El yack pack: W Radio pushes hot buttons to join the Spanish talk fray.

'Immigrants are stealing jobs from Americans." That headline--in Spanish--is on 400 billboards and bus-shelter ads around town, and it announces the arrival of W Radio, the newest Spanish talk station in Los Angeles.

The ad campaign defines XETRA-AM's (690) approach to its listenership by confronting a hot-button topic for the market's Hispanics, who are mostly Mexican-American. But it leaves unanswered the question of whether they need another talk station.

"The issue that speaks to our audience right now is immigration." said Phil Estevez, general manager at XETRA. "We found a need for them to be properly informed, and when we bought this station, no broadcaster was covering that need."

The ad copy explains that the headlines represent what other people say about Hispanics. and now it's time for community members to speak for themselves. Mr. Estevez said W Radio will "provide a fair and open thrum" for the audience. He added that the station has no political slant, especially on the immigration issue.

The Los Angeles market has plenty of Spanish talk already. Stations KMXE-AM (830) and KALI-AM (900) specialize in the format, plus sports talk on KWKW-AM (1330) and Christian programming on KBLA-AM (1580) and KLTX-AM (1390). In addition, the major music stations feature talk in the morning with marquee personalities such as Piolin and El Cucuy.

So what makes W Radio different?

New business model

The station, for decades known to Angelenos as the "Mighty 690," has switched between English-language talk and various music formats since the late 1960s. In February, Clear Channel Communications Inc. sold the license to Grupo Latino Radio, a division of Grupo Prim, one of the largest media conglomerates in Spain.

Prisa also owns W Radio in Mexico City, which broadcasts at 690-AM. The company has acquired the same frequency in Los Angeles in hopes it will create a link in listeners' minds with the home-country station. The new station heavily promotes its connection to the 75-year-old W in Mexico.

According to Estevez, the Mexican connection gives W Radio a competitive advantage in the L.A. market. The decision to convert 690-AM to talk came from a belief that the Los Angeles market remains under-served in talk compared to Miami, for example. "There is a history of talk channels and issue-based radio that dominates the Cuban psyche. It's a whole different life experience than the Mexican market," said Rochelle Newman-Carrasco, chief executive at Enlace Communications, a Los Angeles-based advertising agency. "That's not to say that Mexico, and most of Latin America, has radio more focused on news and issues than in the U.S. A strong radio presence has been the sound track of Latin America, but that carries over here in different ways."

Miami-based Spanish talk network Radio Unica declared bankruptcy in 2003.

"We are familiar with what happened with Radio Unica," Estevez said. "The difference is that our programming will be local. Radio Unica had limited success in Los Angeles because its programming came from Miami. Miami and Los Angeles are night and day--one is Caribbean, primarily Cuban, and the other Mexican.... We are a Mexican radio station, locally based, and building a bridge to our sister station in 'Mexico."

The launch timing plays into the Mexican-centric programming angle. The format switch came just weeks before marches on March 25 and May 1. "Talk (radio) is given credit to some degree to the large turnout to rallies protesting the immigration laws," said Newman-Carrasco. "They sort of track below the radar. I'm sure W is doing some of that."

Original programming

In contrast to Radio Unica's national approach, Estevez promises that 85 percent of W Radio's content would originate in Los Angeles. For the crucial morning drive, the station features Hoy Por Hoy ("Today for Today"), a straight news show with live interviews and callers. Co-anchors Max Aub and Eduardo Blancas exemplify the station's open debate about current events.

The late afternoon lime slot features De Regreso a Casa ("The Return Home"), a show that satirizes the day' s news stories. The cast features comedians, musicians and host Gustavo Vargas, a long-time LA. disc jockey. Twelve people produce the show, which runs from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays.

As with English, the core demographic for Spanish talk skews older than most radio. Estevez said the station would compete in the 25-54 adult demo, but that most of its listeners probably belong to the 35-54 sub-group, mostly first-and second-generation immigrants. The main advertisers come from the financial services sector, mostly banks and mortgage companies. So far, consumer goods, media services, and direct response ads dominate on W Radio. Mr. Estevez expects that profile to change once the station appears in the Arbitron ratings book this summer.

W Radio's Spanish-speaking, predominantly Mexican-American mature audience is a niche market, but so goes the industry. "This market is fragmenting so much, this should he a good option," opined Newman-Carrasco. "Everyone is slicing the apple or orange narrower and narrower, so if the (niche broadcasting) business model functions, this station looks like it should work out."

JOEL RUSSELL

Staff Reporter