Not This Year – And Here’s Why

For decades, the Consumer Electronics Show has been a must-attend event for broadcasters. A chance to see the latest innovations, network with tech leaders, and glimpse the future of how our content reaches audiences. But this year, I stayed home. And while the show may be over, my reasons for not going transcend a four-day show.

They revolve around critical issues broadcasters need to keep in mind, ones that would be overlooked at that show. The fight for a level playing field and the need by the masses to have access to AM radio cannot be glossed over. Long after the last tech toy was packed away and the show doors closed, people’s lives moved on and not every challenge or opportunity can be solved by new technology.

There is still need and room for the “basics.” And that’s not sticking one’s head in the sand. It’s acknowledging that no matter how far we leap ahead, some things are not interchangeable.

And so, I concluded that when someone is actively working against your industry, showing up to their party would be less like exploring the future and more like funding one’s own funeral.

Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro has every right to his opinions but that position is crystal clear on an issue vitally important to both broadcasters and their vast audience. He is not just opposing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act – he is weaponizing it. He wants to tie AM mandate legislation to the American Music Fairness Act, essentially holding free emergency alert access hostage on behalf of record labels and royalty collectors.

But it doesn’t stop there. The CEO of the CTA has suggested radio should start paying the government for spectrum use if the AM Act passes and has publicly trashed the NAB, encouraging broadcasters to abandon their own trade association. These aren’t policy disagreements – they are a coordinated effort against broadcast radio’s interests. And the industry is noticing.

As Colorado Broadcasters Association President Justin Sasso pointed out at last year’s Hispanic Radio Conference, Shapiro himself admitted to relying on radio during Napa Valley wildfires in 2017. “This is like the butcher telling the cow, ‘You’re going to be just fine,'” Sasso said. “Our people are driving third-generation vehicles and rely on AM for emergency information. These policy decisions affect real lives.”

And they do. AM radio covers 100 miles compared to FM’s 19. It reaches 4,000 stations serving rural communities, farmers tracking commodity prices, and minority-language broadcasters who can’t afford FM licenses. This is the content that binds communities together and keeps immigrants connected to vital information. Streaming can’t replicate this without data costs that many simply cannot afford.

And despite what the CTA may say about EAS reach on your phone, anyone who’s been in a real life-or-death emergency knows cell access often goes first. Radio is the lifeline.

The automakers cry about $50-$70 per vehicle for EMI shielding, claiming billions in industry-wide costs. Yet the Congressional Budget Office calls these impacts “minimal,” and much of that shielding supports other EV electronics anyway. They’re asking us to believe that a rounding error on a $50,000 vehicle justifies silencing an essential public service.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Shapiro has been a voice for broadcasters in years past, understanding that technology and broadcasting strengthen each other. We want that partnership back. We want him back at the table, working with us instead of against us.

But until then? Excuse me for not going.