Telefon Hírmondó: Listen to news and music electronically, in 1893
20 days ago
- #telephone-newspaper
- #Hungary
- #media-history
- The Telefon Hírmondó was the first 'telephone newspaper,' established in Budapest, Hungary, in 1893, providing news and entertainment via telephone lines.
- Founded by Tivadar Puskás, an engineer who worked with Thomas Edison, it aimed to offer real-time news updates, addressing the limitations of print newspapers.
- Initially, subscribers called a central office to listen to hourly news reports. Later, it built its own network, expanding to over 1,100 miles of wire by 1907.
- The service employed stentors (loud-voiced announcers) due to the lack of amplification technology, ensuring clarity over telephone lines.
- Programming included hourly news summaries, stock exchange reports, concerts, opera broadcasts, and educational content like language lessons.
- Subscribers grew from 60 in 1893 to 15,000 by 1907, including notable figures like Emperor Francis Joseph and Hungarian Prime Minister Baron Banffy.
- The Telefon Hírmondó inspired similar services in Italy (Araldo Telefonico) and the U.S. (Telephone Herald), though these were short-lived.
- In 1925, it began relaying radio broadcasts from Magyar Rádió, continuing until its network was destroyed during World War II in 1944.
- Debates persist over whether it qualifies as the first 'broadcasting' service, with some historians considering it a precursor to modern media.