Burning Atlanta

What many people don't get about me, they automatically think that if you are anti-illegal alien then you are anti-Hispanic. That's bullshit. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Americans of Hispanic descent are as good a bunch of American citizens as anybody else. Be proud of the contributions Hispanics have made to the tapestry of this nation.

All I ask is to play by the rules, no matter where you're from. It bothers me to see the issue of illegal immigration hijacked into an issue of ethnicity. "Hispanics are leaving because of anti-immigration laws..." My ass. Illegal aliens are leaving along with their supporters and many of them happen to be Hispanic, but the media never makes any such statement. They always make it an Hispanic issue.

I'm not torn up that some Hispanic stations are shutting down and seems some are blaming the anti-illegal alien laws and enforcement going on in some areas. It wouldn't bother me if a radio station that catered to crack dealers shut down, either. So, if they're losing "Hispanic" listeners because they happen to be Hispanic, ehh, oh well. But if they're losing listeners because they are illegals aliens, and those ilelgals aer leaving, Good!

Adios

The only news/talk-radio station in the Valley aimed at Latino immigrants is going off the air, the victim of a faltering economy, ongoing crackdowns on undocumented immigrants and a tough market for Spanish talk radio.

KNUV-AM (1190), also known as La Buena Onda, will sign off July 31, but the station has begun phasing out much of its programming. Its signature Enlace call-in show aired Monday for the last time.

Its sister station in Denver, KNRV-AM (1150), signs off this month, too.

The closings come just two months after LAT-TV, a Houston-based Spanish cable-television network that broadcast in Phoenix, went out of business.

"We will see more Spanish-language publications and media outlets closing because it's a tough economic environment," said Ricardo Torres, chief executive of Latino Perspectives magazine in Phoenix.

Torres, a former manager of Spanish radio stations in Phoenix, said that KNUV was torpedoed by the state's slumping economy and stepped-up immigration enforcement, both of which are driving immigrants from Arizona. That has led to a drop in listeners, which has translated into a fall in advertising revenues.

"The industries that rely on immigrants are hurting: construction, agriculture and hospitality," Torres said.

"And what is happening is the immigrant community is shrinking due to bad economic times and the current hostile atmosphere created by (Maricopa County) Sheriff Joe Arpaio and laws passed by the Legislature."