Shortwave Radio

Origins

Experiments with shortwave radio transmission date to the early 1920s, with much of the important work being done by amateur or “ham” operators. Guglielmo Marconi and other radio innovators also played a part in the technology's development. Pioneer American AM station KDKA in Pittsburgh established an experimental shortwave transmitter in Nebraska in the early 1920s to try retransmitting its signal to the west coast—and farther. A few other stations did likewise, but the limited number of shortwave receivers held back development. Amateur operators sent the first shortwave signal across the Atlantic in 1923. Shortwave was also used for long-distance telephone service across oceans—transatlantic service opened in 1927.

Shortwave came to be called “short” as it was developed because its wavelengths (associated in numerous specific bands within the 3- to 30-MHz portion of the spectrum) are shorter than the long wavelengths then widely used. Shortwave today is also called high-frequency (HF) radio.

Shortwave broadcasts proved themselves in tropical climates in the late 1920s where standard (AM) radio signals were often blotted out by atmospheric interference. Furthermore, the shortwave transmitters needed less power to disseminate a good signal than did the standard stations. By the 1930s, shortwave broadcasting was becoming an established presence in many tropical areas.

Journalism on the Air

Shortwave became a vital part of global journalism in the late 1930s as a growing number of foreign correspondents used the technique to send their reports to and from various continents, especially between Europe and the United States. This was cutting edge technology at the time, and it amazed American listeners to be able to hear Hitler or other European leaders, as well as American correspondents, broadcasting live rather than by means of delayed recording.

CBS led the way in applying shortwave technology among American networks. Cesar Saerchinger arranged all sorts of CBS broadcasts from Britain and Europe, most of them focusing on cultural or entertainment events and venues. NBC's Max Jordan covered Europe in somewhat the same way, slowly moving from arranging light fare to covering hard news. A young Edward R. Murrow, replacing Saerchinger in 1938, began by simply continuing what his predecessor had done—until events forced a change.

During the September 1938 Munich crisis, Murrow worked with a number of stringers to pull together reports for the network (always referred to simply as “New York”), providing the first multicity roundups of reports from journalists in Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Paris, and London, where he was based. This involved working closely with European broadcast organizations, split-second timing, and “getting air” from New York. Back in New York, H. V. Kaltenborn virtually lived in a studio for a month, catching breaks and sleep as he could. Only in that way could the multilingual journalist provide running commentary as well as [Page 1288]translations of important overseas broadcasts given the time zone differences between the continents.

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