News

What's in the News?

What’s new? Whether it’s the birth of a child or the beginning of a war, people around Peterborough want to hear what’s happening in their community and around the world.

Technological advancements have given us more ways of sharing and receiving news. Newspapers, letter-writing, and word-of-mouth were once the best ways to circulate information. In the 1900s, inventions like vacuum tubes and wireless transmission brought sound and moving pictures into ordinary peoples’ homes via radio and television.

Today, we have more ways to get “the news” than ever before… but is all news worth hearing?

Perhaps you’ve heard TV called “the tube,” but did you know that radios used to have vacuum tubes in them too? Vacuum tubes, invented in the early 1900s, help amplify sound. Those found in radios were made of glass and got hot. Can you spot them in this 1930s Philco radio?

Mantle Radio PMA, 970.54.5

Changing Channels

By the 1940s, most Canadian households had radios. Television was quick to follow. At first, both were expensive and there were not many Canadian stations to listen to.

Peterborough’s local radio station, CHEX, went on the air in 1942. The TV station of the same name began broadcasting from Television Hill just over a decade later. Television and radio quickly rearranged the social lives and homes of Peterborough residents.

For younger generations, it is difficult to imagine a time without the ability to instantly find new information. The internet has made it easier to get news from all around the world, even as it is happening.

Lights, camera, action! A lot of work went into creating television programs, as seen in this image of CHEX Studios. The transition from radio to television allowed new creativity with sets, props, and camera techniques!

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Black and White and Read All Over

Newspapers are a longstanding source of information. While physical newspapers have declined in popularity, online newspapers are alive and well. In the past, local papers even contained gossip columns that shared tidbits like who had received a visiting relative from afar or who had had an accident at work. How do you share this kind of news today?

The “Bonner-Worth Riots” took place in July and August, 1937. Workers from Dominion Woolens & Worsteds Limited protested with signs for better wages and working conditions. Also known as the Great Textile Strike of 1937, it started a wave of union organization in Peterborough.

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