Intro to Electronic Media

Edward Bowen

Lecture Six

Empire

The story thus far:

1887/8: Heinrich Hertz demonstrates the existence of electromagnetic energy/radiation (radio waves).

The story thus far:

Gugliemo Marconi uses radio waves to create commercial wireless telegraphy.

1896: Marconi is granted the world’s first wireless telegraphy patent. * He is 22.

The story thus far:

Gugliemo Marconi uses radio waves to create wireless commercial telegraphy.

1896: Marconi is granted the world’s first wireless telegraphy patent. * He is 22.

1901: Marconi transmits across the Atlantic. He is 26.

The story thus far:

Gugliemo Marconi uses radio waves to invent wireless telegraphy.

1896: Marconi is granted the world’s first wireless telegraphy patent. * He is 22.

1901: Marconi transmits across the Atlantic. He is 26.

1909: Marconi receives the Nobel Prize in Physics. He is 34.

The story thus far:

Gugliemo Marconi uses radio waves to invent wireless telegraphy.

1896: Marconi is granted the world’s first wireless telegraphy patent. *

1901: Marconi transmits across the Atlantic. He is 26.

1909: Marconi receives the Nobel Prize in Physics. He is 34.

1912: Wireless distress signal allows for the rescue of survivors of the Titanic disaster.

Key Figures

• Lee De Forest• Edwin Howard Armstrong• David Sarnoff

Lee De Forest

• Inventor• Entrepreneur• Opportunist• Held over 180 patents

during lifetime• Many failed businesses,

ongoing lawsuits, and four marriages

• Oscar winner

The story thus far:

1906: Lee De Forest experiments with his “Audion” vacuum tube, allowing for signal modulation and amplification. He is 33.

He envisions broadcasting, one point disseminating to many points of reception, an “invisible empire of the air.”

The story thus far:

1906: Lee De Forest experiments with his “Audion” vacuum tube, allowing for signal modulation and amplification. He was 33.

He envisions broadcasting, one point disseminating to many points of reception, an “invisible empire of the air.”

http://www.pbs.org/transistor/quicktimes/movieclips/monkeysVIDEO/monkeysVIDEO_MSTR.mov

The story thus far:

December 24, 1906: Canadian Reginald Fessenden broadcasts music and a Christmas greeting. Wireless operators as far away as Virginia and ship wireless operators within a radius of several hundred miles heard this first radio program … maybe. He is 40.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6665738

The story thus far:

1907: Eugenia H. Farrar becomes the first singer to perform live on radio, in a broadcast by Lee De Forest from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He is 34.

The story thus far:

1907: Eugenia H. Farrar becomes the first singer to perform live on radio, in a broadcast by Lee De Forest from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He was 34.

1916: De Forest broadcasts from his Bronx home. Content includes phonograph records, election returns, and mentions of products produced by his company, possibly the first radio commercials. He is 43.

The story thus far:

1914-1918: World War I - The U.S. Navy nationalizes all wireless communication and places a freeze on wireless lawsuits, allowing for patent sharing and accelerated development.

The story thus far:

1914-1918: World War I - The U.S. Navy nationalizes all wireless communication and places a freeze on wireless lawsuits, allowing for patent sharing and accelerated development.

1919: In a “semi-friendly” takeover, General Electric absorbs American Marconi and creates a new subsidiary, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) to run it.

The story thus far:

1914-1918: World War I - The U.S. Navy nationalizes all wireless communication and places a freeze on wireless lawsuits, allowing for patent sharing and accelerated development.

1919: In a “semi-friendly” takeover, General Electric absorbs American Marconi and creates a new subsidiary, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) to run it.

1920: Restoration of private station ownership in the U.S.

Edwin Howard Armstrong

• Brilliant Engineer and Inventor

• Innovative• Combative and litigious• Successful and wealthy

businessman• Loved heights

The story thus far:

1912: Edwin Howard Armstrong improves on the Audion tube by inventing the feedback (or regenerative) circuit, dramatically increasing the ability to amplify weak signals. He is 22.

