Edison and Marconi, take a bow!

Thank you Mr Edison. Thank you Mr Marconi. These two men laid the foundation for the technology which today gives millions information, education and entertainment.

Edison invented the phonograph in 1877. Twenty two years later Marconi broadcast from America. Both men probably would have believed a visitor from the future who regaled them with tales of where their inventions led. After all, they were that most valuable of world citizens, people with creative imaginations and great ability, and would no doubt have been quite at home in Broadcasting House, the London home of the BBC.

Last year the loss of Radio 7 from the BBC network and the transference of BBC radio spoken word entertainment to Radio 4 Extra marked a downturn in the quality and variety of radio comedy and drama being broadcast across the world, at least in this listener’s opinion. However the BBC still leads the world in the quality of its programming, and I continue as one of Radio 4 Extra’s 949,000 listeners, and continue to pay the download cost to listen to it, even now back in Australia, the land of the costly download.

A long-time devotee of the audio book and advertisementless radio, I expanded my range of audio material during an extended stay in Australia in the late 1990’s. This period, in retrospect, seemed to involve a lot of driving long distances in rain at night and introduced me to the ABC’s podcasts and to their excellent late night programming.

Since then the internet has provided radio audiences with a wonderful choice in radio listening. As well as Australia’s ABC and the BBC, there is NPR in America, the original home of A Prairie Home Companion, re-broadcast on both BBC and ABC as Garrison Keilor’s Radio Show. The segment, News from Lake Woebegone, reminds me of news from so many towns I've lived in, albeit tropical versions. 

The website of rfi in France is well worth checking out. SBS in Australia promises great stuff, but has one of the most confusing websites of any radio station in the world. However it is also worth a look and listen.

Below are links to all the radio stations mentioned. If you can’t find anything worth listening to, visit your local library and borrow an audio book, or download one from any reputable online retailer, and give an occasional thought to Edison and Marconi.

Claire Wood
Thursday, 12 April, 2012
http://InTheAtmosphere.blogspot.com
Email:  InTheAtmosphere@gmail.com


National Public Radio, United States:  http://www.npr.org/

BBC United Kingdom:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/


ABC Australia:  http://www.abc.net.au/radio/

SBS Australia:  http://www.sbs.com.au/schedule/radio

rfi France: http://www.rfi.fr/