The Double Birth of Wireless: Italian Radio Amateurs and the interpretative Flexibility of New Media

Abstract

This article argues that the “double-birth” model proposed by Gaudreault and Marion provides a meaningful contribution to our understanding of how wireless telegraphy was developed and eventually re-invented during its early history. Drawing from a case study on the role played by Italian “radio amateurs” between 1900 and the early 1920s, we examine how such users shifted the medium's definition, legislation, and identity in the first years after the introduction of wireless technology. The emergence of new potential meanings and applications ultimately rebuilt and redefined this medium, creating space for innovation and multiple “births.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gabriele Balbi

Gabriele Balbi (Ph.D., Università della Svizzera italiana, 2008) is assistant professor in media studies at Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland. His research interests include history of telecommunications and media history and historiography.

Simone Natale

Simone Natale (Ph.D., University of Turin, 2011) is a research associate at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. His research focuses on the relationship between new media technologies and the imaginary and on the history of visual media and culture.