Wireless and television broadcasting helped to create a sense of a more equal society. They also created a sense of shared experience, uniting whole sections of national populations. The General Strike of 1926 saw newspapers off the streets and wireless the only source of news.
The Second World War was the first global conflict to be broadcast, with populations following the course of the war via their radio sets. Propaganda became a weapon of war, fighting to maintain the morale of one's own population - whilst undermining that of the enemy. Later still, television news created dramatic moments in time that were shared by millions.
Over two nights in January 1910, the American pioneer Lee de Forest arranged what is claimed by some as the world's first radio broadcast to the public, a performance of Puccini's Tosca directly from the Metropolitan Opera to several listeners in New York. He used two microphones and a 500-watt transmitter.
Few possessed the wireless receivers to hear the transmission. Fewer still could make out what was going on, because the sound quality was so poor. Nevertheless, it was an early indication of radio's potential as an entertainment medium.
