Digital Signals Spark Static From AM Radio

Sarah McBride writes:  "... A growing number of radio listeners are encountering similar interference -- hisses, whistles or static -- on their favorite AM stations. The problem for WTRI began about a year ago, when Bonneville International Corp.'s WTOP, the AM station at 1500, began using a digital signal that interfered with WTRI's analog signal in some broadcast areas. It's one of the unexpected consequences of the radio industry's transition to digital broadcasts.  ...¶... The AM stations most affected are those whose neighboring stations -- nearby on the dial -- add a digital signal. In most cases, including Mr. Rizer's, the interference doesn't stretch into a station's core coverage area, as defined in its Federal Communications Commission license. But in fringe areas, signals can be fuzzy, or lost entirely. ..."  Link:  Wall Street Journal.