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Car Industry Seeks to Crush AM Radio; Congress May Rescue It
WSJ ^ | 28 January 2024 | Julie Bykowicz & Ted Mann

Posted on 01/28/2024 3:10:41 AM PST by NautiNurse

Conservative talk show hosts, FEMA are fighting carmakers, tech industries in lobbying battle over drive-time radio

A motley crew of AM radio advocates, including conservative talk show hosts like Hugh Hewitt and federal emergency officials, are lobbying Congress to stop carmakers from dropping the old medium from new vehicles.

Tesla, Volvo, and BMW are among the companies that have already stopped providing AM tuners in some models. Last year Ford said it would join them—until CEO Jim Farley reversed course “after speaking with policy leaders.”

[Snip]

Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Ed Markey (D., Mass.) are leading the Senate effort, and on the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson—himself a former conservative talk radio host in Louisiana—and progressive “squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are among about 200 co-sponsors.

[Snip]

Moore said the bills’ opponents are at a disadvantage because “every member of Congress knows their local broadcaster. Those relationships are strong.”

[Snip]

Automakers say the rise of electric vehicles is driving the shift away from AM, because onboard electronics create interference with AM radio signals—a phenomenon that “makes the already fuzzy analog AM radio frequency basically unlistenable,” according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a car-industry trade group. Shielding cables and components to reduce interference would cost carmakers $3.8 billion over seven years, the group estimates.

[Snip]

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says that more than 75 radio stations, most of which operate on the AM band and cover at least 90% of the U.S. population, are equipped with backup communications equipment and generators that allow them to continue broadcasting information to the public during and after an emergency.

[Snip]

Automakers increasingly want to put radio and other car features “behind a paywall...They see this as another profit center..."

[Snip]

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: amradio; automotive; ev; radio; talkradio
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To: hoosierham

There certainly should be better spectrum protection and less bleed from random technology. BUT that’s no reason to force car manufacturers to keep radios that aren’t used.


61 posted on 01/28/2024 9:02:43 AM PST by discostu (like a dog being shown a card trick)
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To: oldbill

AM radio is receivable by the very simplest equipment,soesn”t require a trackaing internet connextion. It can also be generated by rather simple equioment.

Too many people think only the latest is of any worth. Like 16 year old voting which ignores the value of experience and maturity.


62 posted on 01/28/2024 9:04:32 AM PST by hoosierham (Freedom isnt free)
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To: hoosierham

Single sideband and FM are in use but many still use AM 80 meters has a them using it.


63 posted on 01/28/2024 9:05:10 AM PST by Vaduz
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To: discostu

Less than $14 per vehicle to suppress unwanted interference at the source(car) is so cheap as to be a non-issue compared to other government mandates on cars.Such as the “kill switch” ,proposed GPS speed control,etc.


64 posted on 01/28/2024 9:09:11 AM PST by hoosierham (Freedom isnt free)
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To: hoosierham

$14 per vehicle x how many vehicles? And for what. My car is almost 10 years old and I’ve never turned on the radio, any frequency. I have loaded thumb drives with music.

Meanwhile if you really want AM in your car here’s your $10 solution: https://www.amazon.com/J-166-Transistor-Excellent-Reception-PRUNUS/dp/B09KBX1BHF/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2FD1MC4I79H1P&keywords=am%2Bradio&qid=1706461837&sprefix=%2Caps%2C428&sr=8-4&th=1

So you can have radio if you want for less than you want me to HAVE TO pay for radio I will use.

Congress should step out. It’s just none of their business.


65 posted on 01/28/2024 9:12:57 AM PST by discostu (like a dog being shown a card trick)
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To: Vaduz

I an NOT opposed to ham AM just the know the reality is MOST are on SSB. All too many years ago I listened with a Lafayette 4 bans portable to interesting AM operators on commercial broadcast,marine, and ham bands

The microprocessor radiated garbage interferes with ALL types.


66 posted on 01/28/2024 9:14:16 AM PST by hoosierham (Freedom isnt free)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

“Is there ANYTHING left on AM radio at all?”

News and sports.

I listen to neither.

But there is a legitimate civil defense/FEMA use for AM radio and it should be preserved.


67 posted on 01/28/2024 9:15:00 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: discostu

No,the $14 is so YOUR car won”t interfere with MY radio.


