Without many crucial technological advances made in the early 1920’s, the development, and prolongation of radio, as we know it today, would be completely different.
According to the theory of Technological Determinism, technology is the driving force behind social and cultural changes. Simply put, as technology develops we develop. Not the other way around. This applies not just to radio, but also to many other facets of media today. For example the invention of Internet and smart-phones allows us access to information and means of communication at all times of the day. The development of affordable TVs led to families owning more than one, and therefore watching more television in general.
In terms of Radio, the most important technological advancement was quite possibly the vacuum tube. This allowed for the transmission and reception of sound, voice, and music. This way, by the 1920’s, radio could be used by stores to advertise goods, news outlets to transmit bulletins, schools and churches to publicize their beliefs, and eventually, as David Sarnoff envisioned, the broadcasting of music. Technology developed further however, and as Technological Determinism would suggest, the invention of television in the 1940’s led audiences to shift their focus towards visual entertainment.
Here's a gret PBS page about the technological development of radio:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rescue/sfeature/radio.html
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