HFU HF Underground
General Category => General Radio Discussion => Topic started by: skeezix on December 07, 2013, 1910 UTC
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http://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248362533/fcc-proposes-changes-to-give-am-radio-a-boost (http://www.npr.org/2013/12/03/248362533/fcc-proposes-changes-to-give-am-radio-a-boost)
AM radio once played a central role in American life. The family would gather around the Philco to hear the latest Western or detective drama. The transistor radio was where baby boomers first heard the Beatles and other Top 40 hits. And, of course, there's no better way to take in a ballgame.
But the AM band is not what it used to be. Now, it's mostly a mix of talk shows and infomercials. According to the Federal Communications Commission, in the mid-1980s, AM radio still claimed 30 percent of the nation's radio listening hours. By 2010, that had dwindled to 17 percent. And among younger listeners, the number is just 4 percent. Part of the problem, says FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, is that the AM signal is getting increasingly hard to hear.
"Whether you're outside and you're getting interference from a power line, or you're inside and everything from the bulbs in your house to the cable box on top of your TV send out signals that conflict with the AM radio signal, and so for broadcasters trying to reach an audience, it's more and more difficult for them to do that," Pai says.
Pai and other commissioners are proposing a number of fixes for the interference problem (http://media.npr.org/assets/news/2013/fcc.pdf), including making it easier for AM stations to move their signal to the FM band. They've also proposed modifying the rules that require many AM stations to power down at night.
Pai says AM radio is an important source of information, especially during an emergency like a natural disaster. Keeping the medium thriving is also important for minority broadcasters, two-thirds of whom broadcast on AM.
Pai also admits to some nostalgia of his own.
"I still remember almost 25 years ago listening to the KLKC 1540 broadcast of my high school basketball championship game in 1987, when my mom wouldn't allow me to go to the game in person so I had to go into my room, sulking a little bit, and tune it to 1540, and I listened to the broadcast that way," Pai says.
That station, KLKC, in Parsons, Kan., still broadcasts high school sports, says Brandon Nivens, the general manager. He says his station is taking other steps to increase its listening audience, including streaming its signal on the Internet.
"Getting into the online aspect of it really helps a lot. We actually stream our AM station online, so that kind of helps reach into the digital realm and kind of get a younger demographic that way," he says.
KLKC, like many in rural America, is tied to its community through local news. The station provides services that includes a swap show called The Trading Post, where on a recent day listeners offered everything from fresh-picked pecans to a used guitar amplifier for sale.
It's this kind of intimate connection AM broadcasters have with their listeners, Pai says, that makes revitalizing the AM band important.
"Whether it's the long-haul trucker who got used to listening to a station as he or she drove across the country to kids who listen to baseball games on warm summer nights, there is something about AM radio that's really embedded in our national culture, and so long as I have a perch here at the FCC I hope to advocate for that to continue," Pai says.
Not all of AM radio is struggling. In fact, five of the top 10 revenue-producing stations are on the AM dial. That's one reason Dennis Wharton of the National Association of Broadcasters is optimistic and supportive of the FCC's proposals.
"There's a lot to be said for AM radio, and the challenges are purely related to interference, and [if] we get those resolved, the industry is going to boom," Wharton says.
The FCC is gathering public comments on the proposed rule changes and may vote on them by next spring.
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All I hear on AMDX is sports and right wingnuts spewing vitriolic rants :(
Peace!
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Exactly, Cmradio. All I usually get on AM, within the States at least, is either right-wing ranting or the same sportscast again and again. not every station conforms to these formats, and thank goodness, and there are always cross-border signals to enjoy, but if the FCC wants to revitalize AM, they'd do well to look at programming rather than signal strength and clarity. ... I know, I know, we all know that already. :)
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Exactly, Cmradio. All I usually get on AM, within the States at least, is either right-wing ranting or the same sportscast again and again
Don't forget the pirates!
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and how could we forget a local in my area WDAS AM 1480 which airs- smooth jazz. Yup you read that right.
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and how could we forget a local in my area WDAS AM 1480 which airs- smooth jazz. Yup you read that right.
I must make a note to try and hear that one! I like smooth Jazz
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I loved and still love good AM radio, I'm from that generation that listened at night to WLS and other stations.
There are several forces at work against AM radio, the first of which (in my opinion) is audio quality. Listeners have so many choices and AM audio isn't of the quality that this group is used to. This argument is made to me when I attempt to introduce old jazz/blues to people - "I like it but the sound quality is intolerable." So, Charley Patton goes unheard. :-[
YES, the programming on AM radio is dismal at best (my opinion again).
And there's nothing like a good baseball/football game on AM radio given the right broadcasters. I grew up listening to Jack Buck & the Cards. Not bad at all, eh? ;D
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if the FCC wants to revitalize AM, they'd do well to look at programming
There's something rather chilling about that thought...
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Ff - it's only 5kw day 1 kw night
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Ff - it's only 5kw day 1 kw night
What has that got to do with Big Brother using a heavier hand in controlling the content being broadcast? Maybe you desire to live in a totalitarian state. I don't.
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IMHO... the best thing the FCC could do to help AM RADIO is to get a handle on all of the so called PART 15 devices that create so darn much noise and drive people away from listening to AM...
I mean really, some of the trash that is being sold in this Country claims to be PART 15 compliant but is in fact a miniature jamming device. Some of the devices don't even have a PART 15 notice on them.
As far as I'm concern that is the biggest problem and the noise can be heard at my QTH all the way up into the VHF region... that includes the aircraft band/public service bands etc... Does someone have to die before some kind of action might be taken??? meaning enforcing the law... pirate radio isn't the problem but these junk consumer products are...!!!
Sorry guys just blowing off steam...
73
Vince KA1IIC
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and how could we forget a local in my area WDAS AM 1480 which airs- smooth jazz. Yup you read that right.
I must make a note to try and hear that one! I like smooth Jazz
Amen to that! 8)
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I tune the AM band every night, listen to it sometimes during the afternoon, and maybe half of the stations are 'right wing' talk or sports talk.
Meanwhile, the rest of the band has arguably more variety than you hear on FM -- for example, nearly all the multicultural programming (Mexican, South Asian, Chinese, Russian, Native American, and Korean) is on AM. Non-right wing, non-sports talk like Coast to Coast, Jim Bohannon / America In The Morning, John Batchelor, Bloomberg Business, Jon Grayson, Ground Zero, etc. -- all on AM. Niche music formats like Classic Country, Oldies, and Standards -- they're all on AM. Old Time Radio? you won't hear that on FM around here. Urban oldies? all on AM. There are also US public radio stations on AM.
The only programming that AM 'lacks' is the same eight or nine monotonous, repetitious FM music formats. So I don't see lack of diverse programming as the number one problem with AM.
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You must be in a good spot, 'cause I don't hear 'em :(
Peace!
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Here in Ohio I do hear a fair mix of material on AM but for the most part it is sports talk, religious and the like... It is very hard for me to hear any of it tho because there is so much noise from power lines, consumer equipment and what I think might be RF heaters used in manufacturing... they 'cook' a lot of plastic around here... i.e. extruded rubber and plastic for auto wind shields etc...
Have a great day and a better tomorrow!
73
Vince
ka1iic