Regulating the Government's Airwaves: Creation of the Interdepartmental Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC)

Commercial interests and unequal power among government departments dominated the institutionalization of radio policy in the United States in the 1920s. These interests and government-sponsored radio endeavors diverged then so no viable government-owned radio operation emerged to compete with, or t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of broadcasting & electronic media 2007-09, Vol.51 (3), p.498-515
Main Author: Benjamin, Louise M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American history
Broadcasting industry
Government agencies
Government regulation
Independent regulatory commissions
Innovations
Laws, regulations and rules
Legislation
Organization formation
Private sector
Public policy
Public sector
Radio broadcasting
Regulation
Technology application
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Summary:Commercial interests and unequal power among government departments dominated the institutionalization of radio policy in the United States in the 1920s. These interests and government-sponsored radio endeavors diverged then so no viable government-owned radio operation emerged to compete with, or to complement, commercial radio. The struggle among these entities ultimately formed the Interdepartmental Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC), the agency responsible to-day for regulating government spectrum with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. This article chronicles IRAC's early years to passage of the Radio Act of 1927, when the split between government and private uses for radio truly took hold.
ISSN:0883-8151
1550-6878
DOI:10.1080/08838150701457545