The story thus far:

1912: Edwin Howard Armstrong improves on the Audion tube by inventing the feedback (or regenerative) circuit, dramatically increasing the ability to amplify weak signals. He is 22.

1917: Armstrong invents the superheterodyne receiver, an eight-tube receiver that dramatically improves the reception of radio signals by reducing static and increasing selectivity and amplification. He is 27.

The story thus far:

1912: Edwin Howard Armstrong improves on the Audion tube by inventing the feedback (or regenerative) circuit, dramatically increasing the ability to amplify weak signals. He is 22.

1917: Armstrong invents the superheterodyne receiver, an eight-tube receiver that dramatically improves the reception of radio signals by reducing static and increasing selectivity and amplification. He is 27.

1922: Armstrong invents the superregenerative circuit. It’s sale to RCA makes Armstrong the single largest private stockholder in the company. He is 32.

Top of the World

David Sarnoff• As an employee of American

Marconi, delivered bouquets to Marconi’s many mistresses.

• Accomplished self-promoter• Avid proponent of the

commercial viability of broadcasting.

• “Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people.”

The story thus far:

1912: David Sarnoff is one of a number of wireless operators working for American Marconi to receive and transmit reports on the sinking Titanic. He 1s 21.

The story thus far:

1912: David Sarnoff is one of a number of wireless operators working for American Marconi to receive and transmit reports on the sinking Titanic. He is 21.

1919: Sarnoff joins the newly formed RCA, and foresees radio as a “household utility in the same sense as the piano or phonograph.” He is 28.

The rest of the story:

November 2, 1920: Station KDKA made the nation's first commercial broadcast* from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The rest of the story:

November 2, 1920: Station KDKA made the nation's first commercial broadcast* from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

* 1. Using radio waves; 2. To send out uncoded signals; 3. In a continuous scheduled programming service; 4. Intended for the general public; 5. And licensed by the government.

The rest of the story:

KDKA’s humble beginnings were as an amateur radiotelephone station, 8XK, transmitting from the garage of Westinghouse engineer Dr. Frank Conrad.

The rest of the story:

Westinghouse saw the commercial potential and created KDKA to increase demand for receivers that they manufactured.

The rest of the story:

By 1922 there were more than 200 licensed radio stations.

By 1923, more than 500.

By 1924, more than 1400, and 1/3 of furniture sales in America went to radio receivers.

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship• IBM is born

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship• IBM is born• Walt Disney creates his first cartoon

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship• IBM is born• Walt Disney creates his first cartoon• Top grossing film: “The Sea Hawk”

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship• IBM is born• Walt Disney creates his first cartoon• Top grossing film: “The Sea Hawk”• Mound City Blue Blowers have the top selling record

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship• IBM is born• Walt Disney creates his first cartoon• Top grossing film: “The Sea Hawk”• Mound City Blue Blowers have the top selling record• Kleenex, Marlboros, and Wheaties are introduced.

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship• IBM is born• Walt Disney creates his first cartoon• Top grossing film: “The Sea Hawk”• Mound City Blue Blowers have the top selling record• Kleenex, Marlboros, and Wheaties are introduced.• The Methodist Church lifts ban on dancing and

theater going.

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship• IBM is born• Walt Disney creates his first cartoon• Top grossing film: “The Sea Hawk”• Mound City Blue Blowers have the top selling record• Kleenex, Marlboros, and Wheaties are introduced.• The Methodist Church lifts ban on dancing and

theater going. • Babe Ruth leads the American League on both homeruns

and batting average.

In 1924

• Calvin Coolidge is president of the United States• First regular airmail service begins• Native Americans are granted citizenship• IBM is born• Walt Disney creates his first cartoon• Top grossing film: “The Sea Hawk”• Mound City Blue Blowers have the top selling record• Kleenex, Marlboros, and Wheaties are introduced.• The Methodist Church lifts ban on dancing and

theater going. • Babe Ruth leads the American League on both homeruns and batting average• Alcohol consumption is illegal.

In 1924

If you were 18 in 1924

• You were born in 1906.

