Hacker News

CBS Radio signs off after nearly 100 years of broadcasting

34 points by gscott ago | 16 comments

866-RON-0-FEZ [-]

With everyone hating on AM radio (HN included) and thinking the EV automakers were right for eliminating it from cars, this was the inevitable result.

nh23423fefe |root |parent [-]

why is the medium relevant at all? what does radio do that a podcast cant

kube-system |root |parent |next [-]

A podcast requires thousands of pieces of fragile infrastructure between the sender and receiver.

Radio can send signals between continents with zero infrastructure between the sender and receiver.

ux266478 |root |parent |next |previous [-]

They live in different layers of "medium". This is like asking "What does piping do that juice doesn't?", they're not mutually exclusive.

twism |root |parent |next |previous [-]

Internet.connection (∴ tracking) not required

ajs1998 |root |parent |next |previous [-]

It's not just the medium. Streaming from the internet is a totally different product than radio. There's no reason we can't have both.

alnwlsn |root |parent |next |previous [-]

Work without internet infrastructure

tonypapousek |root |parent |next |previous [-]

Emergency broadcast is a big one, as well as location-specific information like road conditions.

sergiomattei |root |parent |next |previous [-]

AM is critical for emergency scenarios. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, all our infrastructure was completely devastated.

The only way to receive news or bulletins for weeks was just one remaining AM radio station that kept broadcasting even as the storm hit and their building began to flood.

ramesh31 |root |parent |next |previous [-]

>why is the medium relevant at all? what does radio do that a podcast cant

Deliver the news to you anywhere and everywhere with a receiver that can be built from scavenged garbage. Terrestrial absolutely still has a place, and will most likely outlive the internet.

Craighead |root |parent |next |previous [-]

It's literally absurdity that you even wrote this at all.

iAMkenough |root |parent |previous [-]

what does a movie theater screen do that a phone screen can’t?

nekzn |root |parent [-]

That’s right, nothing. “Movie theater attendance is well below pre-pandemic levels, with global cinema admissions hovering at roughly 64% of their historical peaks”

iAMkenough |root |parent [-]

Yes, lower sales performance means we should eliminate all movie theaters so our children never have the opportunity to experience them. Profits are the only factor.

You’re right that experiencing a movie individually on a phone screen is the ideal medium.

nekzn |root |parent [-]

I didn’t say any of those three things.

iAMkenough |root |parent [-]

And I didn’t say “nothing.”