News Audio

Ted Cruz: AM For Every Vehicle Act About Making Sure ‘Important Voices’ Weren’t Silenced

“The viewpoint discrimination targeting talk radio, in particular, that moved me significantly. I don’t want to see important voices in free speech silenced.”

Published

1 week ago

May 26, 2023

BNM Staff

A coalition of Congress members put forth the “AM For Every Vehicle Act”, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) claimed that the bipartisan nature of the bill was a shock to political observers.

“Well, I got to say, number one, for Ed Markey and me to introduce a bill together in the world of Washington is a pretty shocking thing because, look, (Sen. Ed) Markey (D-MA) and I agree on very, very little,” said Cruz on his Verdict podcast through iHeartMedia. “And the most conservative member of the Senate, along with one of the, if not the most liberal member of the Senate, joining together, I think that kind of freaked a lot of observers out in Washington.”

Cruz said the measure was important to him because he felt the avenue needed to remain for certain topics and voices to still have a platform.

“I don’t know what his motivation was, but look, for many Democrats, they are in favor of all sorts of mandates, and so they’re often willing to mandate that a manufacturer provide all sorts of things,” said Cruz. “As a general matter, I’m pretty skeptical of mandates.

“And so on many things, we don’t see eye to eye, but in this instance, the emergency response factor persuaded me. The viewpoint discrimination targeting talk radio, in particular, that moved me significantly. I don’t want to see important voices in free speech silenced, and I think pulling AM radio out of automobiles would have done that. And so I agreed to sign on and the two of us rolled it out together.”

Cruz and Markey weren’t the only legislators to show support for the bill. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and J.D. Vance (R-OH), as well as Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Tom Kean, Jr. (R-NJ), Rob Menendez (D-NJ), Bruce Westerman (R-AR), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) all co-sponsored the act.

Should the “AM For Every Vehicle Act” be passed into law, it would require automakers to include the band in each make and model, without passing the cost of the equipment onto customers. It would also require vehicles without the service to be given a warning label to show consumers that the car was not equipped with AM radio.

BNM Staff

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News Audio

Jemele Hill: Reports I’m Leaving Spotify Aren’t True

“My podcast hasn’t been canceled. I never asked Spotify for $100M. This shit is truly comical.”

Published

36 mins ago

June 5, 2023

Ryan Hedrick

Jemele Hill recently took to Twitter to address the misconceptions surrounding her podcast, expressing that many reports circulating is simply untrue. She clarified that her podcast had not been canceled, and contrary to rumors, she never made a $100 million request to Spotify. Hill said she found the situation rather amusing and described it as comical.

According to a recent TMZ report, Hill is currently negotiating a separation from Spotify, where she has been exclusively hosting her thought-provoking podcast “Jemele Hill is Unbothered” since 2019. Multiple sources have indicated that she is now actively searching for a new platform to continue her show. The ‘Unbothered’ podcast network, which showcases other talented Black podcasters, is reportedly ending. Speculations suggest that Spotify may either release her from her contract ahead of schedule or allow it to expire.

“People: A lot of what’s been reported just isn’t true. My podcast hasn’t been canceled. I never asked Spotify for $100M. This shit is truly comical,” she tweeted.

Jemele Hill further addressed the issue through a Twitter exchange with someone who brought up the quote, responding by emphasizing the need for better comprehension and suggesting a thorough reading of the original article. She stated, “I never told Spotify or the NYT that I deserved $100M. My deal at Spotify is fair. This was about advocating for investment and growth, specifically for prominent Black podcasters.”

It is evident that her intention was to highlight the importance of supporting and investing in diverse voices within the podcasting industry.

Jemele Hill’s podcast does not rank among the top-performing shows on the platform.

Ryan Hedrick

Ryan Hedrick serves as the Assistant Program Director and Co-Host of the Morning News Express at WFMD. Prior to WFMD, he hosted an afternoon program at News Talk 103.7 FM in Chambersburg, PA. He has worked at Sirius XM in Washington D.C., WBEN in Buffalo, NY, and for stations in Baltimore, MD. He has also worked at WIBW-AM in Topeka KS, earning the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) award for Major Market enterprise reporting in 2016. To connect with Ryan, find him on Twitter @SureToCover.

News Audio

Bob Pittman: iHeartMedia Won’t Be Shutting Down Broadcast Stations

“90% of Americans listen to iHeart broadcast radio stations every month. To put that in context, the biggest TV network reaches less than 40% of Americans and the big streaming music services reach less than 30%.”

Published

3 days ago

June 2, 2023

BNM Staff

Very few large broadcasting corporations adopted digital platforms as quickly as iHeartMedia did. iHeartRadio is one of the most popular platforms for streaming content from a variety off stations. Bob Pittman says that does not mean the company does not see plenty of value in traditional broadcast radio.

Lydia Moynihan of The New York Post spoke with the iHeartMedia CEO Friday morning. She asked Pittman if he could foresee a day when the company would be done with terrestrial radio and focus solely on digital products.

“To the contrary – the strength and foundation of our company is our broadcast radio stations,” Pittman responded. “90% of Americans listen to iHeart broadcast radio stations every month. To put that in context, the biggest TV network reaches less than 40% of Americans and the big streaming music services reach less than 30%.”

He added that any success that the company has seen with podcasting or streaming is clearly linked to the success of the its radio stations. He said that is true for its live events too.

“We use that massive and unique reach of our broadcast radio to build complementary products like the iHeartRadio digital service and our major events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the iHeartRadio Music Awards and the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, and it’s why we’re the #1 podcast publisher by a lot. It all starts with using the trusted voices on our broadcast radio stations and creating demand – and with our unparalleled reach we have quite an advantage over the other audio players, regardless of their cash war chests.”

BNM Staff

News Audio

Buffalo, Chicago, Milwaukee Top Markets for AM Radio

“The study shows thirteen markets that have at least 40% of listeners using AM radio. Ten of them are in the Midwest.”

Published

3 days ago

June 2, 2023

BNM Staff

Nielsen has looked at information from the 2022 fall book to determine where AM radio is the most popular. The company released a list Thursday of 141 markets where at least 20% of radio listeners tune to AM radio in a given month. Cities in the Great Lakes region are all at the top of the list.

In Buffalo, 56% of radio listeners use the AM band in a month. The market’s most-listened to stations are both AM stations owned by Audacy – news/talk WBEN and sports talker WGR. Neither has an FM simulcast.

There is a tie for second place. 48% of listeners in Chicago utilize AM. Popular news stations WGN and WLS are both only available on AM as is the market’s heritage sports talk brand, 670 The Score. Milwaukee is the other market with 48% of listeners using AM radio.

AM radio remains very popular in the Midwest. The study shows thirteen markets that have at least 40% of listeners using AM radio. Ten of them are in the Midwest.

Last month, Nielsen used numbers from the 2022 Fall book to show that across the country, more than 82 million people rely on AM radio during a month. That is a third of all terrestrial radio listeners.

A hearing on Sen. Ed Markey’s AM For Every Vehicle Act is scheduled for Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

BNM Staff