Class Response - Radio's Introduction and Growth

     Radio was the first form of mass communication that was live. This was a huge innovation--live communication allowed for truly "breaking news". Prior to radio becoming popular, you could not hear about an event almost immediately after it occurred. Newspapers had to be written, printed, and distributed, taking at least a few hours after an important news story before the people could hear about it. This did not only change news, however. Radio provided entertainment for very cheap. A wide range of stations were available to many, all at the same time, through the one object.
     While radio in general contained a wide variety of different stations, each different station was targeted toward a niche audience. With the many stations available, there was something for everyone on the radio.
     Radio had fairly speedy growth. In 1922, there were about one hundred thousand radios and five hundred different stations. Two years later, in 1924, the number of stations had tripled to fifteen hundred stations. By 1947, there were over forty million radios.