A lasting influence on the formation of the radio industry in the 1920s till present day, regulation and government intervention has shaped radio culture in the U.S. and worldwide. The Radio Act of 1927 produced the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) to oversee transmitter and technical components of radio networks to ensure proper reception of broadcast signals. Governmental intervention largely influenced the prosperity of radio programs by settling frequency disputes.
Alongside technical influences of government regulation, the style of radio programs changed drastically as a result of regulations over advertising and the ability to highlight national issues. Government intervention abroad could be seen in propaganda programming. Radio under the control of government is unavoidably steered to promote political context. A prime example of such intervention and regulation can be noted in the "Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines" broadcast radio shows of the Rwandan Genocide (1994) against the Tutsi people by the Hutu Power. This broadcast was fuel to the fire already growing in a country where millions died by the minute. Regulation by the Hutu of the sole mean of communication across Uganda influenced the life and death of the audience to its own station. The Hutu Power directed the annhiliation of the "cockroaches," of Rwanda during their daily broadcast focusing on mobilizing the Hutu into a mass slaughtering of every Tutsi. Radio in Rwanda was converted to a horrifying system of regulation by a governmental power focused on nothing but destruction and blood.
An outlet for voicing and spreading thoughts can be easily turned into a communicative monster where none but the most angry or powerful are heard. Rwanda proves a tragic account of such interference by governmental regulation. During the 1920's, radio evolved to be regulated by the Secretary of Commerce and eventually the FRC. Governmental regulation of the number of stations allowed to operate at night in order to not conflict with AM signals largely influenced the production of shows featuring information on the war. From the beginning of the 1920's news could spread like fire till the end of the decade when the Wall Street Crash dropped many to their knees. All the influences of governmental regulation in the 1920's supported the development of future radio formats where political agendas may be shared and where the loudest voice may not always be right but nevertheless is heard.