Inside Latino Entertainment & Media

JANUARY 2008

access resources education

INSIDE THE HEART & MIND OF

Kenny Ortega Nielsen’s Secret Weapon

Goes Way Latin Cool

VOLUME 1, NO. 1

I

$7.95

LATV Raq-C: Radio’s Hottest Confidante

JANUARY 2008

access resources education FEATURES

14 A Conversation

With Kenny Ortega The ILE Interview

Inside the heart of one of Hollywood’s finest.

22

22 Latin Cool Going National

By Antonio Mendoza

Taking a network national is like moving a mountain. And that’s just what LATV is doing!

28 Raq-C: The Night Chick

By Billy Colinas

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ACCESS: LATINOS

Wake Up, Will Ya?

By Carlos Garcia

We’re the ones buying your movie tickets, DVDs, downloads, and ringtones!

One of L.A.’s hottest broadcast properties—and possibly the next Oprahcita—this redhead firecracker commands the airwaves as radio’s coolest confidante.

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28 COLUMNS 6

33

DEPARTMENTS

SOUND BITES

Industry news at the front.

PRIORITIES

The New Nielsen Family

By Brian Hemsworth

38

Diversity isn’t an HR buzzword at The Nielsen Company.

OUR FOOTPRINT

Capitol Concerns

By Helen Hernandez

42 .

Catching up with U.S. Representative Hilda Solis XCU: NANCY ROMERO

The Joys Of Giving Back

4

Publisher’s Note

43 Marketplace

43 Advertiser Index

45 Calendar of Events 46 It’s A Wrap ONLINE...

insidelatinoentertainment.com

Classifieds Job Board Internships

JANUARY 2008 / INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA

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PUBLISHER’S

Publisher Helen Hernandez helenh@hmhmedia.com

NOTE

Co-Publisher / Editor-In-Chief Jerri Hemsworth jerrih@hmhmedia.com Editorial Consultant Zenaida Mendoza zenaidam@hmhmedia.com

Welcome!

Chief Legal Officer Bennett Root, Jr. benr@hmhmedia.com Advertising Account Executive Heather Brehmer heatherb@hmhmedia.com

Dear Readers, We are pleased to present to you the premiere issue of Inside Latino Entertainment & Media. This quarterly magazine will be filled with information that will be invaluable to studio and network executives, industry professionals, students, filmmakers, and groups in or interested in the Latino community’s evolving role in the world of entertainment.

We are fortunate to have a team of talented writers and individuals. Brian Hemsworth’s interview with Kenny Ortega will leave you spell bound when you learn that Gene Kelly was his mentor. In addition, you’re bound to enjoy Carlos Garcia’s column on the Latino market that invites people to wake up to the Latino influence. There is also the tongue-in-cheek humor of Irma La Bomba, our infamous anonymous writer who will leave you laughing with every issue.

This issue features an interview with The Nielsen Co.’s Vice President Mónica Gil who takes us into the Nielsen ratings and how diversity is important in their ratings. We will also learn of LATV’s national launch—a rags to riches story of how a local program has become a network that will soon be in 20 million homes.

This issue will give you an idea of what you can look forward to. We are about the impact of Latinos to the tune of approximately $1 trillion of buying power.

We are also thrilled to be able to offer an online component of the magazine that will be updated in real-time on an on-going basis. We invite readers to go online to our website at www.insidelatinoentertainment.com to access current Classified Ads, Jobs Wanted, Jobs Available and Internships available.

You, our readers, are important to us! We invite you to email your comments, suggestions, and ideas to editor@hmhmedia.com.

Welcome to Inside Latino Entertainment & Media and happy reading!

HH

Helen Hernandez Publisher

We enjoyed spending time with all of our interviewees, and we thank each of you immensely for being part of our premiere issue.

We especially want to thank Kenny for opening up his home to us and for being so incredibly gracious. Thanks, KO! 4

Chief Marketing Officer Brian Hemsworth brianh@hmhmedia.com

INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

Advertising Account Assistant Nicole Zoeller nicolez@hmhmedia.com Assoc. Art Directors Jenny Yang jennyy@hmhmedia.com Steven Higginson shigginson@newmangrace.com Contributing Writers Billy Colinas, Carlos Garcia, Irma La Bomba and Antonio Mendoza Contributing Photographers Steve Higginson, Terry Sutherland and Jenny Yang Editorial Intern Micaela Gil-Casas EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING OFFICES Inside Latino Entertainment & Media 20720 Ventura Blvd, Suite 100 Woodland Hills, CA 91364 P: 866/538-3182 F: 866/538-3182 www.insidelatinoentertainment.com

E D I T O R I A L A D V I S O RY B O A R D Anamaria Buranasakorn Fox Television Stations Carlos Garcia Garcia Research Mónica Gil The Nielsen Company Diane Medina ABC7 Flavio Morales Mun2 Jose Rivera Screenwriter Mark Teitelbaum Teitelbaum Artists Group

Inside Latino Entertainment & Media (ISSN 1940-9931) is published quarterly by HMH Media Inc., 20720 Ventura Blvd, Suite 100, Woodland Hills, CA 91364.

