Ford Reconsiders, Now Keeping AM Radio

[KeithE4]

I’ve asked my mom and several others in their 60s that are boomers that grew up with it don’t even think it’s around anymore and quit listening decades ago. “AM?! I thought that went away in the 80s!”

Ancient Modulation started going away in the late '60s and early '70s, when rock stations started up on FM. By the early '80s, AM was pretty much toast for music, although some big stations (notably WLS) hung around until the end of the decade. By 1990, Rush Limbaugh and the other national babblers had taken over the AM dial, at least as far as English-speaking commercial stations went, and there were few, if any major music stations there. Sports radio was and is an exception.

As for myself (born in 1955), all I use Ancient Modulation for is sports and a couple of oldies stations, and only in the van. Everything else I listen to is SiriusXM, a few FM stations, sports online, and my own music. Eventually, the AM sports stations will go away. The locals are on either FM translators or HD2.

 

[TheBigA]

“AM?! I thought that went away in the 80s!”

If you don't listen, it doesn't exist. It's like music you don't like or a TV show you don't like. If you don't listen, it doesn't exist.

Your post reminded me of something in the context of non-broadcast media. Don't do the bundle. In other words, don't get all of your service from the same provider. I had a storm blow in and knock out my internet for a few hours. But because my phone was from a different provider, and wasn't strictly dependent on internet, I was still able to communicate. I've also had the other way, where my phone goes out, but internet still works. But once again, it's because they're from different providers. Each one has tried to get me to bundle, and I refuse. I also know people who have two phones with different providers for the same reason.

 

[cc333]

As I've said before, AM will never be dead in my house because I have a Part 15 AM transmitter set up so I can have the AM experience without worrying about the fact that no other stations air a format I like.

Your post reminded me of something in the context of non-broadcast media. Don't do the bundle. In other words, don't get all of your service from the same provider. I had a storm blow in and knock out my internet for a few hours. But because my phone was from a different provider, and wasn't strictly dependent on internet, I was still able to communicate. I've also had the other way, where my phone goes out, but internet still works. But once again, it's because they're from different providers. Each one has tried to get me to bundle, and I refuse. I also know people who have two phones with different providers for the same reason.

That makes sense. We have Comcast for internet and Verizon for the main phones and Ting (T-Mobile) for the backup. Both Verizon and T-Mobile were out (don't know about AT&T) but Comcast was unaffected.

Could I go a mile or so up the hill and get better service? Sure. Is AM the best thing out there? No, of course not.

All I was trying to point out is that it's foolhardy to rely exclusively on any one thing (smartphones and the Internet, in this case). Know your alternatives. There will be situations where phones and the Internet don't work for a relatively wide area. The major carriers have been supposed to be hardening their towers with battery backup and/or generators so they can continue working when the power goes out, but last night clearly pointed out that it's still not there yet (I had read that they were trying to get their towers set up with batteries and generators in 2019, as in 4 years ago! What's taking them so long?)

My strategy is, in case something happens:

1. Take a look outside
2. If I don't see anything, I will try to look it up on my phone or computer
3. If the phones and internet are out, I'll go turn on the radio and tune into a local news station (KCBS, in my case; I've found that while KCBS has become increasingly mediocre in recent years with respect to their overall coverage, it still covers breaking news of emergencies reasonably well).

So, I don't rely on one thing, because if that one thing is disabled, I'd be in the dark. I'm even thinking of getting an amateur radio license so I can get information that way.

If radio goes away, it'll be too bad because it has been one of the most reliable sources of information in my experiences to date, but I guess I'll have to cope.

c

 

[JTJoe]

Sad state of AM and radio in general! Some of us are still buying AM/FM battery radios, but we are the DXer types. The same "radio use" pattern is happening to TV. Viewers now only think of "cable" supplied TV and that is quickly being replaced with Internet supplied TV. The general TV viewer doesn't even know or remember that TV is still OTA for free. When I have bring this up, that I get "free" TV, younger people look at me like I'm crazy. Seems to be a waste of money on high-power OTA transmitter sites!

