AM Conservative Talk Radio Faces Huge Threat

[Elderberry]

The Post & Email by Jeff Crouere 5/7/2023

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AM radio is the one broadcasting method that liberals have not been able to dominate. Thus, the left has been scheming for ways to destroy this avenue of conservatism.

Sadly, liberals control every other type of news media: print newspapers, magazines, Internet news sites, social media platforms, cable, and broadcast television. They also control public broadcasting on radio and television.

In contrast, AM talk radio has remained a bastion of conservatism. The AM band has been my home for 24 years as the host of Ringside Politics, a talk show, on WGSO-AM in New Orleans. While WGSO streams online and on social media, connects with mobile apps and offers podcasts, AM radio is still the primary way that our station interacts with our listeners.

Our listeners enjoy AM talk radio because our shows present the other side from what they read in the newspaper or see on the evening news. AM talk radio is the much-needed ideological counterbalance in our overly progressive society today.

Because of its success, AM radio is now facing its biggest threat in its 100-year history. Several electric car manufacturers have stated that the AM band causes too much frequency “interference” with their motors. Automakers such as Ford, which accounts for 20% of likely AM radio listeners, Volvo, Tesla, BMW, Mazda, and Volkswagen have decided to exclude the band from their new vehicles. 

Yet, this problem can be addressed, as noted by U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA). In a letter to constituents, he wrote, “Some electric car companies use special shielding that protects the AM radio to ensure the electric signals do not interfere with the AM radio. Some car companies have opted to not include these protections and are making their cars without AM radios.”

The automakers claim that along with the “electromagnetic interference,” AM radio is no longer needed because emergency alerts are available on other platforms such as wireless devices. They insist that listeners who want to access the AM signal can use online streaming or “HD Radio subchannels.”

More: https://www.thepostemail.com/2023/05/07/am-conservative-talk-radio-faces-huge-threat/

[Hoodat]

AM radio is the one broadcasting method that liberals have not been able to dominate.

That's because the only ones listening to AM radio are people driving to or from an actual job.

[libertybele]

I honestly can't remember the last time I listened to AM radio.  Maybe as a teenager.

If I'm in the car, depending on the time, I either listen to Glen Beck or Buck Sexton and Clay Travis or a Christian radio station. I rarely listen to the radio in our home.

[Gefn]

 

[cato potatoe]

Talk radio can and should migrate to FM.  The potential reach is lessened, but the FCC has severely restricted many AM signals anyway.