What’s the best way to succeed in business?

If you said “Offer something people want at a price they’ll pay for”, then shame on you. You haven’t been paying attention to the Donald Trump/Barack Obama cronyist era. The answer is to use your government connections to force people pay for your stuff!

Photo by 401kcalculator.org

Radio stations want to access the mobile world. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) – an industry lobbyist group – is pretty open about it:

Wells Fargo's Hebert: @NextRadioApp "a very interesting way for radio to gain mobile market share."#RadioShow2016

— NAB (@nabtweets) September 21, 2016

Well now it turns out they have a plan to Make Radio Great Again!. Since buyers aren’t really very interested in cronyist, government-licensed radio anymore, instead preferring over-the-Internet music and podcast services, they’re lobbying to coerce phone makers to add FM radio to phones, and contacts to FCC and the Congress are part of that.

Says Wired:

Congress has held multiple hearings on the issue over the years and the FCC could require handset makers and carriers to activate FM capability, but it has been reluctant to act by fiat. Agency chairman Tom Wheeler told lawmakers last year “the issue may be resolving itself in the marketplace.”

So the pressure is on, hearings are being held, and proponents are trying to build momentum to force the issue. And NAB is on the case:

WIRED: When a disaster takes down cell service, you’re going to need a radio to know what’s going on. https://t.co/kTCkhExFtJ

— NAB (@nabtweets) July 11, 2016

If they get it, it will be forced on us in the name of “public safety,” but the real motive is profit. Beware!