 

[Kelly A]

Sad state of AM and radio in general! Some of us are still buying AM/FM battery radios, but we are the DXer types. The same "radio use" pattern is happening to TV. Viewers now only think of "cable" supplied TV and that is quickly being replaced with Internet supplied TV. The general TV viewer doesn't even know or remember that TV is still OTA for free.

Actually, nationwide about 22% of local TV viewing is OTA.

 

[Kelly A]

As I've said before, AM will never be dead in my house because I have a Part 15 AM transmitter set up so I can have the AM experience without worrying about the fact that no other stations air a format I like.

But if power is out at your home, wouldn't your 'Mr. Microphone' personal radio station be out of commission too?

If radio goes away, it'll be too bad because it has been one of the most reliable sources of information in my experiences to date, but I guess I'll have to cope.

Nobody ever said that radio is going away. There's just more competition than there used to be, and most have had to adjust to what the market wants. It's not a binary situation, where radio is same as it was thirty years ago, or it's gone. As for AM, it's old and unacceptable quality, with an audience that's aging out. There's nobody new listening to AM, which means eventually keeping it going won't be sustainable.

 

[michael hagerty]

’ve asked my mom and several others in their 60s that are boomers that grew up with it don’t even think it’s around anymore and quit listening decades ago. “AM?! I thought that went away in the 80s!”

Had I not gone into radio as a profession and needed to be aware of what other stations were doing, I would very likely have stopped listening to AM radio in the early-mid 70s. I'm 67 and started my career in 1971.

In the two years prior to that (beginning when I got my first FM radio), I had gone to probably 80% of my listening being to FM stations.

 

[michael hagerty]

If radio goes away, it'll be too bad because it has been one of the most reliable sources of information in my experiences to date, but I guess I'll have to cope.

I don't know how old you are, but radio (including FM) isn't going away next Thursday at noon. There's probably at least 20-25 years left in FM (less for AM), and in that time, newer technologies existing today will become more reliable and even newer technologies will emerge.

 

[Mikey Radio]

I do have an AM/FM wind-up radio in my emergency kit. It can operate from A/C power, batteries or if you wind the crank on the side, it'll play for an hour. It receives AM, FM and weather bands. It's also got a built-in LED light and most importantly, it can charge my cell phone. The only time I've pulled it out was during a weather-related event about 6 years ago when we lost power for a few days and a few local radio stations were giving updates. I don't consider it a key source of information in an emergency, but it is 1 tool in my emergency kit (along with a small stove, propane, tarps, bottled water, canned goods and the like) that may provide helpful information. Since it also keeps my cell phone charged, hopefully between the cell phone and the OTA radio, I'd be able to get information if/when needed during an emergency. For me, the key is the wind-up feature as I don't need to worry about stocking batteries, or panic if batteries start to drain.

 

[vchimpanzee]

If you don't listen, it doesn't exist. It's like music you don't like or a TV show you don't like. If you don't listen, it doesn't exist.

Your post reminded me of something in the context of non-broadcast media. Don't do the bundle. In other words, don't get all of your service from the same provider. I had a storm blow in and knock out my internet for a few hours. But because my phone was from a different provider, and wasn't strictly dependent on internet, I was still able to communicate. I've also had the other way, where my phone goes out, but internet still works. But once again, it's because they're from different providers. Each one has tried to get me to bundle, and I refuse. I also know people who have two phones with different providers for the same reason.

A few years ago my phone company was charging too much and my Internet was so slow people made remarks about it. Every time I called tech support I was asked, "Do you know how slow your Internet is?" or something like that, as if that was the problem. If the virus protection company needed to take over my computer, I couldn't download the software for them to do that before time ran out, at least the last few times they tried. When the problems got so bad I couldn't deal with them any more, the phone company was willing to give me a deal on faster Internet for a year, but after that, the price was going to be unreasonable. And not for speeds anyone here would think were worth having. Just the minimum to do ordinary things.

