'Broadcasting' has its roots in agriculture. Here's how it made its way into media

"Broadcasting distributing radio and television content for public audiences has been around for a century, but is facing a uniquely challenging landscape today. So it's only fitting that NPR's Word of the Week series is tackling the origins of the word "broadcasting" whose roots aren't in radio or television, but in agriculture. It originally described a method of planting seeds, particularly for small grains like wheat, oats and barley."

"Broadcasters keep popping up in the news. Commercial TV networks have made headlines: CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this summer. ABC drew ire in September when it yanked Jimmy Kimmel off the air, albeit briefly, under pressure from the Trump administration due to comments Kimmel had made after Charlie Kirk's death. President Trump has also set his sights on public broadcasters, accusing them of liberal bias"

Commercial television networks have experienced cancellations and temporary removals of hosts amid political pressure. President Trump accused public broadcasters of liberal bias and successfully pressured Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in funding for NPR and PBS. Broadcasting as radio and television distribution has existed for about a century and now faces a uniquely challenging landscape. The word broadcasting originally described scattering seed broadly across prepared fields, especially for small grains like wheat, oats and barley. Dictionaries trace the verb's first written uses to 1733 and 1744. The phrase spread across Great Britain and the colonial United States and remained common in agricultural guides by the early 1800s.

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