August 20 is National Radio Day!
August 20
An event every year that begins at 12:00 am on day 20 of August, repeating indefinitely
August 20 is National Radio Day!
In the United States, entertainment radio broadcasting first began in the 1910s and the first commercial radio station was established in 1920 in Detroit, Michigan. From then on, radio skyrocketed in popularity, with its “Golden Age” occurring from roughly the late ‘20s through the early ‘50s.
Though podcasts and audio streaming services have captured many ears in the past decade, there were still over 15,000 (!) commercial radio stations in the U.S. as of 2020. According to Pew Research, 82% of Americans age 12+ listen to the radio at least once a week.
Did you know? The word “broadcasting” was borrowed from farming terminology. Long before radio stations broadcast, the wide scattering of seeds while sowing was known as broadcasting.
The Brox Sisters tuning a radio, Bain News Service, mid 1920s
-Written by Anna Zemaitaitis, Communications and Design Officer
