# Radio **Radio** transmits sound by electromagnetic waves. Guglielmo Marconi reported the first transatlantic signal in 1901; KDKA's broadcast of the November 2, 1920 election returns is usually counted as the start of commercial broadcasting. Because the spectrum was scarce, the [[Radio Act of 1927]] and the [[Communications Act of 1934]] licensed broadcasters to serve the "public interest, convenience, or necessity," the legal basis later used for the [[Fairness Doctrine]]. Radio was the first electronic mass medium of politics, used by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s fireside chats, [[Father Charles Coughlin]], and [[Joseph Goebbels]]. Edwin Armstrong's FM (patented 1933) passed AM in total U.S. listeners in 1978. As music moved to FM, AM turned to talk, which after the 1987 [[Fairness Doctrine Repeal]] became the home of [[Talk Radio]] and [[Rush Limbaugh]]. > [!note] Stub > Minimum-viable page created to support the [[Media Timeline]]. Expand with the technology's development, its owners, and its political uses. ## See also - [[Media Timeline]] - [[Talk Radio]] - [[Fairness Doctrine]] - [[FCC]] - [[Television]]