The End Is The Beginning

I can not believe that I am about to graduate college. I never thought it would get to this point.

In just 3 short weeks I will be a "real" person and contributing member of society. Whether I am actually contributing something good is yet to be seen.

I would like to thank Jay for teaching BorderBeat and letting us have the freedom to do whatever we wanted in the class and trusted that we would try to do the best that we could.

BorderBeat was by far the best class I took at UofA. I learned the most in BorderBeat than I did in any other class I took during college career. I will be able to take a lot of things I learned and bring them out into the real world.

So with that said, I'm glad that the UA basketball coaching situation settled. It's just too bad my college experience was tainted by whatever the last 3 years have been.

I am truly going to miss Tucson and know that I will be back to visit a lot to check out UA football and basketball games. I can't imagine a better place to spend 4 years in college and my only regret is that I won't be able to get to spend more time here.

For the final time, Namaste.

Rupert Pacheco

While I was doing a story for BorderBeat on Tejano 1600 AM here in Tucson, I had the pleasure to talk to Rupert Pacheco.

Mr. Pacheco is the programming director of Tejano 1600 and the morning show host on the station, working a long stretch from 6am-12pm.

He got an interesting start in the radio business. He always wanted to be a DJ and as a high schooler created a fake show on tape that included songs.

This continued through his tour of duty with the Army. He would play the tapes for people and they would ask him what radio station they were listening to. He would laugh and tell them it was a tape of him.

In 1999, Pacheco got his big break in radio. While working for UPS, he heard an opening for a part time DJ was available at Tejano 1600. He sent in one of his old tapes.

He got the job and started doing what every DJ does when they start in the business; overnights, weekends and filling in.

Eventually Pacheco worked his way up to the position that he is in today.

Here is what Tejano music sounds like


Until next time, Namaste.

A New Voice In The White House

Some shocking news came my way this past week while watching one of my favorite show this past week House.

The actor Kal Penn, who has appeared in such classic movies as Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and its sequel, has put his acting career on hiatus so that he can work with Barack Obama in the White House.

Penn will work as the assistant director of the White House Office of Public Liaison.

Penn worked with the Obama campaign during the his run toward the presidency. He grew so interested and close to the Obama camp that he asked if there was anything more he could do for the new president. Penn went to the President with the idea of reaching out to artists (mainly in the acting community) and Asian-Americans.

This is not the first time that an actor has jumped into a political office (Ronald Reagan and (Clint Eastwood) but in recent years it is the first time we have seen a celebrity do more than just voice their opinion about politics.

Al Franken and the radio show hosts for La Sabrosita in Nashville are some radio personalities who have made the jump to Washington to fight for what they believe.

Artisits like Penn are a rare few, people who are willing to go and help out something they believe strongly enough about that they quit their job in order to pursue it. Sure, Penn has likely made a nice chump of change from his acting and can afford to pursue this while others might not be able to.

It is nice to see someone willing to do more than just talk about what they think but to act on it and pursue it further.

Until next week, Namaste.

Corridos

For a story I am doing for Borderbeat I wrote about Celestino Fernandez and corridos.

A corrido is the Mexican musical genre that is a mix of a poem and a song. Corridos typically have musical accompaniment, usually a guitar.

Corridos are based on true events and can range from political topics to baseball players. The point of a corrido is that you try to and get a message across.

Something that was not included was about corridos on the radio.

Fernandez and I discussed how corridos had been shortened since when they first came around.

"No one wants to listen to a 10 to 15 minute song on the radio," Fernandez said. "So a lot of them have been shortened."

Typically a corrido that is heard on the radio last 3-5 minutes. In today's musical age, a corrido ca range from having mariachis or to the traditional single guitar.

Fernandez said that an untrained ear will not be able to tell the difference between a Hispanic song and a corrido.

He said the way to tell the difference is that a corrido will begin with an introduction that says that it is a corrido or it is a true story.

Fernandez told me that when corridos where first recorded they were recorded on 45 rpm records. The length of corridos then did not allow for the entire song to be recorded on one side of the record. So halfway through the corrido the listener would have to flip over the record to hear the end.

