Less Spanish Radio in Atlanta Please

[Goodtimesandgreatoldies]

Which current spanish stations do y`all see flipping formats soon?

 

[Biz Listener]

What would you do if a station started playing nothing but Spanish oldies?

 

[lilburncommunityradio]

What would you do if a station started playing nothing but Spanish oldies?

Uhhhh, start jammin to LaBamba? LOL sorry couldnt resist..

 

[Kabrich]

Atlanta/Re: Less Spanish Radio in Atlanta Please

What a great idea...... :

By Emily Bazar and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2008-08-13-censusinside_N.htm

The U.S. workforce will become increasingly diverse over the next three decades, a shift that could bring changes in education, training and public policy, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Census data released Thursday.

Racial and ethnic minorities in the USA will become a majority in 2042, but the working-age population — those 18 to 64 — will cross that threshold three years earlier, the projections say. By 2050, minorities will make up 55% of the working-age population. The share of the population that is working-age will drop steadily, from 63% to 57% in 2050.

[EDIT]



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[Biz Listener]

If radio stations are going to promote the concept of diversity being a good thing (which it is), they should also encourage Hispanic people to follow the traditional way that immigrants in the past from Germany, Italy, Poland, and all the other European nations managed to become assimilated into American society. They all kept their cultural identities while learning to speak English.

Radio stations in Atlanta who broadcast programming for people whose ancestors came from Spain should encourage their listeners to learn to speak English.

 

[Kabrich]

If radio stations are going to promote the concept of diversity being a good thing (which it is), they should also encourage Hispanic people to follow the traditional way that immigrants in the past from Germany, Italy, Poland, and all the other European nations managed to become assimilated into American society. They all kept their cultural identities while learning to speak English.

Radio stations in Atlanta who broadcast programming for people whose ancestors came from Spain should encourage their listeners to learn to speak English.

While I agree with your first statement 100%, your second statement believes that radio stations should try to change trends instead of be a part of them. Successful Radio Stations will always be in touch with their listeners and the trends - not fighting them.

 

[AMCM]

Uhhhh, start jammin to LaBamba? LOL sorry couldnt resist..

"Ooh, My Head" is a much better song.

 

[Biz Listener]

While I agree with your first statement 100%, your second statement believes that radio stations should try to change trends instead of be a part of them. Successful Radio Stations will always be in touch with their listeners and the trends - not fighting them.

How is working toward the goal of acceptance and assimilation for people whose ancestors came from Spain "fighting" any sort of trend? Don't the immigrants who come here to America want to become Americans? Isn't that why they came here instead of remaining in Spain (or Italy or Germany or Korea or any other country), so they could become Americans? Isn't learning to speak English a major part of becoming an American? So how would playing Spanish songs with English speaking DJ's be "fighting" against any trend?

Besides, aren't radio stations that use the public airwaves supposed to program in the public interest? Isn't helping immigrants assimilate into American society in the public interest?

 

[davideduardo]

Radio stations in Atlanta who broadcast programming for people whose ancestors came from Spain should encourage their listeners to learn to speak English.

The "Spanish" ancestry of a significant percentage of the new residents of Atlanta is a bit of exaggeration... most have ancestors who came from Tenochtitlán or Monte Alban or Chichén Itzá, not Valencia and Asturias. They are, for the most part, more linked with "native Americans" although that politically correct term is not used in Latin America.

Much of the reason for listening to Spanish language media is to hear music that this group likes (assimilation after early adolescence may include language and some customs, but not a change in musical taste from Vicente Fernández to Lynyrd Skynyrd) and news that includes coverage of areas of interest not normally covered in general market media.

The US has a long history of foreign language periodicals dating to before 1776, and then of foreign language radio with NY at one time having two fulltime Italian stations, and Chicago having a handful of Polish properties as just two examples.

 

[Biz Listener]

The "Spanish" ancestry of a significant percentage of the new residents of Atlanta is a bit of exaggeration... most have ancestors who came from Tenochtitlán or Monte Alban or Chichén Itzá, not Valencia and Asturias. They are, for the most part, more linked with "native Americans" although that politically correct term is not used in Latin America.

That's irrelevant. Whether someone speaks Spanish because their ancestors came from Spain or were conquered by people from Spain, anyone who wants to become an American and live in the United States should learn to speak English, just like all the other immigrants did or are doing. And, if they are the descendants of "native Americans", why aren't they speaking the languages of their ancestors instead of the language of a European country (Spain)?

