8月28日今日歷史｜1922年商業廣播時代開啟，聲音開始走進千家萬戶 | Today in History, August 28 | 1922: Radio Advertising Helps Launch Commercial Broadcasting

1922年8月28日，紐約WEAF播出Queensboro Corporation的付費廣播廣告，成為商業廣播史上的重要里程碑。

On August 28, 1922, New York station WEAF broadcast a paid advertisement for Queensboro Corporation, marking an important milestone in the development of commercial radio.

中文版本

1922年8月28日，美國紐約的廣播電台WEAF播出了一段具有歷史意義的付費廣播內容。廣告由Queensboro Corporation購買廣播時間，內容介紹位於紐約Jackson Heights的Hawthorne Court住宅項目。這次廣播通常被視為美國商業廣播發展史上最具代表性的早期付費廣告之一，亦經常被稱為世界第一個廣播廣告。不過，根據現存的廣播史研究，這個「第一」需要稍微謹慎理解，因為在WEAF之前，確實有其他電台曾經出現過向商業機構收費的廣播安排。因此，更準確的說法是：1922年8月28日的WEAF廣播，是早期商業廣播最重要、最有文件記錄的里程碑之一，而不是可以毫無保留地說成「世界上第一個收費廣播」。美國國會圖書館保存的NBC歷史檔案，明確記錄了1922年8月28日Queensboro Corporation在WEAF播出的第一個商業廣播節目，並保留相關廣播資料；美國國會圖書館亦指出，如果要選出一個代表美國商業廣播誕生的重要事件，1922年8月28日WEAF播出的住宅廣告就是最具代表性的例子之一。 當時的廣播仍然是一項非常年輕的媒體。1920年代初，無線電技術逐漸由實驗階段走向大眾使用，越來越多人購買收音機，在家中收聽音樂、演講、新聞及其他節目。廣播最大的特色，是可以把聲音透過無線電波直接送到遠方的聽眾家中。對當時的人來說，這是一種全新的媒體體驗。報紙需要印刷和運送，電話需要雙方直接連接，而廣播則可以由一個電台同時向大量聽眾傳送聲音。這種一對多的傳播方式，很快便展現出巨大的潛力。然而，新的媒體也立即面對一個非常現實的問題：電台如何支付營運成本？廣播需要發射設備、電力、技術人員、主持人及節目內容，這些都需要資金。早期不少廣播電台由企業、製造商或其他機構支持，其中一些電台也會播放免費內容。但隨着聽眾數量增加，建立一個可以長期維持的商業模式變得越來越重要。WEAF背後的AT&T正在探索一種新的方法，就是把廣播時間本身視為可以出售的服務。這種模式後來被稱為「toll broadcasting」，簡單來說，就是讓企業或其他機構付費購買廣播時段，然後利用這段時間向聽眾介紹自己的產品、服務或理念。早期廣播史資料記載，AT&T在1922年夏天開始進行這方面的實驗，而WEAF成為其中的重要平台。8月28日播出的Hawthorne Court廣告，就是這種商業模式最具代表性的早期例子。 當天下午，Queensboro Corporation的代表H.M. Blackwell透過WEAF向聽眾介紹Hawthorne Court。他並不是像今天的電台主持人那樣，用幾十秒快速讀出產品名稱和優惠，而是進行一段較長的介紹。內容談到Nathaniel Hawthorne、社區生活、城市住宅環境，以及位於Jackson Heights的公寓住宅。這段廣播大約持續十至十五分鐘，從今天的角度看，更接近一篇透過聲音播放的房地產宣傳演講。當時的廣告世界還沒有形成今天我們熟悉的30秒或60秒廣告格式。這次廣播最重要的地方，是它把「廣播時間」本身變成了一種可以交易的媒體資源。 這個轉變看似簡單，實際上卻影響深遠。過去，人們可以利用廣播傳遞聲音；現在，企業開始願意為接觸聽眾的機會付費。電台獲得收入後，可以用於維持設備、聘請人員及製作更多節目，而企業則可以透過廣播把自己的信息送到大量家庭。於是，一個新的循環開始形成：內容吸引聽眾，聽眾形成廣播市場，企業為接觸這個市場購買廣播時間，而廣告收入再支持電台繼續製作內容。