The Evolution
Of Electronic
Mass Media
In 1920, a team at Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh led by Frank Conrad and Harry P. Davis puts KDKA radio on the air, sparking the Big Bang of electronic mass media.
From that singular event came the expanding universe of modern media — FM, broadcast TV, cable, satellite, the web, social media and streaming. Our museum will tell the story of how it all began and the technological and business genius that drives its continuing evolution.
Stay Tuned
Our museum is a work in progress. We have amassed a vast collection of media artifacts, many from the earliest days of radio and TV. Right now, we are raising awareness and funds to acquire a former Mellon bank in East Pittsburgh (see above) to house the museum. It’s just a couple hundred yards from where KDKA began its regular broadcasts a century ago on the historic grounds of the old Westinghouse Electric works.
Electronic media has come a long way since KDKA and crystal radio sets. We look forward to the day when we can take you on the journey of media innovation.
You’re Invited!!
A Celebration of the 150th Birthday of Frank Conrad
Saturday
May 4, 2024
1-4 p.m.
IT’S FREE, BUT YOU MUST
REGISTER BY APRIL 29
Wilkinsburg Train Station
901 Hay Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
Enjoy birthday festivities, music by DJ Sims, a silent auction, historical displays, broadcast personalities, the beautifully restored train station and more!
Our key presentation will be an engaging panel with distinguished broadcasters, past and present — Jack Bogut, Sally Wiggin and Bill Flanagan—moderated by WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham.
Meet museum board members and broadcasting legends Bill Hillgrove, Ron Klink and Susie Barbour.
Proceeds will support the efforts of local volunteers to create the National Museum of Broadcasting in Pittsburgh — where it all began!
A Word from Our President, Bill Hillgrove
As a Pittsburgher and broadcaster, I am proud to lead the effort to establish the National Museum of Broadcasting in this city. The birth of electronic mass media could have happened anywhere. But, in fact, it happened right here. It was here that technology and capital fused at KDKA radio a century ago and set the foundation for all other electronic media to come.
Our museum will be more than a bunch of dusty old radios and TVs, although we have plenty of them. It will be an experience. It will tell the story of electronic media in immersive and interactive ways. We expect the museum to become a must-see for locals and for visitors.
We are grateful to State Senator Jay Costa and the Regional Industrial Development Corp., who have arranged for us to acquire a building for the museum (see above) in East Pittsburgh just a few hundreds yards from the site of KDKA’s historic first broadcast.
But the building is just a start. To fulfill our vision, we will need time and the support of many others who believe in our educational mission and who want to celebrate Pittsburgh as a high-tech hub — past, present and future. Please contact us if you would like to help and consider a tax-deductible contribution.
“Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media…than by the content of the communication.”
— Marshall McLuhan