The potential demise of AM Radio has been a hot-button issue for many in conservative media circles. Some have gone as far to raise the theory that its removal from future car models is a plot to silence conservative voices. Michael Smerconish understands why the feeling exists, but believes it might be misguided.
During his weekend television program on CNN, Smerconish — who hosted a talk show on AM Radio from 1997 until he departed to join SiriusXM in 2013 — said the influence of former radio titan Rush Limbaugh is still felt by AM Radio listeners.
“They fear the loss of the clubhouse that Limbaugh built them,” Smerconish said. “At his peak, Limbaugh aired on approximately 650 stations…the most listened-to show in the country. If AM is jettisoned from cars, it would hasten the end of an era that began in the early 1900s. It’s where Americans heard FDR’s fireside chats, the Hindenburg crash, and Ronald Reagan’s baseball broadcasts…I get the nostalgic feelings for AM radio. I have them, too.”
Smerconish then noted that AM radio has been passed in technology by other forms of media, similarly to how vinyl records gave way to cassettes, then CDs, and .mp3s.
“The time has marched on for AM…many of the radio companies have hastened the demise of AM radio by moving popular programming — including live sports — to the FM band,” argued Smerconish. “So even if AM disappears, the political programming won’t just fade away, it’ll just be found on different platforms.”
