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Government United States

US Senate Panel Passes AM Radio, Ticket Fee Pricing Bills (reuters.com) 264

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation on Thursday to bar automakers from eliminating AM broadcast radio in new vehicles and require companies like Ticketmaster to put total ticket prices including fees in marketing materials. The AM radio bill and the ticket-pricing bill both had strong bipartisan support and both have companion measures in the House of Representatives. The AM radio bill would direct the Transportation Department to issue regulations mandating AM radio in new vehicles without additional charge. Senators said this year that at least seven automakers have removed AM broadcast radio from their electric vehicles, including Tesla, BMW, and Volkswagen. Ford reversed course in May under pressure from Congress. Lawmakers say losing AM radio undermines a federal system for delivering key public safety information to the public. The National Association of Broadcasters said the bill "will ensure that the tens of millions of AM radio listeners across the country retain access to local news, diverse community programming and emergency information." The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing major automakers, opposed the measure: "This is simply a bill to prop up and give preference to a particular technology that's now competing with other communications options and adapting to changing listenership."

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee also approved two bills aimed at tightening privacy protections for children online.
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US Senate Panel Passes AM Radio, Ticket Fee Pricing Bills

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  • is now being supported by a "Big Government" MANDATE?

    The fat fucker must be spinning in his grave right now.

    If his fans had ANY level of consistency, they would all be ripping the radios out of their cars and burning them, to protest "Big Radio" telling the auto manufacturing companies how to run their businesses....

    • It's for emergency broadcast concerns - pay attention.

      "Even" the rural farmers that raise your food deserve to have access to emergency broadcasts. If Equal Protection is objectionable just get rid of the EBS, eh?

      But, don't worry - most of the Deplorables who work outside of cell service areas get their content online now. YouTube even lets you download hours of podcasts easily.

      The era of AM Radio neocons is over - Rush's replacement is literally a CIA guy (look it up).

      • The question isn't whether AM radio should be made illegal, it is whether auto dealers/manufacturers can charge money for a feature. One would think reliable disaster information alone would be worth a couple bucks to a rational consumer, but the party of free markets and farm subsidies has voted.
      • by Can'tNot ( 5553824 ) on Friday July 28, 2023 @09:17AM (#63721486)

        It's for emergency broadcast concerns

        It's not. AM radio takes a very large portion [doc.gov] of some of the most valuable spectrum. If we really wanted to turn AM radio into a dedicated emergency service we could repurpose 99% of that and cut it down to a single emergency channel which would still work with existing AM receivers. Literally, 99%. That huge allocation is split into more than 100 channels.

        • by msk ( 6205 )

          Didn't you notice that chart is logarithmic?

          AM radio is a tiny portion of the total spectrum.

          • Not only is it taking a smaller portion than appears due to the nature of the scale, it's also low frequency. Which means that it isn't "some of the most valuable spectrum" by most measures. It's relatively crappy spectrum, not capable of high data rates without being wide as all hell.

            Now, it's good at relatively low bandwidth options over long ranges with a fairly high penetrative power, so it's good for reaching "everybody" with low bandwidth...

            Hmmm... Voice is fairly low bandwidth, and you want to rea

          • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

            Didn't you notice that chart is logarithmic?

            AM radio is a tiny portion of the total spectrum.

            AM radio consumes just over 1MHz of the valuable HF spectrum which runs from 0 to 30MHz. This is valuable bandwidth because it enables worldwide radio communications. Above 30MHz or so, transmissions end up being more line of sight, and sadly, as we don't live on a flat earth, this limits the range of radio transmissions. After all, on a flat earth, all we'd need is a single radio tower at the center (what globe-ist

      • [sarcasm]
        But "emergency broadcasting" = SOCIALISM, no? A government program aimed at providing help for EVERYONE? Even the lazy welfare moochers, and people with objectionable skin colors, politics, or icky gay stuff?

        The globalist government just wants to seize control of the airwaves and make sure that people are FORCED to consume their commie UN propaganda the next time they fabricate some so-called "emergency" like a pandemic, climate catastrophe, etc.