If you were 18 in 1924

• You were born in 1906.• There’s a 50/50 chance that you have a phonograph

in your home. If you’re hip, you listen to something like this.

If you were 18 in 1924

• You were born in 1906.• There’s a 50/50 chance that you have a phonograph

in your home. • But you were just as likely to have a piano.

If you were 18 in 1924

• You were born in 1906.• There’s a 50/50 chance that you have a phonograph

in your home. • But you were just as likely to have a piano.• And just as likely, or unlikely, to have electricity in

your home.

If you were 18 in 1924

• You were born in 1906.• You probably had a phonograph in your home. • But you were just as likely to have a piano.• And just as likely to have electricity in your home. • If your family was lucky enough to have a new car, it

looked something like this.

If you were 18 in 1924

• You were born in 1906.• You probably had a phonograph in your home. • But you were just as likely to have a piano.• And just as likely to have electricity in your home. • If your family was lucky enough to have a new car, it

looked something like this.• And you have a variety of reading material to choose

from.

If you were 18 in 1924

• If you’re female, you’re among the first generation of women who can vote.

If you were 18 in 1924

• If you’re female, you’re among the first generation of women who can vote.

• If you’re African-American, your family may have participated in the “Great Migration” from the south to the Midwest, Northeast and West. You may have living relations who were slaves.

If you were 18 in 1924

The rest of the story:

November 15,1926: RCA, GE and Westinghouse create NBC, the first radio network, with 19 affiliates. Its first broadcast reaches 5 million listeners.

The rest of the story:

November 15,1926: RCA, GE and Westinghouse create NBC, the first radio network, with 19 affiliates. Its first broadcast reaches 5 million listeners.

June 11, 1927: 50 linked NBC stations in 24 states report Charles Lindberg’s reception in Washington, DC following his historic transatlantic flight. Nearly 30 million people listened in together.

The rest of the story:

September 1928: William S. Paley buys NBC rival CBS, then with only 22 affiliates. He was 27.

He insured the success of the new network by offering affiliates free programming in exchange for an option on advertising time, and was extremely aggressive in gaining advertising for the network and growing a pool of talent.

The rest of the story:

Government Regulation:

Radio Act of 1912: Requires federal licensing of all radio transmitters, by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, but with no mechanism for rejection of applications. Essentially unregulated growth leads to intolerable frequency interference.

Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover hopes stations will regulate and restrain themselves. Didn’t quite work out.

The rest of the story:

Government Regulation:

Radio Act of 1927:

The rest of the story:

Government Regulation:

Radio Act of 1927:

Creates the Federal Radio Commission, precursor to the Federal Communications Commission, with the power to grant and deny licenses, and to assign frequencies and power levels for each licensee.

The rest of the story:

Government Regulation:

Radio Act of 1927:

Creates the Federal Radio Commission, precursor to the Federal Communications Commission, with the power to grant and deny licenses, and to assign frequencies and power levels for each licensee.

Prohibited "obscene, indecent, or profane language.”

The rest of the story:

Government Regulation:

Radio Act of 1927:

Creates the Federal Radio Commission, precursor to the Federal Communications Commission, with the power to grant and deny licenses, and to assign frequencies and power levels for each licensee.

Prohibited "obscene, indecent, or profane language.”

Allowed programming to be considered when renewing licenses.

The rest of the story:

Government Regulation:

Radio Act of 1927:

Established principal that the radio spectrum belongs to “the people” and can therefore be regulated …

The rest of the story:

Government Regulation:

Radio Act of 1927:

Established principal that the radio spectrum belongs to “the people” and can therefore be regulated …

… and that broadcasting is protected by the First Amendment, but a unique medium requiring special treatment.

The rest of the story:

Lee De Forest:

1931: De Forest moved to Los Angeles, CA. By now, sound movies are using technology he pioneered.

The rest of the story:

Lee De Forest:

1931: De Forest moved to Los Angeles, CA. By now, sound movies are using technology

1934: After 20 years of court battles with Edwin Howard Armstrong over the Audion tube and its regenerative properties, including 12 previous court rulings, many of which were in Armstrong’s favor, De Forest finally wins on a legal technicality.

