Don't Count AM/FM Radio Out Just Yet

[Commentary] Will traditional radio survive in a world where podcasts take over? According to Pew’s State of the Media report, in 2013 a full 91 percent of Americans 12 and up listened to traditional radio at least once per week. That number is barely changed from 2012, or for that matter from 2002. In 2010, National Public Radio’s then-CEO Vivian Schiller prophesied: “Radio towers are going away within 10 years.” Four years later, that pronouncement is looking awfully silly. Radio companies still haul in billions of dollars in revenue. Even as terrestrial radio is overshadowed by podcasts and streams, it will continue to hold a place in our media landscape.

[Seth Stevenson is the author of Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World]