Professional Subscription: $24.95 per year. Student Subscription: $19.95 per year. Single Copies: $7.95 each. To order or renew a subscription, make your check payable to Inside Latino Entertainment & Media, 20720 Ventura Blvd, Suite 100, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. To inform us of a delivery problem, call 866-5383182. Periodicals Postage paid at Los Angeles, California, and at additional mailing offices. Volume 1, No. 1 Copyright ©2008 by HMH Media Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. POSTMASTER: Send Inside Latino Entertainment & Media, 20720 Ventura Blvd, Suite 100, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Advertising rates and information sent upon request.

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Opinions expressed by authors are their own and not necessarily those of Inside Latino Entertainment & Media or HMH Media Inc. Inside Latino Entertainment & Media reserves the right to edit all contributions for clarity and length, as well as to reject any material submitted.

Not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. This periodical’s name and logo along with the various titles and headings therein, are trademarks of HMH Media Inc. PRINTED IN U.S.A.

SOUND

BITES

PR Newswire Acquires Hispanic Businesses (NEW YORK) PR Newswire, one of the world’s leading newswires, recently announced it was purchasing not one, not two, but three key Hispanic businesses. The companies include Hispanic PR Wire, LatinClips, and Hispanic Digital Network. The move is seen as a big step for PR Newswire to capitalize on the increasing media needs of Hispanic marketers.

“We are very pleased to join forces with PR Newswire because they share our passionate commitment to service our clients, media partners, and the Hispanic community.”

Said Manny Ruiz, President and co-founder of the three Miami-based businesses. Ruiz will stay on and continue to create new services for the Hispanic marketplace. I

Most Powerful & Influential Latinos Honored [BEVERLY HILLS) The Imagen Foundation honored more than

Source: PR Newswire

60 entertainment creatives and Manny Ruiz, president, Hispanic PR Wire, announces PR Newswire's acquisition of Hispanic PR Wire, LatinClips and Hispanic Digital Network. (PRNewsFoto/PR Newswire)

business executives at its inaugural luncheon held recently at at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The impressive list

New Book Chronicles Growth of Hispanic Entertainment in U.S.

of honorees included such notable executives as Nina Tassler, President of CBS

Elliot Tiegel’s new book Latinization of America: How Entertainment, Walter Ulloa, Hispanics Are Changing the Nation's Sights and Sounds is huge

Chairman and CEO of Entravision

work tracing the growing impact of the Latino culture on

Communications, and Belinda

music, film, broadcasting and sports. It’s a massive, 1200-

Menendez, President of NBC Universal International Television

page volume. Longtime entertainment reporter Tiegel

Distribution. The list of talent

weaves an encyclopedic collection facts, stories and

nominees was equally impres-

anecdotes is what is possibly the most comprehensive

sive, which included actors such as Hector Elizondo, Edward

book of its kind. When Latino entertainment is the subject matter of future college coursJames Olmos, Martin Sheen, es, this will be the textbook! Published by Phoenix Books. Available from Amazon.com,

Jimmy Smits, Lupe Ontiveros,

Barnes and Noble and other booksellers. I

and John Leguizamo.

For a complete list, visit www.imagen.org/influential_

If you have a news item for Sound Bites, please send it to: editor@hmhmedia.com with a reference to Sound Bites.

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INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

latinos_2007. I

Latino Imagineers Changing Face of TV Advertising

{

The team at Cilantro Animation Studios helps companies take precise aim at the needs and appetites of the growing Hispanic audience in the U.S.

(BOCA RATON, FLORIDA) Cilantro Animation Studios, a harmonious mix of Pablo Picasso and Bill Gates types, has pledged to help mainstream media and corporations connect with the prosperous Hispanic community. The 3D animation studio was founded when its leaders saw a social and financial need to correct cultural misunderstandings in TV advertising.

President and CEO Salvatore Cavalieri’s vision for Cilantro Animation has been greatly influenced by Walt Disney and his imagineers. As a boy Cavalieri was hypnotized by the Disney characters and inspired to create his own world of 3D animation. But with one big difference: He would people his stories with walking, talking representatives of the diverse HispanicAmerican community.

Cilantro executives hope to satisfy a deep and growing hunger for acculturated Latino entertainment. To meet this need they are developing TV advertising, TV programs, and movies that expand on the popular telenovelas, and improve on English-language content that is often poorly translated into Spanish.

