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Presidential Election Broadcast
Pittsburg's KDKA broadcasted live returns from the presidential election race between Warren Harding and James Cox, marking the world's first commercial radio broadcast. Owned by Westinghouse Corporation, the broadcast lasted 18 hours, reaching an estimated 1,000 listeners. Although it only reached 1,000, it revolutionized news delivery in real time, replacing printed newspapers with online news.(Milewski) -
The Queen's Messenger
In 1929, American scientist Vladimir Zworykin demonstrated the first practical electronic system for transmitting and receiving images in the broadcast of television's first drama, The Queen's Messenger. (American Experience, PBS) -
First Television Commercial
In 1941, NBC's WNBT station promoted a Bulova watch, marking the first ever television advertisement. The commercial said "America runs on Bulova time." The first television commercial ran for 10 seconds, broadcasted before a baseball game. (“The Golden Age of TV - the History of Television”) -
Attack on Pearl Habor
Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, causing a real-time battle and severe bombing. The call was cut off after two minutes, but the reporter was transmitting the only live broadcast of the surprise attack in the nation. With 45 million radios in the U.S. at the time of the WWII air assault, millions around the U.S. heard the news in real time that the war had arrived on American shores.(Milewski) -
Color Television
RCA developed the first complete electronic color TV system, which was adopted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission as its National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard, which remains in use today.(SRI International)