WHAT? A TJ STATION GOES SPANISH?

[voice of reason]

Today AM 540 drops its simulcast with KGIL 1260 and starts playing brokered Spanish language religious shows. There were times a few years ago when 540 had 2.0 rating in the San Diego book with oldies.

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

Today AM 540 drops its simulcast with KGIL 1260 and starts playing brokered Spanish language religious shows. There were times a few years ago when 540 had 2.0 rating in the San Diego book with oldies.

There are several Spanish language stations licensed to Tijuana.

 

[DoctorWu]

I believe the question was meant sardonically...

-- Doc

 

[voice of reason]

Apparently 540 en espanol starts Sept. 4

 

[SDRadio]

Correct. I emailed Michael Levine in Los Angeles and he confirms that religious programming will start then.

The AM 540 stick is where the Ensanada toll road starts. A single stand alone.

 

[RadeoEngineer]

Correct. I emailed Michael Levine in Los Angeles and he confirms that religious programming will start then.

The AM 540 stick is where the Ensanada toll road starts. A single stand alone.

This is interesting. Religion was never allowed as a format on Mexican radio in my memory. Do I have this wrong?

 

[davideduardo]

Correct. I emailed Michael Levine in Los Angeles and he confirms that religious programming will start then.

The AM 540 stick is where the Ensanada toll road starts. A single stand alone.

This is interesting. Religion was never allowed as a format on Mexican radio in my memory. Do I have this wrong?

The law was changed to allow the catholic Church to operate some stations and to help AM in general in Mexico, where the band is much more in disrepair than in the US. Now, the requirement is to request permission for every broadcast or series of broadcasts, and these are granted routinely.

 

[Bob_Hudson]

This is interesting. Religion was never allowed as a format on Mexican radio in my memory. Do I have this wrong?

Heck Mexico used to, at least, bar priests from going out in public priestly garb so it's hard to imagine the government has reformed enough to allow religious broadcasting (after the Mexican revolution, strong restrictions were placed on the Church for fear it would make the people aware they were being ripped off by the PRI dictatorship). Some things have changed, but as noted by Wikipedia, "In 1992, Mexico lifted almost all restrictions on the religions, including granting all religious groups legal status, conceding them limited property rights, and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country.[1] Until recently, priests did not have the right to vote, and even now they cannot be elected to public office."

I do know that religious organizations still cannot own Mexican TV and radio stations, but didn't some of the off-the-wall US religious broadcasters used Mexican transmitters back 40 or 50 years ago (the old XERF was one)?

 

[RadeoEngineer]

Correct. I emailed Michael Levine in Los Angeles and he confirms that religious programming will start then.

The AM 540 stick is where the Ensanada toll road starts. A single stand alone.

This is interesting. Religion was never allowed as a format on Mexican radio in my memory. Do I have this wrong?

The law was changed to allow the catholic Church to operate some stations and to help AM in general in Mexico, where the band is much more in disrepair than in the US. Now, the requirement is to request permission for every broadcast or series of broadcasts, and these are granted routinely.

Well, that's fine as far as I'm concerned. I'm a big believer in freedom of speech (not freedom to inflame). If Mexico is now allowing this, it's fine by me. Not very many people know or remember that I went to Nicaragua in 1987 to put Radio Catolica back on the air after Daniel Ortega had ordered them off for not broadcasting a speech he gave. He had given them permission to go back on the air and through a series of being in the wrong places at the right time I got asked to go do it. I did it for free speech. Hispanics seem to be very religious people and I'm all for them having a broadcast conduit.

 

[DoctorWu]

I seem to remember, in the 70s and 80s, that XPRS (1090) aired religious programming in the daytime, and Dick Hugg and Art Laboe music infomercial shows at night. But of course an American lessee can program what they want.

-- Doc

 

[RadeoEngineer]

I seem to remember, in the 70s and 80s, that XPRS (1090) aired religious programming in the daytime, and Dick Hugg and Art Laboe music infomercial shows at night. But of course an American lessee can program what they want.

-- Doc

That would be lessor, and that's also not correct. An American lessor always had to fulfill the requirements of the Mexican license, hence the ever redundant Mexico travel promos and the Mexican National Hour on Sunday night. There may have been some religious programming somewhere that slipped through, but I recall that as a very big no no while I toiled at XETRA Ah emmay y effay emmay

 

[davideduardo]

I seem to remember, in the 70s and 80s, that XPRS (1090) aired religious programming in the daytime, and Dick Hugg and Art Laboe music infomercial shows at night. But of course an American lessee can program what they want.

The English at night lasted till around 1978/79, at which point the broker who had the daytime programming extended his deal to 24/7.

The daytime programming was contemporary music with DJs the first few years, then regional Mexican with DJs after that, 24/7. There was no Spanish religion. My source: XEPRS's mid-day talent, Amalia Gonzalez, who is now PD and mid-days at the Recuerdo network out of LA.

A US broker of program time on a Mexican station must obey all Mexican laws regarding program content.

 

[davideduardo]

Not very many people know or remember that I went to Nicaragua in 1987 to put Radio Catolica back on the air after Daniel Ortega had ordered them off for not broadcasting a speech he gave. He had given them permission to go back on the air and through a series of being in the wrong places at the right time I got asked to go do it. I did it for free speech. Hispanics seem to be very religious people and I'm all for them having a broadcast conduit.

I did not know that story. I remember when Radio Católica was on 1120 AM, before the Sandinistas, and am familiar with the unfortunate fate of radio during the Ortega regime (the first one, at least). A good friend who I had met in the course of attending the Interamerican Association of Broadcasters meetings Eddie Delgado of Radio Cosigüina of Chinandega was killed by the Sandinistas for suggesting that they might be as bad as Somoza... congratulations on helping to keep that voice on the air.

 

[DoctorWu]

The English at night lasted till around 1978/79, at which point the broker who had the daytime programming extended his deal to 24/7.

The daytime programming was contemporary music with DJs the first few years, then regional Mexican with DJs after that, 24/7. There was no Spanish religion. My source: XEPRS's mid-day talent, Amalia Gonzalez, who is now PD and mid-days at the Recuerdo network out of LA.

Thanks for clearing that up, David. My memory was obviously faulty.

-- Doc