History

• According to University of Tennesee professor Marvin Bensman, formal broadcasting began on November 2, 1920, when KDKA Pittsburgh broadcast the Harding/Cox presidential election returns and began a daily programming schedule. In the early '20s, broadcasting was still in the experimental phase, but throughout the decade, commercial radio gained prominence and stations joined forces to create networks. Broadcasters developed new kinds of equipment and programming to attract listeners, and radios were staples of American living rooms during the '30s and '40s until TV took over.
  
  

Significance

• Broadcast historian Donna Halper wrote that radio was a means of escape, companionship and entertainment during the Great Depression when money was scarce. Radio also brought news from Europe and the South Pacific to the homefront and entertained servicemen fighting in World War II.
  
  

Programming

• Popular Old Time Radio genres and programs included comedies such as "Amos 'n Andy," dramas such as "Gang Busters" and westerns such as "The Lone Ranger." Big bands of the day such as those led by Glenn Miller and Harry James also made radio appearances.