Radio and ticker tape compressed reaction from days to hours. Presidential speeches could move markets the same afternoon. The financial pundit was born.
16 million shares changed hands on the NYSE, a record that stood for 39 years. The Dow closed down 11.7 percent. Ticker tapes ran hours behind real prices because the equipment physically could not keep up with volume. Investors were buying and selling blind, reacting to rumors relayed by radio and telephone rather than confirmed quotes.
Roosevelt's radio addresses, delivered in conversational tone during prime evening hours, reached roughly 60 million Americans (nearly half the population). Bank deposits rose measurably after each one. The technique of using broadcast media to stabilize financial sentiment became a permanent feature of every subsequent crisis response.
JFK used a televised press conference to attack US Steel's price increase. Within days, steel companies reversed it. The S&P fell more than 5 percent over the following weeks as investors repriced political risk.