HISTORY OF RADIO
- Marconi pioneered in radio broadcasting in 1896 with the invention of first wireless telegraph link. He made the first successful demonstration of the transmission of telegraph messages across the Atlantic Ocean, in 1901, without connecting wires as used by the electric telegraph.
- His company’s Marconi radios ended the isolation of ocean travel and saved hundreds of lives, including all of the surviving passengers from the sinking Titanic.
- A \”telegraph\” is a device for transmitting and receiving electrical signals or, messages over long distance, trough dedicated telecommunication wires.
- 1908 – Another successful radio demonstration took place from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
- 1916 – A New York Station transmitted the first radio news bulletin on the occasion of the election of US President.
- 1927 – Broadcasting services started as a major medium of information.
HISTORY OF RADIO BROADCASTING IN INDIA
- Broadcasting began in India with a private radio service in Madras in 1924.
- British colonial government granted a license to a private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company, to open Radio stations in Bombay and Calcutta in 1924.
- The Indian Broadcasting Company went bankrupt in 1930 but the colonial government took over and started operating them as the Indian State Broadcasting Corporation.
- In 1936, the Corporation was renamed All India Radio (AIR) and placed under the Department of Labor and Industries. A radio station was commissioned in Delhi in the same year.
- On 1 October 1939 the external broadcast service begun by the British government to counter the propaganda of the Nazis directed at the Afghan people. The first broadcasts were in Pushto, to Afghanistan. Programmes of the External Services Division are broadcast in 11 Indian and 16 foreign languages reaching out to more than 100 countries.
DEVELOPMENT OF RADIO AFTER INDEPENDENCE
- When India became independent in 1947, AIR was made a separate Department under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
- In 1947, the AIR network had only six stations in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Lucknow and Tiruchirappalli
- On 3 October 1957 the Vividh Bharati, the Commercial Broadcasting Service was launched
- Vividh Bharati offers a wide range of programmes including news, film music and comedy programs. It operates on different medium wave band frequencies for each city
- Television broadcasts started from Delhi in September 1959 as part of All India Radio\’s services
- Television services were separated from radio on 1 April 1976
- FM broadcasting began on 23 July 1977 in Madras
- The entire Akashvani network consisting of 277 stations and 432 broadcast transmitters (148 MW, 236 FM and 48 SW, as on 31.03.2012)