Noticias at 11

[July 18th, 2007]

Traditionalists, take comfort.

Last Friday, July 13, it was red, white and blue baseball—not soccer—that topped the sports segment of Portland's only local Spanish-language news broadcast, a new venture of KUNP-TV, on at 6 and 11 pm on Comcast Channel 31 and Channel 47.

From news of a loose cow on the streets of Salem to the weather broadcast led by all-purpose anchor Roxy de la Torre, Friday's broadcast flexed about as much muscle as Katie Couric when she spoke on the CBS Evening News about TomKat's baby.

Then again, it was the first week for the Northwest broadcast, jointly anchored by Jaime Méndez from Seattle and de la Torre from Portland. (They appear on a split screen in front of images of Mount Rainier and Mount Hood, respectively.)

But the show generated plenty of heat from its very first broadcast when it aired a segment last Monday informing viewers of their rights in a federal immigration raid. (Hint: You don't have to open the door without a warrant.)

The program's introduction, plus radio host Lars Larson's stormy reaction to the immigration piece, reveals the growing influence of the Latino community in Portland and Seattle, which comprises an estimated 80,000 people. An affiliate of the Univision Spanish television network, KUNP is owned by Fisher Communications, the same company that runs KATU.

Larson considers the program an enabler—of illegal activity and self-segregation.

"It's clearly aimed at catering to a large group of people, some of whom are legal residents of the United States but a great many of whom are illegally in this country," Larson says. "I've never seen an American television station, local or network, do a story in which you advise people how to get away with breaking the law."

KUNP general manager John Tamerlano responds, "No matter what, if you're in this country, you have rights."