The rapid spread of radio listeners and programs lead to inevitable confusion and disruption. Radio waves were up for grabs, as stations competed with one another for time and listeners. Many programs overlapped. Listeners of one program were frequently interrupted by overlapping programs. In addition, the public, the government, and emerging radio corporations viewed radio as a means of public service, rarely as a vehicle for personal profit. Radio manufacturers alone experienced financial gain from the radio boom. Radio announcers, deejays, and stations worked on a non-profit basis. Advertising was not introduced until later in the 1920s, changing the public service face of radio, to one of private gain.
The federal government hesitated to regulate the airwaves. Radio stations, listeners, and emerging broadcasting corporations all asked the government for some sort of intervention to end the free-for-all that radio had become. The government responded slowly, gradually passing laws to govern the radio. The Federal Radio Commission was set up in 1926; the Radio Act of 1927 organized the Federal Radio Commission. This Act became the basis for the Communications Act passed after the rise of television. As the government spent more time investigating radio stations, apportioning time to different groups and programs, and monitoring the growth of the radio industry, they became more and more comfortable with the responsibilities of regulation. These federal bodies eventually ceased to doubt their right to regulate.