Should AM radio just be taken off the air?

Question

Does anyone ever listen to AM radio? Is it worth keeping AM radio alive these days?

Answer 1

Check out the First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution.

Keep in mind that we can burn the flag and change the channel.

The philosophical ramifications implicit in your question recommend and require a great deal of study....if you already have to ask the question.

There are many places to start. Try "The Virtue of Selfishness" by Ayn Rand, and in particular, the first essay, Philosophy: Who Needs It and Why.

Why would you even want to take it off the air....and make that choice and decision for others, and presumably, without their permission? Who would have such authority....and who would grant it to them? What would the criteria be....and why? Would this be a desirable kind of society or country? Why?

If AM radio was banned here....and it found its way to mainland Communist China....what do you think would happen to it?

False premises lead to false conclusions. Check your premises.

That's where the future lies.

Answer 2

NEIN............TAKE IT OFF I SAY////////////NEIN

I HATE THEM AM STATIONS/SEEDY AS RYE.......HOKEY AS HAY, ,,,,,,STUPID AS ROYCE N RODENT,....OI AM ...SAY AM............SYE AM.............AM PAN AM//////////PAN AMERIOCAN AIRWAYS,......................HAVE A GUTTEN FLOUGHHJT

Answer 3

Yes I listen to it all the time. It has the best sports/talk radio shows. You can always turn it on and find some type of game on the air also.

Answer 4

Hamrfan has good points but it will never be taken completely off the air as both our national security depends on it as well as it's ability to cover great distances.

I love being nostalgic as AM radio remember was the main radio until roughly the mid 1970s adn was domanant til the mid 1980s, but due to people wanting cleaner sound migrated to FM making AM radio stations on the cheap giving people who wouldn't have been able to afford a voice , to actually buy one now (Your bigger corporations do own many stations, Most are on FM as the Ams they have were part usually of package deals... but you will find more variety in ownership on AM than FM)

But getting back to what I said earlier.. it will NEVER be shut down as certain Am stations (34 to be exact) are the backbone of the last ditch emergency communication system in the US (It's a National emergency system called Primary Entry Point)

Answer 5

I thought when I was a younger guy that AM radio died when WOWO (Fort Wayne, Indiana - 1190kc) was bought out by Inner City Broadcasting of New York and applied for a night time power reduction so their New York station, on the same frequency could raise it's night time power.  The FCC approved it and reduced WOWO's night time power to a little over 11kW...11.4kW I believe.  Before that happened WOWO played music and I listened to it from Nashville, Tennessee.  I called the station a couple of times in the middle of the night and played their games.  Was even put on the air live.  A truly historic moment for me at least, as I was in my early teens.  I still remember the contest and the prize I won for guessing the right answer.  I listened to it when I was driving from Nashville to Charleston West Virginia.  I didn't even change the station from the time I left the house for 8 hours until I got to my destination.  That was way before satellite radio was even thought of.  I even received it in C-QUAM stereo.

As I got older, I realized that AM is still good for many things.  Since the audio frequency is limited to 5kc, it isn't suitable for music as much as FM radio is.  Slowly news and talk stations replaced them.  hamrrfan is right on point with his answer.  Of course the FCC approved Hybrid Digital for medium wave (aka the AM radio band).  It looks so far to be a disaster so I don't think it will work, but we will see.

Medium wave will never leave.  It is still very dependable and it still has an audience.

By the way, I receive during the day, a MW station that still plays music in a major market.  KONO (San Antonio, Texas - 860kc) does.  Thank the heavens for directional antennas.

Answer 6

All radio is about worthless nowadays. Nearly every station is owned by Clear Channel, which hands down playlists from corporate offices, regardless of whether listeners really want to hear or not.

Answer 7

Although AM sound is muffled compared to FM, the power required to broadcasts the same distance is far less.  For instance, a 50kw AM signal can cover hundreds of miles compared to FM which breaks up about 60 miles from the transmitter.

Once AM Hybrid Radio (HD) transmitters are operating, the sound will be comparable to today's FM broadcasts.  That means, there is the potential for dozens of choices of programming (up to 3 formats) per signal.

Answer 8

are you serious????? AM radio is alive and well and is a great source of revenue for owners and that revenue comes from advertisers buying air time due to the  rating services providing stats on audience numbers.There are a great number of people that have grown weary of the relentless rerunning of the same songs over and over and over and over. Those people when turning on radios turn to AM talk stations, sports orientated stations and news stations.

Answer 9

If no one was listening to AM radio, the sponsors would not be paying for the commercials that keep the stations is business.  AM radio also has a much wider broadcast area then FM.  A large 50,000 watt AM station can cover several states.  This has both commercial and emergency value.  An FM station can overly cover a large city and a few suburbs.

Answer 10

I love listening to AM talk radio via the Internet.  And remember, AM is going HD like TV.