Phoenix immigrant Radio

Phoenix station catering to immigrants is closing

PHOENIX (AP) - A radio station catering to Latino immigrants in metropolitan Phoenix has begun to phase out much of its programming and plans to close its doors at the end of July 2008.

KNUV-AM, metro Phoenix's only news and talk radio station aimed at Latino immigrants, fell victim to a faltering economy, ongoing crackdowns on illegal immigrants and a tough market for Spanish talk radio.

The station has lost money since it was launched in August 2005, but was on track to break even this year. But after advertisers began cutting their budgets, investors decided to pull the plug, said Heberto Limas-Villers, president of New Radio Venture, the company that owns the station.

Ricardo Torres, chief executive of Latino Perspectives magazine in Phoenix and a former manager of Spanish radio stations, 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.

A state law prohibiting employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants has made it increasingly difficult for such immigrants to get jobs.

The closure of the station comes two months after LAT-TV, a Houston-based Spanish cable-television network, went out of business. KNRV-AM in Denver plans to signs off this month.

The goal of the Phoenix station was to give Latinos information needed to get by in the larger community. At its height, the 24-hour station had a team of 45 reporters, producers and anchors, making it much more expensive to run than a music station.

The station covered street marches and immigration sweeps. Sometimes, interviews with illegal-immigration suspects were broadcast live from the backs of police cars.

The station also broadcast programming about topics including immigration, education, health and personal relationships.

Gerardo Higginson, director of Spanish communications for Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, said the station will leave a void. “They played an important role in news for the Spanish-speaking community,” he said.