President-elect Donald Trump reignited the national debate on Daylight Saving Time, announcing his intention to work with Republicans to eliminate the biannual clock changes when he takes office, which could rankle some groups advocating on behalf of AM radio.
In a post to X on December 13, Trump stated, “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation.”
The proposal aligns with the sentiments of two key advisers, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who are slated to lead the forthcoming Department of Government Efficiency. However, confusion remains over whether Trump’s intent is to abolish daylight saving time entirely or to make it permanent.
His 2019 social media post supporting permanent DST – “Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is OK with me!” – suggests the latter.
This interpretation aligns with a 2022 Senate bill, the Sunshine Protection Act, that sought to adopt daylight saving time year-round. While the bill passed unanimously in the Senate, it stalled in the House and was reintroduced in 2023 by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Yet not everyone agrees with making Daylight Saving Time permanent – The National Religious Broadcasters, the largest association of Christian communicators, has long voiced strong opposition, citing potential harm to AM radio.
In March, NRB urged lawmakers to reconsider the Sunshine Protection Act, arguing that permanent DST would “destroy morning drive” for AM stations. Due to FCC regulations, AM stations must reduce power after dark to avoid signal interference. Under permanent DST, sunrise would occur later during winter months, forcing stations to operate at reduced power during morning hours, particularly from 6a to 8a.
This could lead to decreased audience reach during critical listening times and significant cuts to advertising revenue.
NRB emphasizes that AM radio plays a vital role in local communities, delivering religious programming, traffic updates, and emergency alerts. With over 120 AM stations among its members, the organization has urged lawmakers to carefully weigh the unintended consequences of permanent daylight saving time on broadcasters and their audiences.
As much as I like AM and to listened DX. Isn’t it time to let go? AM Stereo was a flop AM HD was a flop. Most of the AM is a corporate repeat across the band.
But just like PSA add more power.
Wow NAB & NRB are SO stupid! One of the best things about living here in Arizona (and Hawaii, Sonora, Saskatchewan, and formerly Indiana which I understand they’ve been regretting since) is NO DST!! Guess what: the AM / MW stations work just fine.
AM radio is alive..WWL 870 WBAP 820 are two am’s I listen to.I built my own fm station in 1976 and now I only listen to AM and will listen to fm for NPR and sports..Jim Miller
Current AM drive audience is nearly gone. Most have been switching to FM for the last decade. It’s 2024, things change.