The advance of mass communication is natural in a technologically advanced society. In our country's short history, we have seen the development of the printing press, the radio, the television, and now the Internet, all of these, able to reach millions of people. .
The Introduction to radio caused many changes for the mass media world; radio was faster then the newspaper and could add more up to date news by the hour instead of by the day. Radio also added better, if not live, foreign news coverage. It was both straight and private, talking directly to people in their homes across the country.
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The radio was invented by accident, unlike the newspaper that was born out of need of information. Nobody envisioned it as the next great medium. It was actually for quite a while the favorite mission of the technically-inclined, who were experimenting with sound and distance.
While the penny press was expanding it's boundaries in Canada the telegraph and telephone was starting to capture a hold of the American population. .
Ships at sea and the military used the radio as a great escape to there long days of silence. They would also use the radio to communicate with ships and overseas soldiers, to intercept enemy messages during the First World War. The radio stations suspended their shows and activities during World War One, as the radio industry was taken over by the government. Radio in the U.S. had become a government monopoly, reserved for the war effort. Amateur radio operators were particularly hit hard by the restrictions. .
The importance of radio to the military was immediately noticeable. In August, 1914, the Belgians had to completely destroy a major international communications station located near Brussels, in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the advancing German army. Immediately following World War One, the Navy Department attempted to gain a complete government control over all radio communication.
