1920年8月20日，美國底特律的8MK開始每日廣播，後來成為著名的WWJ。這一天被視為廣播史上的重要里程碑之一——聲音開始透過無線電波走進普通家庭，人類傳播資訊、音樂及娛樂的方式從此逐漸改變。

English

On August 20, 1920, radio station 8MK in Detroit began daily broadcasting, later becoming known as WWJ. The event marked an important milestone in broadcasting history, helping bring news, music and entertainment into people’s homes through the airwaves.

中文版本

在今天，我們只要拿起手機，便可以收聽Podcast、YouTube、網上電台或者有聲書。聲音可以在幾秒鐘之內傳到世界另一端，已經成為日常生活的一部分。

但在一百多年前，情況完全不同。

1920年8月20日，美國密歇根州底特律的一間報社開始進行每日無線電廣播。這個電台最初使用的呼號是8MK，後來成為今天所知的WWJ。底特律歷史學會記錄，8MK當年由《Detroit News》創辦，並在報社大樓二樓進行廣播。

這一天看起來可能只是一個小小的技術實驗，但它背後其實代表一個巨大的生活轉變：

聲音開始可以離開演講台、劇院和音樂廳，直接進入人們的家。

在廣播出現之前，如果想聽一位演講者說話，或者欣賞音樂表演，人們通常需要親自到現場。

報紙可以把文字送到讀者手上，但文字需要閱讀。

電話可以讓兩個人直接交談，但通常只是點對點的溝通。

無線電廣播則出現了一種全新的方式：

一個人說話，成千上萬的人同時聆聽。

這就是廣播真正革命性的地方。

1920年的8MK由《Detroit News》推動。當時無線電仍然是一項相對新鮮的技術，收音機也遠遠沒有成為每個家庭的普通用品。底特律歷史學會指出，8MK最初的傳送距離不到100英里，而當時能夠接收訊號的無線電愛好者大約只有300人。

