1STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN Re: Revitalization of the AM Radio Service, MB Docket No. 13-249. It is often said, that AM radio is the foundational part of the American media landscape. Its programming – which ranges from news, sports and talk; to weather, agricultural reports and of course, music – continues to educate, inspire and bring communities together. One of my proudest moments as Acting Chair, was helping to shepherd one of the Commission’s recent efforts, to revitalize AM broadcasting. As a result of our agency’s ongoing reforms, last year, we received over 1,000 applications from broadcasters seeking to relocate FM translators for AM rebroadcast use. With today’s Second Report and Order, we build on that accomplishment, by instituting what to some may seem like a minor change in our rules. But by slightly relaxing where a fill-in translator can locate, we enhance flexibility for broadcasters, making it easier for applicants to serve their local communities. Implementing this proposal prior to the opening of the 2017 auction windows, should be welcome news to both broadcasters and listeners across the nation. As we seek to modernize AM radio, we must not forget about Low Power FM (LPFM) stations and their unique role in serving local and/or underrepresented groups. This Report and Order reiterates that “any translator station relocating based on the amended rule must still protect any LPFM stations under the contour protections” outlined in the Commission’s existing rules. I will be watching closely to ensure our AM modernization efforts do not unintentionally undermine the phenomenal success story that is LPFM. So once again, hats off to the Media Bureau’s Audio Division staff, including Peter Doyle, Lisa Scanlan, Jim Bradshaw, and Tom Nessinger for your continued efforts, to modernize a medium, that then Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover sagely recognized in 1922 as being, “one of the most astonishing things that has come under my observation of American life.”