May 1 in California, Arizona & Washington state
Eight-station, three-state Radio Campesina
Network drops ads for all-day coverage of
immigrant rights events across U.S. & Mexico
Some Spanish-language radio stations are having their DJs or on-air talent stay home from work on Monday to honor a nationwide boycott by immigrant rights’ advocates. Staff from the eight stations of the Radio Campesina farm worker radio network are working a 14- to 16-hour day on May 1 to help spread the word to its 400,000 listeners about demonstrations and events occurring throughout the United States and Mexico.
Radio Campesina, founded by Cesar Chavez as part of the Farm Worker Movement, is also canceling all advertising and underwriting during the 24 hours of May 1, costing the network approximately $50,000 in revenue. Instead, the eight Radio Campesina stations targeting recent immigrants with educational programs and popular regional Mexican music plus a ninth station with a hip-hop bilingual format targeting first generation Latinos will all air an array of special programming. It includes:
• Live remote coverage of immigration reform events in areas where Radio Campesina broadcasts from California, Arizona and Washington state plus live reports from network staff and stringers attending similar activities in other parts of the U.S. and in Mexico.
• Taking calls from urban and rural residents on both sides of the border. They will include immigrants as well as merchants and professionals closing their businesses on May 1 plus growers who support immigration reform efforts such as the bipartisan AgJobs bill sponsored by the United Farm Workers and the nation’s agricultural industry.
• Interviews, including key policy makers such as U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy (D- Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.); Cardinal Roger Mahony; UFW President Arturo Rodriguez; and representatives from other immigrant groups such as Koreans and Pakistanis, emphasizing that immigration reform isn’t just about Latinos.
• A live on-the-air Catholic Rosary service performed by a priest at Radio Campesina’s central studios in Bakersfield, praying for a just immigration solution.
The Radio Campesina network includes: KNAI-FM, 88.3, Phoenix, AZ; KCEC-FM, 104.5, Yuma, AZ/San Luis, Mexico; KRIT-FM, 93.9, Parker, AZ; KMYX-FM, 92.5, Bakersfield, CA; KUFW-FM, 90.5 – Visalia/Tulare, CA; KBHH-FM, 95.3, Fresno, CA; KSEA-FM, 107.9, Salinas, CA; and KRCW-FM, 96.5, Pasco/Kennewick/Richland, WA. The bilingual hip-hop format station is KBDS-FM, 103.9, Bakersfield, CA.
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