For more information visit: www.cilantroanimation.com. I SOURCE: PR Web

NALIP Examines Surprising Trends in Pan-Latino Cinema (LOS ANGELES) NALIP, The National Association of Latino Independent Producers, will bring together the best in Latino entertainment at the 9th NALIP National Conference “Sin Limites: Trends in Pan-Latino Cinema” on March 7–9 in Dana Point, Calif. The conference, cochaired by producer Frida Torresblanco and playwright Elaine Romero, will spotlight the remarkable growth in cross-boundary and cross-cultural creations that have developed in the Latino media landscape.

The program includes three days of engaging case studies, workshops and plenary on film, television and documentaries that have broken barriers, crossed borders and combined financial and cultural elements from Latino communities around the globe.

For a complete list of speakers, panels and keynotes or to register online please visit www.nalip.org/conference2008. I SOURCE: PR Newswire

“Hispanic is much more than a language, it’s a culture. You can be very Hispanic in your culture and not know any Spanish. Corporations can speak to these people in English and still miss the target, because they’re not hitting the mark culturally.”

Katty Arzola Co-Founders of Cilantro Animation Studios

Bentivoglio Named Vice President of Programming for LATV (LOS ANGELES) LATV, the nation’s first bilingual music/entertainment network distributed via digital multicast, announced in early January that it had named long-time industry programming executive Luca Bentivoglio as Vice President of Programming. In his new position, Bentivoglio will be responsible for all LATV content and program scheduling.

Prior to joining LATV, Bentivoglio was president of the international division of Educational Adventures where he developed Latino themes and marketing strategies for “The Danger Rangers,” an animated children’s series on PBS. Formerly, he was the executive director for Latino Public Broadcasting. There, Bentivoglio managed the non-profit organization that funds the development and production of Latino programming for PBS and created the award-winning “Voces” series. I SOURCE: LATV

JANUARY 2008 / INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA

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TARGET:

LATINOS

Wake Up, Will Ya! We’re the ones buying your movie tickets, DVDs, downloads, and ringtones!

BY CARLOS E. GARCIA ince this is the first issue of this first-of-its-kind magazine, I would like to introduce myself to our readers so they can get an idea of what to expect in this column. I am, first and foremost, a consumer marketing researcher who specializes in the U.S. Hispanic Market. I am, second but not least, an irreverent iconoclast who enjoys pointing out hypocrisies, illuminating blind stupidities and ridiculing absurd inconsistencies. That means I will be writing about how the Entertainment Industry deals with (or doesn’t deal with) the burgeoning Latino market.

SOME SALIENT AND SAVORY FACTS Latinos compose at least 15% of the total U.S. population.

Latinos compose at least 20% of the total population under 18.

Latinos are on average ten years younger than non-Hispanics.

Our birth rate is twice as high as youknow-who.

Latinos are actually evolving into early adopters of new technologies and new media, although in different ways and for different reasons than non-Hispanics.

One key issue that must be put to sleep immediately at your local Pet Hospital is the following: how could Spanish speakers who watch Spanish TV and listen to Spanish music and speak Spanish in the home also watch English-language movies in much higher numbers than the English speaking mainstream? How in the world, you might ask, could this be? Well, the reasons for this are multiple, some of which are: 8

ILLUSTRATION: JAMIE FARRANT/ISTOCKPHOTO

S

They live here. They are not on a different planet, and they know what is going on.

They are hip to the popular culture, even if they add a little cumin and chile.

They watch English-language television, too, and see ET and ads on ABC and see billboards on the street and on buses— they aren’t deaf or blind.

English-language movies are often exactly the kind of fare they like—fun, stimulating, entertaining. There are many to choose from including family movies or

INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

action movies or monster movies or combinations of the above.

They have kids. Their kids talk to other kids at school, and they want to go see the same movies their friends do. With Latinos, the parents will go with them.

Most Spanish-language films are either so art house chic it hurts or so low brow you scrape your knuckles on the popcorn.

HISPANICS AND ENTERTAINMENT Hispanics are really into entertainment,

Call for Entry Period Opens February 15, 2008 Mission

The The Imagen Imagen Foundation's Foundation's mission mission is is to to encourage encourage and and recognize recognize the the achievements achievements of Latinos, as well as positive portrayals of Latinos, in all forms of media.

Latinos, portrayals media. The The Foundation is a national organization dedicated to increasing Latino representation at all levels in the dedicated entertainment and communications industries by providing access, education, and resources. communications providing resources.

Qualifications

Appropriate Appropriate and and qualifying qualifying entries entries will will be be English English or or Spanish Spanish language television television programming, programming, motion pictures, advertising, advertising, and and live theater theater that that either: (a) portray portray Latinos Latinos and/or and/or the the Latino Latino culture culture in in a positive positive manner; manner; and/or, and/or, (b)demonstrate (b)demonstrate outstanding outstanding creative creative achievement achievement by

by Latinos.

Latinos.

All entries must have been televised in the appropriate categories in a U.S. market, (network, local, cable, first-run syndication), syndication), released theatrically, or exhibited at a major film festival, or performed live live theatrically between May1,2007 and April 30, 2008.

