The aim of this essay is to outline the events and evaluate the circumstances of one of the most significant discoveries of the global media evolution. Personally, I consider the transatlantic radio transmission of 18 January 1903 conducted by the outstanding Italian inventor and public person Marconi being the most determinative media-related event of the 20th century. The first radio point was stationed in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts, the USA and the receiver was located in London (Aitken, 1996). A salutation was sent on the behalf of the US President Theodore Roosevelt to the British reigning monarch Eduard the Seventh. This day must be undoubtedly considered as the birthday of the modern communicational systems, in particular nautical navigation, civil cell phones, military liaison systems, and related structures.
It is a well-established fact that Guglielmo Marconi was not the one who invented the radio. However, my firm opinion is that namely this scientific luminary of the early 20th century has made the most significant contribution to the development of the contemporary systems of communications. Marconi and his associates were the pioneers who sacrificially commissioned themselves with the vital task of uniting continents with “verbal radio” connection. At the dawn stage of his experimental work the results were far from the expected. To illustrate, initially Marconi was not able to cover vast distances in the day light (more than 1, 200 kilometers), while in the night 3000 kilometers were easily covered (Aitken, 1996). This distinguished Italian inventor sought for advice from the leading physicists of that time, and everyone was assuring him that the signal is limited to the line-of-sight distance. However, Marconi managed to ascertain that the error in his calculations and day-night discrepancy was effectively obviated.
Marconi’s further endeavors lead him to his aim to connect the continents. Naturally, the idea to transmit Roosevelt’s greetings to the King Edward the Seventh was critically accepted by the scientific community. Several scholars even dared to accuse Marconi of quackery. However, when the experiment was reported to be successful, the outburst of positive acclamations was hailed over the inventor. Marconi was conferred on state awards of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Italy. His perfection of the radio systems laid the foundation of the global communicational and consequently, business revolution. Contemporary nautical navigation, cell phones, and partially the Internet connection are substantially based on the scientific postulates shown by Guillermo Marconi.
One of the most fundamental pillars of both the United States and global mass media industry is that the media is struggling to balance the objectionable principles to safeguard the public welfare and to be an effective business instrument. Marconi’s invention is one of the most exemplary phenomena that firmly corroborates this postulate of the media world. In fact, his invention undoubtedly helped to save a huge number of human lives. Even first SOS signals from the sinking Titanic were received by one of the Marconi’s stations. The United States battleships and infantry battalions were extensively introducing radios to serve their needs, not to mention civil rescue services and commercial fleets. The outburst of international trade is indirectly connected with the rapid development of the communicational systems. However, Marconi proved that business is accompanies everything, even the science. 13 patents protected by the US Supreme Court converted him and his corporation to billionaires (Marconi, 1996). Future development of his discoveries was momentarily associated with business projects. Edison Telephone, Motorola, and other giants of the industry, who contracted with Marconi’s associates, patented everything they could patent.
To summarize, although a significant contribution to the community has been made, such scientists as Marconi successfully contrived to combine personal gain with their service to the public.