Signal to noise - is AM radio really under threat?

Old-fashioned AM radio was an information lifeline for many during Cyclone Gabrielle when other sources wilted without power. Now a little-known arrangement that puts proceedings of Parliament on the air has been cited as a threat to its future. But is a switch-off really likely? And what's being done to avoid it?Old-fashioned AM radio was an information lifeline for many during Cyclone Gabrielle when other sources wilted without power. Now a little-known arrangement that puts proceedings of Parliament on the air has been cited as a threat to its future. But is a switch-off really likely? And what's being done to avoid it?"Government websites are a waste of time. All they've got is a transistor radio - and they need to actually provide a means for these people who need the information to damn well get it," Today FM's afternoon host Mark Richardson told listeners angrily on the day Cyclone Gabrielle struck. He was venting in response to listeners without power complaining online information was inaccessible, and pleading for the radio station to relay emergency updates over the air. Mobile phone and data services were knocked out in many areas where electricity supplies to towers were cut - or faded away after back-up batteries drained after 4-8 hours. In some places FM radio transmission was knocked out but nationwide AM transmission was still available. "This will sharpen the minds of people on just how important . . . legacy platforms like AM transmission are in Civil Defence emergencies," RNZ news chief Richard Sutherland told Mediawatch soon after. "We are going to need to think very carefully about how we provide the belt and braces in terms of broadcasting infrastructure for this country as a result of this," he said. But while Gabrielle was still blowing - the future of AM was called into question. On 15 February, Clerk of the House David Wilson told a Select Committee he might have to cut a $1.3 million annual contract to broadcast Parliament on AM radio after 87 years on air. The next day the New Zealand Herald's Thomas Coughlan reported "radio silence could come as soon as the next financial year on July 1st unless additional funding is found in the next Budget in May".In last Sunday's edition of RNZ's programme The House (also paid for by the Office of the Clerk) Wilson explained his spending cannot exceed his annual appropriation. He said costs have gone up and the AM radio contract might have to go to make ends meet.RNZ's Phil Pennington discovered for himself how handy AM transmission was when he was dispatched from Wellington to Hawke's Bay when Cyclone Gabrielle struck. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details