        What's next, putting Bud Light directly into the wate

      • I googled Rush Limbaugh replacement and it appears to be two guys named Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. Which one was in the CIA?

      • by deKernel ( 65640 )

        If you are referring to Dan Bongino, he was a NYPD officer and the a member of Secret Service.

    • by GFS666 ( 6452674 )

      is now being supported by a "Big Government" MANDATE?

      The fat fucker must be spinning in his grave right now.

      If his fans had ANY level of consistency, they would all be ripping the radios out of their cars and burning them, to protest "Big Radio" telling the auto manufacturing companies how to run their businesses....

      Consistency?! You must have never have listened to Rush. He couldn't even be consistent during the segments of his program so why would one expect his non-logical, dead head audience to do so. I used to listen to his radio broadcast every now and then to judge how bad the hard right Republicans were becoming. On one such broadcast, he was railing against the Democrats using some talking point (I forget what it was). In the VERY next segment, he praised the Republican party for doing something, using the EXA

  • It doesn't matter if you have an AM radio if NOBODY IS USING IT. Seriously, why do they think that FM radio is somehow going to be unable or unwilling to broadcast a signal in an emergency? If that's the real issue then why not simply ensure that they must? Who is it that is deeply invested in the existence of AM radio?

    • by Guyle ( 79593 ) on Friday July 28, 2023 @08:26AM (#63721284)
      FM radio stations have relatively smaller broadcast radii compared to AM stations in the MF frequency range. The amount to invest into backup power to keep enough FM stations going (and staffed) during emergencies would be onerous, whereas FEMA maintains generators at almost key AM radio broadcast stations to keep them powered up in an infrastructure outage. Those stations cover 90% of the population. You can't do that with FM radio broadcasts in the VHF frequency range, they just don't have the reach.
      • by e3m4n ( 947977 )
        Was about to post this exact thing. Stupid millennials and genZ not learning about the properties of radio bands. Hell they apparently dont bother to read highway signs either. Theres always a bulletin in orange about the emergency broadcast frequency. This is where you go to learn about why you have been at a standstill for an hour. You put a broadcast tower near the center of a state and you can pretty much reach the whole state. Mountains might cause issue but the overall coverage is impressive. The only
      • Sorry but I don’t believe you.

    • It doesn't matter if you have an AM radio if NOBODY IS USING IT.

      AM Radio is quite actively used.

    • It doesn't matter if you have an AM radio if NOBODY IS USING IT. Seriously, why do they think that FM radio is somehow going to be unable or unwilling to broadcast a signal in an emergency? If that's the real issue then why not simply ensure that they must? Who is it that is deeply invested in the existence of AM radio?

      Cell phones are capable of getting WES alerts; and I’d bet there is more likely to be a cell phone, probably streaming something, with a connection in a car than one where the AM radio is in use.

      AM has a lot of range advantages over FM (here’s to you, WOWO FT Wayne, Indiana) but unless you are listening to it you aren’t getting any alerts.

      A better approach, if the government wants to ensure better delivery, is to mandate streaming services develop a standard API that allows the governmen

      • Cell phones are capable of getting WES alerts

        If the entire cell network, from EPCs to eNodeBs to the RAN, the backhauls, the management systems, and so on, are all also still up, yes.

        Meanwhile, somebody can pour some diesel into a generator and alert an entire state, possibly multiple states, with a single AM tower.

      • by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Friday July 28, 2023 @10:51AM (#63721834) Homepage Journal

        Cell phones are capable of getting WES alerts; and Iâ(TM)d bet there is more likely to be a cell phone, probably streaming something, with a connection in a car than one where the AM radio is in use.

        AM has a lot of range advantages over FM (hereâ(TM)s to you, WOWO FT Wayne, Indiana) but unless you are listening to it you arenâ(TM)t getting any alerts.

        In a real emergency...think hurricane Ida level....

        Cell towers will be gone and out....you're not going to have any "streaming"....

        At that point, you switch over and tune in on your AM radio to get emergency info.

