Published August 31, 2010

That's what we call a "good get." (Boston University Photography)

In this, WBUR’s 60th year, Aug. 31 marks the 90th anniversary of what is believed to be the first radio newscast, Wired reports:

The exact headlines of that day are of no historical significance, but with this local newscast a nascent medium finally conveys a message so compelling that it would soon capture the world’s imagination as only television and the internet would, many, many years later.

It’s an interesting read about the slow ascendancy of the medium. Newspapers were terrified of broadcast news at that time; many decades later, the killer medium would turn out to be the Internet.

Meanwhile, large public radio stations like WBUR are thriving in the United States today.

Some people declare radio dead or dying. Northeastern media blogger Dan Kennedy recently argued:

The only reason radio is still hanging on is that the ubiquitous, wireless Internet hasn’t come to your car yet.

Terrestrial (AM/FM) radio might have its physical limits, but the medium of radio is going nowhere. Listening data show us that satellite radio and podcasts have barely cut into overall FM listening. And on the Web, online streaming remains WBUR’s single most valuable asset.

Radio is the ultimate multitasking medium. What else can you take cooking, running, driving? What medium is more intimate, more immediate?