Typically, the only time I listen to AM radio is in my vehicle.

If I should ever purchase a new vehicle, which is unlikely, it might not have AM radio.

Electric vehicles manufactured by BMW, Porsche, Audi, Volvo, the Ford F-150 Lightning truck, the Volkswagen SUV and Tesla Model S have dropped AM radio. Ford plans to phase out AM radio in most of its new and updated car models, even those with gas engines. GM is on the fence apparently.

This strikes me as odd, given radio continues to be the most popular source of in-car entertainment. More than 40 per cent of all radio listening is done in cars, which is more than either in work places or in homes, according to a Forbes article.

In the United States, and I apologize for not having numbers in Canada, radio reaches 92 per cent of the population. Eighty million people tune into AM radio in a month, according to Nielsen, a media tracking company.

If those numbers are transferrable to Canada, there are seven million people who use AM radio at least once a month. I don’t believe that, but numbers don’t lie, I’ve been told.

My AM radio listening in Saskatoon includes top-of-the-hour news, some Gormley, and some Green Zone, a sports talk show. All of that is on CKOM.

Back in the old, old, old days, AM radio was king. The music was great and DJs were the coolest people ever in our minds. We knew them and it felt like they knew us.

Radio has dodged bullets over the years. Cuts have been deep, as they are in other forms of media.

I saw this unfold in front of my eyes in the newspaper business.

I was there for some of the glory years. When I joined the StarPhoenix, the newsroom had 60 people. I apologize for using the number 70 at times.

Today, it’s 12 or 13. Circulation was up around the 75,000 and has dwindled to about 12,000, the last I heard.

Now, people work remotely. The StarPhoenix building is now empty and for sale.

A Toronto-based polling company, Maru Public Opinion, found in a 2022 survey that the so-called mainstream media dominates as the top sources of news.

News sources are ranked in the survey as follows:

1. A regular newscast on a TV station;
2. Newspaper website;
3. A TV news website;
4. TV stations dedicated to only business or information;
5. Social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram;
6. Radio newscasts.
7. Traditional newspapers (paid subscriptions).

Canadians do consume news daily.

Eighty-two per cent of those 18-54 stay up to date. It’s 93 per cent of those 55-plus consume news daily.

How news is consumed has changed over the years.

Those between 18 and 54 use Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to a larger degree. Those forms don’t register with those 55-plus.

Television and newspaper websites connect with all three age groups — 18-34, 35-54, and 55-plus.

Radio doesn’t register among those in the youngest age group. Twenty- two per cent of those 35-54 use radio as one of its sources for news, while 32 per cent of those in the 55-plus category do.

Does this mean the relevancy of AM radio is one generation behind those that cancelled their newspaper subscriptions?

Twenty-nine per cent of those 55- plus get some of their news through a daily paper. Papers don’t register in the other two age categories. Part of the hit on papers is people not wanting to pay for news. (The best journalism on the market comes with a price.)

The decision by some automakers to drop AM radio has sparked outrage.

Some radio station owners and advertisers contend that losing access to vehicles will be a death blow to many of the 4,185 AM stations in the United States, according to a Washington Post story. That extrapolates to Canada, I am sure.

There is a campaign in the United States called Depend on AM Radio. Maybe these campaigns work, but they also smack of desperation.

Those advocating for AM radio say, in the words of one story, it is the core element for the delivery system for news, political talk (especially on the right), coverage of weather emergencies and foreign language programming.

One American alt-right talk radio host said removing AM radio from vehicles is a plot to get rid of shows like his. That’s laughable.

I am sure John Gormley, our home- grown radio righty, isn’t losing sleep or giving up tee times.

One U.S. senator said AM radio is needed for national security and public safety.

“Despite innovations such as the smartphone and social media, AM/ FM broadcast radio remains the most dependable, cost-free, and accessible communication mechanism for public officials to communicate with the public during times of emergency,” Senator Ed Markey told Forbes.

“AM is where news and talk have gone to live. And in the great American Midwest, agricultural radio is on AM. Our audience has gotten older, but when something big happens, everyone in town knows where to turn,” a radio station owner told the Washington Post.

In the quote, three key words are “has gotten older,” much like newspaper subscribers have. That’s not a good thing.

Auto companies dropping AM radio point to other ways to access news, including using digital streaming and smartphone apps.

“The truth is that broadcast AM radio is irreplaceable,” Senator Markey said.

I once thought newspapers were irreplaceable.

• Cam Hutchinson