Price, J. (2014, August 29). Two Stations Bridge Cultural Gaps With Bilingual Reporting. NPR. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thisisnpr/2014/08/29/323051786/two-stations-bridge-cultural-gaps-with-bilingual-reporting
Two public radio stations in Washington, Northwest Public Radio (NWPR) and Spanish-language radio station KDNA, have teamed up to tighten the gap of linguistic and cultural differences within communities by introducing "a new kind of journalism that involves two radio stations and two bilingual reporters that will effortlessly transition between languages and communities to bring attention to local news in the communities they serve." With the population of non-English speakers growing, these stations recognize the importance of reaching those audiences in the hopes to "build community and celebrate identity among public radio audiences." Since NWPR broadcasts to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of British Columbia, and KDNA is the only Spanish-language radio station that is full-time and focuses on reaching out to minority communities in Yakima Valley, the joined forces of both stations could reach to an incredibly large, but monolingual, audience whether that be for English or Spanish speakers. The stations are also creating a mobile application so bilingual reporting is digitally accessible as well. This partnership was created to bring a strong voice to local radio stations to include and involve communities in Washington.
I have never heard of this kind of radio broadcasting before, and I think the two stations were very smart in making this kind of decision. The two forces can reel in a greater audience and not exclude any community wanting the local news. They are not pushing away the non-English speaking community, but embracing it. I hope more stations take this embracement of communities into their own local news broadcasting to reach other communities as well. The creation of the mobile app is smart of them too. They are using their assets to the fullest to involve communities in Washington.
This is so cool! I had never thought about this type of broadcasting before either, but I really hope it turns out well! It's especially interesting that it's being done in the west coast where, although there is still a large Hispanic community, there isn't one as large as the ones here in the southeast. I really like this though because (and this is from things I've heard from a friend that lives in Washington) Hispanic stereotypes are ridiculously believed in in the northwestern parts of the US, so the fact that the media is beginning to acknowledge the Hispanic communities up there is huge.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this article because not only is it a wise move of these stations to include a wider audience, but it also shows how very real globalization has become. The United States entertainment/media industries simply cannot afford to leave what is now a huge part of the U.S population, and it is pleasantly refreshing to see radio stations adapting to the makeup of their communities. It seems that even in an "older" medium of media such as radio, the convergence of the world hits it hard.
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