No AM in your car? No credit for you …

No amplitude modulation in your electric vehicle? No tax credit for you. At least that is an idea proposed by Senator Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky. According to InsideRadio.Com, Paul suggested that if a brand pulls AM radio reception out of its models, the Federal government should in turn pull the $7500 per car tax credit that buyers receive when purchasing.

In an interview with AM station KPKY/Kentucky, he said “we shouldn’t be subsidizing each car (in that way) adding that “if we got rid of the subsidies … we wouldn’t have the AM radio problem.”

The idea is one of the ideas being thrown around as discussions continue regarding the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (Senate bill 1669) that proposes to require over the air (free) AM reception in all vehicles sold in the United States. Interestingly, Paul is not on the list of that bill’s supporters.

A House version of the bill (H.R. 3413) is also moving forward; both versions have bipartisan support, though some legislators have expressed concern with a mandate. Interesting how other mandates that affect us don’t phase them, though I digress.

Permanent Daylight

There has been talk of having so-called Daylight Savings Time year-round for decades, ever since (and even before) it was tried out in December, 1973 when President Nixon signed an order doing so. At the time it started, public support for the move was around 80 percent; just two months later, support tumbled to 42% … and by October, 1974, President Ford signed a bill returning the United States to Standard time four months per year.

Back then, parents worried about possible problems including traffic accidents when children walked to school in the dark; indeed, KKDJ (now KIIS, 102.7 FM)  morning man Charlie Tuna made mention of it numerous times on his show, stating how strange it was to be so dark in the morning.

As talk continues now, and with the reintroduction of the Sunshine Protection Act (Senate bill 582) by Marco Rubio (R) of Florida and a companion bill (H.R. 1279) introduced by Vern Buchanan (R) of Florida in the House, those and other concerns are coming back to the forefront … including AM broadcasters who are afraid of losing prime morning broadcast time.

Unlike FM stations that remain at the same power 24 hours per day, most AM stations need to turn transmitter power down at night to reduce interference interference caused by skywave signals that can travel hundreds of miles at night. Some stations operate at just a few watts at night.

What does this have to do with Daylight Savings Time? Simple – if the time is changed such that it stays darker later into the morning, those same stations can’t get back to normal power until the sun is up … and they lose out on what is generally the most lucrative and profitable listening time of the day – morning drive time.

Some stations – those licensed to broadcast only during the daytime – would not be able to   even sign on the air until the majority of their audiences are at work.

Of course, the same can be said of the afternoon drive time that is lost whenever Standard time returns, but the amount of money made in the afternoon generally pales in comparison … morning is king.

Solutions include extending the authorized time stations can broadcast at full power — or at least a higher reduced power, something the FCC has authorized on a case-by-case basis in the past. But that creates its own problems of extra interference, and it is unlikely that the stations currently protected will want to reduce their own coverage in any way.

Finally Finished

Is The Habit’s Santa Barbara Char a sandwich or a burger? After a month of ads on Booker and Stryker’s Alt 98.7 FM afternoon show, I have the answer.

As I write this, the votes have not been released. But after a month of on-air banter featuring the team “arguing” about what it is and directing listeners on how to vote, I can confidently say … 

No. One. Cares.

And thank heavens the tremendously annoying ad campaign is finally over.

No offense to either Booker or Stryker, who have one of the best afternoon shows in the city. They were probably as annoyed doing it as listeners were in hearing it.

Practice

Another Alt mention … morning man Woody and crew announced a rule recently in which contest winners will not be put on the air, because they are “not excited enough.” 

Ah, boring contest winners … the bane of radio. But it’s not new to The Woody Show. There are recordings of “The Real” Don Steele on KHJ (930 AM) during the early days of the top-40 Boss Radio format circa 1967 or so in which the legendary DJ coaches his winners on how they should sound when he puts them on the air. Radio is a show, after all, and all elements need to be right – even if it means “encouraging” the reactions. Steele was a master at turning his program into a true “show.”

Slightly similarly, when I was an intern at Magic 106 (now KPWR Power 106 FM), then-afternoon DJ Sonny Melendrez did a stunt in which he coached listeners to go over the top with joy and excitement for winning as little as one dollar. It’s a really funny bit that I should post at socalradiowaves.com, but it does bring up the point … often reactions are a bit exaggerated. 

Good radio is indeed a show, after all.

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