Its glory days may be in the past but 1 in 3 people older than 50 access AM radio at least once a month, usually in their vehicles
By Aaron Gifford
Long before streaming music services, podcasts, digital media and even the most archaic television sets, there was AM radio.
Amplitude modulation (AM) and its subsequent medium-wave stations still exist today, a century after its discovery.
Fans in Central New York and across the nation are not expecting a retro hipster revival like the record industry is enjoying, but those invisible airways that travel at ground level and follow the curvature of the earth will be valued and appreciated during the next massive ice storm or national emergency.
The AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act would require the inclusion of AM radios in all new vehicles as a standard feature at no additional cost. The bill is unpopular with electric vehicle makers because EVs produce electromagnetic fields that further deteriorate AM’s sound quality. It’s viewed as an unfunded mandate that passes on a requirement to customers who are unlikely to use the tuners.
The law would also direct the federal Governmental Accountability Office to study AM radio’s current role in emergency communications and determine whether an affordable, reliable alternative exists.
“In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, New Jerseyans relied on trusted AM stations for critical and time-sensitive alerts,” Rep. Frank Pallone, the Democratic New Jersey congressman who introduced the bill, said in a Feb. 5 news release. “This bill ensures that no driver is left without access to this vital communication tool.”
Seventy-seven of the estimated 4,000 AM radio stations across the country are considered primary entry points for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deliver information to the public during a crisis. These stations have direct access to FEMA and the National Weather Service.
The Federal Communications Commission website notes that the first commercial AM radio broadcast in the United States took place Nov. 2, 1920, when Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh sponsored the live returns of the Warren Harding-James Cox presidential elections on the KDKA station. The same station broadcast its first live baseball game nine months later. There were about 600 radio stations across the country at that time.
In-car radios were invented in 1930, three years before FM radio was established to reduce static and interference.
Craig Fox, who owns five AM radio stations in Central New York, including 1400 WOLF in Syracuse and 1300 WOSW in Fulton, said motorists had preferred AM for decades because of its reliability. FM signals would cut out under bridges and then switch to a different station. But with the increase of so many vehicles on the roads and electronic devices in homes and buildings, AM signals, unlike the much higher-flying FM waves, were susceptible to interference and static.
“In the early days, AM radios actually sounded pretty good,” Fox said, adding that the implantation of stereo and higher fidelity tuners and receivers boosted FMs popularity for music programming. “That took a long time for that (FM) to transition. A 1967 car radio with AM sounded good, but in 2025, it would sound like an old telephone,” he said.
Sports and Commentary
For the past four decades, AM programming across the country has been mainly limited to talk or sports radio.
WSYR, 570 News Radio, is among Central New York’s most recognized AM stations. It features a mix of local, regional and national political commentators. Similarly, 1260 WSKO, “The Score,” has a considerable local following for its local and national sports commentary personalities.
The roster of Syracuse metro area stations on the AM dial also includes a format for urban adult contemporary music (WHEN 620) and several Christian stations.
Fox, who also owns FM radio stations and television stations, grew up in New Jersey. He remembers tinkering with his transistor radio and recording music from AM radio onto a cassette.
Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow), who is still working in the industry today at the age of 85, was Fox’s favorite radio personality growing up. He also recalled so many live radio broadcasts from hotels and restaurants and contests where faithful listeners called in to win prizes.
“In the ‘60s and ‘70s it was far less formatted,” Fox said, noting that most AM stations were either Top 40 or “middle of the road” (MOR).
“You would hear anything from the Beatles to Frank Sinatra on the same station. FM became much more formatted.”
Softer groups like Simon & Garfunkel, the Bee Gees and the Association were considered MOR in the late 1960s and early 1970s, followed by John Denver, The Carpenters and Bread. Harder-sounding bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath were more commonly found on FM.
Syracuse University graduate and legendary American Bandstand host Dick Clark began his career at WRUN-AM in Oneida County. The legendary Wolfman Jack got his start at an AM station in Virginia.