這種模式後來成為商業廣播的重要基礎。美國國會圖書館的資料指出，1922年8月28日WEAF的廣告可以被視為美國商業廣播誕生的重要象徵，而到了同年聖誕節前後，紐約已有多間大型百貨公司租用廣播時間進行宣傳。 1922年的廣播市場因此開始出現新的變化。廣播不再只是由政府、實驗者或企業為了推廣收音機而使用的技術，而逐漸成為一種獨立的媒體產業。廣告商開始思考如何利用聲音建立品牌，節目製作人則開始研究如何吸引更多聽眾。後來更出現由企業冠名或贊助節目的形式，企業不只是購買幾分鐘廣告，而是直接支持整個節目。這種「sponsored program」模式在1920年代逐步發展，並成為日後美國廣播業的重要商業制度。 今天我們很容易把廣告看成廣播不可分割的一部分，但在1922年，這其實是一個需要重新思考的問題。當時美國商務部長Herbert Hoover等人曾經對廣播商業化抱有疑慮，擔心廣告會破壞廣播作為公共資訊與娛樂媒體的價值。這反映出早期社會仍然在討論一個問題：廣播究竟應該是一項公共服務、教育工具、娛樂媒體，還是一門可以賺錢的生意？後來的歷史證明，它最終同時成為以上幾種東西。 商業廣播的發展，也改變了人們與媒體的關係。以前，一個商家如果希望接觸大量消費者，可以刊登報紙廣告、張貼海報或者利用戶外宣傳；現在，它多了一種全新的方法——直接進入人們的客廳。聲音不像文字一樣需要讀者自己閱讀，也不像海報一樣需要觀眾站在面前觀看。廣播可以在家庭生活中持續播放，成為日常生活背景的一部分。這種特性後來讓廣播與音樂、新聞、體育、戲劇、談話節目及廣告形成非常緊密的關係。1922年的WEAF廣播，也可以放在更長的媒體歷史中理解。當電視在20世紀中期普及後，廣告模式從聲音走向聲音加影像；當互聯網興起後，廣告又從電視和廣播延伸到網站、搜尋引擎、社交媒體和影片平台。今天我們熟悉的YouTube廣告、Podcast贊助、網頁廣告及串流平台商業模式，雖然技術完全不同，但背後仍然存在一個與1922年相似的基本問題：如何讓內容創作和媒體服務持續運作？一百多年前，答案開始包括「出售廣播時間」。今天，答案則包括廣告、會員、訂閱、贊助、付費內容以及各種數碼商業模式。從這個角度看，1922年8月28日並不是一個已經完成的終點，而是一個新媒體商業模式逐漸成形的開始。值得注意的是，這段歷史也提醒我們不要把「第一個廣播廣告」簡化得太絕對。早期廣播史研究發現，在WEAF之前，已有資料顯示其他電台可能曾經向商業機構出租廣播時間。例如，1920年紐澤西州Jersey City的業餘電台2IA，就有向Jersey Review出租廣播時段的記錄。因此，1922年8月28日真正重要的地方，不一定是「第一」兩個字，而是WEAF的廣播留下了非常清楚的歷史紀錄，並成為後來美國商業廣播制度發展的代表性事件。 美國聯邦通信委員會的歷史資料亦指出，1922年紐約開始出現早期廣播廣告，而隨着內容增加及大眾接受程度提高，廣播逐漸走向由廣告收入支持的營運模式。到1926年，美國已經有528個廣播電台、約570萬部收音機，每週廣播聽眾達到約2,300萬人。短短幾年間，廣播已經由新興技術變成具有龐大社會影響力的大眾媒體。 今天，當我們收聽Podcast、YouTube影片、網上電台或其他數碼音頻內容時，可能很少會想到這些內容背後的商業模式其實有一段很長的歷史。1922年的一段房地產廣告看起來非常簡單，但它提出了一個日後反覆出現的媒體問題：如果一個平台可以把內容送到大量受眾面前，那麼這種「接觸受眾的能力」本身就可能具有商業價值。從WEAF到今天的數碼音頻平台，媒體技術已經發生翻天覆地的變化，但這個基本概念仍然存在。1922年8月28日因此值得被記住，不只是因為Queensboro Corporation購買了一段廣播時間，而是因為這段廣播讓人看見了聲音媒體另一種可能性——廣播可以不只是傳播工具，也可以成為一門可以自我維持、持續發展的媒體產業。從紐約一個早期電台，到今天全球各地的廣播、Podcast及串流音頻，聲音已經走過超過一個世紀的發展歷程。1922年的人們可能無法想像今天的智能手機、Podcast和網上直播，但他們已經開始探索同一個問題：如何讓聲音內容持續被創作、傳播並抵達更多人。這就是8月28日這段廣播歷史最值得回望的地方。

