Saving AM Radio

[K.M. Richards]

...and the word used before radio was wireless.

Which, in the evolving nature of language, is what cell phone companies call their service much of the time. (Picturing Marconi brought back to life and trying to comprehend what a smartphone is. 😋 )

 

[K.M. Richards]

If you go back to the writings of Marconi back when he was working on radio, he referred to it as ''wireless telephony.'' Those are his words. So his intent was to create a cell phone. It just took 100 years to cram the transmission system into a handheld device.

Sorry, A, but I agree with David's assessment of your comment. "Telephony" did not have the same connotation in the English language of Marconi's day. In fact, as I just posted, Marconi would likely have been baffled by a cell phone.

However (and here's the irony) that "cramming of the transmission system" would not have been possible without Bell Laboratories inventing the transistor, which led to the integrated circuit chip, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Don CT]

Sorry, A, but I agree with David's assessment of your comment. "Telephony" did not have the same connotation in the English language of Marconi's day. In fact, as I just posted, Marconi would likely have been baffled by a cell phone.

That goes back to the telegraph not as much phone.

 

[K.M. Richards]

That goes back to the telegraph not as much phone.

Totally agree, Don, as David correctly said, which I alluded to in my previous post.

 

[TheBigA]

Sorry, A, but I agree with David's assessment of your comment. "Telephony" did not have the same connotation in the English language of Marconi's day. In fact, as I just posted, Marconi would likely have been baffled by a cell phone.

Absolutely! We're talking about 125 years. A lot can change in 125 years. Bell was in the wired communication business. They rented time on wires. They were one of the four partners in NBC, and their contribution was the long lines that connected the stations. I find it interesting that they as a company recognized the limitation of being strictly a wired communication business and immediately adapted to wireless. Marconi would want some credit and maybe some money.

The radio as a device has been replaced by the personal phone. How radio adapts to the marketplace will determine who is still in business in 5-10 years. All of this talk about ''saving AM radio'' is not what anyone in radio should be thinking about. Content is content, regardless of platform. I understand why congress is doing what they're doing, but it's irrelevant to what we do.

 

[TomásEstefan]

...and the word used before radio was wireless.

Many folks to this day in the UK still refer to radio or "a" radio receiver as "the wireless"

 

[Hyrum]

Absolutely! We're talking about 125 years. A lot can change in 125 years. Bell was in the wired communication business. They rented time on wires. They were one of the four partners in NBC, and their contribution was the long lines that connected the stations. I find it interesting that they as a company recognized the limitation of being strictly a wired communication business and immediately adapted to wireless. Marconi would want some credit and maybe some money.

The radio as a device has been replaced by the personal phone. How radio adapts to the marketplace will determine who is still in business in 5-10 years. All of this talk about ''saving AM radio'' is not what anyone in radio should be thinking about. Content is content, regardless of platform. I understand why congress is doing what they're doing, but it's irrelevant to what we do.

I agree that it is all about content, no matter how the content is delivered. That's the problem with AM radio...and FM radio. Content that for the most part isn't very interesting. The internet and cell phone replaced the things that made radio indispensable shortly after the Marconi years. School closings, weather reports and much breaking news is delivered elsewhere. No more waiting by the radio to see if school is closed. Music is everywhere and much of it presented without commercials. That means to me that radio had damn well find something entertaining to make people want to tune in. Thus far from the small amount of dial twisting I do in the car, no station on FM is doing much of it. I can't hear the AM stations through all the noise, but when I drive within 2 miles of an AM tower, I'll check back in. Radio can't continue with a recorded I-Heart voice telling you that "the best variety of music and the story of which star that isn't shining as brightly after her sitcom get's cancelled, is coming up...."
It's not that interesting.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I understand why congress is doing what they're doing, but it's irrelevant to what we do.

You finally phrased that in a way that I can agree with, A.

 

[TheBigA]

Music is everywhere and much of it presented without commercials. That means to me that radio had damn well find something entertaining to make people want to tune in.

That's why I say radio isn't in the free music distribution business. Get a free subscription to Spotify if that's what you want. Give them all your personal information. Make your own playlist. None of it is regulated by the government. None of it is local. None of it is provided with context. They're just audio files that could be emanating from India. You give them your personal info, and it could lead to identity theft. No such problem with radio.

Radio companies know they have to provide content people will want to hear. The smart companies are taking that content and putting it everywhere. Social media, podcasts, in real time, and on demand. Radio companies don't own music. So if you don't like the music, that's not their problem.