There are many different kinds of corridos. Narcocorridos are corridos about drug smuggling and migracorridos are about immigration.

Fernandez told me that the Border Patrol went so far as to hire a corrido writer to write five migracorridos to try and scare illegal immigrants from illegally crossing the border.

Here is a corrido from Valentin Elizade.


This video is goes a little bit more in depth about corridos with Tucson local Jesus Garcia and some more corridos.

Border Issues in Mid America

A little but of humor before getting to the blog. (Also go see I Love You Man, that movie is hilarious.)


I found this story on New American Media. While it is not a border radio station I'm talking about, it is an issue that we deal with every day in Tucson and on the border.

The story is about a Spanish language radio station La Sabrosita who are taking the issue of immigration not only on the air but to Washington (D.C. of course).

Nashville, TN has been cracking down on illegal immigrants in their city. Deporting and making arrests of people found to be illegally in America.

La Sabrosita is one the more popular Spanish language radio stations in Nashville and one of their hot topics is immigration reform. Many callers call in wondering if and when it will ever happen.

La Sabrosita has decided that enough is enough. They have become tired of waiting for lawmakers to do something so they have decided to go to the lawmakers.

According to police reports more than 5,000 undocumented immigrants have had removal (i.e. deportation) proceedings started since December.

Latinos are not the only group who have been affected by immigration reform, as Nashville has seen an influx of Asian, Middle Eastern and African immigrants in recent years.

The radio station says that if local lawmakers do not step up that they will go to Washington and that is what they are doing.

Juan Castro, a show host on La Sabrosita, along with two others from the station are headed to Washington to be at an immigration conference in late March.

Until next time, Namaste.

El Lider Mundil de Deportes

ESPN, the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in
sports, started a venture into delivering sports news to their spanish speaking
audience.

Calling themselves ESPN Deportes
started in 2004, the sports channel broadcasts sports and sports news solely in
Spanish.

Starting the channel was a considerable risk for the sports media giant. The
worries over whether or not there would be a market for the a Spanish sports
channel? Would there be enough people out there who would pony up the money to
pay extra in order to get their sports in Spanish.

These worries turned out to be all for naught as the Spanish Worldwide Leader in
Sports ended up not only being profitable but being popular enough for ESPN
Deportes to branch off to become a sports magazine and its own national radio.

ESPN Deportes' Tucson affiliate is broadcast on 990 AM, where they are the
Spanish speaking home of the Arizona Wildcats football and basketball games.

Tucson has something that no other radio station in Arizona has. They are the
only Arizona radio station that has an ESPN Deportes affiliation.

ESPN Deportes has become the Spanish speaking leader in sports in only a few
quick years. While having the ESPN name helps, they have been able to separate
themselves into their own money maker and their own name where you do not think
of the as ESPN but as ESPN Deportes.

My Experiences In Radio

I just got back from a weekend trip to Vegas, so as you can imagine I feel awesome (insert sarcasm). Lost some money but well worth it. A lot of fun and can't wait to go back.

I don't really have anything planned for this week so I thought I would share my experiences while working at radio stations.

I have worked at 2 stations (both of which are sports stations) Sports 620 KTAR out of Phoenix and 1490 The Fan in Tucson.

Both of my experiences were fantastic and I could not have worked with nicer people.

I have interned at Sports 620 for the past 3 summers. The first summer there I worked on the Diamondbacks post game show and the 620 Sportsline hosted by Dave Burns. Here I learned to use a lot of the audio editing programs that are used and became pretty good at it. I also worked very closely with the show's producer Eric Sorenson. I had a lot of fun watching baseball games and hanging out with people who were interested in the same things that I was. I had so much fun that I decided to do it again.

The following summer I again worked at KTAR. There was a big difference though as the radio station was no longer one station but had split into two stations (a news station and a sports statio) I worked a lot of 12 hour days that summer (waking up at 5:30 am, working 6am-12:30pm, working at the radio station from 1-6, then doing it all over again the next day). I worked closely with E and worked on the show that inspired me to get into radio, Gambo and Ash. These guys are the longest tenured radio show in Phoenix and are really nice and went out of their way to make me feel welcome and part of the show.

