Car makers are phasing out AM radio. Does rural Pennsylvania still need it?

When emergencies unfold in rural Pennsylvania’s internet and cellular dead zones, time-tested terrestrial radio often keeps motorists from driving blindly into a tornado.

Since its signal travels a greater distance, the AM band in particular has long been a vehicle for news, weather updates, and police emergencies. Across rural America, including Pennsylvania, where broadband and cell phone service can be dismal, some residents, lawmakers, and emergency management coordinators are concerned that more auto manufacturers, like Ford, are phasing out AM radio altogether in future models.

“It’s a big surprise, honestly. Ford is a symbol for rural America,” said Shelly Butler, 62, a state legislative aide who lives in Coudersport, Potter County, and owns two Fords. “I don’t think they are looking out for rural America and they’re giving an opinion that they don’t matter anymore.”

As car manufacturers continue to offer a wider array of electric vehicles, AM radio has presented a unique problem. Electric motors appear to cause electromagnetic interference with AM radio’s reception. Many EVs, including Tesla, have already dropped the signal, but in March, Ford said it would remove AM from internal combustion engines as well, starting in 2024.

In an email to The Inquirer, Ford spokeswoman Whitney Pineda said U.S. AM stations “are modernizing radio by offering internet streaming through mobile apps, FM, or digital options.

“Ford will continue to offer these alternatives for customers to hear their favorite AM radio music, news, and podcasts as this transition continues,” Pineda wrote.

Not everyone in rural Pennsylvania is concerned about AM radio possibly going by the wayside.

“I’m 37. I don’t listen to AM radio. I’m more streaming,” said Brandon West, owner of All Wheels Driven, a used car dealership in Wellsboro, Tioga County. “The vehicles the come into our shop for work, I’d say less than 1 or 2 percent are tuned to AM radio.”

David Lent, owner of AM 600 in Coudersport, said he hears that sentiment when he’s trying to sell advertising. The station’s been broadcasting out of the small town of 2,350 for 70 years.

“I just don’t know who’s listening anymore,” Lent said. “Young business owners don’t know what it is, and certainly don’t want it.”

Pennsylvania has 164 AM radio stations and 412 FM stations, according to BIA advisory group, the bulk of them concentrated in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. According to Nielsen, about 47 million Americans listen to AM radio per week.

“I know a lot of people dismiss AM radio as this conservative wasteland, but there’s much more to it than that,” said Chris Stigall, a host on AM 990, a conservative talk station in Philadelphia. “For many communities, it represents a lower bar to get into radio. There’s a whole lot of Hispanic stations and faith-based communities that look to AM. I don’t say this from a selfish perspective, but if people are truly concerned about having diverse, broad audiences, they shouldn’t just shrug this off.”

While many longtime AM stations, including KYW 1060, now have FM counterparts and streaming services available, opponents of the phaseout plan say counting on cell phones, internet service, and subscription-based services in emergencies isn’t realistic in rural America.

“As history has shown after large-scale disasters, AM radio has been a lifeline to provide vital safety and recovery information to survivors. It also can provide warning of weather threats through the Emergency Alert System,” Ruth Miller, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement. “Because AM signals can travel longer distances, particularly at night, they are more easily accessible to people in rural areas.”

Nationally, former Federal Emergency Management Agency head Craig Fugate has urged Congress and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to delve into the issue, calling radio stations “the last line of communications that communities have.” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and U.S. Rep Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey have also pushed back against the manufacturers who’ve thrown up their hands against electromagnetic interference issue in EVs.

“If Elon Musk has enough money to buy Twitter and send rockets to space, he can afford to include AM radio in his Teslas,” Gottheimer said in March.

Others elected officials say the AM radio issue is merely a sign of changing times and that streaming radio will improve as rural America beefs up its internet connectivity and cell phone coverage. State Rep. Dan Moul, a Republican out of rural Adams County, said he grew up on a farm, in and out of muddy Ford trucks for much of his youth.

“Now I drive a Tesla and it still has AM and FM radio, but I have to tell you, I haven’t listened to AM in a long, long time,” he said. “People might be mad and moan about this for a while but, ultimately, it’s something that will get sorted out by supply and demand.”

Ford’s F-series of trucks have been America’s top-selling automobiles for decades. Sales managers at a half-dozen Ford dealerships in rural Pennsylvania and New Jersey didn’t return phone calls or emails for comment.

For Butler, the Coudersport native and lifelong Ford owner, the AM radio issue isn’t enough for her to park a Chevy truck in her driveway out in “God’s Country,” the longtime nickname for Potter County. (GM hasn’t announced any plans for AM radio.)

“I’ll still buy a Ford truck,” she said, “but I’ll be a little disappointed.”