Deadline for submissions is May 4, 2008.

Categories

Best Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Best Actress, Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Theatrical Short or Student Film, Best Best Primetime Series, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Variety or Reality Reality Show, Best Documentary for Television or Film, Best Children’s Programming, Best Best National Informational Programming, Best Local Informational Programming, Best Bes On-Air Advertising

Imagen Awards coming Summer 2008 summer 2008 For details visit: www.imagen.org 18034 Ventura Blvd., #261 Encino, CA 91316 626 836-6100 Fax 626 836-6101 836-6700 Email: info@imagen.org

TARGET:

LATINOS

which will give this publication plenty to talk about. It’s amazing to me that the industry has been so slow to leap on the simple fact that Hispanics over-index in virtually every aspect of the entertainment industry: They buy more movie tickets.

They buy more popcorn and soda and candy in the concession stands.

They buy more concert tickets.

They buy and rent more DVD’s.

They watch more hours of television and listen to more radio.

They are devoted sports maniacs.

THE FUTURE OF TARGET: LATINOS So what kind of topics might we see in this column in the future?

What do Latinos represent as a challenge or an opportunity for the Opening Weekend Box Office?

What might Latinos represent to a film’s overall theatrical release and thus how many ad dollars should be put into this segment?

Horror stories of patronizing and condescending marketing that crosses the line from a compliance-driven, cover-your-ass effort to an inane disaster.

How do you tap into Latino passions for fun, sports, music, and their kids?

Ringtones and MP3 downloads—what is going on?

What types of movies, TV shows and sports do they want to buy in DVD’s?

And other topics of interest to our readers as suggested through direct feedback.

A LITTLE CLARIFICATION Please note the following about the terms Latino and Hispanic. The word Hispanic is a very precise demographic term that refers to all peoples whose cultural roots go back to Spain. This covers people from 23 Spanish speaking countries and includes the U.S. as well. This term effectively excludes people from the Americas who speak Portuguese or French which are also Latin countries but are distinct from the Hispanic tradition. Latino is short for Latino Americano, which is a friendlier, more personal term but is subject to the potential inadvertent inclusions noted above. So I use the term Hispanic to refer to populations, Latino to refer to people.

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WHO AM I, YOU MAY ASK? My credentials might be of interest to some, particularly since there are so many professional Hispanics out there and so few Hispanic professionals. My parents were born in Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. as children in the 1920’s. My Dad fought in WWII and moved to California after the war. I was born in Los Angeles, on the unglamorous East Side, in the heart of gang banger, Pachuco and Resurrection Blvd territory. But that Resurrection Blvd.

Paris and I met a William Morris agent and gave her 10% of my life and a gorgeous child who has grown into a marvelous man.

I dragged the poor dear to California, and I started a career in marketing research.

(Yes, out of the blue, but I loved it.) I then completed an MBA in marketing. Twentyeight years later, I am still in marketing research, 18 of which I have spent at the head of my own company, Garcia Research in Burbank, Calif.

I have intermittently had the chance to

It’s amazing to me that the industry has “ been so slow to leap on the simple fact that Hispanics over-index in virtually every aspect of the entertainment industry. stuff was named after Resurrection Parish, of which I was a member. The church— which eventually turned into Resurrection Gym from which Oscar de la Hoya sprang—was run by a great man named Father Ramon Garcia (sadly, no relation) who was begrudgingly made a Monsignor and who should have been named Pope.

He was amazing, and inspired whole generations to get their acts together and go to college. Which was what we did.

Catholic parochial schools led inexorably to Loyola High School (grrr) and Pomona College (ahhhh) in Claremont, Calif. A Cum Laude degree in Foreign Languages (and a minor in Theater) led to a Ford Foundation Fellowship at UC Berkeley and an MA in Comparative Literature.

Actually, it was even more esoteric than it sounds. But I made it to the UC program in Paris where I studied in their Film and Theater program, concentrating on 17th Century French Theater (that wasn’t the esoteric part, that was downright contemporary). The Sorbonne is a trip, I assure you. The kids all smoke in class and don’t brush their teeth, ever (grrrr). Still, Paris is

INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

”

work in the entertainment field, including television program testing, movie tracking, movie trailer, poster and concept focus groups, test screenings, news broadcast talent evaluation, etc. Although interest in Hispanics seem to be very spotty, I have worked on an odd assortment of films, including “Howard the Duck,” “Psycho III,” “The Milagro Beanfield War,” “Milagros,” “Star Maps,” “Scooby Doo II,” and “My Family.” As you can tell by the dates and the titles, my film work has been quite irregular. It’s a tough industry to gain credibility in. It’s hard to get people to listen to the Hispanic case, and it takes a huge amount of patience. At least I have that.

