Encyclopedia of Black Radio in the United States, 1921‐1955

Prior to the introduction of commercial television mid‐twentieth century, radio was the medium that ruled the airwaves. According to Richard Butsch in his book The Making of American Audiences (Butsch, 2000) radio sales saturated the consumer market to the point that by the end of the 1930s 80 percent of American homes had a receiver (p. 206). Butsch writes that during the Great Depression: “Destitute families who had to sell their radio described the loss as a considerable hardship” (p. 198). Butsch goes on to discuss the intense and personal relationship that the radio listener forged with the...