In the 1950s, concern over illicit business practices in television and radio including; plugola,
payola, and rigged game shows led to congressional and U.S.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hearings. In 1959,
Attorney General William Rogers reported to President
Dwight Eisenhower that deceptive and
false advertising and programming was becoming a trend in the United States, and needed to stop. In that same year, FCC Chairman
John Doerfer presented his plan to expand public service programming on television networks. The plan called for some public service programming in prime time slots, which did not occur before this. The networks likely had the same agenda as Doerfer, to regain the respect of the viewers, and agreed to Doerfer's plan. By 1960, amendments were made to the
Communications Act of 1934 to punish those who engaged in these illicit acts in the future. ==See also==