Most of my work is in the commercial world, although we also work with nonprofits and foundations, governmental agencies and the like. This gives us a 360degree view of Hispanics. This is invaluable information, and we cherish the opportunity to study our community and to convey their needs and interests to people who might be able to make some small difference in their lives through better products

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Age:

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25-34

35-44

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55-64

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Sex:

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$20,000 - $49,999

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TARGET:

LATINOS

or services or communications.

All of the statistics are important. What is crucial is the analysis which means looking at the data within the Latino context and not forcing it into a mold that doesn’t fit. We always have to remember that statistics aren’t about numbers, they’re about people—people in transition, people caught between cultures, people growing up and growing out, people with varying needs and interests, varying countries of origins, varying dialects and quite distinct geographical and political environments. That is what makes it a challenge, what makes it a rich environment, and what requires an expert touch to really understand.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY? We want your feedback to let us know what you want to see in this column. Are you particularly interested in the syndicated radio personalities or in the potential for selling DVDs of sports highlights? Are you focused on family films or slice-em-up

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All of the statistics “ are important. What is crucial is the analysis which means looking at the data within the Latino context and not forcing it into a mold

”

that doesn’t fit.

INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

spectacles? Are you interested in using outdoor for movie releases? Or perhaps it’s internet forums or networking sites? Are there some burning questions the industry hasn’t come to grips with yet? But wouldn’t that be most of the questions? Do you want to know the role of the Mom in picking TV shows or movies to rent? New media adoption rates? So please contact me at CarlosG@hmhmedia.com.

My key thought for the day—Wake up and smell the Latinos!

CARLOS E. GARCIA is an accomplished professional in both qualitative and quantitative research as well as a successful entrepreneur. Prior to founding Garcia Research Associates, Inc. in 1990, he directed the quantitative divisions of two minority marketing research firms. Mr. Garcia also held the position of Research Manager with Maritz Marketing Research. He can be reached at 818-566-7722 ext. 101.

A

Kenny Ortega

Conversation With

Inside the heart of one of Hollywood’s finest.

The ILE Interview Photography By Terry Sutherland

JANUARY 2008 / INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA

15

H

Manly Ortega, a star in his own right in HSM2, commands the spotlight whenever Kenny is shooting.

ollywood is an industry that allows many of its biggest stars to get away with things.

They can be unfriendly, arrogant, aloof, angry, or just downright nasty and Hollywood will forgive them, as long as they are bringing in the audience.

According to Hollywood’s laws, Kenny Ortega has the right to say and do virtually anything. When we caught up with him for The ILE Interview, we were fully prepared for a Hollywood icon and all that might go along with that position. Instead, we were treated to an afternoon with a kind, humble, gracious, and grounded man. It was more like spending time catching up with an old friend.

He currently sits atop the entertainment world and is the driving force behind the huge and ever-expanding “High School Musical” franchise. The first installments have been viewed by nearly a quarter of a billion people worldwide.

Kenny is currently in preproduction on HSM3.

Throughout his career, he has worked with the biggest talent the industry has to offer: from Gene Kelly to Madonna, Francis Ford Coppola to Bette Midler, and even Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana). He’s a director, a producer, a choreographer, and somehow continues to work seamlessly in all three capacities.

It might be easy to miss some of Kenny’s accomplishments, as he’s quick to share or even hand off praise to those he works with. You also get the sense, even today, that Kenny is truly grateful for the opportunities he has had. He doesn’t take his success for granted in the slightest.

Something else emerged as we shot photos and asked him questions. Kenny’s life has a sort of magical choreography to it. The way he walks, the way he talks—you know from the moment you meet him that he is at peace with his world. There is a genuineness to him and calmness in his soul, the likes of which you might expect from Tibetan monk.

Possibly his most refreshing quality is that you can tell he loves what he does. He loves the creative process. He loves entertainment. He loves developing personal relationships with those he works with. And he’s a master at all of it.

Did you have any idea when you started working on “High School Musical” that this would be anywhere near as big as it has become?

No. No, I selected to do HSM because I was looking to do something at that stage of my life, which was two years ago, that would give me an opportunity to reenter into film making. I had been doing one-hour television for quite a few years and a lot of tours and special events—the

16

INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

Olympics, the Super Bowl, rock tours (Michael Jackson). I wanted to get back into film making long-form. So I talked with my agents and I said, “Lets find something under the radar, on the down low, a little tiny project. Lets not put a lot of light on it.” They said they had a wonderful little script for a Disney Channel movie. I read it and I thought, “Ah, you know, there’s just great hope and joy at the center of this little story.” And I took it on as a movie and suddenly we were turning it into a full-on musical, a break-into-song musical.

I think three-quarters of the way through shooting the movie with this incredible cast, passionate crew and supportive studio, I woke up one morning going “Holy-Moly, we have something pretty special here. This could be far reaching.”

