A Quest to Save AM Before It’s Lost in the Static

[pstokely]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/us/a-quest-to-save-am-radio-before-its-lost-in-the-static.html?hp&_r=0

"The digital age is killing AM radio, an American institution that brought the nation fireside chats, Casey Kasem’s Top 40 and scratchy broadcasts of the World Series. Long surpassed by FM and more recently cast aside by satellite radio and Pandora, AM is now under siege from a new threat: rising interference from smartphones and consumer electronics that reduce many AM stations to little more than static. Its audience has sunk to historical lows.

But at least one man in Washington is tuning in.

Ajit Pai, the lone Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, is on a personal if quixotic quest to save AM. After a little more than a year in the job, he is urging the F.C.C. to undertake an overhaul of AM radio, which he calls “the audible core of our national culture.” He sees AM — largely the realm of local news, sports, conservative talk and religious broadcasters — as vital in emergencies and in rural areas.

“AM radio is localism, it is community,” Mr. Pai, 40, said in an interview.
"

[KamaAina]

1. “AM radio is localism, it is community,”

Tell it to the people in Minot, ND. There was a train wreck that released poison gas and prompted evacuations. But it was the middle of the night -- and all the stations in Minot are owned by Cheap Channel, and are automated. So there was no way to broadcast the alert.

[thatgemguy]

2. It's already too late.

AM radio was localism before consolidation. Now most AM stations are owned by the big corporations, and are kept on the air as cheaply as possible,using Syndicated programming or anything to keep the carrier modulated. Stations are warehoused and kept on the books as collateral for bank loans, especially since most broadcast properties were overvalued when bought.