換句話說，第一批聽眾其實是一群非常特別的人。

他們需要自己擁有無線電設備，也需要知道如何接收訊號。

今天我們只需要按一下播放鍵，但1920年的聽眾，可能需要自己調校設備，等待訊號出現。

對他們而言，從空氣中突然傳來一個人的聲音，仍然是一件非常神奇的事情。

而8MK並不是突然從零開始。

早期無線電已經經過多年實驗，工程師逐漸找到把聲音透過無線電波傳送出去的方法。到了1920年，技術開始從實驗階段逐漸走向公共廣播。

8月20日這一天，8MK開始每日廣播，為後來的廣播業奠定重要基礎。

有趣的是，當時「廣播」這個概念本身仍然相當新。

人們還沒有今天所熟悉的：

新聞節目、音樂節目、天氣報告、體育直播、訪問、廣告、電台主持。

這些形式都是在後來慢慢發展出來的。

早期廣播其中一個重要突破，是讓新聞及公共資訊可以更快地傳播。

例如8MK在1920年8月31日曾經廣播美國初選的選舉結果，成為早期新聞廣播的重要例子。

這個發展很快改變人們對「新聞」的理解。

以前，人們可能要等待報紙出版，才能知道最新消息。

廣播出現後，新聞開始可以直接「說給你聽」。

這其實就是我們今天24小時新聞台、Podcast及直播文化的遠祖。

廣播亦逐漸成為音樂娛樂的重要平台。

一個家庭不需要到音樂廳，也可以在家中收聽音樂。

一個演講者不需要到每一個城市演講，也可以透過電台把聲音傳到不同地方。

後來，廣播劇、喜劇、體育評論、兒童節目及教育節目相繼發展，收音機逐漸成為家庭生活的重要娛樂工具。

這個變化也帶來另一個很有趣的現象：

家庭開始圍著收音機一起聽。

今天一家人可能各自拿著手機。

但在廣播黃金時代，一台收音機可以成為整個家庭的「共同螢幕」。

大家坐在客廳裡，一起聽同一個節目。

有人等待新聞，有人期待音樂，有人喜歡廣播劇。

收音機不只是一部科技產品，更慢慢成為一種家庭文化。

1920年之後，美國廣播業迅速發展。

收音機開始大量生產，越來越多家庭購買接收設備，廣播電台亦逐漸增加。

短短幾年，原本只有少數無線電愛好者才能享受的技術，開始變成普通家庭可以接觸的媒體。

這種發展亦改變了商業模式。

廣播不再只是工程師的實驗，而逐漸變成一個完整產業。

電台需要節目，節目需要主持人、演員、音樂家及記者。

企業亦開始發現廣播可以接觸大量消費者。

於是，廣告、贊助節目以及商業廣播逐漸形成。

從這一刻開始，「媒體」不再只是報紙。

聲音本身，也成為一種可以傳播資訊、建立品牌及影響社會的力量。

這件事與今天的網絡世界其實非常相似。

1920年代的人可能問：

「為什麼要把聲音放進收音機？」

幾十年後，人們已經離不開廣播。

到了電視出現，畫面加入聲音，家庭娛樂再次改變。

再後來，互聯網出現。

文字、聲音、影像全部可以透過同一個網絡傳播。

而今天我們使用的Podcast、有聲書及網上直播，其實仍然延續著1920年代開始的廣播概念：

一個人製作聲音，很多人在不同地方聆聽。

因此，8月20日這個歷史日期，對今天做聲音內容的人尤其有意思。

因為它提醒我們：

聲音媒體其實已經走過一百多年的歷史。

從1920年的無線電發射器，到今天的手機與網絡串流，中間雖然經歷無數次技術革命，但核心概念沒有完全改變。

仍然是：

有人說，有人聽。

只是傳送聲音的方法變了。

當年需要大型發射設備。

後來需要收音機。

再後來是電視、錄音帶、CD、MP3。

現在則可以直接使用網絡。

而這條發展道路，正好說明科技真正有趣的地方。

科技未必會消滅舊媒體，而是經常把舊概念重新改造。

廣播沒有因為電視出現而立即消失。

電台也沒有因為互聯網出現而完全消失。

相反，廣播的概念進入了Podcast、網上電台及各種串流平台。

甚至今天的有聲書，也可以看成是這條「聲音傳播」歷史的一部分。

所以，1920年8月20日並不是一個只屬於美國底特律的日期。

它代表的是一個更大的改變：

人類開始習慣讓聲音跨越距離。

一個人在一座城市說話，另一座城市的人可以聽見。

一首音樂不必等待現場演出，便可以進入家庭。

一則新聞不必等待第二天報紙出版，也可以透過聲音傳播。

世界因此開始變得「更近」。

今天我們已經習慣這種事情，甚至覺得理所當然。

但如果回到1920年8月20日，想像第一批聽眾坐在收音機旁，突然從空氣中聽到一個遠方傳來的聲音，那一刻可能真的像魔法一樣。

而這場「聲音革命」，就這樣開始了。

English Version

Today, we can listen to podcasts, online radio, audiobooks and livestreams almost anywhere. A voice can travel around the world within seconds.

More than a century ago, however, this was almost unimaginable.

On August 20, 1920, radio station 8MK in Detroit, Michigan, began daily broadcasting. The station was established by the Detroit News and later became known as WWJ. The Detroit Historical Society records that the station operated from the second floor of the newspaper’s building and initially had a transmission range of less than 100 miles, with roughly 300 radio amateurs within potential listening range.

It may sound like a small technical event, but it represented a major change in everyday life.

Sound was beginning to leave the concert hall, theatre and public meeting—and enter people’s homes.

Before broadcasting, people generally had to be physically present to hear a speaker or enjoy a musical performance.

Newspapers could distribute information widely, but people had to read them.

Telephones allowed people to communicate remotely, but they were primarily designed for conversations between individuals.

Radio broadcasting introduced something different:

one person could speak, while thousands of people listened at the same time.

That was the revolutionary idea behind broadcasting.

In 1920, 8MK was developed by the Detroit News. Radio was still a relatively new technology, and home receivers were far from common. The Detroit Historical Society notes that the station initially reached less than 100 miles and that approximately 300 radio amateurs were potential listeners.

The first listeners were therefore a very unusual audience.

They needed radio equipment and some knowledge of how to receive the signals.

Today, we simply press a button.

In 1920, listeners might have had to adjust their equipment and wait for a signal to appear.

For them, hearing a human voice suddenly emerge from a radio receiver could still feel almost magical.

