The electric vehicle revolution is now causing a wave of concern among a significant portion of the American public: Conservative talk show listeners.
Major car manufacturers such as BMW, Mazda, Tesla, and Volkswagen are sidelining a staple of American life: AM radio, removing AM receivers from their new electric vehicles, and saying that the radios create electromagnetic interference with the electric-powered engines.
Ford, a stalwart of the U.S. auto industry, said it will exclude AM radio from nearly all its new vehicles – both gas and electric – by 2024, citing data that suggests less than 5% of in-car listening comes from AM stations.
The transition isn’t just a switch of radio frequencies; it’s a fundamental disruption to the conservative talk show ecosystem. Talk radio has long dominated AM radio, while the alternative NPR has dominated FM radio. Some conservatives are crying “foul.”
“I think people want more options, not less options. And this would be a direct hit politically on conservative talk radio in particular, which is what most people go to AM radio to listen to,” said Sean Hannity on Fox News. “It’s not complicated to put in a radio system that allows you to have AM FM, Sirius XM, or the ability to plug in your own music from your own phone “And I think people want more options, not less options. So is there a political component to it? Certainly feels like it.”
Hannity, whose show is broadcast on over 700 AM and FM radio stations, also noted that the car manufacturers are devaluing the AM stations.
“People paid a lot of money for those signals, and they pay that money to, you know, the federal government [that] gives out these licenses. What’s the point if they’re going to take away a significant percentage of the population’s ability to even get the station they would listen to the most while they’re driving?” Hannity said.
The National Association of Broadcasters says 82 million Americans tune into AM radio every month, the majority of broadcasts consisting of news, talk radio, and sports.
In Alaska, AM radio is woven into the fabric of emergency response, capable of reaching remote areas and relaying urgent messages about floods, fires, or earthquakes. This function of AM radio is part of the nation’s Emergency Alert system; Americans rely on it for timely, crucial information.
For instance, one AM radio station in Glennallen — KCAM — can reach all the way to the Canadian border. With a 200-foot section of the Glenn Highway flooded this week at Moose Creek in the Cooper River Valley, being able to reach drivers with that information is possibly lifesaving, and cell phones are not always reliable.
In Alaska, AM radios are far more practical than electric vehicles.
Seven former FEMA administrators wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, emphasizing the public safety necessity of maintaining AM radio in vehicles. A rising tide of policymakers are championing the cause of AM radio, urging automakers to reconsider their stance and underlining its critical role during extreme weather events and natural disasters.
FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington voiced his support, asserting that the Commission “should make clear the vital importance of AM radio.”
“Implementing cost cutting measures at the expense of our nation’s emergency communications abilities is reckless and will have dire consequences for Americans that rely on AM radio in times of crisis,” NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said.