Much of the reason for listening to Spanish language media is to hear music that this group likes (assimilation after early adolescence may include language and some customs, but not a change in musical taste from Vicente Fernández to Lynyrd Skynyrd) and news that includes coverage of areas of interest not normally covered in general market media.

So what does that have to do with the language that the disc jockeys speak in between songs? When they broadcast the Metropolitan Opera, the operas remain in Italian or German but the announcers all speak English. Why can't a station that plays songs that are popular with people whose ancestors came from Spanish speaking countries still use English speaking DJ's? My late Polish mother-in-law used to listen to every polka show that was on the air. Almost all the songs were in Polish or some other Central European language, but the DJ's spoke English.

And I'm not saying that having some public affairs programs in Spanish would be a bad thing. But to broadcast totally in a foreign language in America, 24/7, over the public airwaves is just wrong. It's not serving the best interests of the public. It's not serving the public as a whole, and it isn't serving the immigrants who only speak Spanish.

The US has a long history of foreign language periodicals dating to before 1776, and then of foreign language radio with NY at one time having two fulltime Italian stations, and Chicago having a handful of Polish properties as just two examples.

Newspapers and magazines are one thing. There is no scarcity of paper or printing presses. There is a finite amount of radio spectrum available. That's why there are laws that say that radio stations must program in the public interest. I don't see how "a handful" of Polish stations in Chicago makes a case that every major city in America should have stations that program in a foreign language 24/7.

And, from a business perspective, since immigrants who learn English do better financially than immigrants who don't learn English, a station that played Spanish music with English-speaking DJ's would attract a more affluent audience which would result in increased ad sales and revenues. So it's not just an issue of doing what's right with regards to the laws about broadcasting in the public interest. It's also about the stations making more money.

 

[OutOfTheBiz]

If radio stations are going to promote the concept of diversity being a good thing (which it is), they should also encourage Hispanic people to follow the traditional way that immigrants in the past from Germany, Italy, Poland, and all the other European nations managed to become assimilated into American society. They all kept their cultural identities while learning to speak English.

Except the vast majority of immigrants from Germany, Italy, Poland and all the other European nations didn't learn our language and assimilate into our culture instantly. It took generations. And there are still very large pockets of people in New York who speak Italian, many Asian communities where their native languages are prevalent, and lots of other examples, but no one seems to be up in arms about that. Over time, as the next generation - the children of today's hispanic immigrants - grows up in this country, they will be speaking much more English as they are taught in our school systems and live and work in our society.

 

[Biz Listener]

If radio stations are going to promote the concept of diversity being a good thing (which it is), they should also encourage Hispanic people to follow the traditional way that immigrants in the past from Germany, Italy, Poland, and all the other European nations managed to become assimilated into American society. They all kept their cultural identities while learning to speak English.

Except the vast majority of immigrants from Germany, Italy, Poland and all the other European nations didn't learn our language and assimilate into our culture instantly. It took generations. And there are still very large pockets of people in New York who speak Italian, many Asian communities where their native languages are prevalent, and lots of other examples, but no one seems to be up in arms about that. Over time, as the next generation - the children of today's hispanic immigrants - grows up in this country, they will be speaking much more English as they are taught in our school systems and live and work in our society.

All the more reason for radio stations that are operating in the public interest should do whatever they can to facilitate that process. The fact that a situation will take a great deal of work isn't a reason for not getting started. The larger the problem with immigrants who can't speak English, the more important it is for everything that can be done to start being done using the publicly owned airwaves to help solve the problem.

And please don't think I'm "up in arms" about anything. Being bilingual is a wonderful thing. But there is a very serious problem with being mono-lingual in the United States of America, unless that one language is English. No bilingual person who speaks English in public and Spanish at home should have a problem with listening to Spanish songs and English speaking disc jockeys. The only people who couldn't listen to a station broadcasting Spanish songs with English speaking DJ's are people who only speak Spanish, and they're the ones who need all the help they can get in learning the language of this nation, assuming they plan to live here.

I'd make an exception for any city where there are large numbers of Spanish speaking tourists who are only here for brief visits. If someone wants to program for that market, more power to them.

I can`t believe that these stations broadcast in all Mexican!

"Mexican" isn't a language. Spanish is a language. The primary language in Mexico is Spanish, because it was introduced by the conquistadores from Spain. It's just like here in America we speak English, because the nation was founded by (mostly) people who came from England.

 

[jabba17]

Back to the original question...

