What is Broadcasting?

Sending entertainment and information via mass electronic media to the general public

University of Oklahoma broadcast control room
A broadcast control room courtesy of the University of Oklahoma
BROADCASTING is the practice of creating audio and video program content and distributing it to the mass audiences of radio, television and Internet media.

To broadcast is to send entertainment and information via one-way electronic media to the general public.

Broadcasts usually are intended for recreation, enlightenment, education, experimentation or emergency messaging.

Broadcasters are the professionals working in the various electronic mass media.


Broadcast history in brief
Timeline of radio and television history »
What does a broadcaster do?

The term broadcast originally referred to the sowing of seeds by hand on farm fields. Early radio broadcasters saw their work as scattering signals across the land.

A radio station creates audio (sound) while a television station creates audio and video. The audio or audio and video are packaged as programs, which are transmitted through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna to a receiver. They also can be transmitted through computer networks locally and internationally. Broadcast stations can be linked in networks to broadcast common programming.

The main intention of those working in the broadcast profession is to provide their audiences with entertainment as well as information they need to function in society.

There are many different jobs in broadcasting. For instance:
Some broadcast lingo
Broadcast Glossary »
Learn more about broadcasting . . .