Should AM radio also go away.?

Question

Analog television broadcasting is going away. Five years from now very few countries will broadcast in analog.

Shouldn't crackling, static prone, mediocre quality AM radio also follow this path. Especially now in this age of free digital, HD broadcasts.

Answer 1

No, if its free it's for me.

Answer 2

I'll admit, I don't listen to a whole lot of AM radio, but you asked Should it go away?  I say NO. There's still some good stuff on AM. I'm am amateur radio operator (ham radio), and on HF on the lower frequencies, I can pick up AM stations in the evenings and they sound clear. Of course it's hard to compare a regular AM or AM/FM radio to a ham radio that costs two or three thousand dollars (no, it doesn't transmit there). In the evenings I can pick up WSM (Nashville, TN), even stations in Japan. Sound neat?  Yes I have my ham license.

Answer 3

Who in the world listens to AM anyway? You're absolulty right all you get is crackling and static on AM. Verrrrrrrrry Annoying.

Answer 4

Yes! It should! Why do they have that and the people that listen to am must be really old cause that came out a long time ago! I think they put it there so it could look cool to have 2 options as the type of radio static you have lol

Answer 5

no it should stay

Answer 6

No.  In areas of the country where FM can't reach, AM can.  You'll find that in emergency situations FM, digital, and HD will do absolutely NO GOOD.  Old-school isn't necessarily bad - for casual listening to music and for watching TV in HD (which is overrated anyway - go outside and do something!!!) I suppose it's good.  Besides, if we all try to learn about important issues through actual experience and human contact instead of judging by what we hear on the radio and see on TV, we'd all be a LOT smarter.

Answer 7

i want am radio to stay. my fav radio station is on am!!

Answer 8

Would you shut down a business that was making money and into which you had invested millions of dollars? Because that's what you are asking - and you're being mighty free with someone else's money. Let's throw your car away because the springs squeak and there are newer ones. That's not a good analogy: let's close all the movie theatres because you can go to Netflix or B'Buster.

Let's not buy hand crafted art because we have photoshop that any fool with a computer can use to create "art."

I'm trying to say this in the nicest possible way, 'cuz you're probably a nice guy with a momentary brain cramp, but that is really a question not very well thought out. Did it not occur to you that someone owns those stations, that they employ thousands and that Rush Limbaugh, who is mostly on AM stations, just signed a 400 million dollar deal with his network?

And I didn't even get to the part about many AM stations having upgraded to stereo and offering digital HD subchannels. Maybe you just need a better radio.

-a guy named duh

Answer 9

AM radio is a multi-billion dollar industry. Complain all you like but they're going to around as long as you live.

Having lived through over 20 hurricanes in my life, I can tell you with assurance that AM radio is an important source of information during emergencies. During Hurricane Camille in 1969, WWL out of New Orleans probably saved thousands of lives. During Katrina, AM stations all over Louisiana and Mississippi kept people abreast of the news. Most stayed in emergency mode for a week or more.