I remember having a conversation with the cast. We were in a circle, shooting “We’re All In This Together,” in the gymnasium, and I said, “Ya’ll should be getting ready for your lives to be changing. I really think that we have accomplished something here together that is really special and unique and these kinds of things don’t happen everyday.

You know, they don’t happen every year. They don’t happen every five years—where you are able to find the right story, the right cast, the right people, the right everything and where there is a synergy, a chemistry, and a something that just comes through the screen.”

I didn’t know that it would cross into other borders. I didn’t know that it would cross into other cultures. I had no idea that we would be all over the world—with 250 million people including South America, China, Australia, Africa, New Zealand, all of Europe and the UK. All of us are thrilled, all of us feel very fortunate and blessed that we were able to be a part of something that has been so successfully far reaching.

So what started as a tiny little project has turned into a real entertainment franchise.

An original break-into-song musical, which no one has done for television in 25 years. So you can imagine the chances that we had for that to go anywhere! [LAUGHS] Everyone—all of us—have been rewarded. For me, my greatest reward is that there are few places that I can go now where a young child doesn’t walk up to me and know me by my first and last name. I have children walking up to me all over the place. “You’re Kenny Ortega. You’re the director of HSM,” And “Are you doing it again? Are you doing 2?

Are you doing 3?” That is my greatest reward.

I’ve connected with an amazing audience that have embraced this project and want more of it. But all of us— the producers, the writers, the studio, the cast—we have all seen tremendous benefit from being associated with the project in terms of other creative opportunities, travel, meeting people…It’s been amazing.

How were things for you when you were a kid?

It was tough. It was tough. Well, it was joyous in the beginning, and then my parents split up. At a tough time, I was 12.

But I gotta say that they were both there for me and for my brothers and sisters. It was tough not having them together.

What helped me get through it was the music and the dance. At that time in the Bay Area, there were theaters

TOUCHED BY AFRICA Kenny recently traveled with a group of friends to Africa.

Luckily he made it to Kenya just prior to the recent postelection violence. Expecting a land and animal adventure, Kenny found himself amid an extraordinary human experience.

Having spent days interacting with the Masai, the Samburu, and being in the Masai Mara, he’d already had a great trip. The group then came to an orphanage called Nyumbani in Nairobi. It’s the home to 161 orphans who are HIV positive.

As they arrived at the gates, they were greeted by all the children standing out front. That, in and of itself would be moving, but the big impact was yet to come. The children began to sing the “High School Musical” anthem “We’re All In This Together.”

“I could hardly get out of the car I was so overjoyed, so touched and so moved,” said Kenny of the moment. “I discovered in my two days with these extraordinary children that you always get more out of it. I have always found that when you are working with children—handicapped, or disabled, special needs children, orphanages—when you leave that experience, you’re soaring, you’re flying, your heart is pumped with joy and adrenaline. It was no different here.”

A 15-year-old girl read him a letter that said “High School Musical” returned hope to her life and gave her a sense of enthusiasm.

“You really come to realize the importance of how far your work can reach, and at the end of the day how important it can be to someone out there. I left Africa realizing the responsibility that we have and how far reaching our ideas and our work can be and how deeply impacting they can be.”

For more information on the Nyumbani Orphanage, visit them at www.nyumbani.org.

everywhere. There was a strong dramatics department at my high school and so, as I went into high school, I was able to dissolve myself into all these different roles. In a lot of ways, I could sort of vacate the troubled head on my own shoulders, which enabled me to escape and rise above a lot of what was bothering me as a young kid.

But, I had a great mentor in my drama teacher at Sequoia High School who just passed away last year, Ray Doherty. He was an extraordinary teacher who inspired us to really dig down and go deeper, and to grasp what being a responsible member of the theater was all about, and coming to know the history and the work at a dimensional level. At 14-, 15-, 16-, 17-years old, that paved the road for the rest of my life.

There was great theatre in San Francisco—from the American Conservatory Theater, the Hyatt Music Theater, and the Circle Star Theater in the round to the Palo Alto Rep and the Santa Fe Civic Light. I grew up during a time where there was an awful lot of opportunity for me to get out there, audition, learn through experience. That started to make it really fun.

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So when did you say to yourself “This is what I want to do.”?

When I was 13 years old, I knew. And it wasn’t until I was about 27 or 28 that I realized that I had been guided by this voice that was inside of me. Coming from inside of me that I really believed was a higher voice. You know in the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure why I was doing what I was doing. Was I running away from something? Was I trying to dissolve, get out of my own head so that I could sort of live in these characters that I was playing as a young actor?

I think ultimately what ended up happening was one day I kind of woke up and realized that I really loved it.

That I was really born to do it. During the toughest of times, when I could barely survive—when I didn’t have a dime in my pocket to buy myself a meal, or didn’t know where the next rent check was going to come from—there was something inside of me that just wouldn’t let it go. I just continued to stay focused, to work hard, and to study.

