Brad Anderson, age 12, of Nashville, Tenn., for his question:

ARE RADIOS BECOMING MORE POPULAR?

When the so called Golden Age of radio broadcasting ended in 1950, as people turned on their TV sets, many thought that radio would become an unimportant communication medium with a very small audience. The opposite is true.

In 1952, Americans owned about 105 million radios. Today they own about 500 million.

Since the 1950s, music has become the major form of radio entertainment. Talk shows and stations that broadcast nothing but news also add to radio's popularity.

Another thing that has boosted the radio's popularity is the automobile. In the 1950s there were radios in about 50 percent of the autos. Today, more than 5 percent of the cars have them. Portable radios also add to radio's popularity.