So I called the cable company which had been giving me just the broadcast channels since digital TV made antennas undependable. They were going to give me VoIP, but this meant if I had a problem with my cable I didn't have Internet or phone service. So I got a Jitterbug. I keep that in the car for emergencies, as well as to call home when on vacation since if I get a machine, I can't call collect, and it complicates things to make a phone call from the motel room, even if the room has a phone, which mine didn't last month.

When I called to cancel my phone and Internet, all of a sudden the phone company figured out how to make both of those cheaper. But I kept the Jitterbug.

Last week they were going to upgrade me to fiber, and although I don't know if I'll get faster Internet from doing that, it's something they're going to do for everyone. Copper is being discontinued.

 

[Kelly A]

Good Lord. What does any of that have to do with AM radio in cars?

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Good Lord. What does any of that have to do with AM radio in cars?

Or…reality in general?

 

[Mark Roberts]

Had I not gone into radio as a profession and needed to be aware of what other stations were doing, I would very likely have stopped listening to AM radio in the early-mid 70s. I'm 67 and started my career in 1971.

In the two years prior to that (beginning when I got my first FM radio), I had gone to probably 80% of my listening being to FM stations.

Whenever, in my cybersecurity career, I was asked for career advice, my first statement often was "listen to yourself" when it came to figuring out what the questioner really wanted to do. For my radio career, I should have listened to what I was listening to. My radio career was almost exclusively with AM stations because my radio career was mostly in news, but, off-duty, I was primarily an FM listener. So I probably should have gotten out of radio faster than I did. I got my first FM radio in 1968, when there was actually something to listen to on the Iowa-Missouri border, when KRXL came on the air. (It's still very much around, and popular as an album-rocker.) The FM choices in that area weren't all that interesting to a pre-teen at the time - a lot of easy listening unless KGRC from Hannibal, Mo. managed to make it in - so a lot of my listening stayed on AM. We also spent quite a bit of time in our original home area of central Missouri where we still had a farm. There I had Top 40 KTGR-FM on constantly. It was in mono, but I didn't care since I didn't have a stereo anyway!

My family moved to the St. Louis area in 1972. There were far more FM choices. After moving there, I first started listening to KXOK. That was also the year when KSLQ made its appearance. By the end of the year, my taste already had drifted to progressive rock, first on KADI and then onto KSHE. (As I got older, I found DJ chatter to be annoying and pointless.) I even managed to hear the last days of KDNA. Probably more representative were many of my high-school classmates, who had made their switch from KXOK and local daytimer KIRL to KSLQ by 1973. That shift was fast.

In high school, my main use for AM radio was at night, to pick up the Mexican clear-channel stations, especially XEW and the Noticiero Carta Blanca nightly at 7:30 pm, more or less. I really, really wanted to learn Spanish - plus I had an excellent high-school Spanish teacher - and used the Mexican stations to train my ear. And I and my cohort listened to KMOX and KIRL when there was wintry weather and the possibility of school closures. But for entertainment? Aside from the occasional burst of curiosity about "what's happening over on that other band?", FM was the choice.

 

[Kelly A]

In high school, my main use for AM radio was at night, to pick up the Mexican clear-channel stations, especially XEW and the Noticiero Carta Blanca nightly at 7:30 pm, more or less. I really, really wanted to learn Spanish - plus I had an excellent high-school Spanish teacher - and used the Mexican stations to train my ear.

