R A D I O     B I L I N G U E

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 CONTACT:

April 17, 2008                                                                              Maria de Jesus Gomez

                                                                                                       (559) 455-5782

                                                                                                     chuyag@radiobilingue.org

EDITORS: Representatives will be available for media interviews April 21 and 22 following the show (4 PM EDT) at WLCH, Radio Centro, site of the transmission.

 Premiere Latino radio and TV networks simulcast coverage of Latino voting in Pennsylvania primaries

With the presidential election moving into Pennsylvania next week, Latino voting patterns and results will be presented in three special shows designed to capture the Latino impact on the presidential elections -- representing groundbreaking efforts by California-based Radio Bilingüe, New York-based Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN-TV) and WLCH-FM in Lancaster, PA.

Two shows -- special productions of “Linea Abierta on the Road” by Radio Bilingüe (San Francisco and Fresno) -- will air live on the public radio and television networks from the studios of WLCH-FM on Monday, April 21, and on Election Day, Tuesday, April 22 at 3 PM EDT.  The third show airs Wednesday, April 23, live at 3 PM EDT from the main studios of HITN TV in Brooklyn.

Also, as part of the Pennsylvania primaries coverage on Election Day, the Radio Bilingüe, HITN-TV and WLCH news teams will conduct informal exit polls in Lancaster.  

This innovative team coverage by the three non-profit Latino news media organizations is directed at broadening the Latino discussion about the elections on a national level, but takes on special significance in Pennsylvania where the number of eligible Latino voters has been on the rise.

Half of all Latinos in Pennsylvania -- 261,000 -- are eligible to vote, ranking 11 nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote, according to the PEW Hispanic Center. Almost three percent of eligible voters in Pennsylvania are Latinos, the 27 largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally.

While a non-traditional Latino state, Pennsylvania is brimming with the energy of a competitive race. With the Democratic primary still undecided, the primaries there are expected to draw thousands of Latino voters out to the polls.

The April 21 show in Lancaster, on the eve of the primary, will feature a forum to hear about the hopes and anxieties of Latino voters, including older, younger, women, independent and newly-naturalized voters.

The April 22 live show will feature news correspondents in Lancaster, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and other locations delivering the latest news from the voting polls. News teams from both Radio Bilingüe and WLCH will file stories on the election-day atmosphere and voter turn out as well as conduct informal exit polling.

On April 23, Radio Bilingüe's Linea Abierta and HITN's award-winning call-in program, Diálogo de Costa a Costa will co-produce the joint program from HITN studios located in the famed Brooklyn Navy Yards will air live on both national networks at 3 PM EDT with a review of successes and problems Pennsylvania’s Latino voters encountered.

Malín Falú, host of HITN‘s Dialogo de Costa a Costa, and Samuel Orozco, Linea Abierta executive producer and host, will co-host the New York show that will provide a post-election report and analysis of the Pennsylvania voting results.

This special post-election show will examine the affluence of the Latino vote, and the strategies used by the political campaigns to galvanize the Latino vote.  Also, this show will look ahead to the North Carolina and Indiana primaries on May 6 and the battle for the Latino vote in those pivotal states.

Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, these programs are part of “Linea Abierta on the Road,” a special itinerant series originating from the home site of partnering organizations such as WLCH-FM and HITN-TV.  

Additional funding is provided by The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Mitchell Kapor Foundation and the Lumina Foundation for Education.

“Linea Abierta on the Road” is part of Radio Bilingüe’s bilingual weekly program, Hacia el Voto 2008, that began airing in January in Chicago. The year-long election coverage radio series, including special coverage at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, will air through January 2009 on Radio Bilingüe’s award-winning daily talk show, Línea Abierta, from 3 to 4 p.m. EST. 

The show is produced in collaboration with HITN-TV, a non-profit, bilingual TV network, with access to more than 30 million households, and will be simulcast on their bilingual radio and TV networks. HITN-TV is available nationally via Dish, DirecTV, Verizon’s FIOS and AT&T’s U-Verse, as well as major cable companies throughout the nation, together they reach areas such as New York, Chicago, Denver, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Los Angeles.

The election coverage also will be available via web cast on  www.radiobilingue.org.

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About Linea Abierta and Radio Bilingüe

The Spanish-language program Línea Abierta is heard on the community-based radio network’s satellite system that reaches 100 affiliates throughout the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico as well as its own six stations in California. It is also available via webcast on Radio Bilingüe Internet: www.radiobilingue.org. Radio Bilingüe’s online service also features an election spotlight webpage with links to program audio archives, podcasting multimedia files, timely news transcripts, an election interactive blog, hyperlinks to relevant organizations and more.

About HITN

The Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN) was established in 1983 as a non-profit organization. HITN’s mission is dedicated to the advancement of Hispanics by providing engaging educational entertainment that invites individuals and families to live fuller, richer lives and enables them to serve as an ever-growing engine of intellectual power and progress. HITN-TV was created in 1987, becoming America’s first Public Television Network for Latinos. Today, HITN-TV can be found on cable, satellite, video on demand and online reaching over 31 million households.

HITN provides a unique source of educational, cultural, news and public affairs programs to the homes of Hispanics in the United States and Puerto Rico.  For more information log onto www.hitn.org

HITN: CELEBRATING 25 YEARS AS AMERICA’S FIRST PUBLIC Television NETWORK FOR LATINOS

About WLCH

WLCH-FM, Radio Centro (91.3 in Lancaster and 100.3 in York) is a bilingual, community-oriented radio station in Lancaster, PA. A subsidiary of the Spanish American Civic Association, the station is licensed as a public educational institution. Today, Radio Centro is the primary source of information for the Latino community in Lancaster County.