Automakers vs. AM radio
If leaders in the car industry have their way, future car models won't have AM radio. That move would put Americans at risk, particularly during emergencies which government agencies rely on AM radio to communicate about.
How would you feel about not being able to listen to a Reds or Bengals game on WLW while driving in your car?
If automakers have their way, this will happen. Audi, BMW, Ford, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo all have plans to stop making cars that offer AM radio. These companies have said their electric motors interfere with AM frequencies, causing noise and static, even though most electric cars on the road today offer AM radio. The automakers also maintain that going forward, FM and satellite radio (i.e., SiriusXM) are enough in the digital age. SiriusXM pays millions to automakers to have its service installed in cars; AM radio pays nothing.
According to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and Nielsen Media Research, more than 4,400 AM stations still serve 82 million listeners each month. In fact, with the loss of more than 3,300 local newspapers since 2005, talk radio is where many listeners in rural and small-town America get their news and information. More than 1,500 of those AM stations provide agricultural programming, and farmers listen to a lot of AM radio in their trucks and on their tractors.
What is most interesting in these partisan times: This issue seems to have united Congress. In May, the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” was introduced by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) with broad bipartisan support.
In his press release Rep. Bilirakis states: “This bipartisan and bicameral legislation recognizes that AM radio is an essential communication tool during emergencies, and for decades has been a source of news, entertainment, sports, and music for tens of millions of drivers. As such, the legislation directs the Department of Transportation to require automakers to include AM broadcast radio installed as standard equipment in new motor vehicles, ensuring access to AM broadcast stations, or digital audio AM stations, in every car at no additional cost.”
According to a recent report by AGDAILY, a respected publication that covers agriculture, “AM radio helps keep rural residents apprised of news that may impact their businesses, health care, education, and family.” The trade magazine Today’s Farmer found that two thirds of farmers listened to AM stations for farming operations information, based on data collected by Aimpoint Research in 2021 and 2022.
Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) sponsored the bill in the Senate. His press release on the matter stated that AM radio’s lower frequencies and longer wavelengths make it ideal for communicating at long distances. “As a result,” the press release continued, “FEMA’s National Public Warning System — through which FEMA delivers critical safety alerts to the public — operates through broadcast AM radio stations.”
Markey told CBS News recently that free AM radio is “an essential tool for emergencies, a crucial part of our diverse media ecosystem, and an irreplaceable source for news, weather, sports, and entertainment for tens of millions of listeners.” He also reported that the Department of Transportation has cautioned “that removing AM radios from vehicles means that this vital public safety system will no longer function as intended.”
The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act now has 267 co-sponsors in the House and 62 in the Senate, according to reporting last month by AGDAILY. It also has the backing of more than 250 sponsors, including the NAB, the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, AARP, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Cox Media Group (which owns WHIO radio in Dayton) and iHeartMedia (which owns WLW in Cincinnati). On the other side, GM, Ford, Honda and Tesla have spent the most to lobby against the bill, according to Radio Link. Toyota, however, stopped its lobbying efforts in 2023 after support for the bill in Congress started to gain momentum.
With so much bipartisan support — and 12 states so far plan to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles — it is not clear why Congress has not brought the bill forward. One view is that some lawmakers are still studying potential unintended consequences of the bill. Other lawmakers seem unsure about supporting an older medium that’s not part of the digital revolution, despite all those listeners in rural areas where Internet connections are often sketchy or nonexistent. Another theory: since the vast majority of AM talk radio is hosted by conservatives, some Democratic legislators may be hesitant to move the bill forward.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, many politicians from both parties get a lot of campaign money from automakers and car dealerships.
Richard Campbell is a professor emeritus and founding chair of the Department of Media, Journalism & Film at Miami. He is the board secretary for the Oxford Free Press.
