Davis Amendment
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The Davis Amendment was a provision attached to the March 28, 1928 reauthorization of the Radio Act of 1927, which mandated an "equality of radio broadcasting service" within the United States. It specified an "equitable allocation" among five regional zones, in addition to assignments proportional to population among the states within each zone. Its implementation resulted in the development of a complicated quota system by the Federal Radio Commission, and although its provisions were carried over to the Federal Communications Commission by the Communications Act of 1934, it ultimately proved impractical, and was repealed on June 5, 1936.
Radio regulation in the United States had to be suspended in the summer of 1926, when it was ruled that the Commerce Department, operating under the provisions of the Radio Act of 1912, did not have the authority to specify the operating frequencies and powers for broadcasting stations. A period of worsening interference followed, and to restore order the Radio Act of 1927 was approved on February 23, 1927. This act created a new five member body, the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), which was given one year to stabilize the broadcasting situation.
Section 9 of the FRC's enabling act made a general declaration about the need to equitably distribute radio station assignments, stating:
In considering applications for licenses and renewals of licenses, when and in so far as there is a demand for the same, the licensing authority shall make such a distribution of licenses, bands of frequency of wave lengths, periods of time for operation, and of power among the different States and communities as to give fair, efficient, and equitable radio service to each of the same.
— An Act for the regulation of radio communications, approved February 23, 1927 (section 9)
The FRC was unable to finalize its plans within its one-year deadline, so in March 1928 the U.S. Congress extended its authorization until March 16, 1929. Proposed as a part of the reauthorization was an amendment, authored by Ewin L. Davis, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Tennessee, which specified in more detail the standards to be followed to ensure an "equitable allocation" of stations:
SEC. 5. The second paragraph of section 9 of the Radio Act of 1927 is amended to read as follows:
"It is hereby declared that the people of all the zones established by section 2 of this Act are entitled to equality of radio broadcasting service, both of transmission and of reception, and in order to provide said equality the licensing authority shall as nearly as possible make and maintain an equal allocation of broadcasting licenses, of bands of frequency or wave lengths, of periods of time for operation, and of station power, to each of said zones when and in so far as there are applications therefor; and shall make a fair and equitable allocation of licenses, wave lengths, time for operation, and station power to each of the States, the District of Columbia, the Territories and possessions of the United States within each zone, according to population. The licensing authority shall carry into effect the equality of broadcasting service hereinbefore directed, whenever necessary or proper, by granting or refusing licenses or renewals of licenses, by changing periods of time for operation, and by increasing or decreasing station power, when applications are made for licenses or renewals of licenses: Provided, That if and when there is a lack of applications from any zone for the proportionate share of licenses, wave lengths, time of operation, or station power to which such zone is entitled, the licensing authority may issue licenses for the balance of the proportion not applied for from any zone, to applicants from other zones for a temporary period of ninety days each, and shall specifically designate that said apportionment is only for said temporary period. Allocations shall be charged to the State, District, Territory, or possession wherein the studio of the station is located and not where the transmitter is located."— An Act Continuing for one year the powers and authority of the Federal Radio Commission under the Radio Act of 1927, approved March 28, 1928, page 2.
Davis' proposal was somewhat controversial. Support and opposition crossed party lines, and it was more likely to be favored in rural areas and the less developed south and west, while urban areas and the northeast and midwest, where most of the existing major radio stations were located, were more likely to oppose the measure. Despite strong opposition from the National Association of Broadcasters and the largest radio firms, the Davis Amendment rider was included as part of the FRC reauthorization.[1]
