AM Radios on Spaceships? Really?
Yeah, soooo that’s a totally lying headline, but the reason we chose to use it is because we (and many others) are debating and asking whether AM radio will survive into the future? We think the answer is a solid “Yes!”
While it is true that AM radio costs more money to operate, the reach of AM radio is much greater as opposed to the geographical reach of FM radio. AM radio can bounce off the stratosphere and reach more geographic areas on our planet due to the fact that the radio waves of AM bounce off the atmosphere. I grew up listening to KGO radio 810 in San Francisco. You could hear that station at night in the mountains of the deep Sierras! AM radio has a reach that FM radio cannot match!**
If you could only reach the people who are driving in America and listening on the AM station (since they’re in between FM stations in the mountains or for whatever reason) with your message about your product or service, you would make a mint of money!
AM radio will survive because it’s the one last media channel that cannot be shadow banned. (Shadow banning is the practice of blocking or partially blocking a user or their content from an online community in such a way that it is not readily apparent to other users), in other words, your ad cannot be pushed down in a Google result. Car manufacturers have just recently agreed to start putting some AM radios back in some models again. As you might have heard, there’s been a trend away from doing that for the better part of eight or nine years. But people need a way of finding out information that’s not reliant on their phone services.
AM radio ads still cost less than a third of what television ads cost on the average! Plus you can change your mind on a dime! With a radio ad you only have to cover an audio recording and it’s much much less work and production cost than a TV commercial spot.
It’s true that AM radio is an older technology, going back to the 1930s, but it still has some advantages over newer technologies like FM radio and digital streaming. As mentioned, AM radio is more reliable than FM radio because FM signals can be blocked by mountains or buildings, while AM signals can travel much farther. AM radio is cheaper to operate than FM radio or digital streaming. Finally, AM radio receivers are more common and less expensive than FM receivers or digital streaming devices.
What can be done to help AM radio across our country? There are many stations that are going out of business because the cost of the land that the huge AM radio towers are on has skyrocketed in recent years and is prohibiting them from operating their business. Necessity of having an AM station and broadcasting system in America should not be taken lightly when it comes to emergency contact and public information. Many can argue this point but the Internet is not a solid bastion of emergency contact and public information. Anyone who has a brain would agree that there are millions of opinions on the Internet but which one is the correct one?
When the emergency broadcast system was used, it was unquestionable that it was a government entity that was making this information public. AM is vital to keep that system going for our safety now and into the future in a manner that cannot be interfered with in any way whatsoever once the broadcast is made.
The government has bailed out industries before and the latest big one in my memory was the auto industry in 2008-2009. The auto industry bailout was started by President Bush and continued by President Obama. So there should be a bipartisan effort to make sure that the AM radio network in America gets the same type of support! Otherwise, how would we be warned about a terrorist attack, or earthquakes or some other major catastrophe? That’s probably more important than making sure the auto industry is still able to sell you Chryslers, Buicks and Lincolns!
Ford has reported that it is dropping AM radios in their 2024 Mustangs. Apparently, there are audio quality problems related to electromagnetic interference from their vehicles’ drivetrains. Other automakers have found this same problem to be true with their EVs, and have dropped AM radios, such as Audi, BMW, Tesla, Volvo and Porsche. Strange. Other automakers haven’t had this problem at all…. so….
What is really going on? Is it just about cost cutting? Even though AM is not as popular as FM and streaming satellite stations, should it be eliminated?
What are you going to do when you are stuck somewhere between Lakeview, Oregon and Winnemucca, Nevada on a hot day and you’re 200 miles from the next gas station? Or between Ely and Tonopah, Nevada (168 miles)?
Would you buy a new car that didn’t come with an AM radio?
AM is worth saving. It is a valuable local community asset. Besides public safety purposes and emergency conditions, AM provides valuable services to ethnic and religious groups, as well as high school sports coverage. AM still does a great job of news, weather, and traffic conditions. Talk shows are also popular. AM transmissions are cheaper to transmit and can be sent over long distances, and AM broadcasters tend to specialize in talk radio, all news and sports, and emergency bulletins.
** AM stands for Amplitude modulation and FM stands for Frequency Modulation.
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