Communications in US

By the end of the 20th century, many technological innovations had been introduced in the United States. Communications satellites orbited the earth, computers performed day-to-day functions in many businesses, and the Internet provided instant information on most aspects of U.S. life via computer. Developments in communications and technology have transformed many aspects of daily life in the United States, from improvements in kitchen appliances to advances in medical treatment to television broadcasts that are transmitted live via satellite from around the world.

An increasing number of job opportunities are opening in fields related to the research and application of new technology. Entirely new industries have emerged, such as companies that build the equipment used in space explorations.

In addition, technology has opened new opportunities for investment and employment in established industries, such as those that manufacture medicines and machines used in the detection and treatment of diseases and individuals who market and sell products via the Internet.

The communications systems in the United States are among the most developed in the world. Television, radio, newspapers, and other publications, provide most of the country’s news and entertainment. On average there are two radios and one television set for every person in the United States. Although the economic output of the communications industry is relatively small, the industry has enormous importance to the political, social, and intellectual activity of the nation. Most communication media in the United States are privately owned and operate independently of government control.

The Federal Communications Commission must license all radio and television broadcasting stations in the United States.

In 1997, 1,285 television broadcasters were in operation. All states had television stations, and more than 40 percent of the stations were concentrated in nine states: Texas, California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and North Carolina. A rapidly growing number of U.S. households (estimated at 64 million in 1997) subscribed to cable television. An estimated 98.3 percent of U.S. households had at least one television set. Telephone communication changed as cellular phones allowed people to communicate via telephone while away from their homes and businesses or while traveling. There were more than 120 million cellular phone users in the United States in 2001, according to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. There were about 1,500 daily newspapers published in the United States in 2000. That year daily newspapers printed a total of 56 million copies, and on average, each copy was read by at least 2 people.

US satellite. spyflight.co.uk

The top daily newspapers in the United States according to circulation were the Wall Street Journal (published in New York City), USA Today (published in Arlington, Virginia), the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, each with a circulation in excess of 1 million. Other leading newspapers included the Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Dallas Morning News, the Boston Globe, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Nearly 21,300 periodicals were published in 1997. These ranged from specialized journals reaching only a small number of professionals to major newsmagazines such as Time and Newsweek. Other mass publications with vast audiences included the weekly TV Guide and the monthly Reader’s Digest. Encarta