Miami/Fort Lauderdale A failed experiment: WAQI Radio Mambí

[davideduardo]

Per WLRN at Mambí Muddle: Has a major Spanish-language radio reform venture failed in Miami?

"Turn on Miami Spanish-language radio station WQBA, 1140 AM, and what you hear now is music. Which is fine — except that a lot of folks in Miami had hoped instead to be hearing a new, less extremist vibe on Spanish-language radio.

At the end of July, WQBA's news and talk show staff — including celebrity Latino broadcaster Oscar Haza — was let go. They’d been brought on last year by the station's new owner, the Santa Fe, N.M.-based Latino Media Network, to make its programming more politically moderate and journalistically fact-based.

“I was enthusiastic," the center-right Haza told WLRN.

"It was a really well-intentioned project and it was working. But curiously, in the end I had the impression there was no follow-up support, no aggressive marketing.”

Further in the article, it notes:

"The Latino Media Network acquisitions [in Miami] can only be categorized as a spectacular failure," said Fernand Amandi, a Cuban-American Democrat who heads the Miami polling firm Bendixen & Amandi."

 

[WLCY/WALT]

Those many who consider that Miami needs a less "extremist vibe" in Spanish talk radio, are unaware of the audience in that city. That so called vibe is what that audience wants, and for a very good reason.

 

[bigdonho]

Seems to me there is a lessening of the very strong anti-Castro movement in Miami. The Castros have died. Many of the exiles have died and the second and third generation is not so connected or nostalgic for Cuba. Miami news used to be filled with stories out of Cuba but not so much any more. Trump has ended TPS for the Venezuelans. Radio Marti may (or may not) be on its last legs. Don't know what a Spanish AM could do to keep/build an audience in the market.

 

[Mediafrog+]

The Castros have died.

Raul Castro is still alive, age 94.

Radio Marti may (or may not) be on its last legs.

Perhaps. It is the only service remaining on shortwave from what’s left of the USAGM international broadcast agency, albeit with a greatly reduced transmission schedule. It is broadly believed RM remains in limited service simply to mollify the Cuban diaspora in South Florida (which is strongly pro-Trump) rather than an effective tool against the regime in Havana.

 

[ted chittenden]

Per WLRN at Mambí Muddle: Has a major Spanish-language radio reform venture failed in Miami?

"Turn on Miami Spanish-language radio station WQBA, 1140 AM, and what you hear now is music. Which is fine — except that a lot of folks in Miami had hoped instead to be hearing a new, less extremist vibe on Spanish-language radio.

At the end of July, WQBA's news and talk show staff — including celebrity Latino broadcaster Oscar Haza — was let go. They’d been brought on last year by the station's new owner, the Santa Fe, N.M.-based Latino Media Network, to make its programming more politically moderate and journalistically fact-based.

“I was enthusiastic," the center-right Haza told WLRN.

"It was a really well-intentioned project and it was working. But curiously, in the end I had the impression there was no follow-up support, no aggressive marketing.”

Further in the article, it notes:

"The Latino Media Network acquisitions [in Miami] can only be categorized as a spectacular failure," said Fernand Amandi, a Cuban-American Democrat who heads the Miami polling firm Bendixen & Amandi."

After listening to the audio, I think that the biggest mistake Latino Media Networks may have made was putting the more moderate voices on WQBA 1140 AM. I suspect the company would have had better success (and plenty of lawsuits) if it had been bold enough to replace the people currently working at WAQI 710 AM, "Radio Mamby" from the beginning. If I'm not mistaken, WAQI covers the Miami/Ft. Lauterdale market more thoroughly transmissionwise 24 hours a day than WQBA ever could.

 

[Rusty Muck]

The company was almost entirely inexperienced and bought WAQI along with a chunk of radio flotsam TelevisaUnivision didn't want. I'm surprised people are surprised over this.

 

[TheBigA]

It really shouldn't matter, since we've been told that Hispanics don't listen to AM radio, and that the audience for Mambi was over 70 years old.

Nobody should be surprised that LMN was a failure. There were no real radio people involved. They really didn't have a plan for programming. All they did was buy some useless stations and continue running Univision programming. Some people freaked out about the money coming from George Soros, but he didn't get involved and really provided no direction. They thought he was going to impose some socialist agenda, and force the hosts to help get democrats elected. None of it happened. It was all a chicken little exercise where they claimed the sky was falling.