Last spring (2008) I interned for 1490 The Fan in Tucson. I worked very closely (literally) with the show host Jody Oehler. This was a different experience for me because the studio size was different from KTAR's. KFFN's studio was the size of a walk-in closet, so imagine fitting 3 people in there (and once a week 4 people) in the space. Just because the studio was small did not mean that it wasn't a good work environment. I had a lot of fun and Jody is an awesome guy. He is funny and gave me a lot of advice that I will use when I get into the business.

This past summer I again pulled off the 12 hour days and worked for G&A again. I worked with the same people and started to pick their brain and get a feel for the business. Working closely with more of the people at the station and gaining more responsibility on the show and even getting the title of assoicate producer.

Well I'm exhausted from Vegas and will probably fall asleep on the couch tonight.

Until next time, Namaste.

Frank Kalil

When people from Tucson hear the name Kalil, they think of the Kalil bottling company. But there was a time when people thought of a different Kalil, Frank Kalil.

In the mid-1950's Tom Wallace was the Program Director at KTKT and in an attempt to boost ratings, he moved the station from 1490 to 990. He also hired a young disc jockey named Frank Kalil.

Kalil was hired to do the afternoon drive show from 3-6 pm. It turned out to be a pretty solid hire as he held the job and the spot for 10 years (which in the radio business is like having the same job for 40 years).

When KTKT switched their format to playing Top 40 music his show became the most popular and built their programming around his show. His show was the basis for KTKT's color radio marketing campaign. They called themselves color radio because this was the time when color TV was becoming popular, so they tried to appeal to that audience and market.

According to the KTKT tribute site, Kalil was loved by high school students who religiously listened to his show and talked about what he said on the show.

He unofficially was the Program Director at the station. While many had the title of PD, he was the one who controlled what happened at the station. He demanded that you acted professional and that you did the best job that you could.

Kalil was the guy who ran the machine at KTKT and helped make it the most popular radio station amongs teenagers in the 1950's and 60's.

Until next time, Namaste.

*Side note: that is a cardboard cut out of Frank Kalil and not an actual picture of him.

KTKT 990 AM

KTKT 990 AM in Tucson is currently an ESPN Deportes affiliate but it has a long rich history in Tucson.

In the 50's KTKT was the only rock n' roll station in Tucson, as weird as that sounds in today's age. In 1957 when KTKT went to the rock 'n roll format Frank Kalil was the man who brought his personality and flair that went along with the style of music that KTKT played.

In the 60's KTKT switched their format to Top 40, they still played rock 'n roll but they played popular artists that teens and young adults liked. This is when KTKT made their name in the business and one of the most respected stations in history.

KTKT marketed itself as color radio not only because of the colorful personalities that they put on the radio but because of the exciting and entertainment of the music that they played.

They continued with this format through the 70's. This style of music and their great hosts lead to them becoming not only the top radio station in Tucson but in all of Southern Arizona.

In the mid 80's KTKT started to phase out of its Top 40 format and switched to a soft rock/adult format.

The tribute site for KTKT goes into a year by year breakdown of which show hosts were on, what times they were on and which songs were most played and popular. It even goes into detail about the in office politics that were going on at KTKT.

KTKT eventually also broadcast the Tucson Toros and Tucson Sidewinders games before switching to a Spanish language sports station.

They currently hold the Spanish language rights to broadcast the University of Arizona men's basketball and football games.

Until next time, Namaste.

A Legend: Wolfman Jack

Robert Weston Smith was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1938. Smith was a big fan of radio when he was growing up and turned this love of radio into a career.

Smith started out in Virgina as "Daddy Jules" in 1960 before moving to Shreveport, Louisiana where he DJ'd under the name "Big Smith". In Shreveport, he eventually changed his on-air name to what he became more famously known for Wolfman Jack.

In 1962 Wolfman Jack took his act south of the border, working in Rosarito Beach for XERB-AM.

