‘As I See It’ by Gary Truitt: Why the Fight to Keep AM Radio is Important

In March of 1921, a grain dealer in Tuscola, IL, started putting grain prices on the local AM radio station he owned. In May of that year, KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh PA, started broadcasting market reports for area farmers. Radio has been a major source of timely information for famers across the U.S. ever since. Radio became more about music in the 1950s; but, still, well-known farm broadcasters delivered vital information on powerful regional stations.

In the 1970s, farm radio networks developed which allowed local rural-based radio stations to add farm programs to their lineup. These stations became vital links to farmers with the recession and market volatility that raged in the 1980s and 90s. By the year 2000, corporate takeovers forced many big city stations to abandon farm programs, which increased the importance of local stations. Today, most of the agricultural information on the radio is broadcast by stations in rural communities.

Gary Truitt, Founder and Chairman of Hoosier Ag Today.This vital source of timely agricultural information is under attack. There is a move in the auto industry to eliminate AM radio, and eventually all radio, from the dashboards of vehicles. A combination of generational and technological forces are at work here.

Many young urbanites who use digital media exclusively feel media like radio and newspapers are obsolete. Electric car builders and buyers, who are also very technologically influenced, believe that having an on-line streaming or satellite service in the dashboard is sufficient. Many in the engineering community have felt for some time that there are better uses for the frequency bandwidth used by radio and television.

While this has been bubbling under the surface for a while, it broke into the open when Ford made the announcement it would stop putting AM radios in its cars. This prompted an outcry from broadcasters and farm broadcasters which resulted in galvanizing a coalition to save AM radio. In a very short time, this group got support from the FCC, the Transportation Dept, and got two bills introduced into Congress.  The folks at Ford went “whoa!” and did a quick reversal — for now. While the first battle has been won, the war is far from over.

If you are a farmer who regularly flips on the truck radio to your local station, even if it is not AM, this is an important issue for you. If AM is lost, FM will be right behind; and, without universal broadband internet coverage in rural America, your source of timely, relevant, free information will be lost. Local radio stations are having a hard enough time as it is, but the loss of being able to reach people in their cars would be a knockout blow. The loss of a radio station in your community would mean reduced coverage of local weather, local news, local issues, and local sports, to say nothing of the loss of agricultural information.

Radio is a far more important resource for rural communities than for urban areas. Thus, it is vital that rural voices be heard on this issue. It is time to speak up, inform, and educate regulators and policy makers on the importance of over-the-air broadcasts to your community and your industry.

You can do this by going to https://nafb.com/WhyIListen/Survey.

Complete the survey and enter to win $500.

That is how I see it.

Gary Truitt

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Hoosier Ag Today, its employees, advertisers, or affiliated radio stations.