frankbarnes3
The period between 1923 and 1930 witnessed the development of the culture of families gathering in their living room, around a (considerably large) radio, to enjoy the entertainment of radio music and shows. The Golden Age of radio is widely regarded as the decade of the 1930’s. The communal practice of radio entertainment expanded, as “radio parties” for friends and family would often be held, situated in the living room and spread throughout the home. These environments heightened the popularity of listening to radio shows and having a radio altogether.
Noticeably over time, “as technology improved, radios became smaller and cheaper… [radios] became the central piece of furniture in the average family’s living room…”(PBS). The migration of radios to other household rooms was indeed dependent on size, as personal carry and handheld devices became widely available in later decades, allowing people to move around with their radio.
Radio did not begin as a family-amassing platform, given that radio first began as a bulky, modernly unappealing, set “…with headphones, [and] progresses to large battery-operated sets with dozens of dials and a horn speaker to electric console radios designed as fine furniture, single knob tuning and loudspeakers”. The emergence of television did influence a shift in radio size, for competitive adjustments–dialing down from the oversized nature of radio ancestor models, in hopes of remaining in the living rooms of houses that were transitioning to televised entertainment.
In terms of preceding practices in the living room, entertainment had yet to reach into a technological sphere. Radio was the introductory burst of electronic entertainment into the average household. The technological novelty of radio was, at the time, the reason behind its attention-drawing appeal and dominant addition to the household of families all around.
PBS: A private, nonprofit broadcast television distributor corporation, founded in 1969, whose members are America’s public TV stations -- noncommercial, educational licensees
Mortal Journey: Provides an extensive history of fads and trends from the 1800’s through modern day, to research, in depth, the latest trends and fads.
Mike Adams: Board Chairman of the California Historical Radio Society. Professor Adams has authored numerous articles for historical radio journals and periodicals as well as two books on radio and television production, the biography Charles Herrold, Inventor of Radio Broadcasting. He also has produced an EMMY-nominated video series for PBS called Radio Collector.
Family Radio Entertainment
frankbarnes3The period between 1923 and 1930 witnessed the development of the culture of families gathering in their living room, around a (considerably large) radio, to enjoy the entertainment of radio music and shows. The Golden Age of radio is widely regarded as the decade of the 1930’s. The communal practice of radio entertainment expanded, as “radio parties” for friends and family would often be held, situated in the living room and spread throughout the home. These environments heightened the popularity of listening to radio shows and having a radio altogether.
Noticeably over time, “as technology improved, radios became smaller and cheaper… [radios] became the central piece of furniture in the average family’s living room…”(PBS). The migration of radios to other household rooms was indeed dependent on size, as personal carry and handheld devices became widely available in later decades, allowing people to move around with their radio.
Radio did not begin as a family-amassing platform, given that radio first began as a bulky, modernly unappealing, set “…with headphones, [and] progresses to large battery-operated sets with dozens of dials and a horn speaker to electric console radios designed as fine furniture, single knob tuning and loudspeakers”. The emergence of television did influence a shift in radio size, for competitive adjustments–dialing down from the oversized nature of radio ancestor models, in hopes of remaining in the living rooms of houses that were transitioning to televised entertainment.
In terms of preceding practices in the living room, entertainment had yet to reach into a technological sphere. Radio was the introductory burst of electronic entertainment into the average household. The technological novelty of radio was, at the time, the reason behind its attention-drawing appeal and dominant addition to the household of families all around.
Works Cited
PBS. “Radio In The 1930s”. Investigations Feature. Public Broadcasting Service. n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/radio-in-the-1930s/>.
1920’s Trends (Radio). “The growth of radio in the 1920’s”. Mortal Journey. 8 Apr. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2015. <http://www.mortaljourney.com/2011/04/1920-trends/radio-history>.
Adams, Mike. “100 Years of Radio.” California Historical Radio Society. n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2015. <http://www.californiahistoricalradio.com/radio-history/100years/>.
PBS: A private, nonprofit broadcast television distributor corporation, founded in 1969, whose members are America’s public TV stations -- noncommercial, educational licensees
Mortal Journey: Provides an extensive history of fads and trends from the 1800’s through modern day, to research, in depth, the latest trends and fads.
Mike Adams: Board Chairman of the California Historical Radio Society. Professor Adams has authored numerous articles for historical radio journals and periodicals as well as two books on radio and television production, the biography Charles Herrold, Inventor of Radio Broadcasting. He also has produced an EMMY-nominated video series for PBS called Radio Collector.