Posted by
Michael on Saturday, November 18, 2006 8:58:03 PM
The United Nations in Leschi's back yard: KXPA brings multicultural radio to Seattle
Broadcasting right out of Leschi, KXPA 1540 AM provides a venue for a
diverse host of shows aimed at a variety of communities in the Seattle
area.
KXPA is part of the much larger, nationwide
Multicultural Broadcasting Radio network. It is one of 30 stations in
owner Arthur Liu's empire of stations, which cater to minority and
immigrant communities with programs in their native languages.
Most
of the stations have multi-language, "brokered" formats. That means
they sell their airtime in "blocks," which are usually by the hour. The
clients who buy time on the station are free to use it as they please,
as long as it fits with federal regulations and restrictions.
Those who buy time on KXPA have a choice to pre-record their shows or use the live studios that the station provides.
"About
half record at home, and half record here. A lot of people that buy a
large block of time record their show at home," said Dennis Hartley,
the station's operations manager.
The station is a small operation, with only three employees working at the station.
"This
format is like public-access TV, but it's a business," Hartley said of
the station. "You have to pay for time, but once you pay for the time,
it's yours. You can talk about yo-yos for an hour."
KXPA doesn't
measure itself by ratings like other private radio stations; its staff
worries more about selling airtime. "We don't live thinking we'll 'die
by the rating.' As long as every hour is sold, we're in business,"
Hartley said.
Using traditional airwavesWith the
increasing growth of the Internet in popular media, it's easy to wonder
what pushes amateurs toward traditional, or "terrestrial," radio.
"I
think traditional airwaves still have a fascination for a lot of
people," Hartley said. "There are also a lot of people that still
aren't into the Internet and are still attached to radio in their cars.
Some people are still intimidated by the Internet."
KXPA has an
array of hosts that have built audiences by appearing on the station.
One of the station's hot topics is soccer, which is much more popular
among immigrant communities than with native-born Americans.
"Soccer - both local and international- is a very popular topic with the local Spanish speaking community," Hartley said.
Seattle Sounders games are broadcast on the station, and every weekday night the sport is covered by host Raul Sandoval.
One
of the most well-known radio hosts at KXPA is Pedro Bartez, who hosts a
Spanish language talk show, with his wife, Luciana. Bartez said that he
stays with radio because it's easier to reach his demographic:
"The
Latino community is not that acquainted with the Internet yet. Maybe in
10 years' time, a podcast will be able to reach more people, but not
now."
While there is a lot of Spanish language media out there,
according to Bartez, there aren't very many talk-radio outlets aimed
specifically at Latinos.
"Most stations in this market just play
music; we engage the community," he said. "We're a different kind of
show. We allow people to come on the air and say whatever they want."
Bartez
used his show as a platform to mobilize people to get involved in
recent pro-immigration marches. Bartez said he wasn't siding with any
political party in demonstrating, but instead represented his culture
and his country.
"Latinos love Americans - that's why we came
to this country," he explained. "We came here to contribute to making
this country the best in the world."
Learning by osmosisLiu's
efforts in reaching out to America's many cultures can be felt through
KXPA. Hartley believes that working at the station has given him an
enriching cultural experience.
"It's kind of like working at
the United Nations: It's pretty exotic," he said. "By osmosis, I can
understand more Spanish than I ever could before. Sometimes I'll be
listening to the Chinese stations, and I'll begin to understand certain
words."
For more information, go to the station's website: www.kxpa.com.
Michael Powell may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.