Endangered Species: AM Car Radios?

In the 1930s, dashboard AM radios (Audio Modulation) became a standard feature in US cars, and drivers could change stations safely with push-button tuning. In the 1950s and early 60s, teenagers cruised the streets listening to Rock n’ Roll from radio DJs like Murray the K, Alan Freed, Robin Seymour, and Wolfman Jack. AM radio became part of driving for these baby boomers.

1970s car radios included the FM (Frequency Modulation). FM delivers music with less static and greater sound range, often in stereo. Music broadcasters (and listeners) moved to the FM band. AM stations are fine for voice transmission, and can be heard over greater distances. AM became the kingdom of talk radio, often religious or conservative political opinion shows.

So: talk radio, mostly conservative, is largely broadcast on AM to conservative and older listeners, prone to listening to radio in their cars. Works all the way around, right? Except that tomorrow’s electric cars likely won’t have AM radios. It costs too much to shield them from motor interference. Yet another reason for conservative oldsters to hang on to their gas burners, no matter how right-wing Tesla boss Elon Musk gets.

If a reasonably-priced workaround isn’t found, talk radio broadcasters will have to transition to FM, or teach old-timers how to use podcasts.

More:

“Will Electric Cars Kill AM Radio?”, Jim Motavalli, Autoweek

“In a Future Filled With Electric Cars, AM Radio May Be Left Behind,” Michael Levenson, New York Times

“The End of Terrestrial Radio? Electric Cars and AM Radio,” Jim Flammang, Consumer Reports

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Radio in Space @ Distance

If extraterrestrials out in space are listening to Earth’s radio broadcasts right now, what are they hearing? Hip Hop? The Beatles? Walter Winchell? Al Jolson? Enrico Caruso? That depends on how far away they are. That’s the premise behind simulation website Lightyear.fm.

More:

“Lightyear.fm shows the ‘contemporary’ music extraterrestrials are rocking out to,” Christopher Curley, A.V. Club

“Stunning Sim Shows How Far Hit Songs Have Traveled in Space,” Tim Moynihan, Wired

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Soul Sixteen

In New York City during the 1960s, radio station WWRL-AM (1600 kHz) exerted a cultural force well beyond its 5000 watt signal. Under program director Hal Jackson the “Soul Sixteen” broadcast a wonderful blend of regional Soul and R&B, including a healthy dose of Memphis Soul as well as Motown.

Disk Jockeys included Jerry Bledsoe, Hank Spann, Gary Byrd, and above all Frankie Crocker, a master of oral-formulaic composition who was so influential that there was an LP of his DJ patter.

Here’s an excerpt. If you don’t dig it you’ve got a hole in your soul and you never eat chicken on Sunday:

NPR Demographics

“As NPR came of age in the 1980s, its audience matured with it. Three decades later, that is starting to look like a problem.

Many of the listeners who grew up with NPR are now reaching retirement age, leaving NPR with a challenge: How can it attract younger and middle-aged audiences — whose numbers are shrinking — to replace them?”

— “NPR is graying, and public radio is worried about it,” Paul Farhi, Washington Post

“Though NPR is seeing some listening gains on digital platforms, particularly with podcasts, its broadcast audience has dropped. Average–quarter-hour (AQH) listening during morning drive time has dropped 11 percent in the past five years, and afternoon drive audience has declined 6 percent. The only age bracket that has increased listening to NPR stations is the 65-plus audience.”

— “Drop in younger listeners makes dent in NPR news audience,” Tyler Falk, Current

More:

“Who Isn’t Listening to Public Radio,” Justin Fox, Bloomberg View

“WNYC is leading public radio’s transition to public podcasting,” Jack Murtha, Columbia Journalism Review

“Why I Left NPR,” Stephen Henn, Medium

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Image (“NPR Demographics, after Norman Rockwell”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Michele Bachmann: God Will Destroy America Like Sodom & Gommorah!

Last weekend, while Pope Francis spoke to you about world peace and justice, former Congresscreature and Tea Party loon Michele Bachmann told radio host Janet Markell that President Obama, same-sex marriage, family planning clinics, and fetal cell research doom the United States to God’s fiery wrath:

“When we raise our fist to a holy God and say that we are going to redefine marriage, we are going to be okay with paying a Planned Parenthood to cut up innocent baby parts and sell them for research, that clearly is a problem and as we have seen God render judgment in the days of Noah, in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah and so forth throughout history, what the prophets have told every generation is that there is a just God and the people must repent and turn to him. So too in this day of wickedness in our own culture, we need to do the same. We need to repent and we need to confess because a holy Savior is coming to save us and redeem us from this sin-sick world.”

