Industry insiders and radio fans answer the question, 'What does radio mean to you?'

When radio took off in the 20th century so did the belief that the airwaves offered the chance to communicate with spirits – an anxiety that cast a shadow over radio’s inception story and still endures with new technological advancements today.

Amy Butterfield shares the challenges and surprising discoveries of curating for Radio 100, including how Australia was a radio ‘vanguard’, dating the oldest radio broadcast in the NFSA collection, and – despite the gap in time – the parallels between the rise of radio and the internet as a means of human connection.

Professor Bridget Griffen-Foley outlines nine essential moments to know from the early years of Australian radio, 1923 to 1935.

The voice heard in this brief recording belonged to Emil Voigt, founder of radio station 2KY.

Most early radio advertisements were not recorded. Instead, announcers would read promotional copy live on air.

One exception was jingles, which were occasionally recorded onto disc.

In the 1920s, radio broadcasts were often re-recorded onto disc for purchase by the public, the majority of whom did not own wireless sets.

Cec Morrison and his orchestra perform the jazz standard ‘Dinah’, introduced as ‘an old number with a new rhythm’.

In the 1920s, radio broadcasts were often re-recorded onto disc for purchase by the public, the majority of whom did not own wireless sets.

Most early radio advertisements were not recorded. Instead, announcers would read promotional copy live on air.