KPFT Notes

An early heads-up for listeners and volunteers: Although the times haven’t been announced, there is very likely to be a preemption on Friday, April 17, as the Senate recovenes and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is called to discuss recent issues. This is, of course, dependent on Gonzales staying on as AG. Please note the possibility of preemption.

I expect KPFT to broadcast the Dalai Lama’s two lectures in Houston on Tuesday, May 1, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Rice. Details forthcoming, but please plan appropriately.

Enterprise Community Partners and Freedom Forum Invite Entries for Excellence in Urban Journalism Award

Deadline: May 31, 2007

Enterprise Community Partners <http://www.enterprisecommunity.org> and the Freedom Forum <http://www.freedomforum.org > have announced the 2007 Excellence in Urban Journalism Award.

The award is intended to encourage and recognize quality reporting on major issues facing the United States’ urban areas, particularly inner cities. Two winners will be selected to receive the award and a check for $2,500.

Each entry must involve a news report regarding an urban issue in the United States. Topics may include, but are not limited to, affordable housing, community development, homelessness, child care, and after-effects of disasters that have left people homeless and communities destroyed. The entry should examine how a city or community has been affected by a situation. Ideally, the entry should include reporting on the outcome or resolution of the situation or show responses through editorials, letters to the editor, etc.

The entry may be a single article or broadcast or series of articles or broadcasts, and must have been published or broadcast during the 2006 calendar year.

Applications are available at the Enterprise Community Partners Website.

RFP Link:
<http://fconline.fdncenter.org/pnd/10006693/enterprisecommunity>

Over the last week, there has been an ongoing issue at our sister station KPFA over the use of calls to action on the air. I wanted to share the discussion with listeners here.

The issue concerns the March 15 edition of KPFA’s Flashpoints program, in which Miguel Molina announced a protest and told the crowd “be there.” What follows is JR Valrey’s take on the matter. Though there are numerous factual errors with the piece, and the tone seems aimed at putting KPFA staff in the worst light, what’s written represents a common tension in community radio: obligations to sometimes conflicting, but important, needs.

I deeply respect and appreciate all parties involved in the current issue, particularly Miguel and his community work, and hope to contribute some ideas

To preface, announcing events has been acceptable on community radio for years. Promotion of events by directing people to attend, however, has been prohibited by the vast majority of stations for a long time. Attorney Alan Gregory Wonderwheel notes the National Federation of Community Broadcasters elaborated on these rules in a legal handbook first published in 1977. Attorney John Crigler, an authority on community noncommercial radio, has also revised and expanded on these rules for broadcasters.

Radio stations are fundamentally different from protest groups in that, via our license, we’ve agreed to a relationship with the government in which we agree to adhere to certain rules; violation of those rules gives cause to review that relationship.

Within community radio, there are many disagreements about how to adequately address the repressive atmosphere many media outlets face. I’ve been at board committee meetings and other community radio gatherings where the idea is forwarded that it’s appropriate for us to explicitly challenge or violate existing regulations on principle. I agree in many respects with the concept that self-policing creates a different kind of burden on stations and programmers. But I think that’s a broader discussion, and needs to happen independently as one of strategic planning and vision. Especially with such sensitive matters, I believe it’s a discussion that must happen together, with all of us proceeding in a united fashion.

A very interesting dialogue indeed.

KPFA: Will new gag rule kill ‘Free Speech Radio’?

by Minister of Information JR
San Francisco Bay View

On Friday, Sasha Lilley, interim program director of KPFA, the station long known as ‘Free Speech Radio,’ imposed a gag rule on KPFA broadcasters, saying: ‘KPFA program hosts may not actively urge listeners to attend events. This is the case whether during a regular program or a special remote broadcast.’ The full text of her email follows this story.

The issue started when Miguel Gavilan Molina, executive producer of La Onda Bajita, co-founding producer of Flashpoints in Español and a 25-year veteran KPFA programmer, was utilizing the KPFA airwaves to urge youngstas in the Mission and other listeners to attend last Saturday’s rally marking the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Sasha Lilley’s email was addressed to him.

Now whether this is a part of some right-wing agenda or self-censorship under the Bush regime’s Federal Communications Commission, the fact remains that KPFA broadcasters have been stripped of their most fundamental power, the power to promote events and urge people to attend demonstrations and hearings.

