13, 14. How was radio used to spread the good news? (See also the boxes “Programs on WBBR” and “A Momentous Convention.”)

¹³ Radio. In the 1920’s, the work with the “Photo-Drama” began to wind down, but radio emerged as a significant way to spread the good news of the Kingdom. On April 16, 1922, Brother Rutherford gave a historic radio broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An estimated 50,000 people heard the talk “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” Then, in 1923, came the first broadcast of a convention session. In addition to using commercial stations, those taking the lead decided that it would be wise for us to build our own station, which was built on Staten Island, New York, and registered as WBBR. The initial broadcast was aired on February 24, 1924.

¹⁴ Explaining the purpose of WBBR, The Watch Tower of December 1, 1924, said: “We believe that the radio is the most economical and effective way of spreading the message of the truth that has yet been used.” It then added: “If the Lord sees fit to build other radio stations for the spreading of the truth, he will provide the money in his own good way.” (Ps. 127:1) By 1926, Jehovah’s people owned six radio stations. Two were located in the United States​—WBBR in New York and WORD near Chicago. The other four were in Canada, located in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

15, 16. (a) How did the clergy in Canada react to our broadcasts? (b) How did radio lectures and the house-to-house work complement each other?

¹⁵ This wide broadcasting of Bible truth did not go unnoticed by the clergy of Christendom. Albert Hoffman, who was familiar with the work done at the radio station in Saskatchewan, Canada, said: “More and more people began to know of the Bible Students [as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then called]. A wonderful witness was given until 1928, when the clergy put pressure on officials and all the stations in Canada run by the Bible Students lost their licenses.”

¹⁶ Despite the closure of our radio stations in Canada, Bible lectures continued to be transmitted on commercial stations. (Matt. 10:23) To boost the effectiveness of those programs, The Watch Tower and The Golden Age (now called Awake!) carried a list of commercial stations that broadcast Bible truth so that publishers calling from door to door could encourage people to listen to the lectures on their local stations. With what impact? The Bulletin of January 1931 says: “The radio work has been a real stimulus to the friends in their canvassing from door to door. Many reports have come to the office telling us that persons have listened in and, because of hearing the lectures given by Brother Rutherford, were very ready to take the books offered to them.” The Bulletin described the radio broadcasts and the house-to-house work as “the two great publicity branches of the Lord’s organization.”

17, 18. Although circumstances changed, how did radio continue to play a role?

¹⁷ During the 1930’s, opposition mounted against our use of commercial radio stations. So in late 1937, Jehovah’s people adapted to the changing circumstances. They withdrew from commercial broadcasting and focused even more on the house-to-house ministry.a Nevertheless, radio continued to play an important role in spreading the Kingdom message in some remote or politically isolated parts of the world. For example, from 1951 to 1991, a station in West Berlin, Germany, regularly broadcast Bible discourses so that those living in parts of what was then East Germany could hear the Kingdom message. Starting in 1961 and for more than three decades afterward, a national radio station in Suriname, South America, broadcast a weekly 15-minute program that spread Bible truths. From 1969 to 1977, the organization produced more than 350 recorded radio programs in the series “All Scripture Is Beneficial.” In the United States, 291 radio stations, in 48 states, carried the programs. In 1996, a radio station in Apia, the capital city of the South Pacific nation of Samoa, transmitted a weekly program entitled “Answers to Your Bible Questions.”

¹⁸ As the 20th century drew to a close, radio no longer played a primary role in spreading the good news. However, another technology emerged that made it possible to reach an audience of unprecedented size.