My father used to say to me “Don’t get angry. Get better, because one day you will not be able to be denied.” And I took that to heart. When I was broken hearted because I missed an audition or I didn’t get a part, I kept thinking to myself that it was just something saying to me, “You gotta go deeper, you gotta try harder. You gotta get better.”

When did you make the transition from acting to choreography and directing?

I was in the San Francisco production of the musical “Hair.” And then I went on the national touring company of “Hair,” and traveled all over the country as well as to Canada, Alaska, Hawaii. By the time I had come off

the road with that show I had been in this musical three years and it was life changing. To me it was a historical landmark in the American Theater—Jerry Ragni, Jim Rado, Galt MacDermot, and Julie Arenal. An amazing team of people that wrote it, composed it, and directed it, and I was now looking for something else. That [HAIR] sort of awakened me to the possibilities of how wondrous theater can be and life experience can be. And so I was about ready to go into another musical as an actor, and I met this rock and roll group called The Tubes.

They were looking for a director and a choreographer, someone who could help them put together these massive performance art pieces to go along with their rock and roll music. I visited them in their warehouse in San Francisco, and I was knocked out. It was exactly what I’d asked for! It was like I put out the requests and it was right there in front of me. Had I walked away from it, I knew deep down inside that I would have been making the biggest mistake of my life. And so I walked away from theatre at that point, and I stepped into this brand new experience, which was to direct and choreograph a live rock & roll production. And those ten years with those remarkably gifted artists and musicians brought me into video, into film, into theater, into everything that I am doing today.

Was the transition into directing from choreography hard? Natural?

No, not when you have a mentor like Gene Kelly [LAUGHS]. And when you are a choreographer working on the set with Francis Ford Coppola and Vittorio Storaro and

KENNY ON HOLLYWOOD A few minutes of free association with Kenny on some of the shows he’s worked on and stars he’s worked with: Madonna: One of a kind, hardest working woman in show business.

Gene Kelly: Genius. A man of the world.

Cher: The real deal. The most honest individual that I’ve ever worked with. Raw, truthful, original.

Neil Diamond: Powerhouse, icon and a good guy.

Ally McBeal: My favorite.

Gilmore Girls: My other favorite! [LAUGHS] Both of those television experiences were of the richest and most rewarding that I’ve been a part of.

Dancing with the Stars: Absolutely wonderful to see it all come back. Its made ballroom dancing hip again.

The musical is back. Dance is back. “Dancing With The Stars” is a huge reason why dance is back, and “American Idol” is a huge reason why music is back. “So You Think You Can Dance”—the art of choreography has never been more brilliantly exposed in television. Television has never been more electrified with music and dance.

Dirty Dancing: Breakthrough. Emile Ardolino, one of the greatest directors I’ve ever worked with. One of the most inspiring, lovely and enlightened individuals. He directed one of my fav documentaries of all time called “He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing,” which was Jacques D’Amboise from the NYC Ballet taking a bunch of inner city

John Hughes and Emile Ardolino. Not when you’re fortunate enough to be working as a choreographer with extraordinary directors and cinematographers and one decides to be your teacher and your mentor, and who puts his arm around you one day and says “I want to show you the ropes. You deserve to know more.”

Gene became my film school, as well as working with all the incredible directors that are now my peers and friends in the Directors Guild. I worked with incredible directors out of British New Wave video, like Russell Mulcahy, who went on to become a major film maker. Working with Ardolino and Coppola, and meeting Gene Kelly on the set of “Xanadu.” Gene really sort of opened up his heart, his mind, his knowledge and his life experience to me, basically teaching me his art of designing choreography for the camera and directing.

I remember working with John Hughes. We were doing “Pretty In Pink” or “The Great Outdoors” or one of those movies, and he came to me and said, “I want you to do another picture with me.” I said great, and he asked if I was in the Directors Guild. I said “In the DGA? No.” He said he wanted to get me in. I asked how we were going to do that. He said he wanted me to be a second unit director for “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and gave me my first directing job.

With his incredible help and support, I directed the parade sequence in it. As I was told by Gene, “You’re gonna be invited.

Don’t stress it. You’re gonna be invited.” And one day I woke up, John Hughes was inviting me to direct, and then Disney asked me to direct a pilot. Suddenly I was directing.

children two weeks later creating a miracle with music, dance and theatre games.

Hocus Pocus: Bette Midler. I would have to say with no disrespect to all the extremely talented people on the planet, and I’ve worked with many of them, I don’t know anyone that holds the stage as good as she does. I think that she is the greatest live female performer of our generation. Loved working with her. It was an honor. It was a highlight.