 

[Mark Roberts]

And one of the best lines ever:
"I understand
Just a little
No comprende
It's a riddle"

 

[michael hagerty]

Whenever, in my cybersecurity career, I was asked for career advice, my first statement often was "listen to yourself" when it came to figuring out what the questioner really wanted to do. For my radio career, I should have listened to what I was listening to. My radio career was almost exclusively with AM stations because my radio career was mostly in news, but, off-duty, I was primarily an FM listener. So I probably should have gotten out of radio faster than I did. I got my first FM radio in 1968, when there was actually something to listen to on the Iowa-Missouri border, when KRXL came on the air. (It's still very much around, and popular as an album-rocker.) The FM choices in that area weren't all that interesting to a pre-teen at the time - a lot of easy listening unless KGRC from Hannibal, Mo. managed to make it in - so a lot of my listening stayed on AM. We also spent quite a bit of time in our original home area of central Missouri where we still had a farm. There I had Top 40 KTGR-FM on constantly. It was in mono, but I didn't care since I didn't have a stereo anyway!

My family moved to the St. Louis area in 1972. There were far more FM choices. After moving there, I first started listening to KXOK. That was also the year when KSLQ made its appearance. By the end of the year, my taste already had drifted to progressive rock, first on KADI and then onto KSHE. (As I got older, I found DJ chatter to be annoying and pointless.) I even managed to hear the last days of KDNA. Probably more representative were many of my high-school classmates, who had made their switch from KXOK and local daytimer KIRL to KSLQ by 1973. That shift was fast.

In high school, my main use for AM radio was at night, to pick up the Mexican clear-channel stations, especially XEW and the Noticiero Carta Blanca nightly at 7:30 pm, more or less. I really, really wanted to learn Spanish - plus I had an excellent high-school Spanish teacher - and used the Mexican stations to train my ear. And I and my cohort listened to KMOX and KIRL when there was wintry weather and the possibility of school closures. But for entertainment? Aside from the occasional burst of curiosity about "what's happening over on that other band?", FM was the choice.

I have thought, more than once, that instead of Top 40 and A/C (the 70s version of it, which was really Top 40 minus the six or seven hardest songs that week and gold that went back 15 years instead of 5), I maybe should have worked on album rock stations.

But then I wouldn't have met the woman who became my wife 40 years later, so I really can't complain about having to play the Bay City Rollers and Barry Manilow.

 

[davideduardo]

Ancient Modulation started going away in the late '60s and early '70s, when rock stations started up on FM.

Rock only had a small part to do with it. The reason FM came to life in the late 60's was the FCC prohibition of most AM/FM simulcast operations. This required that FM stations begin originating separate programming. In most cases, that meant piking a format that did not detract from the "mother ship" of a successful AM operation.

So stations went with Beautiful Music, rock, dedicated ethnic formats and others. Soon we saw FMs with oldies, country and other mainstream formats. Top 40 began a huge move to FM in the most early 70's, in fact.

Look at the ratings from the mid-70's on here. DUNCAN'S AMERICAN RADIO - Arbitron ratings 1975 - 2002 - All Markets

Overall, the biggest FM success story of the 70's was Beautiful Music.

 

[davideduardo]

Actually, nationwide about 22% of local TV viewing is OTA.

And, although some stats overlap services, it appears that the effect of inflation and a mini-recession over the last two years has caused OTA use to actually increase.

 

[Kelly A]

But then I wouldn't have met the woman who became my wife 40 years later, so I really can't complain about having to play the Bay City Rollers and Barry Manilow.

Gawd, the Bay City Rollers. When I was just a young Top40 twerp working on the air, I ended up introducing the BCR's in concert on stage. I still remember these little girls running on adrenalin, actually ripping the seats out of the concrete floor tossing them to the side. Once the 'band' (ugh) took the stage, several of the young ladies trampled others. There were ambulances lined up next to the venue to care for the injured.

 

[michael hagerty]

Gawd, the Bay City Rollers. When I was just a young Top40 twerp working on the air, I ended up introducing the BCR's in concert on stage. I still remember these little girls running on adrenalin, actually ripping the seats out of the concrete floor tossing them to the side. Once the 'band' (ugh) took the stage, several of the young ladies trampled others. There were ambulances lined up next to the venue to care for the injured.

Never had to do that (thankfully), but "Rollermania" was a thing...and yeah, it could go real wrong.