Broadcasting - New World Encyclopedia

Broadcasting - New World Encyclopedia Broadcasting From New World Encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search Previous (Brittle star) Next (Broccoli) Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals (programs) to a number of recipients ("listeners" or "viewers") that belong to a large group. This group may be the public in general, or a relatively large audience within the public. Thus, an Internet channel may distribute text or music worldwide, while a public address system in a workplace may broadcast very limited ad hoc "soundbites" to a small population within its range. Broadcasting may involve auditory information only, as in radio , or visual, or a combination, as in television . As technology has advanced, so too have the forms of broadcasting. Historically, the term broadcasting usually has referred to the radio and television industries. Broadcasting was previously synonymous with "over the air" broadcasts, where the radio frequency spectrum is limited and thus regulated; but with the advent of direct (satellite) radio broadcasting and especially cable television, channels (and programming variety) are far more numerous (digital cable television can support hundreds of different channels) and are subscriber-based. The concept and ability of broadcasting to convey the same information, whether announcements of current events, educational material or simply entertainment, to a worldwide audience simultaneously, is a great advance in allowing humankind to overcome long-standing barriers. Contents 1 Introduction to broadcasting 2 History of broadcasting 2.1 Broadcasting around the world 2.1.1 United States 2.1.2 Britain 2.1.3 Germany 2.1.4 Sri Lanka 2.2 The 1950s and 1960s 2.3 The 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s 2.4 The 2000s 3 Distribution methods 4 Recorded versus live broadcasting 5 Business models of broadcasting 6 Broadcasting as art 7 The broadcast audience 8 Broadcasting ethics 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links 12 Credits Introduction to broadcasting The term broadcast was coined by early radio engineers from the mid-western United States to distinguish electronic transmissions that are intended for general public reception, as distinguished from private signals that are directed to specific receivers. Broadcasting forms a very large segment of the mass media . Television and radio programs are distributed through radio broadcasting or cable, often both simultaneously. By coding signals and having decoding equipment in homes, cable also enables subscription-based channels and pay-per-view services. A broadcasting organization may broadcast several programs at the same time, through several channels (frequencies); for example, the BBC broadcasts BBC One and BBC Two. On the other hand, two or more organizations may share a channel and each use it during a fixed part of the day. Digital radio and digital television may also transmit multiplexed programming, with several channels compressed into one ensemble. When broadcasting is done via the Internet , the term "webcasting" is often used. History of broadcasting Defining exactly when broadcasting first began is difficult. Very early radio transmissions only carried the dots and dashes of wireless telegraphy . Broadcasting in its familiar sense, sending signals to inform and entertain large numbers of people, began in the early twentieth century. Countries in which notable advances were made in the early decades of the twentieth century include the United States , Britain , Germany , and Sri Lanka . Broadcasting around the world United States One of the first signals of significant power that carried voice and music was accomplished, in 1906, by Reginald Fessenden when he made a Christmas Eve broadcast to ships at sea from Massachusetts . He played "O Holy Night" on his violin and read passages from the Bible. However, his financial backers lost interest in the project, leaving others to take the next steps. Early on, the concept of broadcasting was new and unusual—with telegraphs, communication had been one-to-one, not one-to-many. Sending out one-way messages to multiple receivers did not appear to have much practical use. Charles Herrold of California sent out broadcasts as early as April 1909 from his Herrold School electronics institute in downtown San Jose, using the identification San Jose Calling, and then a variety of different "call signs" as the Department of Commerce first began to regulate radio . The son of a farmer who patented a seed spreader, Herrold coined the terms "broadcasting" and "narrowcasting," based on the ideas of spreading crop seed far and wide, rather than only in rows. While Herrold never claimed the invention of radio itself, he did claim the invention of broadcasting to a wide audience, through the use of antennas designed to radiate signals in all directions. By 1912, the United States government began requiring radio operators to obtain licenses to send out signals. Herrold received licenses for 6XF and 6XE (a mobile transmitter) and had been on the air daily for nearly a decade when World War I interrupted operations. A few organizations were allowed to keep working on radio during the war. The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was the most well-known of these. Frank Conrad, a Westinghouse engineer, had been making transmissions from 8XK since 1916, that included music programming. Following the war, Herrold and other radio pioneers across the country resumed transmissions. The early stations gained new call signs. Conrad's 8XK became KDKA in 1920. Herrold received a license for KQW in 1921, later to become KCBS a CBS -owned station in San Francisco. