<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The expansion and dominance of FM radio, which has better audio quality but a more - limited broadcast range than AM, represented the major technical change in radio during the 1970s and 1980s . FM radio (aided by the development of smaller portable radios and "Walkman" headsets) dominates music programming, while AM has largely shifted to talk and news formats . Talk radio became more popular during the 1980s as a result of improved satellite communications, the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine and (by the mid-1990s) extensive concentration of media ownership stemming from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 . While before the 1980s talk radio was primarily a local phenomenon, the development of national spoken - word programming contributed to the renewed popularity of AM radio . However, this popularity is fading as previously AM - only stations begin moving their operations to FM simulcasts or translators, and as the audience of talk radio ages . </P> <P> Both FM and AM radio have become increasingly specialized . Music formats (for instance) comprise a variety of specializations, the top five in 1991 being "country and western", "adult contemporary", "Top 40", "religion" and "oldies". Radio has been shaped by demographics, although to a lesser degree than television; modern radio formats target groups of people by age, gender, urban (or rural) setting and race . As such, freeform stations with broad - spanning playlists have become uncommon on commercial radio . </P> <P> In an era in which TV is the predominant medium, the reach of radio is still extensive . Ninety - nine percent of American households in 1999 had at least one radio; the average is five per household . Every day, radio reaches 80 percent of the U.S. population . Revenue more than doubled in a decade, from $8.4 billion in 1990 to more than $17 billion in 2000 . Radio continues to prevail in automobiles and offices, where attention can be kept on the road (or the task at hand) while radio is an audio background . The popularity of car radios has led to drive time being the most listened - to dayparts on most radio stations, followed by midday (or the "at work" shift). Transistor radios, a technology that has been available since the 1950s, were the method of choice for listening to music on the go for most of the late 20th century, before digital media players and later smartphones (many of which have FM radios as part of their hardware) took those roles in the 20th century . </P>

U.s. city is the birth place of the first radio news program