The rest of the story:

Lee De Forest:

1931: De Forest moved to Los Angeles, CA. By now, sound movies are using technology he pioneered.

1934: After 20 years of court battles with Edwin Howard Armstrong over the Audion tube and its regenerative properties, including 12 previous court rulings, many of which were in Armstrong’s favor, De Forest finally wins on a legal technicality.

1959: De Forest receives an honorary Oscar for his work on sound film technology.

The rest of the story:

Lee De Forest:

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1923: Marries David Sarnoff’s secretary. Gives her a portable radio as a wedding present.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1923: Marries David Sarnoff’s secretary. Gives her a portable radio as a wedding present.

1933: Patents FM radio.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1923: Marries David Sarnoff’s secretary. Gives her a portable radio as a wedding present.

1933: Patents FM radio.

1934: After 20 years of court battles, he is devastated by his loss due to a legal technicality to De Forest, after many previous court rulings in Armstrong’s favor.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1923: Marries David Sarnoff’s secretary. Gives her a portable radio as a wedding present.

1933: Patents FM radio.

1934: After 20 years of court battles, he is devastated by his loss due to a legal technicality to De Forest, after many previous court rulings in Armstrong’s favor.

1936: Rejected by RCA and David Sarnoff, Armstrong decides to develop FM alone.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1939: Armstrong builds the FM “Yankee Network” to 50 stations, broadcasting to half a million FM radios, build by companies with technology licensed from Armstrong.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1939: Armstrong builds the FM “Yankee Network” to 50 stations, broadcasting to half a million FM radios, build by companies with technology licensed from Armstrong.

1941: Japanese fighter planes hone in on station KGMB Honolulu, attack Pearl Harbor, and plunge the U.S. into WWII. Consumer radio manufacturing ends until the end of the war.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1939: Armstrong builds the FM “Yankee Network” to 50 stations, broadcasting to half a million FM radios, build by companies with technology licensed from Armstrong.

1941: Japanese fighter planes hone in on station KGMB Honolulu, attack Pearl Harbor, and plunge the U.S. into WWII. Consumer radio manufacturing ends until the end of the war.

1946: FM frequencies are reassigned, making Armstrong’s FM radios obsolete. Armstrong begins again, determined to develop FM.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1948: Following years of patent infringement by FM radio manufactures, including RCA, Armstrong returns to court.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1948: Following years of patent infringement by FM radio manufactures, including RCA, Armstrong returns to court.

1954: After six years of legal battles, and over 2 million dollars in legal fees, Armstrong is told by his attorney that he will win, but it will take another 9 years. Armstrong returns home and jumps from the window of his 13th floor apartment.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

1948: Following years of patent infringement by FM radio manufactures, including RCA, Armstrong returns to court.

1954: After six years of legal battles, and over 2 million dollars in legal fees, Armstrong is told by his attorney that he will win, but it will take another 9 years. Armstrong returns home and jumps from the window of his 13th floor apartment. Once a millionaire, he has $1250 in the bank at his death.

1969: Armstrong’s wife wins his patents case against RCA.

The rest of the story:

Edwin Howard Armstrong:

The rest of the story:

David Sarnoff:

The rest of the story:

David Sarnoff:

1930: Becomes president of RCA.

The rest of the story:

David Sarnoff:

1930: Becomes president of RCA.

1949: Promoted to Chairman of the Board of RCA.

The rest of the story:

David Sarnoff:

1930: Becomes president of RCA.

1949: Promoted to Chairman of the Board of RCA.

1954: After years of blocking FM development in deference to AM and television, ejecting Armstrong from his RCA laboratory in the Empire State Building, stalling Armstrong in court and refusing to pay royalties for Armstrong’s inventions, lobbying the FCC to reassign the FM frequencies, and claiming the invention of FM for RCA, Sarnoff claims “I did not kill Armstrong.”

The rest of the story:

David Sarnoff:

“Top of the World”

Interlude – Border Radio