The fact of the matter is that all radio stations, no matter where they are on the political spectrum, promote events. Clear Channel, the corporate media monster, has been engaged in promoting pro-war rallies ­ yet KPFA broadcasters can’t promote anti-war rallies?

‘Where’s the legal opinion to justify this gag rule, and when did the KPFA Board, that we elected, authorize such a basic policy change?’ asked Willie Ratcliff, a former member of the Local Station Board and publisher of the San Francisco Bay View newspaper.

What is also notable about this email is that it says, ‘This is a second notification.’ A third notification means that this producer will be banned from the KPFA airwaves.

In a March 20 email, Dennis Bernstein, executive producer of Flashpoints, the investigative news hour broadcast at 5 p.m. weekdays on KPFA and dozens of other stations around the country, responded to Sasha Lilley: ‘It is further troubling to me that you are now threatening to remove Miguel Gavilan Molina from the air, based on a show which featured some of the most marginalized youth of color, some speaking out on the radio for the first time, speaking because Gavilan gave them a platform and they trusted him.

‘These are kids who have been raided by the feds, beaten by the police and often separated from their families. They trusted Gavilan because he was them; he had his father ripped out of his arms and stolen, and watched as his mother was beaten unconscious for trying to resist. Yes, this was the kind of program that puts the community back in community radio. And for this you sent him a punitive warning, and now he’s a step away from being taken off the air.’

Radio has been and is one of the most popular media because it doesn’t require people to look at anything and can be listened to while people are commuting from their jobs.

KPFA radio, in Berkeley, was founded by Lewis Hill, a pacifist and journalist, in 1949, and was the first community supported radio station in the country. It has 59,000 watts of power and reaches about a third of California on terrestrial radio. KPFA ­ at 94.1 FM or www.kpfa.org, where you can listen to live and archived shows ­ is the flagship station in the Pacifica Network, which includes four sister stations: KPFK in LA, KPFT in Houston, WPFW in DC and WBAI in New York.

Many in the Bay Area are content with saying that KPFA is the best station on the dial, without knowing that every day has been a fight for political broadcasters, especially Black and Brown ones.

It is also important to show that in ‘07, KPFA still doesn’t have a show that speaks to the concerns of the Black community domestically. Since management hasn’t authorized such a public affairs show to be on the KPFA programming grid, POCC: Block Report Radio has hooked up with Flashpoints during their prime time slot to occasionally expose the world to the concerns of Black people who live within the listening area of KPFA on the terrestrial radio dial, as well as our national and international concerns.
And let me remind the readers of the Bay View and listeners to KPFA that Lemlem Rijio, the interim general manager of KPFA, is an African woman, which further reminds us that it is not just about Black and White, it is about politics and interests.

In another recent occurrence that didn’t get a lot of coverage, Youth Radio, a program that teaches radio production skills to Bay Area youth from low income backgrounds, especially youth of color, had their weekly show cancelled off of the air because of some cuss words in a song. Yes, this is a FCC violation that KPFA did not get charged for, but to kick them off of the air without any warnings is kind of extreme.

Youth Radio was the first radio school for many of KPFA’s young producers, including Anita Johnson of Hard Knock Radio, Nora Barrows-Friedman of Flashpoints, Devrol Ross, executive producer of Side Show Radio and production director of KPFA, and T-Kash, producer of the Friday Night Vibe, just to name a few of the staff that came through this valuable Bay Area radio industry channel.

Brian Edwards-Tiekert, a 20-something white producer for KPFA Evening News, repeatedly said the word ’shit’ on the air during a news broadcasts late last year. Needless to say, he was not penalized, suspended or kicked off of the air, nor was the Evening News.

‘The core power of KPFA is racist, and Democrat — that’s who’s running it — They are the worst kind of racists because they’re in denial of their racism the same as a drug addict in denial,’ said former KPFA broadcaster and revolutionary journalist Kiilu Nyasha, who produced and hosted a monthly show called A Luta Continua, part of the series, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle, from ‘91 to ‘95. ‘How can you have (revolutionary) politics, when you haven’t dealt with your own classism and racism?’

Speaking about the purge of KPFA’s progressive broadcasters in 1995, Kiilu said: ‘I went to all the meetings where we tried to make them act right’ before ‘Freedom…’ and other radical programs were surreptitiously cancelled. ‘They then gave Jerry Brown a daily show. Look at (California Attorney General) Jerry Brown now, the Chief Pig. The reactionaries got more reactionary.’

