I'm fully on board with keeping AM radio around. I think it's immensely valuable. But considering that the FCC has already eliminated a number of very valuable things through frequency deallocation, I think we need to face up to the real possibility that AM radio is next in line for the chopping block. It's a real shame, but here we are.

I advise people to get a shortwave receiver. They're inexpensive, and are actually even better in emergency situations.