Maturing or Dying?: Popular Narratives on Radio and Online Audio Delivery

This study examines the history of radio both at the moment of its introduction and as it was discussed in light of new technological advancements, most notably podcasting and webcasting. Media histories often focus the moment of introduction, a moment when there is great excitement and great expectations for a particular medium. With so much focus on the early adoption of a medium, the history of that medium as it matures and as new technologies are introduced is frequently lost. This study looks to expand that history, examining popular narratives of radio first at the moment of terrestrial radio’s introduction and then again as webcasting and podcasting were introduced. In examining the popular press coverage on radio during these three time periods, the redundancies and exaggerations present in early narratives on new media become clear. However, there are ways in which discussions of web-based audio delivery diverge from the stories first told about terrestrial radio, and these are identified here as well. I argue here that media histories need to treat new and old media as interconnected matrices of communication activity rather than as independent, fixed technologies. Given the flexibility of our media systems, it is important to revisit these histories often. This study is one step in that process.