Many are puzzled as to what listeners should do about the criminal radio junta that currently runs KPFA. They overthrew the last two general managers ­ both Black ­ Gus Newport and, more recently, Roy Campanella Jr. They selectively enforce policies that they have created, even though policy making is legally the responsibility not of management but of the Local Station Board of KPFA and the National Governing Board of Pacifica.

Many of the staff inside the station and the SF Bay View newspaper are considering promoting a boycott of the May fund drive and an email campaign to Greg Guma, executive director of Pacifica, until he fires the current KPFA administration or they resign. This will be the test to see if Pacifica is truly ‘radio with a conscience’ like it states on its myspace page.

Are the forces running KPFA trying to drive away listeners so that the station can be bought? Will progressive broadcasters and broadcasters of color continue to be targeted and kicked out of KPFA? Will we let them succeed? As Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) used to say, ‘Only time will tell.’ The death of KPFA as we know it is around the corner if we fail to act decisively now.

SIDEBAR:

KPFA gag rule announced

Following is the email from Sasha Lilley exactly as it was received:

March 16, 2007
To: Miguel Molina
Re: Call to Action on Flashpoints

While Hosting Flash Points on Thursday 3/15, you urged people to attend the rally scheduled for Sunday 3/18 at Civic Center Plaza by telling listeners to ‘be there’.

Due to issues of liability, KPFA programmers are not permitted to urge listeners to attend an event. If damage suits stem from injuries suffered at an event, KPFA could be held liable for actively urging participation.

Last Year, on March 22nd, following a remote broadcast from a rally in San Francisco, Chief engineer Michael Yoshida sent a memo to you and the other producers of the rally asking you to be aware of and prevent such language in future broadcasts.

This is a second notification.

KPFA program hosts may not actively urge listeners to attend events. This is the case whether during a regular program or a special remote broadcast.

Thank you for your cooperation

Sasha Lilley
Interim Program Director

“Making Contact” is an internationally syndicated, public affairs program,
heard on over 200 radio stations. The staff of “Making Contact” is small,
but extremely talented, committed, intelligent, seasoned and professional.
We are seeking individuals who are energetic, respectful, professional and
team players.

In return, the intern will learn how to produce a segment or feature for
“Making Contact.” (S)he will learn audio editing, voicing, script writing,
interviewing and field reporting. By the time the intern leaves, he or she
will have produced at least one feature segment for us for national
broadcast.

This internship is unpaid. College credit can be given, but is not
necessary.

Application Deadline is April 16, 2007.

Basics
* 12-20 hours a week, or 150 hours per semester

* 4-6 month commitment

* Must be reliable and flexible

* Should be familiar with community and public radio

* Knowledgeable and passionate about current events. Includes some
knowledge of human rights issues and social-justice advocacy groups and
issues.

* Interns must have an interest in producing segments or features for
“Making Contact”

Skills & Responsibilities
* Must have excellent research skills. As a progressive media outlet, our
mission is to interview and tap into the expertise of people who span the
political and social spectrum, not just the conventional “experts” or
“officials”. The qualified intern is responsible for helping us identify who
those lesser-known yet valuable people and community groups are.

* Ability to book and conduct interviews (in-person & phone interviews) and
assist in script writing

* Qualified individuals should have a basic knowledge of how to use a
microphone, minidisc recorder, headphones, and how to plug into a multbox.
If the candidate does not have these general experiences, he/she must be
willing to be trained.

* Some knowledge of Cool Edit Pro/Pro Tools/Sound Forge or any other
applicable editing software a plus

* Additional responsibilities include: transcription, audio editing,
selecting soundbites/clips, participating in listening/critique sessions and
attending meetings, as needed

Additionals
* Some journalistic experience a plus (i.e. school or community radio,
writing for school paper)

* Women and people of color are encouraged to apply. NRP is an Equal
Opportunity Organization and does not discriminate on the basis of gender,
color, sexual preference, disability, national origin, religion, or economic
status.

If you’re interested, first please check out our website to see what we’re
all about. Then if you’re really interested, please fill out and return our
(printer-friendly) Production Intern Application and send to us with your
cover letter and resume. If you have print work samples and/or a demo reel
(MP3s, CD or even cassette tape), include that as well.

Thank you for your interest in National Radio Project’s “Making Contact”
internship.

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS APRIL 16, 2007

Mail submissions to:

1714 Franklin Street
#100-251
Oakland, CA 94612

Email Submissions or Questions to:

lrudman@radioproject.org

Don’t miss out on your chance to be part of an historic event – The Night of 1,000 Conversations.

