Radio is a mass medium that greatly influenced American society and culture. The radio was revolutionary in the development of communication throughout history. Many events have occurred that were created or portrayed by radio that significantly impacted both society and communications. Events that were particularly influential and had a great amount of cultural significance were the fireside chats that were conducted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR used the fireside chats as a way to communicate directly with the public in order to solidify the relationship between the two. This was important because this event occurred in a time before social media and President Roosevelt utilized the radio in a new way. The way President Roosevelt utilized this medium allowed for the development of new strategies of communication.
The radio in the 1930’s was the most popular mass medium in the United States. According to Encyclopedia.com, by the end of the 1930’s about 80 percent of American households had a radio (Encyclopedia.com). The radio was used to listen to a variety of different content including, the news, entertainment, and soap operas. Using the radio was the most effective way to reach and influence a great amount of people due to the fact that mostly everyone had a radio.
The fireside chats were a series of radio broadcasts performed by President Roosevelt that ranged from 1933 until 1944. The number of broadcasts per year varied depending on the state of the country. For example, there were more fireside chats in years that had more significant events than years that did not. There were four fireside chats in 1933 at the height of the great depression and seven from 1943 to 1944 during World War II, while there was only two from 1935 to 1936. President Roosevelt used the fireside chats as a way to provide transparency with the public. By hearing directly from the President, the public was able to get correct information about the country and what was happening in government with little to no rumors.
The great depression and World War II was a sensitive time culturally for Americans and President Roosevelt was able to use the fireside chats as a way to calm Americans and impact them in a positive way. David Michael Ryfe wrote an article in the Journal of Communication called Franklin Roosevelt and The Fireside Chats that discusses the fireside chats and some of the strategies that President Roosevelt used to connect with his audience. Ryfe wrote, “Intentionally or not, Roosevelt employed the grammar of mass culture in his fireside chats to close the gap between him and his mass audience” (Ryfe). President Roosevelt intended to use the radio as a medium in order to make a better connection with the audience.
Historically, Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to really use mass media and specifically the radio to his advantage. Being on the radio was good for the president because he was strengthening his relationship with the public and portraying himself as a strong president. This was also good for society because people were scared due to uncertainty that stemmed from the great depression and the start of World War II. It was relieving for American society to hear the president on the radio because it gave society a sense of hope and pride in the fact that they had a strong leader. It was especially effective that President Roosevelt addressed society via the radio instead of another medium such as television due to the fact that they heard him instead of seeing him. President Roosevelt was confined to a wheel chair because he contracted polio. If President Roosevelt addressed the public on television it might not have been as effective because of people assuming that he could not be a strong leader after they saw that he had a disability and was confined to a wheel chair. However, the radio allowed the president to use his rhetoric and voice to show that he was a strong leader and president. David Michael Ryfe wrote, “Furthermore, just like radio networks, Roosevelt created an efficient, systematic, and predictable publicity system, one that was acknowledged at the time to be the slickest peacetime publicity effort ever seen in U.S. politics to that date” (Ryfe). Ryfe is solidifying the idea that the president used the radio the best way that he could have and used communication to his advantage.
While the fireside chats had a positive impact on society, some strategies used by President Roosevelt could be perceived as having negative implications if used by others in other situations. Ryfe said, “Just like advertisers and movie producers, Roosevelt focused on the psychology of his audiences to construct his radio appeals” (Ryfe). President Roosevelt used this strategy in a positive way, but the same ideas can be used in order to manipulate the public. By targeting and focusing on the psychology of the audience big companies can push their own agendas or biases without the public even realizing it. The Lion and the Lamb: Demythologizing Franklin Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats the author Elvin Lim wrote about the ways the president used the psychology of the public. Lim said, “Writing about the fireside chats, scholars have noted FDR’s use of simple terms and simple language” (Lim). By speaking to the public in a personable manner, Americans were comfortable listening to the president. Lim continued, “The underlying argument behind these claims is that the fireside chats were effective precisely because FDR was able to speak the language of the masses, and in doing so convey the impression that he was one of us” (Lim). The President was calculated in what he was saying and how he was saying it. It was not obvious to the public at the time that President Roosevelt was dumbing down in order to appear like a regular citizen. By seeing how effective the strategies used by FDR were, other entities could use the same strategies for whatever they desired which could have negative implications.
Today other mediums are more popular than radio when it comes to politics but the same principles remain. The same concept of a president solidifying their relationship with the public still happens to this day. A good but less effective example would be how President Trump is active on social media. President Trump uses twitter to directly engage with the American public and tries to give the impression that he uses social media just like any other normal citizen. President Trump however, is not as calculated in how he addresses his audience. Lim wrote, “Todays presidents not only continue to live in the lengthened shadow of FDR, but they live in the shadow of his oratorical genius” (Lim). Many presidents after FDR have tried to replicate his oratorical success in different ways but have failed to do so. The radio today is less popular but political shows and radio personalities still exist. Rush Limbaugh is an example of a radio personality that is well known due to controversial remarks made over the radio.
The fireside chats continue to have a lasting impact on communications and society. The way President Roosevelt utilized the radio as a medium helped continue the development of communications because it influenced others to be innovative. Others have created and utilized other and newer mediums in new ways just as FDR used the radio. Due to the impact and importance of the fireside chats, they still continue to be culturally significant.
Works Cited
“1930s: TV and Radio .” Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America . . Encyclopedia.com. 28 Sep. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
Ryfe, David Michael. “Franklin Roosevelt and the Fireside Chats.” Journal of Communication, vol. 49, no. 4, 1999, pp. 80–103., doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1999.tb02818.x.
Lim, Elvin T. “The Lion and the Lamb: De-Mythologizing Franklin Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs, vol. 6, no. 3, 2003, pp. 437–464., doi:10.1353/rap.2003.0066.
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