Saving AM radio, car manufacturers relent.

0:00 Speaker 1 What is going on with AM radio with us today? Is the president of w A b C, Chad Lopez that attended. Are you hearing with Washington senators and Congress, people with the New York State broadcasters people people in Washington, Chad Lopez, Phyllison.

0:20 Speaker 2 Good afternoon, John. It’s great. You know what I can tell you that AM radio is alive and well and we’ll be around. I think we had a great meeting lobbying with Congress and senators. But it was great going down there. And you know, I have to say, and it’s not because I work for you, and it’s not

0:39 because you owned w ABC, but WABC is a station, it’s one of the primary primary entry points. It’s the eas system, the emergency broadcaster for New York, New York City. What was great about that is and it’s a compliment to you. Everybody was saying, you know, w ABC, the heritage iconic call letters were put in the right hands.

1:04 And the reason they were giving those compliments was because you were part of going down and making sure that AM radio stays alive, not because it was your station, because it was the emergency broadcasting station and you took that to heart. We went down. We met with the FCC three months prior, and now we’re on where we

1:23 were lobbying Capitol Hill.

1:25 Speaker 1 Understood and tell us to I understand. Senator Schubert was there. I understand. Congressman Nadler was there representing a Democratic party. This is a bipartisan effort between Democrats and Republicans. They both feel AM radio has to survive, and the stuff coming out of Detroit, let’s say, is a lot of nonsense.

1:50 They’re just looking tell us your your thoughts or what they’re looking to a.

1:55 Speaker 2 Well, let’s you’re you’re absolutely right about the it being a bipartisan bill, and when we met with both sides, both sides didn’t really have an argument. They were for it. They are for it when especially when you figure it out, you know, they started figuring out that there’s really nothing to fight about. And when you have a bill that’s bipartisan,

2:16 everybody’s going to agree. But they want to make sure that they’re all agreeing on the same thing. So the act is it’s AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act thirty four thirteen and sixteen sixty nine. AM is essential for the emergency alert system and the essential communications for New York eas WABC is that station. FEMA, not automakers, should

2:42 be determining the type of emergency communications services in the United States. Why that’s important is FEMA has short up these stations, hardened all of these stations to make sure that they are resistant to any emp any storms, disasters, if we’re at war and they want to make sure that these stations are ready and able. Do you know

3:08 that FEMA has shored up these stations that every one of these stations, if every station was to go off and these stations were to broadcast, it would reach eighty two million people. John, eighty two million people.

3:20 Speaker 1 No, I think it’s a lot more. I understand from FEMA. They said to me that the AM stations reached ninety seven of the American public and that is a big strength. And if something happened to the Internet, something happened to the to the generators, or something happened to the GPS system, the electric cars stop running. Yes, there’s no GPS.

3:50 Speaker 2 The streams, streams go down.

3:56 Speaker 1 But AM radio is run by FEMA, stays on for ninety seven percent of the American Yes.

4:03 Speaker 2 But more importantly, mandating AM radio in cars is appropriate because the government mandates eas equipment and testing. Why would we give these privately owned companies the ability to decide if they are going to push out an emergency alert when the government is in control of that. Do you know, John, when we had the balloons flying over right coming down

4:29 from Canada. On those balloons, was it was stated at these conventions that, I mean, I’m sorry when we were in DC there could have been an EMP on those balloons that electric magnetic pulse could have taken out all the satellite systems. Than what would they have gone to to alert the country.

4:49 Speaker 1 And let me tell you something for those people out there that are suspicious that in time of war we won’t be able to have communications, that could be one reason, and somebody in Washington was pushing it. The other reason is they’d rather put in electronics in your car where they could charge you nine dollars and ninety nine cents

5:10 a month.

5:10 Speaker 2 Correct, And John, do you really think it’s the nine dollars that these car companies that are really concerned about.

5:15 Speaker 1 The elected Democrats Republicans decide on their own. I don’t care. But AM radios will.

5:20 Speaker 2 To survive, Yes, But it also comes down to it’s really the data they want to be able to control everybody in those cars. So if these companies are stating, some of these companies deciding that they don’t want to be part, you know, have ams in their cars. One company comes to mind, and we’ve we’ve you know, and

5:39 it’s it’s very apparent Volvo is one of the companies saying they don’t want that, John, Do you know who owns Vovo? Who the Chinese? Wow?

5:50 Speaker 2 Right? So that when that came out, everybody and.

5:52 Speaker 1 Who makes most of the batteries for electric cars the Chinese. Thank you, Leugh Set, thank you Chad Lopez, President w A b C. And we’ll catch up with you.

6:03 Speaker 2 All right, Let’s keep AM Radio live, John,