Community members are gathering on Thursday, April 5th, 2007 to consider a key question in today’s debate over immigration reform: How do our core values compare to the actions of a government that locks people up without due process?

There are hundreds of conversations being organized by our allies and friends. Contact them through the website below to find a conversation near you.

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (Washington, DC) – Laila Al-Qatami
Arab American Institute (Washington, DC) – Valerie Smith
Asian American Justice Center (Washington, DC) – Pang Houa Moua
Breakthrough: Building a Human Rights Culture (NY) – Carly Castania-Fox
Center for Intercultural Organizing (OR) – Kayse Jama
Coalicion de Derechos Humanos (AZ) – Kat Rodriguez
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA) – Sara Sadhwani
Coalition of African, Arab, Asian, European and Latino Immigrants of Illinois (Chicago, IL) – Khemarey Nuth
Desis Rising Up and Moving (NY) – Monami Maulik
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Coalition (FL) – Maria Rodriguez
Hate Free Zone (WA) – Hari Kondabolu
Idaho Community Action Network (ID) – Leo Morales
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (IL) – Mehrdad Azemun
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (CA) – Juhyung Lee
National Network for Arab American Communities (MI) – Nadia El-Zein
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (CA) – Arnoldo Garcia
New York Immigration Coalition (NY) – Avideh Moussavian
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PA) – Regan Cooper
South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (MD) – Deepa Iyer
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TN) – Stephen Fotopulos
United Farm Workers Foundation (CA) – Oscar Gonzalez
University of New Mexico, School of Law – ACLU Student Chapter – Pamela Hernandez (Albuquerque, NM)

Special Offer: If you host a conversation and register your event through the website below (include your street address), Breakthrough will send you their full-color resource packet – Restoring the Right to Due Process. This highly-coveted multi-media toolkit includes a DVD of personal stories, talking points, and suggested activities to make your conversation successful.

Register today at this website.

Stephen Dunifer is the founder of Free Radio Berkeley, an unlicensed micropower pirate radio station, was involved in a protracted legal case with the Federal Communications Commission in the mid-1990s The collective was eventually acquitted of all charges, marking a major victory for micropower radio. FRB eventually stopped broadcasting and turned all its resources to developing new micropower technology and training activists in the use of pirate radio. FRB was replaced on the dial by Berkeley Liberation Radio, which has also been a target of the federal government. Dunifer is also author of several books on the micropower movement. He was coeditor along with Ron Sakolsky of Seizing the Airwaves. Stephen Dunifer offers a variety of radio broadcast kits and accessories for sale through his website. In this talk he discusses “Autonomy and Radio in Oaxaca,” an overview of the importance and role of radio broadcasting in the struggle for autonomy in Oaxaca, Mexico. He also spoke about TUPA (Transmitters Uniting the People’s of the Americas), which was created by Free Radio Berkeley and exists to empower indigenous, campesino, and barrio communities in the Americas with the tools, technology, knowledge and skills to build and maintain their own community broadcast stations. Stephen Dunifer spoke on March 17 at the 12th annual Anarchist Bookfair in San Francisco. Credit: SF Indymedia.

Stephen Dunifer Lecture

Disclaimer: you may download these files. To download, right-click the file and select Save Target As. Please link to the page and not to the MP3 itself, as I’d like to save bandwidth. If you upload the audio to your own site, please credit the producer and this site. These files will be removed at some point. Please use the file for evaluation of the content. If you like it, support the producers of the content. Gracias.

Sunday night, Obidike Kamau and Akua Fayette, hosts of KPFT’s wildly successful Black talk program Self-Determination, welcomed me to participate in an on-air forum on programming and the Black community. It was a wonderful experience, and this is my reportback to you on it.

The show kicked off with a brief discussion about programming, my history at Pacifica and what I look for in programming. By 8:30, we dived headlong into calls and spent the rest of the program addressing all manner of issues. I’ll sum up a few questions for you.

Caller “Barry” asked why KPFT doesn’t host conservatives to do programming. I replied that who gets to do programming is a complex and open question, putting our values of dialogue in contention with the popular belief that conservatives have other venues and should not be permitted on KPFT.

Caller “Yvonne” suggested more historical Black perspective programming; and said she thought sometime in afternoon would be better, and that a Tuesday or Wednesday is good. She praised the Pacifica Radio Archives. In addition, she suggested that KPFT add generational family programming as well as programming on community services.

