Tuesday Open Line


“News is coming up next.” Such words are familiar to many of us, as Americans catch up on what’s happening around the world by listening to radio newscasts at home, at work, on their computers and in the car. One of the first daily news programs on the young medium launched at the start of this month in 1922. It was called “The Radio Digest,” and was hosted by George Thompson over WBAY in New York City. At the time, there were just 30 radio stations in the entire U.S., and only 60,000 homes had receivers. Now, radio is part of the everyday routine of most Americans. Across the nation, there are some 14,400 stations, and the average home has eight radios. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the ‘America’s Economy’ mobile application at www.census.gov/mobile.