Why is AM radio only talk and news?

Answer 1

AM (amplitude Modulation) radio is generally dominated by talk and news, though there are some music stations in most markets (mostly country, classical, and standards - what are generally referred to as "oldies"). Before the dominance of FM (frequency modulation) radio as a music medium, AM radio carried all kinds of programming: news, talk, music, etc. FM was set up as a stereo medium, and broadcasts in a cleaner manner (i.e., less interference and static), which makes it a preferable music carrier. Previously FM used its superior audio quality to cater to the audiophile, presenting more long-form or "album oriented" programming, while AM concentrated on the singles (especially Top 40 pop). As FM radios became more common, more people wanted to hear their music with clearer sound, and migrated to FM, where more stations changed to singles play to accommodate the new audiences. Eventually, with pop music audiences drifting away, AM stations changed their formats to capitalize on their strength: namely, longer range. People who listened to AM were frequently travelling, and needed to find stations with longer range, so they could hear them while driving between cities (such as truck drivers) and other in-car audiences. This allowed the AM stations to build audiences with talk radio and news, as voices don't need to be in hi fidelity or in stereo, and (less frequently) country or Classical Music, or standards, which retained audiences with older people who still preferred their older AM consoles (and AM stations could make due with the smaller, but more loyal audience share), and professional drivers such as long-haul truck drivers, who could listen for longer stretches before falling out of signal range (or without losing signal at all).