Few would dispute that television, with its dual components of audio and video, is the more capable form of media compared to radio, which only offers the former, except, perhaps, for those who had no choice between the two during the early years. early years. and the middle of the 20th century.

But as old-fashioned as it may seem today, the radio itself was considered a technological breakthrough back then. Hitherto forced to obtain information and entertainment from printed materials such as books, newspapers, and magazines, those familiar with the novelty device felt it was the ultimate achievement. With the twist of a knob, they were able to connect with the world, bring it into their living rooms and listen, rather than read, to whatever current programming was on offer, from sports to music to special events.

Although television later usurped the capacity of radio with images and sound, it initially offered poor quality and only served to highlight its artificial representation. The radio, for its part, involved the listener, transforming him into an active part of the process.

Because it offered only sound and therefore provided no visual cues, the listener needed to heighten his experience with imagination, which, paradoxically, was more vivid and authentic to him than actual images could have been. Unable to enjoy a program if he remained in a passive mode, he was forced to become involved with it, concentrating on conversation and music to visualize the people and events in his mind.

Initially more realistic than those received by early televisions, whose screens were tiny in relation to the huge cabinets that housed their actual picture tubes, radio programs were seen as more realistic and dramatic, providing what was called “theater of the mind.” “.

Because television was still in its early stages of development during the 1950s and 1960s, and generally reflected scenarios, their creativity was limited, but radio writers faced few of these restrictions with their scripts, allowing them to happen anytime and anywhere they want. stuff. Together with one or more narrators and appropriate background music, these scripts led the listener through the story and its events exactly as they were intended, allowing him to imagine them unfolding in his mind, which, in essence, became on his own “personal television”. screen.” Consequently, this human-radio interface also earned this form of media the title of “art of imagination.”

Above all, radio allowed a person to connect with other people and with many parts of the world, as if serving as a form of sensory travel. Although newspapers and periodicals brought the reader stories and events that had already happened, radio provided this link as they happened, transforming you from a passive participant to a virtually active participant.

When the reporter said urgently, “Here we are at the corner of Preston and Elliot Streets across from the Third National Bank, where the robbery is taking place before our eyes,” the listener thought he was.

There was no limitation to the range of the airwaves, whether they spread across the city or across the Atlantic. When Winston Churchill gave a speech at Buckingham Palace, for example, the listener often felt as if they were there with him and imagined the golden clock of Big Ben chiming behind his shoulder.

Radio, as perhaps the intermediary link between the printed page and the television screen, also demonstrated that there was a correlation between media technology and reader/listener/viewer participation. In fact, the more the former offered, the less active it became.

Devoid of any technology, newspapers and magazines only offered printed words and two-dimensional images, which required the full participation of the participants to be effective. Later, through voices, sound and music, radios allowed him to dispense with reading, but intensified his need to listen, connecting him to the world and honing his mind’s ability to imagine and create. Eventually, television, offering sound and images, replaced some of his requirements for sensory enhancement, but reduced him to a largely passive viewer. Additional television advancements, such as those with three-dimensional and four-dimensional capabilities, further reduced his need to access the potential of his mind and created a virtual reality in which he was almost at the center of the experience.

While responses to which media can be considered superior vary depending on the generation and the degree of technology to which they were introduced, those who lived in the early to mid-20th century would surely vote for radio.