The development of 8MK did not happen in isolation. Radio engineers had spent years experimenting with wireless communication and gradually learned how to transmit voice and music through radio waves.

By 1920, broadcasting was beginning to move beyond technical experimentation and toward public communication.

On August 20, 8MK began daily broadcasting, establishing an important early foundation for the broadcasting industry.

The concept of broadcasting itself was still new.

There were not yet the familiar formats we know today:

news programmes, music shows, weather reports, sports broadcasts, interviews, advertising and radio hosts.

Those formats developed gradually.

One important early development was the use of radio to distribute news and public information more quickly.

For example, 8MK broadcast election returns on August 31, 1920, providing an early example of radio being used for news.

This began to change people’s understanding of news.

Previously, people might have waited for the next newspaper edition.

With radio, news could now be spoken directly to listeners.

In that sense, early radio was one of the ancestors of today’s 24-hour news channels, podcasts and live broadcasts.

Radio also transformed entertainment.

A family no longer needed to travel to a concert hall to hear music.

A speaker did not have to visit every city to reach an audience.

Radio dramas, comedy programmes, sports commentary, children’s shows and educational programmes gradually became part of everyday broadcasting.

An especially interesting change took place inside the home.

Families began gathering around the radio.

Today, family members may each be looking at their own phones.

During the golden age of radio, however, one radio receiver could become the centre of the entire living room.

Families listened together.

Some waited for the news.

Others looked forward to music or radio dramas.

Radio became more than a piece of technology. It became part of family culture.

After 1920, broadcasting expanded rapidly in the United States.

Radio receivers became increasingly available, more stations appeared, and a technology once enjoyed mainly by enthusiasts began entering ordinary homes.

The development also created a new business model.

Radio was no longer simply an engineering experiment. It was becoming an industry.

Stations needed programmes.

Programmes needed presenters, actors, musicians and journalists.

Businesses discovered that radio could reach large numbers of potential customers.

Advertising and sponsored programming gradually became part of the broadcasting economy.

From this point onward, the media was no longer just newspapers.

Sound itself had become a powerful medium for information, entertainment and commerce.

The development has an interesting connection with today’s digital world.

People in the 1920s might have wondered:

Why put voices into a radio?

A few decades later, radio had become an ordinary part of everyday life.

Then television arrived and added pictures.

Later came the internet.

Text, sound and video could all travel through the same global network.

Today, podcasts, audiobooks and online radio continue the basic idea that broadcasting helped establish:

one person creates sound, and many people can listen from different places.

For anyone working with audio today, this makes August 20 particularly interesting.

It reminds us that modern audio media has a history stretching back more than a century.

From early radio transmitters to smartphones and streaming platforms, the technology has changed dramatically, but the fundamental idea remains remarkably similar:

someone speaks, and someone listens.

Only the method of transmission has changed.

First came radio transmitters.

Then radio receivers.

Later came television, tape, CDs and MP3 files.

Today, audio can be delivered instantly through the internet.

This history also shows that new technology does not necessarily destroy older media.

Instead, old ideas are often transformed.

Radio did not immediately disappear when television arrived.

It did not disappear when the internet appeared either.

The concept of broadcasting evolved into podcasts, online radio and streaming services.

Audiobooks can also be viewed as part of this much longer history of distributing human voices beyond physical distance.

That is why August 20, 1920, matters beyond Detroit.

It represents a much larger transformation:

human beings learned to make sound travel.

A person in one place could speak to people somewhere else.

Music could enter homes without a live performance.

News could reach listeners without waiting for the next newspaper.

The world was becoming smaller.

Today, this seems completely normal.

But imagine sitting beside a radio receiver in 1920 and suddenly hearing a human voice emerging from the air.

For the first listeners, it must have felt extraordinary.

And from that moment, the age of broadcasting began.

總結

中文

1920年8月20日，底特律8MK開始每日廣播，後來成為WWJ。這個早期廣播電台象徵聲音開始大規模進入家庭，也為後來的電台、電視、Podcast及網上音頻媒體奠定重要基礎。

English

On August 20, 1920, Detroit’s 8MK began daily broadcasting, later becoming WWJ. Its early broadcasts helped usher sound into people’s homes and became part of the long history that eventually led to modern radio, podcasts and digital audio.