Washington State Media Values 600,000+ Population

Wow. It’s very telling that Washington state television has reached the level of sophistication of California media when it comes to sharing civic issues specifically with its Spanish-dominant Latino population!

I recently read that a California gubernatorial debate was broadcast in both English and Spanish. Not surprising.

Well, Washington is right up there with California, reminding all that 1) government issues are relevant to Washington state Latinos and that 2) Latinos are relevant to our state’s government!

This is all thanks to the presence of Vme in much of Washington and its partnerships with KCTS 9, which hosts the local affiliate in partnership with Washington State University. Vme is the national Spanish-language network that produces public programming that is educational as well as fit for the whole family. We are lucky here to have access to that national resource which also features important local programming.

KCTS 9 aired their Ask the Governor program last Monday with Governor Christine Gregoire—live, and complete with calls and emails from concerned citizens. This was another significant opportunity for Washington voters and residents to learn about the pressing issues we face—and just in time for our upcoming elections.

But there’s a twist.

The local Vme affiliate again collaborated on this important project. Not only is the entire program dubbed in Spanish for airing on local V-Me, but Tony Gomez and team worked to create additional integration between the two airings with questions in Spanish from Latinos.

So, while most of the questions for Governor Gregoire were in English, there were a couple in Spanish. The key is this: These particular questions weren’t included just for the Spanish-language program, but aired on the original English-language program with English dubbing or subtitles. On the Spanish program, Vme will be stripping that layer and Latino viewers will hear from people in their own community. Not only does this enrich the program by collecting more diverse viewpoints, but it shows that 1) Washington state does indeed have a great Latino constituency, and 2) that demographic is actively invited to join the process of getting informed about important issues that will affect them, too.

I witnessed a piece of this process, when professional interpreters were brought in to produce the voiceovers for Enrique Cerna (the show’s host), Governor Gregoire, and questions from the public. It was a great opportunity to see the kind of devotion KCTS 9 and Vme have to make important, local content accessible to the Latinos of our state.

Tony Gomez, who practically runs Vme single-handedly, hails from California and has for years been pushing for better communication and involvement with Washington State Latinos—something that is becoming more and more critical as our state’s Hispanic population has topped 600,000.

“We want to ensure access to information that affects the lives of our viewers,” explains Community Outreach Coordinator Tony Gomez. “We also hope to create more engagement between language communities. Dropping the Spanish questions into the English broadcast allows everyone to be part of the same conversation. In this way, the program is more than a one-way dub of English content, passively received by Spanish speakers. It gets us closer to a two-way conversation and reminds everyone of our diversity.”

Pregúntele a la Gobernadora will be aired in Spanish on Vme at 7pm this evening. Vme can be viewed over the air (with a digital tuner) on 9.2 in the Seattle area/Western Washington and on 47.2 in Yakima and Central Washington. (Cable channels are Comcast 119 in Western Washington, and Charter 297 in Yakima/Central WA.) For more information about Vme in Washington, visit their site or KCTS 9 Vme on Facebook.

The Spanish-language program is also available now via the KCTS 9 site.

NEWSFLASH

Local affiliates of both Vme and KUNS (Univisión) will air Spanish versions

of the U.S. Senate Debates. The Vme broadcast will air next Friday, 10/22 at 7 pm.

It’s rumored that KUNS will try a simultaneous broadcast of this Sunday’s debate.



Los del '68: Airs Friday, June 26 & Saturday, June 27

Here's an inspiring story about a group of Mexican-American kids from Yakima who enrolled in the UW. See how they overcome obstacles and ultimately impact their communities during this 30-minute special. It's a fabulous story airing in both Spanish (on V-Me) and in English (KCTS).

Check it out!

English/Spanish Help Talking to Kids About $$$

Get help talking about the economy with young children on KCTS and V-Me.

Tune in the week of June 22 for special economy-themed episodes of A Place of Our Own and and the Spanish-language Los Niños en Su Casa.

Topics range from communicating job loss to money-saving tips for families and strategies caregivers can use to cope in hard times.For more resources, including a list of Kids & Family workshops, visit KCTS9.org/kids.

And...support our local public television!

