Email a Friend
Print
Larger
SmallerWISH-TV, a CBS network affiliate in Indianapolis, has announced that it has created WIIS, Univision of Indianapolis, to meet the needs of the community's Hispanic population. The first news broadcast is set for March 3.
Phil Bremen, a telecommunications professor and former Latin America correspondent for NBC, believes the new station will give Hispanics news and information they prefer.
"A recent study showed that the main-line U.S. networks' evening newscasts rarely cover stories about or relating to Latinos," Bremen said. "If you want regular coverage of the continuing rebellion in southern Mexico or soccer scores from Argentina or even the economic crisis gripping Venezuela, which is a crisis crimping the flow of oil to North America, your best bet for staying in touch is one of the Spanish-language networks now serving the United States."
In the last decade a growing number of advertisers have recognized that minority groups are underserved markets with millions of dollars to spend, he said.
The U.S. Census Bureau lists the Hispanic population in Indiana at 214,536, or about 3.5 percent of the state's population in 2000. The average per capita income is $12,921.
Additional Spanish-language stations and cable networks may pop up in the coming years if media executives discover a tidy profit can be made, said Dom Caristi, a telecommunications professor.
"These are already available via satellite from overseas and Spanish-speaking countries," he said. "Over the air broadcasts are less likely due to the difficulty finding frequencies. But, if digital television ever gets going - with its ability to place four channels in the space of one television signal - it would most definitely be a strong possibility."
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, Bremen may be reached at by e-mail pbremen@bsu.edu. Caristi may be contacted at dcaristi@bsu.edu or (765) 285-1493.)
