FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [More info attached] March 16, 2010
Recession, Census count take Radio Bilingüe’s year-long national multimedia series on the economy to D.C., North Carolina
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The recession and the Census count will be the topics in Asheville, N.C. and Washington D.C. when Radio Bilingüe’s year-long national multi-media series on the economy, “Frente a la Crisis/Facing the Crisis” makes its next three stops next week.
On Saturday, March 20, in Washington, The Línea Abierta on the Road series will broadcast from La Clínica del Pueblo in the heart of the barrio in the nation’s capital from 6 to 8 p.m. EDT.
In Asheville, N.C. on March 23 from 3 to 5 p.m. EDT, the program will broadcast live on MAIN-FM 103.5-LP., a broadcast service of the nonprofit Mountain Area Information Network (MAIN).
[PLEASE NOTE: The Radio Bilingüe news team will meet with Asheville-area students and community members from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, March 22 to discuss the philosophy and practice of
community-radio production for, and by, the Latino community. The free workshop will be held at the MAIN-FM studios at 75 Haywood Street (next to the Civic Center) in downtown Asheville. Call for 258.0085 for more information.]
Samuel Orozco, executive producer of the series, and Graciela “Chelis” Lopez, the host of Línea Abierta from San Francisco, will host the fifth, sixth and seventh stops of the economy series tour.
Since it began in September, the tour has broadcast from southern California, Arizona and Iowa as well as the Health Action 2010 Conference in Washington DC in January.
Radio Bilingüe will partner with two community-based affiliate stations in North Carolina for a set of live broadcasts from the state that is the home of the fastest growing and the
hardest-to-count Latino population in the country, Orozco said.
“We are visiting these locations to provide public media platforms to explore two issues critical for Latinos: the recession and the census undercount — and to discuss the factors and forces that conspire against the recovery and the full count of Latinos,” he added.
For the series on the economy, “Facing the Crisis,” the show will examine what is driving Latinos to come and settle in such numbers in this Southern state as well as feature stories about how newcomer entrepreneurs are defying the odds with their successful coops.
For the Census Count series, “Cuentas Justas,” the discussion will look at those factors that are making Latino populations in this state among the hardest to count.
“We know that in North Carolina, entire communities live in fear of law enforcement checkpoints and White supremacist hate groups,” Orozco said. “This uncertainty affects not only the once thriving stores and businesses in these towns, but also the Census count,
which in turn will impact the share of congressional seats and federal dollars that come to these communities.”
The Línea Abierta news team also will show how workers and small businesses struggle often without success to buy or keep their health insurance, while health insurance companies continue raising medical costs and government agencies keep cutting essential
programs.
Additionally, the programs will present remarkable grassroots efforts under way for health care reform, civic leaders offering community credit unions as an alternative to big banks, and community activists who struggle to persuade reluctant Latinos to prevent their chronic undercount.
The series is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funds are provided by The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, and the James Irvine Foundation.
Contact: María de Jesús Gómez, 559-455-5782, chuyag@radiobilingue.org