DJ Rick Dees, based in Memphis, Tennessee, kept AM on the map for popular music during the 1970s disco era before he eventually moved to FM. His countdown rival, American Top 40 host Casey Kasem, cut his teeth at a Cleveland AM station before his show was eventually syndicated across the country.
In a 2023 report, Nielsen media market research firm indicated that 1 in 3 people older than 50 access AM radio at least once a month, usually in their vehicles. In late January, the AARP sent a letter to federal legislatures emphasizing the importance of AM radio’s continued existence.
“Older people need all possible channels of communication available to them to ensure their safety,” the letter said. “Older adults make up a larger proportion of the population in rural areas, where wireless and broadband connections are often still limited or nonexistent. AM radio connects millions of older rural residents to their communities through targeted programming, including the latest local news and weather.”
Fox said AM’s glory days in Syracuse continued until the early 1980s, longer than that of larger media markets nearby.
“Probably after 1982, I’d say,” recalled Fox, who owned the 95X FM station in Syracuse from 1978 until 1988. “In Syracuse, FM was still pretty new. The FM stations didn’t have many ratings at that time.”
Well past the Golden Age of radio, most local radio broadcasters these days rely on a mix of local and national programming to fill airtime.
Fox said many AM stations in Central New York have low-powered translators to have a presence on an FM frequency, but under current FCC regulations, stations can lose those spots if bigger, more high-powered outfits want
that frequency.
Fox said it would be very difficult for a small community-oriented radio station to stay afloat in small markets with limited opportunities to sell advertising. Banks are also hesitant to finance radio station purchases and operations. But those who are flexible and creative can make a go of it.
“I’ve known some that have Spanish programming and others that have segments about farming,” he said. “You have to find what listeners want and that’s not easy.”
Fox said the FCC should start working on a plan to end the AM band as it exists today while preserving a place for it lower down on the dial, just to maintain an emergency broadcast system “without the clutter” that an AM frequency carries.
“Like they did when TVs could no longer use the digital converter boxes,” he said. “They need to do something before AM radios are taken out of cars.”
Radio is a tough sell for younger listeners who prefer streaming services, Fox said, but science and technology are still very interesting to all ages. Depending on environmental factors and atmospheric conditions, an AM tuner can pick up stations from hundreds or even thousands of miles away, especially in the darkest and coldest of nights.
“I get so many letters from Norway, Sweden and Finland — from people who pick up our signals this time of year when it’s mostly dark in those countries,” Fox said. “They are really hobbyists. It’s nice to hear them acknowledge the wonder of radio.”
David Plier, chairman, interim president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and the Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago, said younger people are amazed to learn about the variety of programming AM radio had years before television and even movie theaters, from the Lone Ranger to science fiction, comedies, romance dramas, and President Roosevelt’s fireside chats during World War II.
“People would sit next to the radio and stare,” he said. “It really allowed people to use their minds to imagine what was happening. Everyone had a different idea for what that space looked like.”
“Kids were amazed at what happened at the time when America was entertained at home before television,” he said.
Tens of thousands of hours of old radio broadcasts are archived at the museum, including World War II programs from Armed Forces Radio, said Plier, who does a Friday night show for WGN Radio in Chicago and has interviewed the likes of Dick Van Dyke, Henry Winkler, Joan Jett, Deborah Harry and Pat Benatar.
Plier said that despite the Golden Age of Radio having long passed, radio still outshines television when it comes to the art of the interview.
“Especially with performers,” he said. “TV is maybe a 2-to 5-minute spot, but with radio, they are happy to give you the full hour. I think plenty of people still appreciate that.”
Back Then
The first commercial AM radio broadcast in the United States took place Nov. 2, 1920, when Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh sponsored the live returns of the Warren Harding-James Cox presidential elections on the KDKA station. Shown are photos of families listening to the radio in in the ‘20s and’40s. Provided by the Museum of Broadcast Communications, A Century of Radio Exhibit in Chicago.
