Prodded by the US Navy, the General Electric Company bought out Marconi Wireless’s US subsidiary and formed a new corporation along with other US companies that owned useful radio patents, including Westinghouse Electric and American Telephone and Telegraph. The new corporation was dubbed the Radio Corporation of America, and universally known by its initials: RCA.
The complex RCA deal took two years to complete, from 1919 to 1921. In 1919, RCA’s mission was seen to be wireless communication. But in 1920 Westinghouse, on its own, first demonstrated that there was a consumer market for radio receivers, provided customers had radio broadcasts to listen to. By 1921, when the RCA merger was complete, the mission of the company had completely changed. Radio was the new craze. But with so much money up for grabs, everyone wanted a piece of the action.
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From RF Media and the Texas Radio Theatre Company, used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.
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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
Thanks very much Mark. I have now caught up from the beginning and am now up to date, having learned a great deal. Your objectivity is really appreciated – I particularly liked the discussion of the famine in the USSR – where my wife’s ancestors were affected in southern Russia. A horrible tragedy for all of Imperial Russia’s grain basket but which now is being cast by Ukrainians as an attack on them by Russia. This is one of many myths where the study of history can educate modern society (keeping in mind that one should understand the background and objectivity of any author).
Regards,
Duncan