        You gotta think during AND post-emergency when internet and cell phones will be out potentially for a long, long time....for a large area.

        FM can't cover large "dead zone" areas, but AM can.

      • by KlomDark ( 6370 )
        WXKE in Fort Wayne is WAY better!
  • Just Ticketmaster / tickets? not ISP's / hotels?

    The airlines where forced to show an up front all in price so why not make hotels do the same?

    TV / ISP's really need to have the RSN fees / LOCAL TV fees part of the base price.

    • Anything where there's an additional fee; those additional fees _unless they are optional_ must be part of the base price and not added on after. If a breakdown of the base price is required, that's acceptable, as long as it's "the price".

      No more "plus taxes and fees". The taxes are fixed and predictable, fees are not.

      While we're at it, add in the tax to the price sticker (even if there's a breakdown). So we don't get these price shocks. If Europe can do it... why not the US (and I know there are studies s

      • gas stations are really good about the full price!

      • by EvilSS ( 557649 )

        While we're at it, add in the tax to the price sticker (even if there's a breakdown). So we don't get these price shocks. If Europe can do it... why not the US

        OK, but how do you advertise the prices? In most other countries, there is a set VAT. In the US sales tax can vary based on what side of the street a store is on. Each state has a different sales tax rate (or none at all in some). Many counties and cities can have their own as well. Even inside a city, it can vary if they set up special taxing districts.

        With a concert, this is easy since you have a fixed venue. How would this work with a phone plan? Or a Pizza? A TV or radio ad won't know my physical loc

  • This isn't the first time broadcast AM has used government and law to stay its inevitable demise. The memory of Edwin Howard Armstrong should shame those fools in congress.

  • 1. I could care less about AM radio. FM exists. You can drag transmitters if really need. I am pretty sure the Army has some.
    2. Why stop only at ticket? Make everything show the damn fees. ISP instantly spring to mind.
  • by pr0t0 ( 216378 ) on Friday July 28, 2023 @08:40AM (#63721340)

    While I agree that it's good to eliminate hidden fees when promoting products, I think perhaps the bigger problem in the ticket sales industry is that the majority of tickets are purchased by brokers like StubHub and Vivid Seats. The majority of the sales of the resellers goes to tertiary brokers selling tickets at yet another profit as their profession.

    Add to this that mechanisms are in place to funnel buyers into ever-increasing ticket prices using bait-and-switch tactics, and it would seem that is the greater area of concern. For this reason and no matter how much I like the band, I will only go to concerts where the band forbids the sale of tickets to secondary parties. The Cure recently did this for their tour. Depeche Mode did not. I bought tickets to the former.

    Yeah, I'm old.

    • I find it odd that on the same site that has near a universal advocacy for the right to repair and the right to resell (CDs/video games/whatever), there seems to also be extreme opposition to doing the same with concert tickets.

  • Too Good To Be True? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by YetAnotherDrew ( 664604 ) on Friday July 28, 2023 @08:57AM (#63721390)

    I like most of those things. But this all had strong bipartisan support.

    Things with strong bipartisan support usually only sluice large amounts of money to corporations and rich people.

    What are we not hearing about? What riders were attached to this stuff?

  • Huh? Is there any competition left then?
  • If a consumer demands an AM radio in their car, then don't buy a car that doesn't have it! I'm sure this will be a fabulous marketing opportunity for new car sales; big signs: WITH AM RADIO! Ooooh .... this one offers 8-Track.

    Extreme range has nothing to do with Amplitude Modulation. It's because they are big honking transmitters on a low frequency band. The same range could be achieved with FM if there were a desire, there isn't .

    Granted AM is dirt simple and would be the radio of choice if you had t
  • Wondering if putting a "free" hand-crank transistor radio in the glove compartment would satisfy the regulation. Added bonus, it removes the dependency on the car battery. Even better would be something like a weather radio that can announce itself when my attention is needed.

    • This would actually be more expensive than just including it in the car itself, once you're past engineering costs.

  • I think AM radio should be in every car.
    I think Congress does not have the right to mandate it, any more than it can require ANY radio in every car.

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