Here he was able to broadcast free of FCC regulations and do whatever he wanted. The station became known as the Mighty 1090 in California and is reported to be able to be heard at night all the way up in New York and parts of Canada. When the Wolfman was broadcasting from this station, it was rumored that where he was broadcasting was 10 minutes from the Tijuana-San Diego border. He eventually moved his show to Hollywood in 1967 and finished out his radio career in the United States.

Wolfman even starred in the movie American Graffiti which was directed by George Lucas (who went on to make the ultimate fanboy movie trilogy, then ruined it). Wolfman's broadcasts in the movie helped tie together the movie and the main character runs into Wolfman at an important scene in the movie.

When the Wolfman would show up in public for band appearances and emceeing events he would consistently different because he was unsure of how the Wolfman should appear. He would experiment with different hairstyles and facial hairstyles.

Wolfman Jack did his last radio broadcast on June 30, 1995 before retiring. He mentioned how he had never missed his wife so much and was excited to finally spend time with her. The next day he walked into his home, hugged his wife and had a heart attack. He died in her arms.

In 1996, Wolfman Jack was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

The Wolfman will be forever remembered as one of the pioneers in radio.

Book Review: Border Radio

Before you go any farther, I know what you are thinking...A book review? I thought this blog was about radio. Well I found a book that is not only about radio but about border radio.

While doing research for my Border Blasters story, I stumbled upon an interesting book that peaked my interest. I did not buy it (because I am a poor college student) but I have done some research into it.

The book is called Border Radio: Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves.

Border Radio was able to focus on the period from 1930-1960 in radio history. In this time it was very common for American radio personalities to cross the border into Mexico and broadcast their show from there. They did this so that they did not have to follow the regulations of American radio. With the signal being blasted so that American listeners could hear the show, they were free to do as they pleased on their show.

Many of these shows pushed the limit on what was appropriate and did things they would have been unable to do under American regulations. These shows have helped push many shock jocks like Howard Stern to become as successful and popular as they have become.

The radio stations were disapproved of by American radio regulators but there was nothing that they could do to stop them. Many radio stations in America suffered because they could not compete with unregulated, unfiltered radio where anything went.

This was until the US and Mexico signed an agreement concerning frequency modulation broadcasting in the 87.5 to 108 MHz band. This agreement said that FM stations' power levels and frequency would be set at a certain limit for both countries. Since there has been a drop in listenership to AM radio, the regulations set for AM stations are largely ignored by both countries, mainly Mexico.

These stations became known by two names. Outlaw X stations and Border Blasters. They were called Outlaw X stations because the Mexican radio stations call signs typically start with an X. While the Outlaw X name has disappeared, the mere mention of the name Border Blasters still sends a shiver up anyone in AM radio's spine.

The book was written by Gene Fowler and Bill Crawford and published by the university of Texas Press in 1988. Fowler is a writer and performer who went deep into the past to figure out the history of border blasters and renegade dj's. Crawford is also a musician who helps write the music for bands with a Hispanic sound.

You can read more about Border Blasters in my story on Border Beat.

Until next time, Namaste.

Terrestrial vs. Satellite

With the economic downturn in full effect, people have started to cut back on unnecessary expenses. Going out to dinner, buying that new dress or not spoiling their kids as much. One of these things that people will likely decide whether to cut out is satellite radio.

While satellite radio does have its benefits, there are some who think it to be an unnecessary luxury. I will compare the benefits and negatives between satellite radio and terrestrial radio (the one you can listen to in your car radio).

Satellite Radio Satellite radio offers many things terrestrial radio cannot, the main one being no commercials. You pay a monthly fee, around $10, so that you can skip the commercials and just listen to your favorite music nonstop. The only stations that have commercials are talk show ones but that is so the hosts can have a break from talking. There are around 200 radio stations to choose from that range from sports, comedy, I even have heard an Elvis station. There are two main satellite radio stations, XM and Sirius. Both offer a lot of different options in terms of stations for people to listen to. Some businesses have gone to using satellite in the workplace. This is in hopes of drawing in customers and not making them listen to commercials. At one of my summer jobs the owner had satellite radio for this reason (and so he could hear Howard Stern). A lot of people liked that they could sit down and enjoy their food without having the hear commercials.

