Videos > Troy A. Miller on "Stacy on the Right" | April 19, 2024 Troy A. Miller on "Stacy on the Right" | April 19, 2024 NRB 43 views • 2 likes 2 years ago • 12:39 min
Transcript [00:00] and welcome back to Stacy on the right [00:04] I'm Mary Walter with you on Sirius X and [00:07] Patriot Channel [00:09] 1125 let's talk a little radio shall we [00:12] joining us now is Troy Miller he is the [00:14] president and CEO of National Religious [00:16] broadcasters you can find him on EX at [00:19] nrb National Religious broadcasters CEO [00:22] hello Mr CEO Troy Miller how are you [00:25] welcome to the [00:26] show hey Mary I'm doing great tonight [00:28] thanks for having me on absolutely I'm a [00:31] radio nerd just like you are so we can [00:35] we I this I think is obviously right up [00:38] our alley but I'm amazed and shocked at [00:41] the number of people who don't even know [00:42] there's an AM radio in their [00:44] car oh well that that's interesting [00:48] because there's certainly millions of [00:50] Americans that do but some people [00:52] probably can't remember that especially [00:53] maybe some of the urbanites but for [00:55] those of us who lived out or grew up out [00:57] in Rural America we're very familiar [00:59] with AM radio and we use it every day [01:02] right because what people don't real [01:04] because I was I was recounting earlier I [01:06] had a conversation with someone I worked [01:07] on a I did some work this earlier this [01:09] week on an AM station and someone said [01:12] well how can I listen I'm like well you [01:13] know you can you can download the app [01:15] you know go through the whole thing I [01:16] said or you can listen on the you know [01:17] in your car when you're driving it's and [01:19] I give them the channel number they wait [01:21] they're like well I don't have am in my [01:22] car I'm like yes you do they're like no [01:25] they don't put AM radio on cars anymore [01:26] I'm like yes they [01:28] do I had to tell him like yes there is [01:31] AM radio in your car I don't understand [01:33] why this is such a problem but he had no [01:35] clue that there was even an AM radio in [01:38] his car and it's not something that you [01:40] know the younger generation really is [01:42] all that fired up about they probably [01:44] don't know either so how do you you so [01:47] basically what's happening is the [01:49] federal government you want them to [01:51] mandate that you manufacturers have to [01:54] keep putting am radios in cars is is [01:58] that a thing that they're going to take [01:59] am R go out of [02:01] cars yeah so here's the controversy that [02:04] arose a few months back so this has been [02:07] in the electric vehicles is where it [02:09] sort of started and Ford Motor Company [02:11] came out and said they were no longer [02:13] going to include am radios in their [02:15] newer vehicles and the reason was [02:18] because the there was an interference [02:20] issue between the am signals and and the [02:22] electric components in the in the in the [02:25] EVS um but the government Accounting [02:28] Office went and did a study on this and [02:30] came out to say well that's really not [02:32] the issue to shield and I and I have a [02:35] background in in electrical engineering [02:37] and and really the the issue is it's a [02:39] $35 part to put a shield in there and [02:41] and to allow AM radio to be received [02:44] without any air interference coming from [02:45] the electric vehicle so pushing a little [02:48] harder to figure out you know what's [02:50] behind this push to get rid of AM radio [02:53] and it's really come down to a couple of [02:54] things one on on the first part if you [02:57] listen to AM radio like I said if you [02:58] grew up in Rural America America rur [03:00] America still depends on AM radio the AM [03:03] signal reaches a lot farther than the FM [03:05] signal it also it also will reach [03:07] through it's better for the emergency [03:10] alert system because it reaches better [03:11] through storms and electrical [03:13] interference and a number of other [03:14] things that goes on so our our most of [03:17] our emergency broadcast system is built [03:19] around that am transmitters going across [03:22] the country so that's one thing there [03:24] that's going on the other thing is AM [03:25] radio is primarily dominated by [03:28] conservative talk and Christian teach [03:31] talk as well as Spanish programming and [03:34] so so we're sort of like okay why is [03:36] there a push to get AM radio out of the [03:39] car it's really not about this $35 part [03:42] because that really doesn't make a big [03:43] difference when you're talking about a [03:45] car that cost you know 10 thou 10 [03:47] $20,000 and up you know the push and and [03:50] then lo and behold you sort of start to [03:52] peel at the covers and the real issue is [03:54] what's now called the connected car and [03:56] I'm sure you've probably heard about [03:57] this you talked about it a minute ago [03:59] about you know just load your app up but [04:01] the connected car is now you know the [04:04] car companies you you get your car you [04:05] got this nice big LED screen in there [04:08] and all these apps you can download but [04:10] guess who controls the access to those [04:12] apps the autom manufacturers control [04:14] that access to the apps and they want to [04:16] move everything from free over the [04:18] airbase to a subscription based [04:20] programming inside of your car and [04:22] that's just going to leave Millions [04:24] Americans really out in the dark not [04:26] being able to know what's going on their [04:27] communities their emergency broadcast [04:29] system or to freely access the [04:32] information they want to right so I I [04:35] made a little note here the electric [04:36] vehicle manufacturers with am first of [04:38] all I was going to say most of the [04:39] people who own electric vehicles are W [04:41] they're they're mostly liberal right [04:43] they'll start screaming because they [04:44] can't get their [04:46] NPR right right I mean think about [04:50] it yeah that's right they start [04:54] screaming because they can't get their [04:55] NPR but guess it's funny guess who gets [04:58] special treatment by the government [05:00] when it comes to broadcasting and [05:02] retransmission constantly across the [05:04] country NPR NPR gets special deals so [05:08] you know the NPR is going to get a carve [05:10] out to get into the connected vehicle [05:13] without any subscription whereas any [05:15] other kind of conservative talk or [05:18] Christian teach talk is going to have to [05:20] you have to download the app and pay for [05:22] a subscription in order to get internet [05:24] access so yeah NPR and and the Liberals [05:28] don't want Christian talk or [05:30] conservative talk on they only want you [05:31] to listen to [05:33] NPR which by the way and I this is a [05:35] true story my husband and I we go up to [05:37] nor Northern New York up to Lake George [05:39] my in-laws have a house up there so we [05:41] make a couple trips during summer and [05:43] sometimes in the winter we go up there [05:45] but you lose the signal and the only [05:47] thing you can get is AM radio to your [05:49] point especially like in the mountains [05:51] and things like that you can only get am [05:55] so you can't get satellite I can't even [05:56] listen to serus because it's just a [05:58] section where you can't get it so [06:00] there's no FM there's no satellite it's [06:02] just AM radio and we we always we [06:06] gleefully turn it on because I will [06:08] never forget we found one of the best we [06:10] laughed our butts off for I can't tell [06:12] you how long because we listened to a [06:14] wonderful show about [06:16] ferns and and I was just like this is my [06:19] tax dollars at work it's such a perfect [06:22] encapsulation of the federal government [06:24] that I am subsidizing a show about [06:26] ferns right right now that being said [06:31] I'm sorry if interrup but that being [06:33] said you know we can laugh about it but [06:35] to your point that's all that's [06:36] available there if you live on a certain [06:38] part of the mountain that's all you [06:41] get right that's where you get all of [06:43] your information right your your your [06:46] news and and your weather alerts and and [06:49] everything else that you get or your [06:51] over theair entertainment and again it's [06:53] free it doesn't cost you anything except [06:56] your am receiver that you can have in [06:58] your house or your car and then and as [07:00] you said that's all you're going to get [07:02] and this is about you know choice so the [07:04] AM radio and the dash Act is about not [07:07] so much about Congress mandating AM [07:09] radio but about Congress stepping in to [07:13] say look Americans deserve a choice and [07:15] you can't arbitrarily take that choice [07:17] away from them right right yeah because [07:20] it's it's I I would assume most of those [07:23] people though have an AM radio in their [07:25] home like we do I I think I think that [07:28] people are foolish who don't don't have [07:30] some kind of radio in their home we even [07:33] have a storm radio when Hurricane Sandy [07:34] hit I live at the Jersey Shore we didn't [07:36] have anything for two weeks we lived [07:39] with the hand crank storm radio and if [07:42] it wasn't for that hand crank storm [07:44] radio we would have known nothing that [07:45] was going on so people who don't have [07:47] these things in their homes always [07:49] surpris me but in that part of the [07:51] country and this is this is also for out [07:53] west and to your point earlier that [07:55] signal sometimes goes for Miles I was [07:58] doing a show in Philadelphia earlier [08:00] this week on an AM station and someone [08:02] reached out to me on EX who was live [08:04] listening in West [08:05] Virginia right it's exactly and and as [08:08] you said out west in the midwest when [08:10] the when the severe thunderstorms come [08:12] in but even it look we lived in Florida [08:14] south Florida for a number of years went [08:17] through several hurricanes and you have [08:19] to have that storm radio and those storm [08:21] radios all run on the am band so is that [08:24] Hurricane's coming ashore your cell [08:26] towers are down your your a lot of your [08:28] television station are down or spotty [08:31] but that AM signal is coming in loud and [08:33] clear and and you know where to go when [08:35] to she to to seat cover and those kinds [08:39] of things so AM radio plays a a vital [08:41] role in our communities across the [08:43] country especially the RO communities [08:45] but also the urban communities when when [08:48] a national when a natural disaster [08:51] strikes so what is what is the plan here [08:55] what is your group doing how is your [08:57] obviously you're lobbying Congress I [08:58] would assume and I would think that the [09:00] Senators who are out west the Chuck [09:02] grassley's you know the Thomas Massie [09:05] those who are in those areas where they [09:07] probably are dependent on AM radio are [09:10] listening to you or am I wrong no you're [09:13] you're exactly right but this says by [09:15] partisan support in both the Senate and [09:17] the house so on the Senate side two [09:19] folks that you wouldn't normally put [09:21] together Ed Mary the liberal Democrat [09:23] out of Massachusetts and Ted Cruz a [09:25] Conservative Republican out of Texas are [09:28] co-sponsors on Bill going through the [09:30] Senate to keep AM radio in in the dash [09:33] and and the similar over in the House of [09:34] Representatives as well you have Mary [09:37] Rogers who is the chair of the uh [09:39] Commerce and uh energy committee along [09:41] with her Democratic counterpart that are [09:44] sponsoring this bill so Congress is that [09:46] this has almost reached the 60 [09:49] co-sponsor marks and the reason 60 [09:51] co-sponsors are important because of [09:53] it's filibuster proof and it'll pass the [09:55] Senate uh so we're pretty close we think [09:57] we'll be at that 60 Mark in the senate [09:59] in the next couple of weeks the house [10:01] has agreed to take up a second hearing [10:04] on this that'll happen on April 30th so [10:07] at the end of this month the Energy and [10:09] Commerce Committee is going to take up [10:11] another hearing on am and the dash and [10:13] there's again broad bipartisan support [10:16] in both so it's it's there are a few [10:18] issues that Congress comes together on [10:20] these days and works but AM radio is one [10:22] of them so we're we're looking pretty [10:24] positive pretty optimistic that this [10:26] bill will get signed this year before [10:28] this Congress breaks for all of the [10:30] elections that well that's great that's [10:32] wonderful news and I think you're right [10:35] this is most if you're in a city if [10:37] you're in an urban area you're probably [10:39] laughing at this conversation because [10:41] you're like I haven't listened to AM [10:42] radio in ages but for the for the rest [10:45] of the country the vast majority of it [10:47] that exists beyond your little bubble [10:49] does use it and I'm willing to bet and [10:52] this is just a hunch but I said this I [10:53] don't know if you heard me earlier my [10:55] nieces and nephews are wild about albums [10:58] now right that's the big thing records [11:00] and albums and this set so I bet you I [11:03] bet you it comes full [11:05] circle oh I think you're right but even [11:07] the numbers tell us today that there's a [11:09] very large AM radio audience across the [11:13] country both in the rural and urban so [11:15] the number of folks that listens to to [11:17] AM radio it's it's a strong audience and [11:19] again it's a very strong audience in the [11:21] Latin Community the majority of of [11:24] foreign language on AM radio are Spanish [11:26] speaking stations and the Latin [11:28] community really depends on AM radio for [11:31] their uh information and entertainment [11:33] yeah listen like I said I I've traveled [11:36] I have traveled out west in Montana and [11:38] Idaho and we were driving and we're like [11:41] because we don't know anything so I love [11:43] to because I'm a radio nerd I love to [11:44] just put it on on scan and just see what [11:47] comes up because some of the most [11:48] interesting things come up on both am [11:50] and FM when you're in an area that you [11:52] don't know what you're listening to but [11:55] there are I was shocked at how many [11:56] areas you couldn't get anything on the [11:58] FM dial and it was am and there was some [12:00] great programming on it we had some [12:02] really interesting non NPR programming [12:05] so I loved it I I highly recommend [12:07] people give it a shot I really do [12:09] everything old is new again give it a [12:11] try you never know you might be [12:12] pleasantly surprised Troy Miller thank [12:14] you so much for joining us and thanks [12:15] for the good work we appreciate you [12:16] lobbying like that I I had heard about [12:19] this a while ago I did not know it was [12:20] still ongoing so I learned that so I'm [12:23] glad to hear that it's still on going [12:24] and it seems like there's going to be [12:25] some success so you can keep up with [12:27] Troy uh on xit n RB CEO thank you so [12:31] much have a great night you too thanks [12:34] for having me absolutely
On April 19, President and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters, Troy A. Miller, joined guest host Mary Walter on “Stacy on the Right” to discuss the AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act, to explore what’s behind the push to get rid of AM radio, and to highlight how NRB is lobbying for AM radio.
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