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Radio Licensing Law Remains Unsettled Months After Zenith Ruling

Broadcasting is still governed by the 1912 Act, which the courts and the Justice Department have said does not fit the new service. Congress has yet to pass a replacement.

By the Monochrome Chronicles desk, from reports by Wikipedia and Museum of Broadcast Communications
Edited by Daniel Varrone · Archive edition, written , about events of

File photo: Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover and President Coolidge with radio men at the White House, Oct. 8, 1924.
File photo: Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover and President Coolidge with radio men at the White House, Oct. 8, 1924.Photo: “Hoover & Coolidge - Coolidge addressing radio men at White House, (Washington, D.C.), 10-8-24 LCCN2016849590” by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Radio broadcasting in the United States is still governed by a law written in 1912, and Congress has not yet settled on a replacement. According to Wikipedia’s history of radio legislation, court challenges have weakened the licensing authority the 1912 Act gave to the Secretary of Commerce.

In early January 1926, Zenith’s Chicago station WJAZ began transmitting on a frequency it had not been assigned, arguing that the government had no authority to set the conditions of operation. On April 16 Judge James H. Wilkerson ruled in Zenith’s favor, which, as the Museum of Broadcast Communications describes it, left the Secretary of Commerce with no regulatory authority. On July 8 Acting Attorney General William J. Donovan gave an opinion that the 1912 law is inadequate for broadcasting and that new legislation is needed.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, Oct. 30, 2026 (later source): Radio Act of 1927 article, the Zenith case, the Donovan opinion and the 1912 Act’s weakened authority <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Act_of_1927>
  2. Museum of Broadcast Communications, Oct. 30, 2026 (later source): Clarence Dill biography, Zenith ruling and Attorney General’s opinion <https://www.museum.tv/portfolio-2/dill-clarence-cleveland>

This article was drafted with automated tools from the sources listed, checked by a review pass, and published by Daniel Varrone. Corrections: editor@monochromechronicles.com

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