V-Me - a unique media opportunity

For sponsors and viewers alike, KCTS' local V-Me affiliate is a fantastic opportunity to benefit from quality programming en español. V-Me staffers are also involved in the community through its outreach programs. Visit their site for more details.

What channel is it on?

In Seattle and Western Washington:

• Over Air - Digital 9.2
• Comcast Digital Cable - 119

In Yakima and Central Washington:

• Over Air - Digital 47.2
• Charter Digital Cable - 297

Watch it and you'll see!

El Día de los Niños - April 30

Our friends at V-Me ("Intelligent Entertainment") announce special programming (on and off TV) for later this month.

We celebrate our children’s potential this month with El Día de los Niños (Children’s Day) on April 30.

Inspired by the traditional Mexican Día de los Niños, author Pat Mora helped establish El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros in the U.S. in 1997, giving the holiday a special emphasis on literacy. The U.S. Congress officially declared April 30 as the Day of the Child.

All over Washington state, schools, libraries and communities are marking the holiday with special events. Visit V-Me later this month for updates on an event near you.

And if you haven't yet tuned into V-Me, you really are missing some quality programming that's perfect for the whole family--en español.

Our Friends at V-ME Need Your Help!

We have learned that V-me services are in jeopardy due to tough economic times. Funding for V-me and many other state programs is being debated in Olympia.

In order for V-me's crucial local services on air, online and in the community to survive—services such as statewide free broadcast, parent and caregiver workshops, local community resources, and unparalleled public affairs—V-me needs your help. Contact your legislators to tell them how important Washington's V-me service is to the fastest-growing community in our state. V-me not only engages Latinos with quality public television, it helps prepare our children, Latino and non-Latino alike, with a global edge. Help preserve V-me services:

• Contact your legislator and tell him/her why V-me is an important service to you and to the state. You can find your legislators by going to http://leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/o OR call the in-state toll-free hotline number, 1.800.562.6000.

• Contact the office of our senate champion, Senator Margarita Prentice. Thank her for her efforts to keep V-me in the budget and urge her to support raising our funds to $180,000, the minimum annual budget we need to continue the offerings of local services, including early learning outreach, local production and transmission from the Puget Sound to Tri-Cities. E-mail her at Prentice.Margarita@leg.wa.gov.

Why support V-me?

V-me is a cost-effective way to serve the fastest-growing segment of our Washington population. It provides resources for parents and caregivers through quality bilingual workshops that provide information and tools to help prepare children for school. Thousands of children and childcare providers have benefitted from these bilingual early learning workshops.

V-me connects Spanish speakers with vital local public affairs through programs including Ask the Governor, Tough Times: Rising Above the Financial Crisis, and a host of shorts on education, culture, arts and financial literacy found nowhere else on television.

The educational and entertaining award-winning content for children and families—the type of programs that help children grow and thrive—is not available anywhere else in Spanish-language broadcasting.

V-me is catching on! In a recent study of Latinos in Yakima and the Tri-Cities, 17.7% of respondents reported having watched V-me in the past 7 days. V-me reaches tens of thousands of homes from the Puget Sound to the Tri-Cities. In our own Conexión Marketing online survey of media consumption, V-Me was right up there.

Let's show this important medium our support!

On KCTS' Tough Times: Rising Above the Financial Crisis

There's a great series on KCTS (English) and V-Me (Spanish) and they've uploaded some of the segments to their site.

I just saw Segment 4, which features Realtor Eddie Quintero and talks about mortgages and foreclosures, and how the economic stimulus will help homeowners.

View this segment and others at their site.

We just heard from our friend Tony Gómez, community outreach coordinator at KCTS9/V-Me, with the following schedules for the English and Spanish programming.

The English-language series begins this evening!

The Tough Times special runs in English on KCTS 9 at the following times:

Part I: Jobs > Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m.
Part II: Housing > Tuesday, March 10, at 7 p.m.
Part III: Personal Finance > Tuesday, March 17, at 7 p.m.


Tiempos Difíciles, the Spanish counterpart runs on V-Me:

Part I: Employment > Friday & Saturday, March 6 & 7, at 7 p.m.
Part II: Housing > Friday & Saturday, March 13 & 14, at 7 p.m.
Part III: Personal Finance > Friday & Saturday, March 20 & 21, at 7 p.m.