Sen. Rubio Fires Off Flares On Soros Acquisition Of Florida Spanish-Language Radio Stations

U.S. Sen Marco Rubio continues to fire off flares about the political implications of a George Soros-connected group acquiring 18 Spanish...

www.tampafp.com

In the meantime, thousands of radio stations in this country are under siege from the current government. Stations such as WLRN, who reported the story in the OP, have had millions rescinded from their stations. They too have had to lay off staff and eliminate programming. It's all a part of a larger story affecting the media and news coverage, but for the most part, nobody cares. They're too busy checking social media.

 

[TheBigA]

After listening to the audio, I think that the biggest mistake Latino Media Networks may have made was putting the more moderate voices on WQBA

When LMN took over the station, it didn't change a thing. The station was running Univision TUDN sports programming. LMN could probably have kept running that. For some reason, they decided to spend money on local programming, and they discovered what everyone already knew: There's no market for what they were doing on AM. So now a bunch of people are calling it a failure, but so was Radio Libre.

 

[davideduardo]

After listening to the audio, I think that the biggest mistake Latino Media Networks may have made was putting the more moderate voices on WQBA 1140 AM.

When LRN bought WQBA, it was doing the TU sports network, not local talk. The local talk was on sister WAQI, Radio Mambí. .

I suspect the company would have had better success (and plenty of lawsuits) if it had been bold enough to replace the people currently working at WAQI 710 AM, "Radio Mamby" from the beginning. If I'm not mistaken, WAQI covers the Miami/Ft. Lauterdale market more thoroughly transmissionwise 24 hours a day than WQBA ever could.

Since the WAQI transmitter site was moved from north Dade to the WQBA site at Krome and "The Trail" it has had a lesser signal than WQBA. Both, however, cover the areas where the desired audience lives and works.

 

[davideduardo]

It really shouldn't matter, since we've been told that Hispanics don't listen to AM radio, and that the audience for Mambi was over 70 years old.

Older Cubans / Cuban Americans sure do listen.

Nobody should be surprised that LMN was a failure. There were no real radio people involved. They really didn't have a plan for programming. All they did was buy some useless stations and continue running Univision programming. Some people freaked out about the money coming from George Soros, but he didn't get involved and really provided no direction. They thought he was going to impose some socialist agenda, and force the hosts to help get democrats elected. None of it happened. It was all a chicken little exercise where they claimed the sky was falling.

Your key statement is that the two women "in charge" had no radio experience; they were Democrat party activists. As a result, they made bad decisions, including on the hiring of "the next level" management people.

In the meantime, thousands of radio stations in this country are under siege from the current government. Stations such as WLRN, who reported the story in the OP, have had millions rescinded from their stations. They too have had to lay off staff and eliminate programming. It's all a part of a larger story affecting the media and news coverage, but for the most part, nobody cares. They're too busy checking social media.

There is still a profitable market in Miami, as the business owners are, in a majority, Cubans who will support conservative stations. For example, the majority of bank presidents and VPs in Dade County are Cuban... same for local business owners. Miami is the only market where the average household income for Hispanics is higher than any other group.

 

[TheBigA]

There is still a profitable market in Miami, as the business owners are, in a majority, Cubans who will support conservative stations. For example, the majority of bank presidents and VPs in Dade County are Cuban... same for local business owners. Miami is the only market where the average household income for Hispanics is higher than any other group.

Why didn't they support Radio Libre? Based on what you're saying, it should have been a huge success.

Why didn't Univision keep Mambi? If there was money there, they could have kept it.

Your key statement is that the two women "in charge" had no radio experience; they were Democrat party activists.

So Democrat party activists were running a radio station. Marco Rubio said they were there to throw the election. Were they successful?

Remind me again: Who won the election?

 

[ron772]

Stations such as WLRN, who reported the story in the OP, have had millions rescinded from their stations. They too have had to lay off staff and eliminate programming. It's all a part of a larger story affecting the media and news coverage, but for the most part, nobody cares. They're too busy checking social media.