I think they're all going to eventually flip except for Viva (unless CC puts WGST back on 105.7), the La Raza pair, and the La Favorita trio. La Favorita is a heritage brand in the Latino community (do they still do the play-by-plays of the Braves in Spanish?). I doubt that CC will stick with Patron much longer.

Don't expect them to flip to "English" programming--there's other foreign-language demos that are underserved in ATL, like eastern European and (especially) Korean. I think we'll see more AMs going from Spanish to Korean. Radio Hana, anyone?

Satellite has Latino programming and will eat into Spanish terrestrial radio as it has English terrestrial radio.

 

[RTibbs]

There is some truth to this. I hear Bob Bailey will soon be forming a new afternoon team with Randy and Spiff on 105.3 Polish Oldies. It is the latest radio channel from Scott Shannonski.

 

[jabba17]

I wonder if Davis or the folks who own La Favorita would be interested in picking up some of these stations and expanding the coverage of their simulcasts...how many stations can you legally simulcast on?

I could see Consolidation Lite happening before outright flips out of the Latino market.

 

[davideduardo]

And, from a business perspective, since immigrants who learn English do better financially than immigrants who don't learn English, a station that played Spanish music with English-speaking DJ's would attract a more affluent audience which would result in increased ad sales and revenues. So it's not just an issue of doing what's right with regards to the laws about broadcasting in the public interest. It's also about the stations making more money.

Regional Mexican stations, which are about half or more of all the 1000 US stations in Spanish, would get no listenership with DJs in English.

First a majority of the quarter hours on these stations come from morning shows that are very talk intensive, full of Mexican humor, things about the stars on TV, etc. There is no way any of this could be done in English.

Second, remember that the last few month have brought many nights where in 18-34 and even 18-49 Univision has been the #1 network in Prime in America.

The mind is big enough to accomodate more than one langauge. People who grew up outside the US and came as late adolescents or adults will, in more than 90% of the cases, always think in the native langauge and translate dynamically. You can not expect such people to enjoy entertainment in a language that requires work to understand.

It was the same with the Germans, the Italians, the Poles, over history. By second generation, you have bilinguals. The first generation is generally dependent for most things on the native langauge which is the one they think in.

 

[Biz Listener]

Regional Mexican stations, which are about half or more of all the 1000 US stations in Spanish, would get no listenership with DJs in English.

First a majority of the quarter hours on these stations come from morning shows that are very talk intensive, full of Mexican humor, things about the stars on TV, etc. There is no way any of this could be done in English.

Just out of curiosity, how many stations has the Mexican equivalent of the FCC authorized for using the Mexican airwaves to broadcast in English 24/7?

 

[jabba17]

Regional Mexican stations, which are about half or more of all the 1000 US stations in Spanish, would get no listenership with DJs in English.

First a majority of the quarter hours on these stations come from morning shows that are very talk intensive, full of Mexican humor, things about the stars on TV, etc. There is no way any of this could be done in English.

Just out of curiosity, how many stations has the Mexican equivalent of the FCC authorized for using the Mexican airwaves to broadcast in English 24/7?

I know of one current one--XETRA out of TJ (http://www.xtrasportsradio.com/), and one historical one, XERF (Wolfman Jack's stick). I'm sure there are others.

They do have to make Mexican government announcements, en espanol.

Not to mention station IDs en espanol (that is, equis-eh-teh-ereh-ah versus ecks-ee-tee-are-ay).

Similar to the US (Viva's station ID is double-you-double-you-vee-ay, not veh-dobleh-veh-dobleh-veh-ah)

 

[davideduardo]

Just out of curiosity, how many stations has the Mexican equivalent of the FCC authorized for using the Mexican airwaves to broadcast in English 24/7?

There used to be several full English stations in Mexico City and Guadalajara in English full time. But they stopped making money as US managers went home after training Mexican managers. There are lots of Mexican stations on the US border in English, but otherwise there is no audience for such stations. The 45 million Hispanics in the US and PR are a huge audience, about half of whom want radio in Spanish.

 

[davideduardo]

I know of one current one--XETRA out of TJ (http://www.xtrasportsradio.com/), and one historical one, XERF (Wolfman Jack's stick). I'm sure there are others.

Xtra sports is long gone. xetra 690 is now XEWW and in Spanish. But there is English from Tijuana on 1090, 800, and a half dozen FMs.

Similar to the US (Viva's station ID is double-you-double-you-vee-ay, not veh-dobleh-veh-dobleh-veh-ah)

Spanish stations in the US can also ID in Spanish. Hundreds do that.