English Version

On August 28, 1922, New York radio station WEAF broadcast a paid promotional program for the Queensboro Corporation, featuring its Hawthorne Court apartment development in Jackson Heights. The event is widely recognized as one of the defining early milestones in the history of commercial broadcasting in the United States. It is often described as the first radio commercial, although that wording needs some qualification because evidence exists of earlier commercial arrangements involving other stations. The Library of Congress preserves historical records identifying the Queensboro Corporation broadcast of August 28, 1922 as WEAF’s first commercial program, while its broader history of advertising describes the event as one of the strongest candidates for a symbolic beginning of commercial broadcasting in America. Radio itself was already developing rapidly before that date. During the early 1920s, broadcasting was moving from an experimental technology into a new form of mass communication. Families began acquiring radio receivers, and stations transmitted music, speeches, news and entertainment into homes. Unlike newspapers, which had to be printed and distributed, radio could transmit the same sound simultaneously to a large audience. This created an entirely new relationship between technology, content and the public. But radio operators quickly faced a practical problem: broadcasting cost money. Stations required transmitters, electricity, technical staff, performers and programming. Some early stations were supported by manufacturers, businesses or other organizations, while others experimented with different forms of sponsorship. As audiences grew, broadcasters began searching for a sustainable economic model. AT&T was one of the companies exploring this question. Its approach involved treating airtime as something that could be sold to organizations wishing to reach radio listeners. This model became known as “toll broadcasting.” Instead of simply operating a station as a technical service, a broadcaster could sell a specific period of airtime to a commercial customer. WEAF became one of the most important early examples of this experiment. According to radio-history records, AT&T had begun broadcasting in New York in 1922, and its first sponsored WEAF program was a fifteen-minute talk promoting a Queensboro Corporation apartment development on August 28. The program itself was very different from the short commercials familiar today. H.M. Blackwell, representing the Queensboro Corporation, spoke to listeners about Hawthorne Court and the advantages of living away from the crowded parts of Manhattan. The presentation referred to Nathaniel Hawthorne, community life, healthy surroundings and the suburban apartment development in Jackson Heights. Rather than a thirty-second advertisement with a slogan and a product name, it was a relatively long promotional speech delivered through the new medium of radio. The surviving transcript provides a remarkable glimpse of how advertisers initially approached this unfamiliar technology. What mattered most was not the exact style of the advertisement, but the economic idea behind it. Radio airtime was becoming a commodity. A company could pay for access to an audience, while a station could use that income to support its operations and produce additional programming. This created a new relationship between advertisers, broadcasters and listeners. The audience attracted businesses; businesses purchased airtime; advertising revenue helped sustain broadcasting; and better programming could attract larger audiences. A commercial media cycle was beginning to take shape. The Library of Congress notes that if one event were selected to symbolize the birth of commercial broadcasting in the United States, the August 28, 1922 WEAF program would be one of the strongest examples. By the end of that year, major New York department stores were also purchasing airtime for promotional messages. The development of sponsored programming followed. Companies did not always want to purchase a short advertising message. They could also support an entire program and associate their name with music, entertainment or other content. This sponsorship model became an important part of radio economics during the 1920s. The Library of Congress’s NBC history files preserve extensive documentation relating to commercial programs, advertising copy and early broadcast operations, showing how quickly commercial radio developed into a structured industry. Yet commercial radio was not immediately accepted as inevitable. In the early 1920s, there was considerable debate over whether advertising belonged on the new medium. Some people believed radio should primarily serve education, public information and entertainment rather than become saturated with commercial messages. Smithsonian historical reporting notes that Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was among those who expressed concern about excessive commercialization. This debate reflected a larger question about the role of new media: should a powerful communication technology be treated as a public service, a cultural resource, a business, or some combination of all three? In the decades that followed, the answer became clear. Radio became all of these things at once. It was a source of news, entertainment, education