[SkyHub] AM Radio in new vehicles

[Jack Roland]

Greeings all, a follow up from W5WCA, Cris, on the AM Radio in new cars issue:  From "the Local Oscillator":

AM Update
By now it's old news that Ford has changed its corporate mind about removal of the AM band from the entertainment systems in its 2024 model year passenger vehicles, thanks to political pressure that stemmed from the grassroots efforts of radio stations, including all of ours. The commitment by Ford, however, extends only to the 2024 model year, and the automaker's statement included some troubling language that indicated it is looking into alternatives for the conveyance of emergency information (presumably other than AM). What that means is that we still need the AM bill in Congress, and we can't take our foot off the gas with our on-air announcements and live reads. We need listeners to continue to pound their representatives and senators with emails and calls in support of the bill. While all this started as an RFI issue in electric vehicles, I have a strong suspicion that what's really behind it is a subscription model for all onboard entertainment. If free, over-the-air AM and FM radio is eliminated from vehicles, car owners will have to either pay the automaker a monthly fee for streaming services or do without, and doing without is not an option for the majority of people. Was ditching AM a trial balloon? Maybe. It was certainly a shot across the bow of our industry, and we're very much aware of the threat now and playing strong defense. We'll continue to watch this issue and to push lawmakers to keep free, over-the-air broadcast radio in vehicle entertainment systems.

See the article in its entirety at:  Microsoft Word - June 2023 Local Oscillator.docx (crawfordmediagroup.net)<https://crawfordmediagroup.net/Local_Oscillator/June%202023%20Local%20Oscillator.pdf>

73'
Jack
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