Old Time Radio:

1
Old Time Radio Through the Golden Years
By Chelsea Blessis, Kirsten Torgersen, and Rachel
Beck
2
Table of Contents

• 1930
• 1931
• 1932
• 1933
• 1934

• 1935
• 1936
• 1937
• 1938
• 1939

3
1930

• The radio became known and popular in 1930
  through the 1940s
• Powel Crosley Jr. becomes the owner of the major
  station WLW

4
1931

• Little Orphan Annie debuted on radio
• Radio Digest named the Mills brothers the vocal
  find of 1931
• They were found on CBS and were the first black
  group to win, what was the equivalent of todays
  Grammy.
• Unique and new show aired The March of Time
• Marconi airs the new Vatican Radio Station
• Demonstrates the possibility of using micorwaves
  communicating between Santa Margherita Ligure and
  Levanto 36km away

5
1932

• The BBC radio station introduced a marriage bar
• Said that married women were no longer employed
  and if you were to marry, you had to resign.
• NBC introduces a new series about a man who wakes
  up in the 25th century after sleeping for 500
  years, called Buck Rogers

6
1933

• FM radio was first discovered
• Astatic Crystal microphones were introduced
• The Breakfast Club aired for the first time on
  radio
• Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president and
  frequently spoke on the radio
• He became known as the Radio President

7
1934

• The FCC was created to replace the FR, Federal
  Radio Commission
• Law limits broadcasting in India
• Popular Songs Magazine is published to learn new,
  favorite songs that are on the radio
• ABC hired its first journalist

8
1935

• NBC radio network broadcasted Americans Town
  Meeting of the Air
• This was an early form of electronic town hall
  democracy
• Japan broadcasted to America
• School Broadcasts began, and radio lessons were
  broadcast in all mainland states.

9
1936

• Radio was used for the first time in a
  presidential campaign
• BBC airs its first news story

10
1937

• Herb Morrison reported at the scene of the
  explosion of the German airship, Hindenburg.
• Bill Stern, a famous sports caster, gets his own
  show The Bill Stern Show
• Radios get pushbuttons
• Radio telescope is used to find natural radio
  signals across the Milky Way

11
1938

• War of the Worlds aired on public radio for the
  first time
• Millions of listeners mistook the story and
  thought it was real
• This story was a big influence in the radio world

12
1939

• 80 of the population now own radio sets.
• Soap Operas became big, they dominated the
  stations
• The Lone Ranger aired for the first time and also
  sold countless boxes of cereal
• Franklin D. Roosevelt had 2 Fireside Chats this
  year about WWII