And, per Tony, starting this Friday www.KCTS9.org/tiemposdificiles will have expanded content including streaming video and community resources.

Tune in to this most relevant series!

KCTS/V-Me to help us through Tough Times

Need help untangling the financial news? Do you know where to turn for job retraining help?

Tune in to KCTS 9 on Tuesdays beginning March 3, at 7:00 p.m. for the first of three
episodes of Tough Times: Rising Above the Financial Crisis, or go online to
KCTS9.org/ToughTimes for information, resources and solutions.

Mark Your Calendars (premiere air dates only)
Tough Times: Rising Above the Financial Crisis: A KCTS 9 Special Report
Part 1: Unemployment Tuesday, March 3 7:00 p.m.
Part 2: Housing Tuesday, March 10 7:00 p.m.
Part 3: Personal Finance Tuesday, March 17 7:00 p.m.

These specials will also be translated into Spanish and aired on V-Me, their digital Spanish language channel (check your schedule for those times).

“A Class Apart" documentary to air on Feb. 23

- thought I'd share this program, which may be of interest -

On February 23, 2009, people around the country will gather to watch A Class Apart on PBS’s “American Experience” (Channel 9 over-the-air). Meet the group of Mexican American attorneys who changed history in 1954.

A Class Apart, the new documentary by celebrated filmmakers Carlos Sandoval and Peter Miller, is the first major film to bring to life the heroic post-World War II struggle of Mexican Americans against the Jim Crow-style discrimination targeted against them. Raising important questions about inclusion, American identity, and equality before the law that are as resonant today as ever, A Class Apart dramatically interweaves the story of its central characters--activists and lawyers, returning veterans and ordinary citizens, murderer and victim--within the broader history of Latinos in America during a time of extraordinary change.

V-ME is all about Día de los Muertos!

So I've found your Washington State resource for all things Day of the Dead: V-Me, the Spanish-language public TV affiliate through KCTS. Heck, they've even got a recipt for Pan de Muertos! Yum.

http://www.kcts9.org/tvschedule/v-me/dayofthedead#vme

PERSONAL NOTE: I am really excited because my Sacramento-based nephews are now tuned into V-Me and its fantastic kids' programming. Five-year-old Aaron exclaimed, "This is the BEST because it's in SPANISH!"

IN OTHER V-ME NEWS:
>>V-Me will be hosting live updates, interviews and policitical banter en español 4-10pm on Election Day 11/4.

Say "Vay-May"

In case you're not aware of the coolest in Spanish-language children's and educational programming, turn to V-Me, the local affiliate of the national network. This station is run by our own KCTS and you should tune in to what they've got to offer, on V-Me as well as KCTS, Channel 9:

TONIGHT ON V-ME Presidential Debate: Live in Spanish
Tuesday, 10/7, 6 pm V-me will simulcast the debate between candidates McCain and Obama with live Spanish interpretation.

WEDNESDAY ON KCTS 9 History, the Arts, and Political Power
8 p.m. - Midnight Tune to KCTS 9 for a fantastic line-up celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month:

Secrets of the Dead: Aztec Massacre 8 pm: By analyzing codices and using forensic science, this program rewrites much of what we thought we knew about the Aztec reaction to the Conquistadors.
Latinos ’08 9 pm: Latinos will play a growing role in American politics this fall and beyond. Join acclaimed director Phillip Rodriguez (Brown Is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream) for a cutting edge exploration of the diversity, unpredictability and growing power of Latino voters.
Los Lonely Boys: Cottonfields and Crossroads 10pm: Following the Garza brothers out of rural West Texas, award-winning documentarian Hector Galán follows the rise of Los Lonely Boys from humble beginnings to fame and critical acclaim as some of rock’s freshest innovators.
A Quest for Home: Latino Artists in Seattle 11:30 p.m.: Longtime Northwest producers of national Univision programming Mario Zavaleta and Martha Sanchez connect with our region’s Latino artists, musicians, writers and dramatists to explore the emergence of a vibrant new art scene.

Check www.KCTS9.org for more information.