More reasons not to buy new Fords or Teslas.

As if you needed more

Around here they pulled the last music station off AM years ago and it's all news talk radio stuff now which I don't listen to so it wouldn't affect me in the least.

700 wlw has an fm station simulcast and strangely I’ve heard static on the fm one right in downtown.

700 WLW has perhaps the most varied history of experimenting with radio broadcasts, high power levels, simulcasting, etc

WLW used to really kick a s s.....

In January 1934, WLW began broadcasting with 500,000 watts after midnight under the experimental call sign W8XO. In April 1934 the station was authorized to operate at 500,000 watts during regular hours using the WLW call letters. On May 2, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ceremonially pressed the same golden telegraph key that Wilson had used to open the Panama Canal, officially launching WLW's 500-kilowatt signal.

As the first station in the world to broadcast at this strength, WLW received numerous complaints from around the United States and Canada that it was interfering with other stations, most notably from CFRB, then on 690 kHz, in Toronto, Ontario. In December 1934, WLW was instructed to cut back to 50 kilowatts at night until it had eliminated the interference.[36] The station began construction of two shorter towers 1,850 feet (560 m) southwest from the main tower in order to create a directional antenna, which successfully reduced the signal broadcast towards Canada. With these antenna towers in place, full-time broadcasting at 500 kilowatts resumed in early 1935. However, WLW was continuing to operate under special temporary authority that had to be renewed every six months; each renewal brought complaints about interference, and undue domination of the market by the high-powered station.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLW

There are still a few “WHOPPER” power AM stations on Earth:

https://mwcircle.org/most-powerful-mw-am-stations/

Earlier last year there was an annoying “heterodyne whistle” on 890 WLS Chicago.
It was caused by a high power AM station in the desert of Algeria.

When I was a kid in central Illinois when the weather was just right I could listen to KDKA in Pittsburgh.

WLS was the king of radio back then too.

In all seriousness, i don't think I have listened to AM in 20 years.

I only listen to AM. News, traffic, weather. Then watch the people listening to rap stuck in traffic jams.

I listen to AM on long rental car trips. The FM stations fade in and out once you get away from the larger towns so you find yourself pressing the seek button all the time. When your really really way out there the AM stations are the only ones that come thru clear enough to listen to.

AM should have been condemned as soon as FM came along. It's like watching a black and white TV compared to color(for the youngsters reading this there was such a thing)
There is still FM but it's useless because they don't put on any good programing(unless you like to hear bad songs over and over again). Back in the 80's i had a car stereo that had "AM stereo". There was very few stations broadcasting it but it was more like noise/static in stereo.

FM initially had its limits and there were fewer desirable stations available especially sports radio stations like even the daily baseball broadcasts. Most of the FM stations back in the day were either classical or underground and "pirate" rock stations. Also the range and higher priced FM receivers were not that popular. Most home and portable radios were AM. As you said about black and white TVs they also didn't go away for a long time as the color TVs were much, much more expensive originally.


Pros and Cons of AM vs. FM

The advantages of AM radio are that it is relatively easy to detect with simple equipment, even if the signal is not very strong. The other advantage is that it has a narrower bandwidth than FM, and wider coverage compared with FM radio. The major disadvantage of AM is that the signal is affected by electrical storms and other radio frequency interference. Also, although the radio transmitters can transmit sound waves of frequency up to 15 kHz, most receivers are able to reproduce frequencies only up to 5kHz or less. Wideband FM was invented to specifically overcome the interference disadvantage of AM radio.

A distinct advantage that FM has over AM is that FM radio has better sound quality than AM radio. The disadvantage of FM signal is that it is more local and cannot be transmitted over long distance. Thus, it may take more FM radio stations to cover a large area. Moreover, the presence of tall buildings or land masses may limit the coverage and quality of FM. Thirdly, FM requires a fairly more complicated receiver and transmitter than an AM signal does.

Yeah but, watching black and white on old Zenith has it's alluring moments and excitement especially the older shows lol.

Not surprised. In my area it sounds like Mexican radio! lol

Monday Wall Street Journal newspaper article:

“Sadness and Static as AM Stations Fade”

Sample Quote from last line of article:

“But I once heard Long John Nebel
(former WMCA late night host)
muse about how radio waves never fully disappear, they’re out there somewhere for all time”

end quote

if there is one good thing to say about this, it is one less item people will have to screw around with on the "infotainment" system.
not that "distracted drivers" cause any ills in society............