OutKick founder Clay Travis has written an op-ed for The Hill, urging Congressional lawmakers to finally pass the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act.
“Millions of Americans depend on AM radio to receive news, opinion, and viewpoints you won’t hear anywhere else,” Travis wrote. “My radio show with Buck Sexton is listened to by millions of people each week on AM stations all across the country. But AM radio is not just for political news and talk radio. It is critical to everyday Americans across all political, ethnic and economic demographics.
“Farmers and their trade associations have told Congress they depend on AM radio for weather reports, crop prices and emergency alerts. Civil rights organizations have said that their members rely on AM to get their breaking news,” continued Travis. “Churches use AM radio to carry services and expand their ministries. Most importantly, emergency management professionals have said AM is a critical public safety device as it stays operational during extreme weather events when every other communications device is prone to outages.”
Clay Travis continued by questioning the reasoning from manufacturers about why they’re removing AM radios from vehicle dashboards.
“Infotainment systems aren’t inherently evil. If consumers understand the risks and have other choices, fine. But if automakers get their way, there soon might not be any other choice,” he said. “Automakers, which have been subsidized by taxpayers to the tune of billions, are quietly removing AM radio altogether.”
He added that the lack of competition in the dashboard is anti-American and should be pushed back against.
“If left unchecked, you may very well be forced onto platforms that monitor you. That’s bad for free speech, it’s bad for privacy, and it’s bad for public safety.”
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