
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KISS 100

100.0 FM MHz
Target audience: Young Adults Ages 15-24
Broadcasts In London And Was Established In October 1985.
It First Aired On The 1st September 1990.
Product: Specialises In Hip Hop, R&B, Urban and Electronic Dance Music.

People Listen To Kiss 100:

On Their Way To School
On Their Way To Work, In Their Cars,
On Mobiles or I-pods.

Capital FM 95.8

Their Target Audience: Ages 14-32
Broadcasted To: United Kingdom
Specialises In Mainstream Music
Local Radio Station Owned by The Global Radio as Part Of The Capital FM Network
Convergence: Listen To The Shows Online, Podcasts, Video And Picture Galleries, On TV (Free Sat: 719, Free View: 724, Sky: 0109, Talk Talk TV: 610, Virgin Media: 958)
1^st Aired Date: 16^th October 1973