The Golden Age of Radio is typically dated to which period?

• A. 1950s to 1970s
• B. Early 1920s to 1950s
• C. Late 1970s to 1990s
• D. 1890s to 1910s

Answer: (B)

Radio’s Golden Age is the period when it was the primary mass medium for entertainment and information, delivering high-quality, live programming that drew nationwide audiences. It gets going in the early 1920s with the rise of commercial broadcasting and the formation of networks, and it peaks through the 1930s and 1940s with popular programs, stars, and news, before television rises to dominance in the late 1950s. That combination—beginnings in the early 1920s, lasting through the 1940s, and ending as TV takes over in the late 1950s—fits best. The other ranges either come too late, too early, or miss the shift to television that signals the end of this era.