Arab Americans and other minorities will suffer if automakers eliminate AM radio
By Ray Hanania
Auto dealers are slowly but steadily removing the AM Radio band from their new vehicles mainly because of radio interference they claim is being caused by the electromagnetic interference from their new electric vehicles.
The auto industry could adjust the new electric vehicles to not conflict with the AM Radio band, which is a lower and more fragile frequency bandwidth than the FM counterparts, or the higher quality sound from radio streaming services like SiriusXm. But that is costly to them.
The easiest and less costly option is to eliminate the AM band complete from radios in the new vehicles, but that will cause a tremendous problem for the ethnic, minority, religious and immigrant communities that no one is addressing.
Besides the claim that the electric vehicles degrade the AM Radio broadcast sound, is the fact that the ethnic, minority, religious and immigrant communities rely on AM radio as the foundation for news and discussions both in English and in their native languages.
One of the biggest victims will be the Arab American community, which relies on the AM band for almost 90 percent of all their radio programs.
Currently, there are about 4,000 AM radio stations in America. With the shift of major radio to the higher quality FM band and streaming services, many ethnic communities have been able to produce and broadcast their own community news, music and talk shows.
The biggest buyers of “brokered” radio on the AM band are Polish and Hispanic programs, featuring the playing of their national music, discussions in both English and in their heritage languages, and often are the only source of news and information on those communities.
Over the years, the mainstream news media has been hit hard by increasing costs, reduced staffing and ownership consolidation. The majority of the mainstream media are owned by five corporations.
Ethnic community news, which was never a priority, has been expendable. And ethnic communities like Poles, Hispanics, Blacks and even Arab Americans have found themselves turning to the brokered AM band to get information or have their community activities broadcast.
The Ford Motor company in Detroit told the Detroit Free Press back in May 2023 that the trend to eliminate AM Radio is global.
“A majority of U.S. AM stations, as well as a number of countries and automakers globally, are modernizing radio by offering internet streaming through mobile apps, FM, digital and satellite radio options,” company spokesman Wes Sherwood told the Detroit Free Press.
Claims that electric vehicles interfere with the AM broadcast band making it appear to be the better option and is being accepted without as much as a public discussion.
The devastating impact the elimination of the AM Radio band will have on ethnic, minority, religious and immigrant communities is not even being addressed.
Many ethnic and minority community groups who rely on AM Radio for their news and discussions in both English and in their native languages, are oblivious to their calamitous future.
Some Hispanic and Black shows have partnered to broadcast on the FM dial, but the cost of the FM dial is far greater than it is to purchase time on the AM Band.
The public will still be able to listen to the AM Radio broadcasts using their computers, cell phone Apps and even using old fashioned radio receivers, although no one knows if that production industry might eliminate the AM band also believing the audience will degrade along with the auto industry.
Most people I know listen to AM radio in their cars. Some listen online.
It’s an issue that Arab Americans need to concern themselves with. Nearly every Arab American and Muslim radio show is broadcast on the AM band. The option to listen to them in your car, the most popular options driving to work in the morning or returning from work int he evening, is vanishing.
Another important factor to stop the auto industry from removing AM bands from their vehicle radios and instead install systems to counter-act the electromagnetic impact of the Electric Vehicles is the reliance of the government to broadcast the Nation’s “Emergency Alert System” to the public.
It has prompted U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) to introduce new legislation called the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023, driven mainly by concerns of the impact on the National “Emergency Alert System.”
The legislation is still being discussed in the U.S. Senate, although it does have bipartisan support from both the Democratic and Republican party members. It needs 51 votes to pass, though and then must go to the Congress for approval before being signed by the President.
Click here to view the legislation.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also issued statements saying that the AM radio band is important for “public safety.”
But so far leaders of the various ethnic, religious and communities have not spoken out about the change that can directly impact and undermine their primary community news source.
Ford officials have announced they will reverse their decision and continue to make AM Radio an option. But, they are one of the few, so far.
In the meantime, auto manufacturers are removing the AM Band from electric vehicles and also from other new vehicles. They should be building their electric vehicles using technology that will prevent the electromagnetic interference from impacting AM Radio.
If automakers eliminate AM Radio from their cars, it will have a devastating impact not just on Arab American media but on the media of all of the nation’s ethnic, minority, religious and immigrant communities.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter. A political analyst and CEO of Urban Strategies Group, Hanania’s opinion columns on mainstream issues are published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. His Middle East columns are published in the Arab News. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at [email protected].)
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