Caller “Ted” asked if I cared to hear from the Local Station Board as a unit on matters of programming. I said yes (I think it’s good to hear from everyone) and no (many board members have enough tasks in governance without asking them to be engaged in programming placement, which can be an endless discussion). I support the Program Council, as an advisory board, as the body staff and the board created. This issue was far more complex than we could have reasonably gotten into.

Caller “Olerimi” asked for more programming about books, particularly alternative history books. I applaud this idea.

Caller “David” questioned KPFT’s Haitian program for reportedly not speaking in support of Jean Bertrand Aristide. I believe this kind of issue, in which we review content, is similar to the matter of conservatives — specifically, at what point do we stop speech — and remains an open question..

Several callers did not like Spanish-language programming but others did appreciate it. Virtually every call was complimentary of our program mix. Special thanks to caller “Talib,” who was influenced by KPFT while in prison, and says he now tells people he knows to listen to the station for truthful information.

I enjoyed this program, and owe a big thank you to Obidike Kamau and Akua Fayette for their hospitality. I think this was one of the best dialogues with the Black community on programming. As far as on-air stuff, it was the first, but likely to not be last. Thanks to all who tuned in.

Tune in to Self-Determination tonight at 9 p.m., where I will be participating in an on-air forum for the Black community about programming, outreach and more.

I approached host Obidike Kamau about this program out of a desire to more actively reach out to the African-American community. I believe we can always make improvements to how we do outreach and ways to grow what we do. To me, one of the most effective ways of doing that is by going right to the listeners of one of our most popular programs aimed at the community and get the community’s opinions. I expect to be in the hot seat, because I agree we haven’t realized all the potential we could reach. But I am excited about this program.

Special thanks to Obidike Kamau and Akua Fayette of Self-Determination for being willing to host this program. Please give a call during the program: 713-526-5738.

Radio station’s campaign shocks Latino community

March 22, 2007
Elizabeth Llorente

HACKENSACK, N.J. – Hispanic political and community leaders are up in arms over a New Jersey radio show that is exhorting listeners to report suspected illegal immigrants to 101.5 FM or federal authorities.

The leaders say the radio station’s campaign – named “La Cuca Gotcha” – is clearly anti-Hispanic and may encourage racial profiling and other bias incidents against Hispanics.

“It’s a despicable campaign and clearly slanted at Hispanics,” said New Jersey Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo. “The campaign describes us as bugs that have to be stamped out.”

Hispanics, including some from North Jersey, are demanding that the station end the on-air campaign, and that the hosts – Craig Carton and Ray Rossi, aka “The Jersey Guys” – apologize publicly to New Jersey’s Hispanics.

Carton, who along with Rossi has been mired in other controversies, said the campaign is not anti-Hispanic and that they want listeners to help authorities track down illegal immigrants “of any origin.”

Caraballo, a Democrat, said the campaign “encourages a vigilante movement against illegal immigrants, or people who look different.”

Hispanic leaders plan to voice their concerns at a news conference Thursday at Caraballo’s district office in Newark.

Caraballo said he plans to obtain a list of the show’s sponsors and ask Hispanics to boycott their products if the hosts don’t apologize and end the campaign.

In a letter he wrote to the station, Caraballo said the campaign uses a slogan – “La Cuca Gotcha” – that “insults the Hispanic community through a play on the Spanish word for cockroach cucaracha.’ “

In an e-mail to The Record, Carton said the campaign focuses on a valid concern – illegal immigration – and encourages listeners to help through legitimate channels.

“Any suggestion that this is motivated by racism is a crock and offensive,” he said. “We have never condoned any type of violence or other immoral act against illegal immigrants. We have nothing against Hispanics at all and have never suggested that the only illegal immigrants in New Jersey are Hispanic.”

Carton also dismissed speculation among Hispanic leaders that the campaign was a ratings ploy. “I don’t need any more attention nor help with the ratings,” Carton said of the well-known show.

Groups that favor strict immigration enforcement are lauding Carton and Rossi.

“The Jersey Guys are a bit like Howard Stern,” said Carmen Perez, a New Jersey resident who belongs to “You Don’t Speak for Me,” a national group of Hispanics who favor strict immigration policies. “They say what other people are terrified to say because of the sensitivity of our Hispanic friends, Muslims and etc.”

