It’s not all about us.
As an avocation that is all about communication, amateur radio cannot be effective if it exists in a vacuum. We chatter and exchange information amongst ourselves quite effectively. But what about “everything else”? How and where do we get information outside of our observable environment? How do we pass along the information we do have to non-hams? For decades, commercial broadcast radio was an important link in our communications chain. And now that link is rapidly being broken.
Don’t blame the internet…entirely.
Before the internet, the go-to information source was the broadcast media. Radio stations, even in small markets, had some kind of live local news and weather coverage. If there was an important incident or weather event, radio stations would pass along real-time information. The rest of the time broadcasters filled the airwaves with colorful personalities and curated programming. Many stations were locally or family owned.
OFFGRIDHAM ORIGINAL PHOTO ©2025
So what happened? The most commonly cited villain is the internet. In truth the origin goes back to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, well before smartphones and broadband everywhere. The legislation primarily dealt with the telephone industry but there were also provisions that addressed radio broadcasters. Prior to this legislation, the FCC placed limits on how many broadcast licenses any one entity could hold. This was to prevent monopolizing a market. It was a form of anti-trust.
The Telecomm Act eliminated many of these restrictions. Investors started offering “mom-and-pop” locally owned stations handsome amounts of money for their licenses and physical assets. Many of those owners, seeing a big payday, took the offer. It became a game of “big fish eats little fish”. This is how we got mega-media corporations such as iHeart, Audacity, and Clear Channel.
How broadcast radio became a soulless zombie.
Once the mega-media corporations scooped up a license, they got rid of the local talent who gave each station its unique personality and sound. They were replaced by highly automated programming. One central studio in a distant city could feed audio to dozens or even hundreds of stations. Under the old rules, radio stations had to originate most of their programming from their city of license. Not anymore.
Radio stations that were thriving hubs of activity employing many people became unmanned transmitter sites with a satellite dish next to it. And now even the satellite dishes are being phased out and replaced with internet streams.
Since 2015 the number of broadcast radio stations in the United States has gone up. One might say that’s a good thing, right? Not if you pick into the details. Almost all radio station “growth” is from non-commercial or educational licenses. In addition, educational and religious organizations have purchased many existing commercial stations and converted them to non-profit status. Broadcast radio as a medium is not dying but there is little money to be made unless you are a huge corporation. And outside of major markets, there is virtually no local programming.
Source: FCC database accessed via artificial intelligence. OFF GRIDHAM ORIGINAL GRAPHIC ©2025
So why should radio amateurs care about any of this?
When there is a storm, a flood, a severe blizzard, or large accident that effects an area, everyone turns to the public media for information. These days, that is probably the internet. When the internet is down, or the information on line is untrustworthy, where can one go? The only other option is broadcast media. But if your local radio station has no local presence, who or what is going to gather and disseminate the information?
This potential vacuum of information should be of great concern to radio amateurs. Under these conditions, the only news available will be what you can gather on your own or from other hams. Amateurs can glean some intelligence from monitoring public service frequencies (police, fire, etc.), but with more and more agencies moving to digital encryption or cellular-based communications, that option isn’t as helpful as it used to be.
In any case it will be up to the radio amateur, with little no outside sources, to gather the news they need to make sound decisions. Furthermore, others may turn to you for leadership in this area. Yeah, I know being a ham does not give one special insight to information no one else has, but those around you may not see it that way. All they know is you are “that guy with all the radio stuff” and, correctly or not, make assumptions about your abilities.
Strategies to get around the media vacuum.
There are ways to work around a partial or full media blackout.
Set up your own personal network: Maintain relationships with neighbors, friends, and others in your area, as well as hams within range of your radio signal. In times of need you’ll be able to keep each other in the loop.
Rely less on social media/internet/cellphones: Similar to the last point, get off the internet and meet people in real life. That neighbor on the next block whom you exchange pleasantries with on social media but rarely see in person is more likely to work with you in times of need if you’re more than just chatter on a screen to them.
Be a familiar voice in ham radio circles: Radio by nature does not have the expectation of face-to-face interactions. However, you can make yourself known to other nearby hams. Check into nets. Ragchew with the locals. If there is an in-person “eyeball” event like a monthly breakfast, show up at least once in a while. Don’t let a disaster be the first time anyone’s ever heard your callsign.
Participate in organized groups: This one can be a little touchy. Depending on where you live, organized volunteer response groups can range anywhere between highly effective, collaborative, and well run to a loose crew of wannabes playing hero and bickering amongst themselves. If you can find an organization (CERT, Red Cross, ESDA, club, etc.) that is competently managed and has volunteers who are in it for the right reasons, then it’s worth your time and effort.
Include a scanner in your equipment: As mentioned, it’s getting harder and harder for amateurs to monitor public safety frequencies. However, there are still many services that are receivable on inexpensive scanners. Do not think only in terms of police/fire. Taxis and buses, tow trucks, airports, and railroads can be good sources of information. If there is a large factory, logistics facility, hospital, prison, or school in your area, they probably have their own radio systems. Monitor popular GMRS and FRS frequencies, and even citizens’ band. The very excellent website radioreference.com is a comprehensive database that allows users to look up frequency data by geographic area. There are probably licensees in your area that you don’t even know about.
We didn’t sign up for this. So do it anyway.
Commercial radio is more important to hams than most hams realize. As programming transitions to being more homogenized and less tailored to any specific area, hams will need to be resourceful and learn how to fill the information void. I know none of us got into this with the intention of being our own journalists, but as the broadcast media becomes less reliable, it’s a task that, on some level, we’ll have to assume.