Yesterday was a day to celebrate for radio. The House of Representatives passed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act in a vote late Tuesday evening. Finally, after several years of discussion in Congress, there’s life to the legislation. Did the first step take longer than expected? Of course. But now the bill heads to the Senate.
But what now for radio broadcasters themselves?
Yesterday’s news was a celebration, but you could hardly notice. To his credit, iHeartMedia’s Bob Pittman applauded the measure in a statement, calling it a significant victory for public safety and local communities. Audacy and Cumulus, the second- and third-largest radio companies in the country, were relatively silent on the measure.
Which makes me wonder: If Congress cares so much about the importance of AM radio, will radio broadcasters themselves follow suit?
AM Challenges
Having worked in sports radio for more than two decades, getting audiences to stick with the AM band was an ongoing challenge. It’s simply not the first option any longer. Audio has become not only easier to access but also better in overall quality. The static that was once commonplace is no longer something audiences are willing to accept.
Today, if something isn’t in stereo or digital, it can almost seem foreign to the listener. However, the value of the AM band is still quite relevant. Not every community has citizens with access to the internet. FM signals only go so far, and programming on the FM dial isn’t always geared toward news and information. And can you remember the last time you walked into someone else’s home and found a radio?
AM radio can still provide vital news, weather, traffic, community announcements and other information that communities need. The car is the singular destination where radio still holds a tight grasp on consumers’ attention. Radio’s ability to deliver information without requiring an internet connection makes it particularly valuable during emergencies. Believe me, I know first hand.
When severe weather strikes, power goes out or cellular networks become unreliable, the radio inside the car can still serve as an important connection to the community.
It’s taken three years for Congress to act on the importance of AM radio to the country. Now, will broadcasters support that action with more investment in their AM stations?
Will Broadcasters Back Up Their Words
Radio stations need people to run them, talent to anchor coverage and staff to market those stations as destinations for the moments when they’re needed most. So, will we see newsrooms begin to increase their headcount around the country? Could we see more local voices on AM radio reinforcing those communities instead of syndicated programming that rarely connects with a local audience?
I remember a day when I would walk into the NewsRadio 970 WFLA studios a decade ago and see four or five different people working on countless stories and content in the newsroom. Today, you’re lucky to have two people there at a single moment.
Research consistently shows that listeners value local voices and local content. Yet many AM radio stations have little local presence or few voices connecting with their communities. Some broadcast companies use centralized hubs to produce news, weather and traffic reports for multiple markets across a state or region.
That creates a contradiction.
Broadcasters have spent years telling lawmakers that AM radio is uniquely important to local communities, particularly during emergencies. But the value of that argument depends on having people and programming capable of serving those communities.
If AM radio in the car was worth the effort of the last three years to save, shouldn’t radio be investing in making sure it remains relevant to today’s audiences? The fight to keep AM radio in the car shouldn’t end with Congress. It should be the beginning of a much bigger conversation inside every radio company that spent the past three years arguing that AM radio is too important to lose.
Vital vs Viable
Because there’s a difficult question broadcasters now have to answer: If AM radio is important enough for Congress to protect, why isn’t it important enough for broadcasters to invest in?
You can’t stand before lawmakers and make the case that AM radio is an essential lifeline for communities during emergencies, then turn around and reduce the number of people responsible for delivering the news, information and local programming that makes that lifeline valuable.
You can’t argue that AM radio matters to local communities while replacing local voices with centralized programming. You can’t tell listeners that the AM band is still relevant while giving them fewer reasons to tune in.
The industry asked Congress to protect the platform. Now broadcasters need to prove they believe their own argument. Put people back in the newsrooms. Invest in local talent. Market the stations. Create programming that sounds like the communities those signals serve. Give listeners something they can’t get from an algorithm, a podcast or a streaming service.
Congress may ultimately decide whether AM radio remains in the car. Broadcasters will decide whether there’s anything worth listening to when it gets there.
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