The double birth of wireless: Italian radio amateurs and the interpretative flexibility of new media

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.”