Radio and Television.

Although both radio and television are geared more to entertaining than to informing, they have become increasingly concerned with the news. Certain radio stations are devoted entirely to news and opinion, with spot announcements, editorials, and in-depth reports.

There is no national radio station in the United States, but every large city has dozens of independent stations, which range from twenty four hours a day news to rock and classical music.

The first commercial radio station took to the airwaves in 1920.

The earliest entertainers performed free, grateful for the publicity; the manufacturers of radio equipment paid for most programming. Then the idea of financing programs with advertising began to emerge and soon proved profitable beyond the wildest dreams: by 1929 the Ford Motor Company was paying $1000 a minute for prime time (the popular evening time), and the price was climbing.

The National Broadcasting Company started experimental television broadcasts in New York City in 1930, but it was not after the World War II that television truly developed.

The first publicly available sets had round screens ranging in size from 5 to 9 inches, and viewers had to sit up close to see. The first commercial TV appeared in the summer of 1941.

In 1946 there were 6 television stations in the United States; in 1973 there were 927 and now there are about 1000 commercial television stations. More than 600 of these are connected with the big private national television networks: ABC, NBC and CBS, which show their programs at the same time throughout the nation during prime time (the hours in which most people watch television, usually 7.30 p.m. to 11 p.m.) The rest are either independent or in smaller networks. An increasing number of Americans also subscribe to cable television stations.

Public television, funded by government grants and public donations, doesn’t only provide a select mixture of entertainment and information. Thanks to such programmes as “Sesame Street” and “Electric Company”, it has also helped to teach a whole generation to read.

Unlike newspapers and magazines, however, radio and television stations in the United States act under the implied restrictions of a Government license, granted by Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Sports.

Baseball wasn’t so popular until 1840s and for many years was widely regarded as a game for the idle rich. The Civil War helped to democratize the game, as Union Army recruits took to baseball and taught it to fellow soldiers and to their captors in prison camps in the South. Soon after the war the first professional clubs were formed, and thereafter baseball occupied an unchallenged position as the Nation’s No. 1 sport until the late 1940s. The rules of the present game were made up by Alexander Joy Cartwright in 1845. It was no easy task, because different versions of the game were played in different states. When the first modern game of baseball was played in 1846 Alexander Joy Cartwright acted as the game’s umpire and once fined one of the players for swearing. The fine amounted to 6 cents.

Football at the beginning of the 20^th century was essentially a college game and even then was criticized for its brutality. Boxing developed slowly, hampered by legal bans and public disapproval. Golf and tennis were dismissed as recreations for wealthy. Eventually, all these sports attained great popularity.

Bicycling became the rage in the 1890s, but interest diminished as the automobile appeared.

After World War II there were great opportunities for the enjoyment of leisure. Shorter workweeks, higher pay and longer vacations encouraged travel and sightseeing. A growing interest in physical fitness sent people into the open air. They learned to play golf, tennis, handball and volleyball and others. When they were not out on the roads, beaches or playing fields, they crowded into baseball parks, football stadiums, basketball and hockey arenas, racetracks as spectators and millions sat before their TV sets to watch highly paid athletic superstars perform.

Of all major sports played in the United States, the only purely inborn game is basketball. It was invented in 1891 by Canadian-born James Naismith, who taught physical education in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the International Training School (now Springfield College). Using a soccer ball and two peach baskets, he designed an indoor, no-contact sport to keep his students in form during the winter and to fill the winter gap between the football season in autumn and baseball in spring.

By 1939 the rules of basketball was printed in as many as 30 languages, and the game was played in more than 75 countries. The game was also made an official part of Olympic competition in 1936, in Germany, when basketball teams from 22 countries participated.

Check yourself

1. When did the American Colonies’ first newspaper appear?

2. Is there no national radio station in the United States?

3. Who invented basketball?