— “Bachmann: God May Destroy America Over Gay Marriage Just Like Sodom,” Brian Tashman, Right Wing Watch

More:

“Michele Bachmann: God Will Punish America for Planned Parenthood, Gay Marriage Just Like Sodom and Gomorrah,” Samual Smith, Christian Post

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On the Radio: Bittman Dishes

Earlier this month, Mark Bittman ended his New York Times op-ed column to join a Bay Area food startup. There is no truth to the rumor that former restaurateur John Boehner quit Congress to join Mark’s new venture since we just made that up.

Thursday, on WNYC Radio’s The Takeaway, Mr. Bittman explained that changes in the food scene prompted him to leave the newspaper:

“I was at this dinner a year ago and I was discussing a dish with somebody. She said, ‘What salt would you use with that?’ and I burst out into laughter, tears, or anger, But then I was re-telling that story recently and someone said, ‘I don’t know why you find that outrageous, of course it matters what salt you use.’ That’s the kind of change in the food scene we can do without.”

Mark Bittman has been coy about his new business venture, but during the radio interview he spoke about fast-casual dining and the food supply chain, and we know the startup is in the San Francisco area. One hypothesis: A high-tech build-out of the Alameda-Weehawken Burrito Tunnel. About time, too.

More:

“Mark Bittman: Why I’m Leaving The New York Times,’ The Takeaway

(Audio: http://www.thetakeaway.org/audio/m3u/533285/ )

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Maya Angelou Tells Studs Terkel About Con Men

Studs Terkel interviewed poet Maya Angelou for his Chicago radio show in March, 1970. A portion of the program was recently animated by Patrick Smith of Blend Films for Blank on Blank (PBS Digital):

Tom Magliozzi, 1937 — 2014

Tom Magliozzi, co-host of NPR’s “Car Talk” brother act, died on Monday at the age of 77. Besides joking and giving car repair advice, he and brother Ray ran a garage and a self-help car repair facility in Cambridge MRA, their hometown. A graduate of MIT, Tom also taught, worked in industry, and played bass in a Bluegrass band.

Tom and Ray Magliozzi put their weekly Car Talk radio program up on blocks in September 2012, and NPR has been recycling the good parts each week since then. The program ran for 10 years as a local feature on Boston’s WBUR-FM before being picked up by NPR stations nationwide 27 years ago.

Tom and Ray received a Peabody Award in 1992 and have been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. More importantly, they have been honored by the Martin Guitar Company with a special edition Click and Clack Martin Guitar (great muffler inlay on the fifth fret).

Classic Hip-Hop: Rap for Geezers

A Houston news radio station changed formats last week:

“. . . Rechristened Boom 92, the station declared that it would become the first major market radio station dedicated to classic hip hop. Instead of Drake and Nicki Minaj, it would play “the hip hop you grew up with”—assuming that you grew up with Dr. Dre and Missy Elliott. If that sounds awesome to you, you’re going to love a recent Boom 92 playlist.

In many ways, this is an idea whose time has come, which is another way of saying that hip-hop, and its first-wave fans, are, well, old. Dre will be 50 in February; Ice-T is just 10 years away from his first Social Security check. Licensed to Ill topped the Billboard charts in 1987; three years later, hip-hop made up one-third of the Hot 100. By 1999, it was the country’s best-selling genre, with more than 81 million albums sold. The fans who propelled the early boom probably don’t know Young Thug from Rich Homie Quan, and don’t want to.

Rob Ford, Sports Junkie

106.7 THE FAN Sports Radio in Washington has a new heavyweight sports commentator, The Honorable  Rob Ford, the controversial Toronto mayor. Mr. Ford will phone in to the station every Thursday. He’s got lots more free time since the Toronto City Council relieved him of most duties. Perhaps  he can find 6 more radio stations to call on each of other days of the week.

Anyway, the show is broadcast on 106.7 FM Thursday morning from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM Eastern Time. If you’re not in the Metro DC area you can tune in online here.