The beloved programs

In August of 1922, WGY (Schenectedy, NY) began broadcasts of live plays freaturing the "WGY Players" (right) from their own studios. This show was the first to employ sound effects to make it more realistic. Audiences loved the plays, and within a year, stations in New York and Washington were receiving the broadcasts over the lines of Western Union.

In the second half of the 1920s the radio networks came into existence. Radios were now easier to use and offerred improved reception. An increasing number of programs were being sponsored by large companies. These combined factors created pressure to raise the level of programming and forcing greater attention to scripting and acting. Dramatic series appeared about 1933, with "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," "The Shadow," and "Rin-Tin-Tin" among the most popular.