Script – History of Radio

Word count : 1640

Narrator :

When I think of my old school run, I imagine a cold brisk day

the type of day when you have a layer of frost surrounding
your car. The type of day it is so bitterly cold you wrap your
hands in you jumper as you mum turns the heating up to the
maximum, but all it does is blow wind through your hair as you
scoff a croissant down because you decided to lay in. But what
I remember the most is the BBC Radio jingle, the many
interviews and morning games which were played in the
background of all this mayhem. So take a second think about
your school run, do you remember the radio being a big part of
it too?

Radio is something which we take for granted in this day and

age, as it’s just so normal. We hear it everywhere, most
commonly now in your car. Depending on your interests there is
a selection of stations to choose from, some are more music
based and other are more inclined to be talkative. Including
interviews, discussions and debating.

Unfortunately, technology has become extremely advanced since

the radio was first invented. Now there is TVs, YouTube and
other platforms and devices which are more interesting than a
simple radio. In fact, the majority of listener are the older
generation. Why you may ask, because young adults and teens
grew up surrounded with a selection of technology so radio
just wasn’t that interesting. So, to compete the radio is
constantly being updated and modified and now has a selection
of stations. This includes podcasts which have a growing
audience and is becoming very popular.

Although radio may not be as fashionable these days, the radio

was once the only form of entertainment and therefore was
extremely popular. The first ever radio transmitters and
receivers were developed in 1895. Although, in the 1800s
people thought about the possibility of sending messages but
weren’t able to work out how to do so. So in 1886 a German
physicist named Heinrich Hetz discovered that moving electric
charges can create a long wavelength. This is what we now know
as radio waves.

Radio waves are the waves which allows us to listen to radio,

even nowadays. You may have experienced going through a tunnel
or out of a certain region which meant your radio went
crackly. This is because radio waves can only reach a certain
distance and when it starts to go crackly, it is probably
because the distance is reached and can’t go any futher.
Although to prevent this many radio stations have allowed
listeners to download their station, this means it is no
longer connected through radio waves.

But, let’s go back to the how radio came about. The actual
invention of the radio is quite confusing, as although a man
named Guglielmo Marconi was given the Noble prize for
inventing the radio. A man named Tesla was actually the first
to physically make the radio.

Tesla tested his radio via a remote control boat, but never
sent a message. This is because his lab caught on fire and
therefore destroyed all his work which meant he had to start
from scratch. Due to this tragedy Marconi was able to get
ahead of him and was the first to send a message via the
radio.

The invention of radio became very popular during World War I

and then became very important again in World War II as it was
the only way the military were able to send real time updates.
Otherwise, they would have to send a messenger which would
mean the message would be a few hours old by the time it was
received.

As the radio was heavily used during World War I, it became

very popular which meant most households brought a radio for
their own personal use. This was when stations like the BBC
began to surface which made newspaper companies worried about
their future. So, in 1926 the Newspapers went on strike as the
popularity of the radio meant that Newspapers were not being
bought.

(INSERT : World War II clip)

As you can imagine the radio was the quickest and easiest way
to receive news, this broadcast is from World War II. As you
can tell the audio is extremely crackly and unclear, this is
because it only has a medium wave. A massive stage in the
history of radio is when radio changed from a medium wave to
FM, this meant that the radio wasn’t crackly and instead
perfectly clear. We now have DAB radio which is why there is
able to be so many stations displayed on the radio. For
instance Capital, Capital Xtra, Radio 1, Radio 2 etc.

In World War II the radio introduced music, therefore a

selection of content was played. The music was there to
encourage workers in warehouses which was known as Workers
Playtime. In 1952 the Top 40 began and was when
the target audience changed from families to teens and young
adults.

Although, even before the Top 40 began The Archers came about
on BBC Radio 4. At the time it was seen as a story about
country folk, but nowadays is seen more as a drama which has
aired over 19,000 episodes. This makes it the world’s longest
running drama as it is still popular to this day.

Since 1952 the radio hasn’t changed massively, some new

stations have come about and technology has changed and still
continues to change. Although even after all this time the BBC
still remains strong as the top station. Yet, unlike back in
the day BBC now have a number of different stations so they
are able to appeal to a variation of audiences from young to
old.

The BBC have always remained prim and proper, so always

catered for an older audience. This is because it was very
news based and didn’t include much music. This was until the
U.S started broadcasting pop music on a radio station which
became extremally successful. This gave radio stations in the
UK ideas to do the same which is when a radio station named
‘Radio Caroline’ began.

This station was founded in 1964 and due to certain guidelines

had to broadcast from ships in the middle of the sea. This
meant they didn’t have to follow any rules and could produce
whatever they wanted. This type of station was known as
‘Pirate Radio’.

As the listers of Radio Caroline kept on increasing the BBC

felt threatened and therefore started up their own station
also known now as BBC Radio 1. BBC Radio 1 was focused on the
younger generation as they played pop music, unlike there
other shows. This meant the BBC could now approach a younger
audience which would make the BBC as a whole more popular.

( INSERT : First Radio 1 Broadcast )

BBC Radio 1 still remains popular amongst the younger

generation as when they aren’t playing the top charts, they
are interviewing the most a-class celebrity’s. And due to the
dropping numbers of listeners as technology progresses, they
have decided to create a YouTube channel where they can upload
the shows visually as well as airing on the radio. This means
there is a variation of ways there shows can be accessed
therefore a higher chance of having larger numbers of views.
 ( INSERT : Radio 1 show now )

The difference between the first ever Radio 1 broadcast to

shows nowadays have quite clearly progressed through time and
have become a lot better quality. As viewers it comes quite
apparent that the presenter is constantly trying to ask
questions and involve listers to ensure he gets the juiciest
gossip from his celebrity. This is what makes teens and young
adults tune in and listen, as they too want to find out all
about the news. So, as you can imagine this type of content is
extremely important for BBC Radio 1 and allows them to compete
with other platforms that produce gossip and scandals.

If we analyse the language, tones, background music etc. You

realise that it isn’t just two people have a conversation,
there is a lot more put into it. Both interviewer and
interviewee change their tone from time to time from serious
to more light hearted and giggly allowing there to be array of
emotions involved. This isn’t an accident, it’s on purpose as
they are aware this will allow the listeners to be more
interested and involved as the tone is constantly changing.
And if we take apart the interview even more we realise that
at the start there is background music which slowly fades out.
Once again this just creates atmosphere and different tones to
attract the listener. So, radio is a lot more than a couple
people talking, it’s as if they are taking part in a
performance on stage and have a crowd in the audience.

But the new and latest thing is podcasts. Everyone seems to be

doing them and they keep on growing in popularity. In some
ways this is bad for the radio as anyone can produce one which
means they can be put on practically any social media site
they wish, this could mean the listers for radio goes down.
Or, it could be a good thing as the radio can also take part
in the trend and produce their own podcasts. Apps like
Spotify, one of the leading music apps are pleading for people
to start them as they are so popular.

Apparently, around 7.1 million people in the UK listen to

podcast each week. With an increase of 24% over the past year,
which shows just how popular podcast are becoming. Perhaps
this could be the new radio!