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) began regular broadcasting in 1926, with telephone links between New York City and other eastern cities. NBC became the dominant radio network, splitting into Red and Blue networks. The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) began in 1927, under the guidance of William S. Paley . Several independent stations formed the Mutual Broadcasting System to exchange syndicated programming. A Federal Communications Commission decision in 1939 required NBC to divest itself of its "Blue Network." That decision was sustained by the Supreme Court in a 1943 decision, National Broadcasting Co. v. United States, which established the framework that the "scarcity" of radio-frequency meant that broadcasting was subject to greater regulation than other media. This Blue Network became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Around 1946, ABC, NBC, and CBS began regular television broadcasts. Another network, the DuMont Television Network, founded earlier, was disbanded in 1956. Britain The first experimental broadcasts, from Marconi's factory in Chelmsford, England , began in 1920. Two years later, a consortium of radio manufacturers formed the British Broadcasting Company, later becoming the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a non-commercial organization. Lord John Reith took a formative role in developing the BBC, especially in radio. Working as its first general manager, he promoted the philosophy of "public service broadcasting," firmly grounded in the moral benefits of education and of uplifting entertainment , eschewing commercial influence, and maintaining a maximum of independence from political control. Commercial stations such as Radio Normandie and Radio Luxembourg broadcast into the UK from European countries, providing a very popular alternative to the rather austere BBC. These stations were closed during World War II , and only Radio Luxembourg returned afterward. BBC television broadcasts in Britain began on November 2, 1936, and have continued with the exception of wartime conditions from 1939 to 1945. Germany Before the Nazi assumption of power in 1933, German radio broadcasting was supervised by the Post Office. A listening fee for each receiver paid most subsidies. Immediately following Hitler's assumption of power, Joseph Goebbels became head of the Ministry for Propaganda and Public Enlightenment. Non-Nazis were removed from broadcasting and editorial positions. Jews were fired from all positions. German broadcasting began to decline in popularity as the theme of Kampfzeit was continually played. Germany was easily served by a number of European medium wave stations, including the BBC and domestic stations in France , Denmark , Sweden , and Poland . It became illegal for Germans, with the exception of foreign correspondents and key officials, to listen to foreign broadcasts. During the war, German stations broadcast not only war propaganda and entertainment for German forces dispersed throughout Europe and the Atlantic , but also provided air raid alerts. Germany experimented with television broadcasting before the Second World War . German propaganda claimed their system was superior to the British scanning system, but this was disputed by persons who saw the broadcasts. Sri Lanka Sri Lanka has the oldest radio station in Asia. The station, originally known as Radio Ceylon, developed into one of the finest broadcasting institutions in the world. It is now known as the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Sri Lanka created broadcasting history in Asia in 1923, when broadcasting was started in Ceylon by the Telegraph Department on an experimental footing, just three years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe. Gramophone music was broadcast from a tiny room in the Central Telegraph Office with the aid of a small transmitter built by the Telegraph Department engineers from the radio equipment of a captured German submarine . Edward Harper, dubbed "the father of broadcasting in Ceylon," launched the first experimental broadcast as well as founding the Ceylon Wireless Club together with British and Ceylonese radio enthusiasts. This broadcasting experiment was a huge success and barely three years later, on December 16, 1925, a regular broadcasting service was instituted. The 1950s and 1960s In the 1950s, televis