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The 20th Century
The early 1900s were an era of development for media formats like film, television, and radio (Hanson 2022). While the last century's inventions were foundational for media businesses and growth, the 1900s media era used these foundations to skyrocket through the following decades.
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First Public Radio Broadcast
The first public radio broadcast came from Massachusetts, and included Reginald A. Fessenden playing violin and reading Bible passages (Industrial Industries World Radio 2022).
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First Issue of TIME Magazine
The first ever issue of TIME magazine was published in 1923, with former House speaker Joseph G. Cannon on the cover (Time 2015). This magazine opened a path for more news and specialty magazines through the century. -
Electronic Television
Philo Taylor Farnsworth created the first electronic television display, making televisions worthwhile and accessible to more American households as the century progressed. -
In-Car Radios
The Galvin Manufacturing Corporation created the first in-car radios, allowing drivers to listen to music and news on the go (Berkowitz 2010). This development added more air time to an average consumer's day, allowing their commute to be filled with entertainment and valuable advertising time slots. -
Media and WWII
During the war years of the 1940s, the FCC forbade the creation of any new radio or television stations, which slowed the expansion of media businesses through this decade (The University of Kansas, 2022).
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Advertisements of the 1950s
Following the Baby Boom of the 1950s, advertisers began targeting women. These advertisements addressed their interests in things like weight loss products and household essentials (Mascola 2013). -
Television and Hollywood
In the late 50s, Hollywood studios like MGM, Paramount, and Fox, were struggling to compete with television networks. As televisions became more common in American households, more people began to stay home rather than visiting their local theater (DFC 2023).
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Disney and Media Expansion
In the 1950s, Disney was reaching new levels of success following the popularity of films like Snow White in the previous decade. By the 50s, Disney began producing live action feature films and opened their first theme park, Disneyland (CBS 2021).
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The Birth of Nightly News
In 1963, CBS and NBC began airing nightly half hour news segments, with other networks doing the same in the following years. This allowed national audiences to count on a consistent news source (Hanson 2022). -
First Computer Connection
In 1969, Leonard Kleinrock was the first person to use packet-switching technology to send a message from a computer at UCLA to one in Stanford (NSMM 2012).
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Mobile Phones
Though they would not become household items for a long time, cell phones were first created in 1973 by Martin Cooper for Motorola, expanding the, at the time, relatively small business into the range of competitors like AT&T (Korn 2023). -
The First Website
In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee created the first website, containing information about the World Wide Web project (Fischels 2021). -
Facebook and Modern Social Networking
In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, one of the most controversial and influential media sites ever. The controversies Facebook encountered paved the way for newer platforms, and changed the landscape of online social communication (Hanson 2022). -
2010s to Now: Advertising Revolution
In the 2010s, the rise of social media and new media formats represented a new layer or opportunity to the business of advertisers. With guidance from the FTC and BBB, advertisers navigated the changing landscape of online marketing (Armstrong, 2021).