68 posted on 01/28/2024 9:17:14 AM PST by hoosierham (Freedom isnt free)
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To: NautiNurse

“Car Industry Seeks to Crush AM Radio”

Who cares, with Rush gone.


69 posted on 01/28/2024 9:20:23 AM PST by faucetman (Just the facts, ma'am, Just the facts )
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To: Mariner

” legitimate civil defense/FEMA use for AM radio”

So we all have to go to our cars to get defense/FEMA information? I haven’t had an AM or FM radio in my house for decades. How many people have an AM radio in their houses these days? If they do, it’s probably sitting in a box in the basement covered with dust.


70 posted on 01/28/2024 9:22:57 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (“Occupy your mind with good thoughts or your enemy will fill them with bad ones.” ~ Thomas More)
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To: faucetman

“Who cares, with Rush gone.”

That’s true. I wish he had taken better care of himself out of respect for his audience. The opioids. The smoking. So sad. I still am programmed to wait for noon as I’d done for decades, and then major letdown.


71 posted on 01/28/2024 9:23:11 AM PST by MayflowerMadam ("A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant tasof death but once.")
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To: Jonty30

My wife bought a car back in 2012. She chose it, I paid for it.
I have it today and still do not know how to operate the radio!

When moving my Sister-in-law 14 years ago, I drove the moving truck with a modern radio. More buttons than I can shake a stick at! So I never listened to it as I did not want to get distracted while driving.


72 posted on 01/28/2024 9:24:35 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: cableguymn

Yes, I agree.
He does try to make some sense of things, and the other guys keep him in check a bit, so I still find it entertaining.
I live in Florida now, so I like to keep up with the GL perspective on what’s happened to MN/MSP. I still spend summers up there.


73 posted on 01/28/2024 9:36:41 AM PST by Fireone (Who killed Obama's chef?)
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To: Gaffer

“They” are trying to remove one of the last media formats
we have to get news on.They’re closing the net...


74 posted on 01/28/2024 9:44:22 AM PST by skinny old man (Still lurking and posting after all these years(27 yrs ?)(more ?)(seems like more...))
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I have, as all smart people do, a battery powered AM/FM/Weather Band radio. In my house.

With spare batteries.


75 posted on 01/28/2024 10:01:58 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I keep a small battery operated radio at home for power outages—usually due to winter ice storms, occasionally due to tropical storms, heavy winds.

I probably have to use it maybe once a year—but it comes in handy at those times.

(Location: northern CT)


76 posted on 01/28/2024 10:07:46 AM PST by cgbg ("Our democracy" = Their Kleptocracy)
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To: Fireone

You should try our new globull warming winters. It’s 40 out.


77 posted on 01/28/2024 10:09:02 AM PST by cableguymn
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
How many people have an AM radio in their houses these days?

We do.

78 posted on 01/28/2024 10:13:06 AM PST by NautiNurse (🇺🇸 Bidenomics: "Over a billion three hundred million trillion three hundred million dollars!")
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
It is all about shutting down an outlet for conservative talk radio, though admittedly, not many people under the age of 40 even know what AM radio is (or FM for that matter).

Even though I'm in my 60s now, the last time I tuned into an AM station was about 20 years ago, when I lived in the Boston area and tuned in to the mighty WRKO 680 to hear the likes of Howie Carr and Rush Limbaugh.

79 posted on 01/28/2024 10:13:25 AM PST by SamAdams76 (6,575,474 Truth | 87,429,044 Twitter)
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To: logitech

“Engineers aren’t cheap either.”

True, Ive practically priced myself out of a great livelihood!

I dont consult much in broadcasting, but your point is valid.

There was a time when radio/tv marketing was the center of the center of the universe. But now, there are so many ways to slice and dice demographics that most broadcasters are on 2nd and third restructurings. The biggest assets AM radio has is the land that used to be on the outskirts of town. Many have sold out. Many will follow.

TV broadcast in my market would be broke if not for so many personal injury lawyers.

Unless they are allowed to innovate, there is a hard road ahead for broadcasting, because their product is stale and depreciating rapidly.

But internet services are not much better. Youtube is all but unusable. Im guessing Im not the only one who is tired of being pitched things I will never even think of buying.


80 posted on 01/28/2024 10:15:16 AM PST by RFEngineer
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