CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
Radio waves were harnessed to send the first transatlantic wireless transmission in 1901, revolutionizing communication throughout the world. Some entrepreneurs saw a future for widely transmitting voice and music over radio, and by the 1910s amateurs were broadcasting music and other entertainment. The first commercial radio station in the United States began broadcasting out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1920, and hundreds of radio stations were quickly established across the country. More than 400,000 households owned radio sets by 1923 and the medium had become a national phenomenon. Radio brought the world into the homes of ordinary people, exposing them to new cultures and forms of entertainment. For the first time people could listen to sports events, political speeches, sermons, music, or other entertainments without leaving home. Some people believed that radio would be beneficial for educational purposes, such as reading children's books or giving classroom lectures over the air. Some states provided educational programming that was broadcast in classrooms during the school day. In Virginia, students at Ruffner Junior High School in Norfolk helped build and operate a short-lived station, WBBW, between 1924 and 1928.
Virginia's first commercial radio station, WTAR in Norfolk, went on the air in 1923. It was followed by WDBJ in Roanoke in 1924. Virginia's third radio station was WRVA, located in Richmond. It made its first broadcast on November 2, 1925, from a studio in the Edgeworth Tobacco factory. Owned by the Larus & Brother Company, the station initially operated as a community service without commercial revenue and broadcast only two nights a week. WRVA became the largest radio station in the state, and by 1929 operated a 5,000-watt transmitter and broadcast all day, seven days a week. As an affiliate of NBC and later CBS, WRVA placed considerable emphasis on the state's regional culture, sporting events, and special local programming coverage.
The Wireless Age was a monthly illustrated magazine published between 1913 and 1925 that focused on radio communication.
Citation: Wireless Age; An Illustrated Monthly Magazine of Radio Communication, Sept. 1924 (New York: Wireless Press) Serial TK5700.W4. Library of Virginia.
Virginia's first commercial radio station, WTAR in Norfolk, went on the air in 1923. It was followed by WDBJ in Roanoke in 1924. Virginia's third radio station was WRVA, located in Richmond. It made its first broadcast on November 2, 1925, from a studio in the Edgeworth Tobacco factory. Owned by the Larus & Brother Company, the station initially operated as a community service without commercial revenue and broadcast only two nights a week. WRVA became the largest radio station in the state, and by 1929 operated a 5,000-watt transmitter and broadcast all day, seven days a week. As an affiliate of NBC and later CBS, WRVA placed considerable emphasis on the state's regional culture, sporting events, and special local programming coverage.
The Wireless Age was a monthly illustrated magazine published between 1913 and 1925 that focused on radio communication.
Citation: Wireless Age; An Illustrated Monthly Magazine of Radio Communication, Sept. 1924 (New York: Wireless Press) Serial TK5700.W4. Library of Virginia.
Standards
Social Studies: USII.3, USII.4, USII.5, CE.9, VUS.8
Art: 4.1, 4.3, 5.1, 5.3
Art: 4.1, 4.3, 5.1, 5.3
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the image. What is happening in the image?
Post Activites
STEM STAT: What did the phrase "wireless age" mean in 1924 versus today? Did technology make the world bigger or smaller in the early twentieth century? Consider the difference in communications depicted in the image versus communications today.
Artistic Exploration: Create an advertisement (print or voice) selling radios to the general public in 1924. What features might you emphasize? To whom would you market the radio?
Think About It: Radio was new technology in the 1920s and some people were eager to use it in classrooms to make lessons more interesting for students. Think about the technology used in classrooms today. How does it help or hinder learning in the classroom?
Look at It: Look at the image. What is happening in the image?
Post Activites
STEM STAT: What did the phrase "wireless age" mean in 1924 versus today? Did technology make the world bigger or smaller in the early twentieth century? Consider the difference in communications depicted in the image versus communications today.
Artistic Exploration: Create an advertisement (print or voice) selling radios to the general public in 1924. What features might you emphasize? To whom would you market the radio?
Think About It: Radio was new technology in the 1920s and some people were eager to use it in classrooms to make lessons more interesting for students. Think about the technology used in classrooms today. How does it help or hinder learning in the classroom?