KLIX, Idaho Falls Host Says AM Radio Bill “Feeding a Dead Horse”
Bill Colley is the morning drive host at Townsquare Media’s news/talk KLIX-AM in Twin Falls, Idaho. He penned an opinion 
piece that goes against what many in the radio industry are saying about the AM Radio in Every Car Act that recently passed the House. His piece states, in part, “My employer and I don’t agree on this one. The federal government is about to impose a new rule on private enterprise, forcing automobile manufacturers to keep installing AM radios in cars and trucks…
I’ve asked a lot of friends locally how they listen, and at least in Twin Falls they have us tuned in on the FM when driving. Many listen online at home and work, even when they live a few miles from our transmitter. Some have downloaded our app and listen on their phones. The argument for keeping AM in cars is that during an emergency, people can be better informed. Three points on this subject. I get a variety of alerts on my phone. Second, if a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody to hear it, does it make a sound? In other words, if nobody listens to AM, how would they hear an alert? Third, someone needs to be at the radio station. Most stations today are ghost towns after business hours…
By the way, radio is a heavily regulated industry. It’s always fighting for fewer rules because regulations burden businesses. Doesn’t that also apply to building what we drive? Read his entire piece here.
compliance reports to the Bureau through the remainder of the current license terms of the two stations, and pay a Civil Penalty to the United States Treasury in the total amount of $500,000.” The violations in question center on a program that aired on Townsquare’s news/talk outlets KIDO-AM, Boise and KLIX-AM, Idaho Falls from October 2021 through March 2023 in which they “broadcast a one-hour episode of, and 30-second advertisements promoting, the Program. The format of each episode nominally resembled a news interview/public affairs program produced and presented by the Stations. In fact, however, all episodes of the Program were paid political presentations. Townsquare was paid to broadcast episodes of the Program and related advertisements initially by and on behalf of the Idaho Republican Party, and later by Tom Luna on behalf of a company doing business as Tom Luna and Associates. The hosts of each episode (Tom Luna and Victor Miller, chairman of the Ada County (Idaho) Republican Party) were solely responsible for producing the Program, including selecting guests and determining program content. Neither station provided any on-air Sponsorship ID announcements for the vast majority of the episodes or promotional advertisements that they aired revealing to listeners the true nature of the broadcasts and the identity of those who paid for them. In addition, multiple episodes of the Program contained appearances that constituted uses by legally qualified candidates for public office and communicated messages relating to political matters of national importance. Neither station uploaded records of any such candidate uses or messages to their respective online political files.”