 

[kfbkfb]

I rarely listen to radio at home (if I do, it's 710 or 980 AM), I listen mostly on my car radio (12 KC FM stations play music I like).

Radio is a way to minimize distracted driving, I don't have to take my eyes (and ears) off the road to have music (no selecting playlists [voice/touch screen on dash/phone]), no selecting which CD I want to hear (trying to unzip my CD "books" and flip through the "pages" to find what CD I want), radio is (IMHO) safe and simple for in-vehicle use.


Kirk Bayne

 

[CTListener]

Radio can't continue with a recorded I-Heart voice telling you that "the best variety of music and the story of which star that isn't shining as brightly after her sitcom get's cancelled, is coming up...."
It's not that interesting.

Not to you, not to me, but plenty of people in the demos advertisers see as walking pocketbooks get off on that kind of celebrity "news."

 

[bturner1]

Hyrum, I get you don't like over the air radio but the reality is most people do and many like it enough to stream it as well. Never has over the air radio been better researched so as to serve the masses as now.

 

[TheBigA]

Hyrum, I get you don't like over the air radio but the reality is most people do and many like it enough to stream it as well. Never has over the air radio been better researched so as to serve the masses as now.

Correct, and it's targeted to appeal to specific groups. If you're not in one of those groups, radio doesn't appeal to you...by design.

However, if you dial around a little bit, you might find a station that IS targeting you. Perhaps a AAA college station, or an AM talk station. What I find is people complain because the station they used to listen to no longer appeals to them. That's because their target changed. But there are other stations that program to older demos or other interests. They may not be local, but once again, radio isn't limited by geography anymore, unless you use it that way.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Not to you, not to me, but plenty of people in the demos advertisers see as walking pocketbooks get off on that kind of celebrity "news."

For better or worse, you are quite right.

However, I think it was Robert Heinlein who said something about a society being in major trouble when it considers entertainers and pro athletes to be important people.

 

[CTListener]

For better or worse, you are quite right.

However, I think it was Robert Heinlein who said something about a society being in major trouble when it considers entertainers and pro athletes to be important people.

The "Greatest Generation" was ga-ga about Babe Ruth and Frank Sinatra and still managed to win a war, develop revolutionary technology, and land human beings on the moon. Heinlein wrote science fiction and sold lots of books. How was he not a celebrity?

 

[MarioMania]

The last massive investment for AM radio was HD Radio, begun in the early 90s, launched in the early 2000s, and basically DOA. At the time, I said (probably here) that it would mark the last time any technology company would invest money towards improving the quality of AM radio. It was a disaster in execution and implementation. It caused more problems in AM (with interference) than it solved. It was approved by the FCC, never mandated, and then they never addressed the interference issue.

No one was willing to buy a new radio

To the average listener they have a radio already they had for like 50 years

 

[Kelly A]

I rarely listen to radio at home (if I do, it's 710 or 980 AM), I listen mostly on my car radio (12 KC FM stations play music I like).

Must be an aftermarket radio, because Edsel's didn't come with FM tuners.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Meanwhile in Japan....

AM radio listeners set to be permanently tuned out in Japan

Is Japan witnessing the death of AM radio? Since February, some commercial radio broadcasters have begun a trial suspension of AM radio, with a real possibility the pause will extend to a permanent discontinuation across the country as broadcasters look to cut costs. Thirteen of the 47...

japantoday.com

 

[davideduardo]

Keep in mind there's no restriction on the number of video sources either, yet somehow the studios have managed to dominate video content because they understand the distribution, and they know how to market their content. That marketing aspect will become more important for radio companies as they try to establish a beachhead in this new environment. What happens when you have to compete in a larger market where you don't control the device? That's what the next phase will be.

Yet there are consistent rumors about consolidation, particularly among the OTA network associated video streamers like Paramount+ and Peacock, and the second tier of ad-supported providers.

With price increases and even more elimination of the ability to use sources with ad blockers (YouTube became the latest to have a heavy restriction on blockers), we will see individuals and families being more selective than ever.

In radio, providers who do not offer a wide range of music or content will have a hard time.

 

[TheBigA]

In radio, providers who do not offer a wide range of music or content will have a hard time.

Which is why I expect more consolidation in radio. People want more options, and you don't get that when there is format duplication in a market. They want more for less.