WLRN-FM has said they are not eliminating any programming whatsoever. I think they lost about $1.5 million, but TV is more impacted. They raised $500k in July during their emergency drive. It's the TV stations that are in a world of hurt. They got way more funding than radio from CPB. And even in Florida, the grant that DeSantis vetoed was $100k for radio, and around $370k for TV (so WLRN lost $470k from Florida too).

 

[davideduardo]

Why didn't they support Radio Libre? Based on what you're saying, it should have been a huge success.

Radio Libre is not very good (for many years I was in charge of both WAQI and WQBA's programming and my of-and-on consulting with WQBA goes back to about 1970.

Why didn't Univision keep Mambi? If there was money there, they could have kept it.

They wanted to get rid of all AM stations.

So Democrat party activists were running a radio station. Marco Rubio said they were there to throw the election. Were they successful?

No, because nobody was listening. WQBA was still carrying the Univision sports network during the elections, and WAQI had lost all their most popular talent.

Remind me again: Who won the election?

What does that have to do with stations in Miami that are pretty much focused on Latin American politics and "Castro" and not local issues anywhere nearly as much?

 

[TheBigA]

Radio Libre is not very good

It was staffed by former Mambi hosts who quit. If they were so good at Mambi, what happened to them at Libre?

Audacy got swindled. That's the real story here.

No, because nobody was listening. WQBA was still carrying the Univision sports network during the elections, and WAQI had lost all their most popular talent.

Then why did Marco Rubio get his undies in a bundle about this? He lied to the American people. He should be prosecuted.

What does that have to do with stations in Miami that are pretty much focused on Latin American politics and "Castro" and not local issues anywhere nearly as much?

You started the thread, not me. If you go back three years, I said then that these stations would fail. So they did as expected. No big news.

This wasn't a story then, and it's not a story now. You told us then that Hispanics don't listen to AM radio. The idea of buying a bunch of dead AMs was a waste because Hispanics don't listen. So now, three years later, we find out it's true. Why is this news?

 

[davideduardo]

It was staffed by former Mambi hosts who quit. If they were so good at Mambi, what happened to them at Libre?

Only a couple of them... weekenders mostly... went there. The rest went to the "big talk stations" in MIA.

Then why did Marco Rubio get his undies in a bundle about this? I still don't understand that.

You have to understand how much Soros is feared and hated by conservatives anywhere in Latin America to realize what was behind that.

You started the thread, not me. If you go back three years, I said then that these stations would fail. So they did as expected. No big news.

I started the thread because the station got a whole story on public media in Miami, showing that the lack of success had deeply seated causes.

This wasn't a story then, and it's not a story now. You told us then that Hispanics don't listen to AM radio.

I said that, generally, Hispanics nationally do not use AM radio if there is FM available. That's why we have lots of AM Regional Mexican stations in smaller markets... where an FM is not viable. But Miami is unique; it has the highest percentage of Spanish dominant Hispanics anywhere in the U.S. and is the only market where Hispanics have a higher income level than non-Hispanic whites or Blacks.

The fact that a majority of businesses in the market are Latin owned and managed and the fact that most Hispanics there are upper and middle class refugees or their families makes the market different. It is supporting not just one but several conservative Spanish language talk stations on AM because there is interest and because the Cuban, Colombian, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan refugee communities support them.

For several decades, 1260 AM in Miami was CARACOL Radio, and that acronym means Cadena Radial Colombiana. It was part of the huge Colombian network of the same name, and just focused on Colombia. Now it is "AmericaRadio" and focuses mostly on Colombia and Venezuela as well as local issues.

With a number of stations doing Spanish language talk successfully, the failure of LRN with two stations is remarkable.

The idea of buying a bunch of dead AMs was a waste because Hispanics don't listen.

In Miami they do. And, if the sales issue of most Hispanic buys being against 18-49 can be overcome with local agencies and accounts, talk and sports can be made to work on AM. KWKW in LA, all sports done locally, is very profitable and has been for over 60 years.

But those AMs are exceptions.

So now, three years later, we find out it's true. Why is this news?

No, what is true is that WAQI and WQBA were horribly managed since the transfer even though there are a number of very successful AM talk stations in Spanish in the market.

 

[TheBigA]

You have to understand how much Soros is feared and hated by conservatives anywhere in Latin America to realize what was behind that.

