To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (1748 ) 6/22/2007 12:24:21 PM From: goldworldnet Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 3197 From Huffington:Big media lobbyists have struck a cozy bargain with allies on the Federal Communications Commission to gut ownership limits that protect localism, diversity and competition on the airwaves. Broadcasters and the FCC have shown almost complete disregard for the public interest requirements written into their licenses. huffingtonpost.com ; But for the sake of diversity, this is from About.comSpanish-language radio continues to grow in U.S. Almost anywhere you live in the United States, there's at least one radio station broadcasting in Spanish. According to a recent study released by Arbitron, a company that tracks radio trends, the number of radio stations featuring a Spanish-language format has reached 678, an all-time high. And those stations aren't found just along the Mexican border and major metropolitan areas either. The study, Hispanic Radio Today 2005 Edition, lists Spanish radio markets from places such as Kansas City (86,400 potential Spanish-speaking listeners), Portland, Ore. (187,500), Colorado Springs (50,700) and Cheyenne, Wyo. (the smallest market on the list, with 7,800). It comes as no surprise that the Los Angeles market is the largest with 4.4 million listeners, but Chicago also ranks high at No. 4 with 1.3 million listeners, coming behind New York and Miami. One interesting detail of the study is the regional differences in format popularity. The Mexican regional format, which features hit music by Mexican and mostly Latin American performers, is most popular in the West, South and Great Lakes areas. Spanish variety is the leading format in the Midwest, Spanish contemporary rules in the Southeast, and New Englander Hispanics like Spanish tropical (think salsa and merengue). Spanish news/talk also is growing in popularity just about everywhere, and Tejano (think traditional Mexican) has a strong following in some of the border areas. Spanish-language radio appears to be here to stay in the U.S. It is increasingly popular among younger listeners, and in some metropolitan areas it is not uncommon for a Spanish-language station to be the No. 1 station in the city — not just among Spanish-speaking listeners, but among all listeners. The study can be downloaded from the Arbitron site.spanish.about.com * * *