Radio Act of 1927

A United States law that established federal regulation of radio broadcasting, requiring stations to obtain licenses and serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity.

Federal Radio Commission: A federal agency created in 1927 to license radio stations and regulate broadcasting in the United States. The act assigned this commission authority to issue licenses and manage frequencies.
1926 United States radio crisis: A period of severe interference and uncertainty in United States broadcasting after existing federal controls weakened. The disorder intensified pressure for the legislation enacted in 1927.
Federal Communications Commission: An independent United States agency that regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The 1934 act replaced the Federal Radio Commission with this continuing regulator.
Public-interest standard: A legal principle directing regulators to consider the public good when making decisions. The act made this open-ended principle central to broadcast licensing.
Radio spectrum: The range of electromagnetic frequencies used for radio communication and broadcasting. The act treated broadcast frequencies as scarce resources requiring federal allocation.
United States v. Zenith Radio Corporation: A 1926 federal court decision holding that the government lacked authority under the Radio Act of 1912 to impose certain frequency restrictions. The ruling exposed limits in the law that the 1927 act replaced.
Radio station: A facility that transmits audio programs or other signals over radio frequencies. Federal licensing under the act changed which stations could operate and on what frequencies.
Fairness Doctrine: A former FCC policy requiring broadcasters to cover important public issues and present contrasting viewpoints. Later regulators used the act's public-interest framework to justify this contested policy.
Broadcast license: Government authorization to operate a radio or television broadcasting station. The act made a federal license necessary for lawful radio transmission.
Radio broadcasting: The transmission of audio programs by radio waves for reception by a dispersed audience. Rapid growth in broadcasting made nationwide coordination necessary.

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