This is the primary reason to keep broadcast radio around. The ability to send information to a large segment of the population, all at once, with minimal hardware (that already exists), and cheaply, is a huge benefit and one of the greatest advances in communications technology we've had in a long time. One tower can broadcast information to tens of millions of people. That's amazing.
And AM has benefits over FM. It's extremely cheap to implement (moreso than FM), it has a much wider range, and it is less affected by physical barriers. It is more vulnerable to interference. I wouldn't be terribly upset if they deprecated AM in favor of a larger FM band, but then you run into issues with current radios being unable to access the newer stations. I've seen arguments that it's "difficult" to isolate the AM receiver from the EM interference produced by electric vehicles, but this problem has been solved by several manufacturers already.
I'm all for deprecating old tech in favor of a better alternative, but that alternative truly does need to be better.
The only real argument I've seen against it, from the auto manufacturers, is that they don't want to pay for it and many people don't use it. I don't blame them, you need to pinch a few pennies to keep those CEOs and Union Bosses in their penthouse apartments, after all. I have yet to use an airbag but if I ever DO then boy will I be happy it's there.
I do still occasionally tune in the local AM stations. Good for news, and the 3G/4G coverage in my area is unreliable (yes, I live in the USA). I know people in the city don't have these issues, but those of us who don't still exist and we do, in fact, matter.