1. Political Parties
The 1934 Act, which still stands as the charter for broadcast television, upheld a fundamental compromise by adopting two related provisions a ban on Common carrier regulation and a general requirement that broadcast licensees operate in the "public interest, convenience, and necessity". The FCC was given jurisdiction over broadcasting stations and wireless communication such as amateur radio stations, airplane, ship, taxicab, and other industrial radio including police radio. This act, however, does not give any authority to the commission on regulating network operations, closed-circuit television installations, or interstate commerce.
Until 1939, according to Public Broadcasting by George Gibson, no or little attention was paid to program structure. In that year, the FCC issued a warning to all stations that all programs must be balanced and well-rounded. They could not include questionable medical advertising, astrology programming, profanity, obscenity, hard liqueur advertising, and overcommercialization, the broadcasting of suspenseful programs, or overuse of phonograph records. .
Only seven years later, when World War II broke out, the Commission released what is commonly known as the Blue Book- The Public Service Responsibility of Broadcast Licensees. Within the pages, two major principles were laid out for determining whether or not a radio station was serving the public interest. First, all stations were expected to provide sufficient number of local and live programs, educational programs, news programs, agricultural information, public issue discussions, religious programs, and programs intended to appeal to minority interests. Second, stations were expected to include only a very small amount of commercial spot in order to insure balance in its over-all program structure.
Although it had symbolic importance, the Blue Book had no legal force whatsoever. The FCC never changed or rejected its guidelines.