Audience demand for radio

Over the decades, radio has been shaped based on what the audience wants to hear.

Like in any form of media, the audience has the overall effect on what is put out in the world. If the audience is not happy with what is broadcasted, the rating of a particular media will drop drastically and the media will lose money. Therefore, the media must listen to the audiences demands and use that feedback to put out what people will tune into everyday. And in this way, the media is shaped over time to meet the growing demands of consumers.

In radio, the audiences demands of the 1920's drastically changed what the radio would broadcast. Standardized program formats were made and had daily/weekly schedules to attract the audience. This was the birth of radio shows which would eventually lead to television. Also, because of audience demands, the radio shows brought about radio stars that people would idolize and want to be. And because of these programs on the radio, advertising was able to come around to fund the radio. As quoted in the book, "In the 1920s, regulators and the radio industry worried that audiences would reject radio if it carried too much advertising. However, people were so enthusiastic about the new medium that they accepted the ads without much objection."(Media Now, Pg. 162)  So, because of audience demand, the radio was able to form in the 1920's and come to prosper through the decades to come.