As electric car makers talk about ditching AM radio from their tech-heavy dashboards, Noelle Garnier, policy strategist for National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), says they are getting greedy.
"I think that this is a matter of automakers eager to monetize what's in the dashboard," she tells AFN.
"AM radio usage has dwindled," Garnier acknowledges. "Fewer people are listening to AM than back in the day, of course, but the truth is, there are many parts of this country that still utilize AM radio very heavily."
She reports that more than 120 AM stations are members of the NRB, and hundreds more are affiliated with its member network.
The policy strategist commends Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) for doing their best to save AM radio with the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act, which would require automakers to offer it free of charge in their new cars and trucks.
Garnier urges people to "call your representatives, both in the House and the Senate, and encourage them to cosponsor the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act."
She calls it an important piece of legislation because in addition to being the soundtrack of many Baby Boomers' lives, AM radio is the soundtrack of many people's spiritual lives as well.
