Radio and Television.

Although both radio and television are geared more to entertaining than to informing, they have become increasingly concerned with the news. Certain radio stations are devoted entirely to news and opinion, with spot announcements, editorials, and in-depth reports.

There is no national radio station in the United States, but every large city has dozens of independent stations, which range from twenty four hours a day news to rock and classical music.

The first commercial radio station took to the airwaves in 1920.

The earliest entertainers performed free, grateful for the publicity; the manufacturers of radio equipment paid for most programming. Then the idea of financing programs with advertising began to emerge and soon proved profitable beyond the wildest dreams: by 1929 the Ford Motor Company was paying $1000 a minute for prime time (the popular evening time), and the price was climbing.

The National Broadcasting Company started experimental television broadcasts in New York City in 1930, but it was not after the World War II that television truly developed.

The first publicly available sets had round screens ranging in size from 5 to 9 inches, and viewers had to sit up close to see. The first commercial TV appeared in the summer of 1941.

In 1946 there were 6 television stations in the United States; in 1973 there were 927 and now there are about 1000 commercial television stations. More than 600 of these are connected with the big private national television networks: ABC, NBC and CBS, which show their programs at the same time throughout the nation during prime time (the hours in which most people watch television, usually 7.30 p.m. to 11 p.m.) The rest are either independent or in smaller networks. An increasing number of Americans also subscribe to cable television stations.

Public television, funded by government grants and public donations, doesn’t only provide a select mixture of entertainment and information. Thanks to such programmes as “Sesame Street” and “Electric Company”, it has also helped to teach a whole generation to read.

Unlike newspapers and magazines, however, radio and television stations in the United States act under the implied restrictions of a Government license, granted by Federal Communications Commission (FCC).