You should now understand it's a fake issue and he's a 91 year old paper tiger. This is just a tax write off.

I started the thread because the station got a whole story on public media in Miami, showing that the lack of success had deeply seated causes.

Yet I'm told that public broadcasting is leftist propaganda. Why should I believe what they report?

With a number of stations doing Spanish language talk successfully, the failure of LRN with two stations is remarkable.

When you try to do radio with no experience, you get predictable results. It doesn't matter what language you speak.

No, what is true is that WAQI and WQBA were horribly managed since the transfer even though there are a number of very successful AM talk stations in Spanish in the market.

There is only one AM doing better than Mambi: Actualidad. Until recently, it was being beaten by Mambi.

Perhaps the rest don't report to Nielsen.

 

[davideduardo]

You should now understand it's a fake issue and he's a 91 year old paper tiger. This is just a tax write off.

Not to people who have lost their careers, investments, homes and even relatives and family to far-left regimes in places like Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, Perú, Venezuela and even, for over a decade, Ecuador.

Yet I'm told that public broadcasting is leftist propaganda. Why should I believe what they report?

It depends on your perspective.

When you try to do radio with no experience, you get predictable results. It doesn't matter what language you speak.

Yet they hired people with considerable experience, but in the wrong areas of radio. They did not hire actual "experts" or "professionals" in Spanish language radio for the most part.

While I did not want a position, for laughs and giggles I filled in the online application for management and programming positions when they first started. They never even responded.

There is only one AM doing better than Mambi: Actualidad. Until recently, it was being beaten by Mambi.

670, 1040 and 1260 have significant AM Spanish language talk audiences.

The only reason Mambí survives is that, despite the "star commentators" leaving, the station did not significantly change its focus and continues to be strongly anti-Castro, Anti-Maduro, Anti-Petro and anti-Ortega.

Perhaps the rest don't report to Nielsen.

I've found in Miami that middle and upper income Hispanics who are Spanish dominant don't want to waste time and energy carrying around a PPM device. Remember, a huge percentage of the refugees from totalitarian regimes who now live in Miami come from very high educational and income levels... groups that are not likely to be successfully incentivized by Nielsen.

 

[TheBigA]

Not to people who have lost their careers, investments, homes and even relatives and family to far-left regimes in places like Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, Perú, Venezuela and even, for over a decade, Ecuador.

People in this country are having the exact same experience now. I just lost a lot of money because someone imposed tariffs on China.

It depends on your perspective.

You started the thread so I guess you believe them. Was the article accurate?

Yet they hired people with considerable experience, but in the wrong areas of radio. They did not hire actual "experts" or "professionals" in Spanish language radio for the most part.

It looks like Audacy did the same thing. Maybe Anglos shouldn't attempt to do Hispanic radio.

I've found in Miami that middle and upper income Hispanics who are Spanish dominant don't want to waste time and energy carrying around a PPM device.

So maybe WAQI is more popular than we know. Maybe not. Hard to have a basis if the audience doesn't wear PPM.

 

[davideduardo]

People in this country are having the exact same experience now. I just lost a lot of money because someone imposed tariffs on China.

Economic issues are always a risk for investors. I lost considerable equity during the first two Biden years, but much had to do with COVID. Totally unpredictable.

You started the thread so I guess you believe them. Was the article accurate?

Considering it was quite obviously written by non-Hispanics (as evidenced by inaccurate translations or interpretations), it was about as accurate as we can ever expect in an analysis of this kind of situation that is as political as it is economic.

It looks like Audacy did the same thing. Maybe Anglos shouldn't attempt to do Hispanic radio.

Yet you have folks like Mac Tichenor and Howard Kalmenson and Herb Levin... to name just three... who have been very successful. The issue is more whether the owners insist in applying Anglo programming values to another culture.

So maybe WAQI is more popular than we know. Maybe not. Hard to have a basis if the audience doesn't wear PPM.

I've listened, and the other two major Spanish talk stations are just better. Better format mechanics, more fluid talk show flow, better station imaging. WAQI has failed to keep up with the times in all those elements.

 

[TheBigA]

Economic issues are always a risk for investors.

Regardless, at some point the current FCC will find a way to disqualify Soros from owning broadcasting. That will throw these stations, as well as Audacy, into chaos. What this space.