Carton and Rossi, based in Trenton, N.J., launched the campaign in February, but many Hispanics statewide heard about it only this week through NJLatinoissues.com, a “listserv” for subscribers. The Spanish-language media this week have heavily covered the controversy.

New Jersey 101.5 can be heard in much of the state, including parts of North Jersey, and by anyone online.

“We cannot ignore this,” said Gustavo Ramirez, the executive director of the Immigration and American Citizenship Organization, based in Passaic. “We as a community have to be much more active in rejecting positions that foment hate. The public cannot be deputized as immigration agents; it goes against an orderly, civilized society.”

While most of the dozen Hispanics interviewed said a strong response is needed, the executive director of the Paramus-based Hispanic Institute for Research and Development said the campaign should be ignored.

“They want this attention,” Emilio Fandino said. “I don’t think most Americans agree with them or will participate. I think Americans are more fair and decent than that. (The hosts) are shock talk radio, so their objective is to offend and shock.”

Source: The Arizona Republic

Radio station’s campaign shocks Latino community

March 22, 2007
Elizabeth Llorente

HACKENSACK, N.J. – Hispanic political and community leaders are up in arms over a New Jersey radio show that is exhorting listeners to report suspected illegal immigrants to 101.5 FM or federal authorities.

The leaders say the radio station’s campaign – named “La Cuca Gotcha” – is clearly anti-Hispanic and may encourage racial profiling and other bias incidents against Hispanics.

“It’s a despicable campaign and clearly slanted at Hispanics,” said New Jersey Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo. “The campaign describes us as bugs that have to be stamped out.”

Hispanics, including some from North Jersey, are demanding that the station end the on-air campaign, and that the hosts – Craig Carton and Ray Rossi, aka “The Jersey Guys” – apologize publicly to New Jersey’s Hispanics.

Carton, who along with Rossi has been mired in other controversies, said the campaign is not anti-Hispanic and that they want listeners to help authorities track down illegal immigrants “of any origin.”

Caraballo, a Democrat, said the campaign “encourages a vigilante movement against illegal immigrants, or people who look different.”

Hispanic leaders plan to voice their concerns at a news conference Thursday at Caraballo’s district office in Newark.

Caraballo said he plans to obtain a list of the show’s sponsors and ask Hispanics to boycott their products if the hosts don’t apologize and end the campaign.

In a letter he wrote to the station, Caraballo said the campaign uses a slogan – “La Cuca Gotcha” – that “insults the Hispanic community through a play on the Spanish word for cockroach cucaracha.’ “

In an e-mail to The Record, Carton said the campaign focuses on a valid concern – illegal immigration – and encourages listeners to help through legitimate channels.

“Any suggestion that this is motivated by racism is a crock and offensive,” he said. “We have never condoned any type of violence or other immoral act against illegal immigrants. We have nothing against Hispanics at all and have never suggested that the only illegal immigrants in New Jersey are Hispanic.”

Carton also dismissed speculation among Hispanic leaders that the campaign was a ratings ploy. “I don’t need any more attention nor help with the ratings,” Carton said of the well-known show.

Groups that favor strict immigration enforcement are lauding Carton and Rossi.

“The Jersey Guys are a bit like Howard Stern,” said Carmen Perez, a New Jersey resident who belongs to “You Don’t Speak for Me,” a national group of Hispanics who favor strict immigration policies. “They say what other people are terrified to say because of the sensitivity of our Hispanic friends, Muslims and etc.”

Carton and Rossi, based in Trenton, N.J., launched the campaign in February, but many Hispanics statewide heard about it only this week through NJLatinoissues.com, a “listserv” for subscribers. The Spanish-language media this week have heavily covered the controversy.

New Jersey 101.5 can be heard in much of the state, including parts of North Jersey, and by anyone online.

“We cannot ignore this,” said Gustavo Ramirez, the executive director of the Immigration and American Citizenship Organization, based in Passaic. “We as a community have to be much more active in rejecting positions that foment hate. The public cannot be deputized as immigration agents; it goes against an orderly, civilized society.”

While most of the dozen Hispanics interviewed said a strong response is needed, the executive director of the Paramus-based Hispanic Institute for Research and Development said the campaign should be ignored.

“They want this attention,” Emilio Fandino said. “I don’t think most Americans agree with them or will participate. I think Americans are more fair and decent than that. (The hosts) are shock talk radio, so their objective is to offend and shock.”

Source: The Arizona Republic