by
Patrick Riley
Radio and the 21st Century. On first glance, words that seem out of place with each other and to the distant observer...are. The 21st Century holds many technological wonders and surprises for those involved with broadcasting. Think about it...a mere one hundred years ago, radio was literally something that seemed magical (telling someone at that time that voices could travel miles without wires and be heard in little boxes was laughable) and at the same time, flying in the skies and eventually to the Moon didn�t just seem magical, but downright impossible. One hundred years ago...not that long ago when you think about it. One hundred years ago at this time, no talkies (motion pictures), no interstate highways, no planes canvassing the skies, and households in America did not know what radio was, for it would not even be experimented with until 1906, and would not come into commercial success until the fall of 1920 with KDKA Pittsburgh. By the end of 1921 there were 30 stations in operation. So quickly did radio catch on that less than a year later there were more than 500 licensed stations. Times changed quickly and radio adapted without missing a heartbeat. The Golden Age of Radio was upon America, and to prove the true power radio could have, a young visionary harnessed the �The Theater of The Mind� and convinced a nation that they were truly being attacked by Martians on October 30, 1938 (note: this happened in a time period when man was flying the skies, and movies had sound for years...radio had power). That was the power of �The Theater of The Mind�...the one thing nothing can take away from radio is that power....that intimacy,
and if cultivated and harnessed can continue to be successful well into the 21st Century. You might scoff and think that radio has lost it�s magic and it is no more than a utility, a electronic box of pabulum that society has forgotten about or cares little about...well you are partially right. Unfortunately there are countess radio stations that do little more than exist and occupy space on the dial. But, radio still can have that magic, can still touch souls, can still use �The Theater of The Mind�. To prove this point, we have seen Radio�s quick response and community involvement when it comes to the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Hurricane Katrina tragedies.
