As the AM radio debate goes on in Washington DC, Detroit, and across the country, Radio Ink asked you, “Is AM radio worth saving?” With so much of the industry’s news cycle and talk at NAB Show focused on the band, it may come as no surprise that the poll ended in a landslide.
81.2% of those who answered on Twitter said yes, with additional voices of agreement coming in on our other social media platforms and here at RadioInk.com.
Here are some of the comments we received:
- “Thousands of AM broadcasters are more worth saving than 2 dozen VHF TV stations on Ch 5 & 6 with no viable consumer receive antennas. It’s time for the US to do as Brazil and start a long-term transition of AM broadcast stations to 76~88 MHz.” – Michelle Bradley
- “It should be saved for national security reasons if nothing else. AM radio can be heard over vast distances. In the event of a war with a savvy opponent, we’ll need redundancy in public communication channels. For that alone, this nonsense should stop. They need to figure it out.” – Dickey Broadcasting’s Ed Kennedy
- “[AM should be saved] for spoken formats. I hate the FM band being wasted on talk.” – @mkramer1013
- “I listen to AM radio daily for uplifting Christian Bible teaching as well as conservative talk with news and information. I listen on my radio in my car driving to and from work, not on apps.” – Toni Cashman
- “I have four AMs in small markets. With good programming and community engagement, they work.” – Sugar River Media COO John Landry
Do you agree? And if AM radio is to be protected, what should the band’s future be?
What surprises me the most is the pivot from claiming AM Radio exhibits EV reception problems to ‘just get rid of it every model.’ As I look for reasons why, I’m stumped. AM is already baked into every chipset in every car receiver. It’s easy and inexpensive technology and it has been done for decades. Indeed, we can imagine having to re-design receivers to get rid of a feature that’s been in place for this long.
I don’t see the benefit to Ford or any manufacturer to take the trouble to redesign it out of the dash. AM has an important place in the broadcast ecology. No new research or tech is required to just leave it where it is.
I think the answer is actually a political one; it’s just that they now have a technical excuse for plausible deniability.
Mr. Landry has it nailed. Community engagement. Local local local. If you build it they will come!