Ford reverses course on planned 'tone-deaf' removal of AM radios: 'It was a mistake'

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Ford reversing course on plan to dump AM radio in 2024 models

'Talkers' publisher Michael Harrison joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the reversal and why he was not surprised the 'tone-deaf' decision was changed. 

Ford announced it would reverse course on removing AM radios from all "all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles" over concerns surrounding the nationwide emergency alert system. 

CEO Jim Farley tweeted Tuesday, "After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we've decided to include it on all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles."

TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison weighed in on the reversal during "America's Newsroom," saying he was not "surprised" the change was made given the "tone-deaf' nature of the original decision. 

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"This is a big battle that's been won, but the war is still going on," Harrison told co-hosts Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino Wednesday. "But I'm not surprised they turned around. I don't think there was any malicious intent on the part of the automakers to announce that they want to get rid of AM radio. I think it was a tone-deaf… boneheaded move, not understanding the role of AM radio in our society."

"They're seeing very quickly that it was a mistake," he continued. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that last year the company said it would remove the radios from F-150 Lightning electric trucks because "the frequencies involved in AM radio tend to be directly affected by the electromagnetic noise in EV propulsion systems."

But this prompted Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrators to reach out to the Biden administration to ensure this wasn't the case, citing concerns surrounding communication during natural disasters. 

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Farley announced Ford owners with current EVs that don't include AM radio will receive a "software update" so they can gain access to the technology. 

A Ford spokesman previously told FOX Business that "Our EVs, the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, did not receive AM broadcast radio capability for the 23 model year, so customers that have bought those do not currently have access to it. But, we are going to send an over-the-air software update to those vehicles to enable AM radio in their vehicles."

Many have touted Ford for reversing course, including Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, D., who said, "Ford's reversal reflects an overdue realization about the importance of AM radio. But too many automakers are still going in the wrong direction."

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Companies like BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo, Tesla, Rivian and Mazda are still reportedly planning to remove the technology from their vehicles. 

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But Harrison argued, at "this point in time," that decision is still premature. 

"AM Radio is the backbone of the nation's emergency broadcasting system, so it's a necessity at this point," Harrison said. "As I said… my head's not in the sand. I'm not just a booster for the industry. Eventually, everything is going to be digital. It's going to be a whole new paradigm, and radio has to really keep its eye or its ear on what radio means when it's no longer defined by the appliance that it's carried on." 

"But at this point in time, we're talking ten years from now, 15 years from now, not to mention, the auto industry owes radio a favor and special consideration for the almost a century of a symbiotic relationship between the two," he continued. 

"Yes, people listen to radio in cars, but radio has exalted the cultural relevance of automobiles between the music and the disc jockeys, and even today, I don't think those other automakers want to make an enemy out of talk radio."

FOX Business' Greg Norman contributed to this report.