The downside is that you have to pay to listen to the radio. There is the monthly fee that but that is not the only thing that you have to pay for. In order to listen to satellite radio, you have to buy a receiver in order to listen to satellite radio. At Best Buy the cheapest receiver that I found for both XM or Sirius is $69.99. If you want to go high-end though you can get one with GPS, a CD/DVD player, iPod-ready satellite radio for $2,000.

Terrestrial Radio The biggest and most obvious positive is that it is free, as long as you have a car. Also with terrestrial radio you are more likely to get a local flavor. You will get local updates on news, traffic and other going ons around your city. They will discuss local concerts, who is playing, where they are playing and how the concerts were. If you want to call in to request a song you are more likely to get through on a local station than a national show where people from all over the country are doing the same.

Having a free radio saves you the money that you would be spending on satellite radio but you have to listen to those annoying commercials. Then there is also the loss of a sense of the radio being personalized to what is going on around you and that which you are going to be concerned with, especially if you like to listen to talk shows.

Verdict It all comes down to what you prefer. Pay vs. Free. Big-time vs. Local. I like to listen to sports talk shows and I'm cheap, so I will almost always listen the local take on things when I'm walking around the mall rocking the Boom Box.

Until next time, Namaste.

Blasting Across The Border

I enjoy listening to the radio, especially sports radio. I have been given a lot of grief from my friends for listening to sports and not music. Being that sports radio nine times out of ten is on the AM side of things I tend to listen to AM more than FM. With this being the case there is something that has always bothered about AM radio, especially after dark.

After the sun goes down, it always seems like when I am listening to AM radio I hear some interference. When I was younger I was told that it came from Mexican stations upping their power. Now that I have a forum where I can investigate it I decided that this would be a great opportunity to figure it out. I am writing a bigger story for the Border Beat website about this issue, so stay tuned to Border Beat for the story.

The radio stations that do this are called Border Blasters. These stations do this so that they are able to avoid certain regulations from the FCC. In the 1930’s radio stations would go into Mexico and then “blast” their wattage so that it is able to be picked up in America. While this still continues, the practice pretty much stopped in the mid-80’s with English speaking stations being blasted across the border because of an agreement signed between the US and Mexico.

On November 9, 1972 the US and Mexico signed an agreement that the frequency on FM stations are set to 108 MHz Band. This was mutually agreed upon by both countries and was put in place so that American radio stations have to follow the regulations set in place by the FCC. This is why you more frequently hear Mexican radio stations interfering with AM radio stations. AM radio stations are being listened to less and less by listeners, so this is why the agreement was put in place for FM stations but not AM ones.

When I interned at an AM radio station in Tucson (which will go unnamed) we would always get complaints from listeners, usually older ones, about not being able to hear the station in Oro Valley area. When I asked the show host about why this was he told me that they had to decrease their signal’s power about 30 minutes after sundown, due to FCC regulations. He was not really sure as to why that was the rule but that was just what they had to do.

The history of border blasters is very interesting and my story will be more in-depth. The Modesto Radio Museum has a great history of border blasters along with a great history of radio in general.

Until next time, Namaste.

The Beginning Is The End

Well, here it is. My first blog post of the year. I guess I am supposed to tell you about myself a little bit. My name is Tom Phillips, I am a graduating from THE University of Arizona in May. Following graduation I am hoping to get a job that pays me well so if you know of one, leave me a message. Other than that I am just living the dream right now...

On this blog you will read about how radio and broadcasting are affected by bilingual stations and the border. I will hopefully be able to show you, the readers, how these radio stations make an impact, not only in Mexico but also in America (other than bumping their signal once the sun goes down).

If you are interested in finding a radio station near the border (or any radio station for that matter), I highly suggest you visit http://www.ontheradio.net/. They are an excellent source to find any radio station you may be looking for.