and music, but it also became a major commercial industry. Advertising helped finance stations, programs and eventually national radio networks. The development of commercial radio also changed the relationship between businesses and consumers. Newspapers had already allowed advertisers to reach large audiences, but radio brought advertising directly into the home through sound. A family could be listening to music or a dramatic program and hear a commercial without leaving the living room. The advertiser was no longer simply placing information on a printed page. It was becoming part of the listener’s everyday audio environment. The significance of August 28, 1922, can therefore be understood as part of a much larger history of media commercialization. When television became widespread, many of the economic principles developed by radio were transferred to the new visual medium. Later, the internet created another transformation, bringing advertising to websites, search engines, social platforms, video services and digital publications. Today, YouTube advertising, podcast sponsorships, streaming promotions and website advertising may appear technologically unrelated to a 1922 radio broadcast. Yet they address a remarkably similar economic question: how can content and media services be funded so that they can continue to exist? In 1922, one answer was to sell airtime. Today, creators and media companies can rely on advertising, subscriptions, memberships, sponsorships, paid content and other digital revenue streams. The technology has changed dramatically, but the basic relationship between content, audience and funding remains familiar. There is another important reason to be careful when describing August 28, 1922. The event is often called the “first radio commercial,” but radio-history research has identified evidence of earlier commercial use of airtime. One example concerns amateur station 2IA in Jersey City, New Jersey, which reportedly leased its station to the Jersey Review in 1920. This means the WEAF broadcast should not be presented as an unquestionable first in all of world radio history. Instead, it is more accurate to describe it as one of the best documented and most historically significant early commercial broadcasts, and as a major milestone in the development of American commercial broadcasting. The Federal Communications Commission’s historical record also places the first radio advertising in New York in 1922 and describes the broader movement toward advertising-financed broadcasting. As radio content became more varied and public acceptance increased, advertising became increasingly important to the industry’s financial structure. By 1926, the United States had 528 radio stations, approximately 5.7 million radio sets and an estimated weekly radio audience of 23 million people. Within only a few years, radio had developed from an emerging technology into a major mass medium. Looking back from the digital age, this development is particularly interesting. Modern listeners can move between live radio, podcasts, online audio, video platforms and streaming services almost instantly. The distribution technology is vastly more sophisticated than anything available in 1922, yet the underlying media challenge remains recognizable. Someone has to create the content, someone has to distribute it, and some economic model must support the process. The early WEAF experiment showed that access to an audience could itself become something with commercial value. A business could pay for the opportunity to speak directly to listeners, while the broadcaster could use the resulting revenue to continue operating. From this perspective, August 28, 1922, was about more than one real-estate advertisement. It was about discovering a new economic possibility for sound. The radio audience was becoming a market, airtime was becoming a product, and broadcasting was beginning to develop into an industry capable of supporting itself through commercial relationships. The people involved could not have imagined today’s smartphones, podcasts, social media or digital advertising. Yet the basic idea they were testing remains part of modern media. A platform reaches an audience; advertisers or sponsors pay for access; revenue supports the production and distribution of content; and the cycle continues. That is why August 28 is worth remembering in the history of media. The WEAF broadcast did not create radio, and it should not be described without qualification as the world’s first paid broadcast. Its importance lies elsewhere. It provided a clear and influential example of how broadcasting could move beyond experimental communication and become a sustainable commercial medium. From a fifteen-minute housing presentation in New York to today’s global ecosystem of radio, podcasts and digital audio, more than a century of technological change has transformed how sound reaches people. But the fundamental idea remains surprisingly familiar: when a medium can connect content with a large audience, that connection can become the foundation of an entirely new industry.

總評

1922年8月28日WEAF的付費廣播，代表聲音媒體開始探索廣告收入與商業營運模式，為後來廣播產業的成熟奠定重要基礎。

The WEAF broadcast of August 28, 1922, helped demonstrate that radio could become a commercially sustainable medium, laying an important foundation for the advertising-supported broadcasting industry.