According to a report from Breitbart News, major car manufacturers have begun phasing out AM radio in select vehicles in what will certainly be a huge blow to conservative talk radio.
“AM radios are being phased out of electric vehicles by automakers including BMW, Volkswagen, Mazda, and Tesla due to interference issues from electric engines. Ford, a significant player in the American auto industry, plans to take things a step further and eliminate AM from every one of its vehicles,” Breitbart reports.
Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood told the Detroit Free Press: “We are transitioning from AM radio for most new and updated 2024 models. 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. Ford will continue to offer these alternatives for customers to hear their favorite AM radio music, news and podcasts as we remove amplitude modulation — the definition of AM in this case — from most new and updated models we bring to market.”
“This is a tone-deaf display of complete ignorance about what AM radio means to Americans,” said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a trade journal covering the talk radio industry. “It’s not the end of the world for radio, but it is the loss of an iconic piece of American culture.”
Fox News and conservative radio host Mark Levin unloaded on the decision, saying they’ve finally found a way to control freedom and limit the reach of conservative voices.
“The automobile is essential to liberty. It’s freedom. So the control of the automobile is about the control of your freedom. They finally figured out how to attack conservative talk radio,” Levin told his listeners last month.
Conservative talk radio host Sean Hannity weighed in last month with Fox News Digital.
“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,” Hannity said. “So is there a political component to it? Certainly feels like it.”
More over at WaPo:
AM radio is being removed from many cars, potentially ending its century-long love affair with the American automobile. https://t.co/qD17G2ZkT5
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 13, 2023
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