The Radio in the 1930s

In the 1930s, president Roosevelt changed the main communication tool to be the radio. At the time, it was a very new concept and people were not quite sure about what it was or how it worked. The first licensed radio came out in Pittsburg, and in 1920, it began to take off. Initially, nobody owned a radio, but on election night that year, people decided to tune in on the radio instead of having to wait for the news on the newspaper. The radio was a more direct, and faster way to become knowledgable about current issues and news. By the year 1930, almost half of American houses had a radio, and by the end of the 30s, about 80% of families owned a radio. Soon, the radio would expand to become something beyond just news. Sports events and music began to utilize the radio, and it soon developed a social aspect to it. People would gather around the radio with friends and family to take part in big sports events like the world series and listen to big things happening locally. However, the popularity of the radio went down dramatically when the internet came out in the 20th century. Overall, the radio was a huge social tie in America in the 1930s, and it served many purposes.