The Olympics: I don’t think there has ever been a moment in my life that has ever thrilled me more than working with the volunteers, and the development and the producing of the Atlanta and the Salt Lake Olympic Games. Those opening ceremonies and closing ceremonies I found myself on a high that I have never experienced anywhere else Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana: Talk about Judy Garland! I was saying the other day that we should remake “Wizard of Oz” now that we have somebody who could do it. I think that Miley Cyrus is one of the most gifted and brilliant kids out there and she comes from amazing parenting. I had the most fun working with her, and I have to say, the Jonas Brothers. These three kids—their dad is a music teacher—come into rock and roll having been on Broadway! What a thrill to be 57 years old and to still be doing rock and roll with the new kids on the block!

Now I had directed video, music videos and I think that’s where I got bitten. That’s where I got excited and that’s where I started going “How am I going to be able to move into this world without a film school background?” Then, again, my universe was looking after me and putting Gene Kelly in my life, and Coppola in my life, and John Hughes in my life.

In the old days they used to say “There’s no better education than experience.” First hand experience, being on the set. I learned choreography from doing 60 musicals. I learned how to direct from being on the set, working with all of these great directors.

There are so many that really have impacted my life, but that’s kind of how it happened.

Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring choreographers and directors?

First of all, get the most education you can. And I mean school. I think that the more you know, the more you can invest in your work. So I would definitely say do whatever you can to get a good education. And then I would say study as many styles as you can. Just as I would tell a drummer to learn jazz, learn funk, learn rock, learn classic, learn it all, come to appreciate it all. If you absolutely have a calling to move into the classical world and you know that’s what you want to do, then I certainly think that classical ballet and modern ballet are areas that you should focus on. But I think that in today’s world, the more JANUARY 2008 / INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA

19

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knowledge that you have, the greater the opportunities you will have.

Everything really comes in handy. As a choreographer, math is important, history is important, relationships are important, psychology is important. There are many, many, many things. What is choreography? It’s the art of storytelling through dance. Sculpting with bodies. Art and music investment. Studying as many disciplines as possible.

When it comes to diversity, Hollywood gets you. But does Hollywood get it in general?

You know I talked a little bit about that at the Diversity Awards, and we just found out that the NAACP has just given HSM2 a nomination this year, again. Hollywood has grown, but it still has a long way to go in the development of projects.

The thinking has to start at the beginning. We need to nourish that kind of thinking as an industry, nourish the idea of creating projects that explore diversity, invite diversity, and celebrate diversity. Don’t wait to create the project and then try to find a creative way of making it appear diverse. That’s what I’ve had to do for so long. “How can I color this so it’s a little bit more fantastic, a little bit richer and deeper, a little bit more colorful and diverse than it really wants to be?” We want to support the idea of developing projects that at their core are diverse in there inception. And I think we could put a little bit more effort and support into that.

I came from Redwood City, Calif., and there were Hispanics, blacks, and Asians. That’s all I knew. That’s who I am. I was living in a melting pot. Suddenly I have people going,”That’s a little bit too colorful.” Or the sugar water people when you are doing a commercial saying, “Can you put the Latino with the Latina and the Caucasian with the Caucasian?” I was like, “No! I danced with the white girl at the dance and I’m putting them together now.”

I was ornery. In fact, they used to say, “Here comes trouble.” I was tough. I was demanding. I didn’t give up. You have to be open and find balance and know that you aren’t in charge. But you do your best to push for as much as you can get.

I find now that I don’t have to do that, not working with Disney, not working on HSM. But for these last couple of years it has been so wonderful because it is expected of you.

Who would have ever thought that we would come to a place in this industry where it is expected of you to be diverse in your thinking in terms of casting. That’s wonderful.

What have you not done that you would like to do?

I really love my relationship with kids. I would love to be able to create some kind of interactive program that can tour, that brings kids in through music and dance and theatre. One that provides them with a creative learning space and a place where they could come together and arrive into themselves. I love working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Nyumbani in Africa, and Pediatric Aids, and the Children’s Hospital. I am loving that I can now have something else going on in my life.

I would also probably really enjoy doing Broadway. I think that I would like being in a development situation where I could be developing for television, the stage, film, and events.

Just being in a house, in a home, with a roof over my head. That enables me to develop on a higher level.

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INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

Latin C (left to right) Rick Najera, Vice President of Development; Alexandra Lemus, Production Coordinator; Daniel Crowe, President; Andres Palencia, Writer; Humberto Guida, Host LATV Central/Writer; Luca Bentivoglio, Vice President of Programming.

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INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

Bilingual programming isn’t easy.

Starting up a network is no piece of cake, either. But taking it national—that’s like moving a mountain. And that’s just what the network LATV is doing!

Cool

going national

BY ANTONIO MENDOZA PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNY YANG & STEVE HIGGINSON

N

networks come in all shapes and sizes. There are big ones, small ones, new ones, and old ones.

You’ve got radio networks, broadcast television networks, cable television networks, satellite networks and now digital networks.

They start one way and turn into something else. Remember when MTV actually played videos? Remember when ESPN filled up the day with professional log rolling, Women’s Division II Lacrosse, and the Demolition Derby? Remember when Ted Turner owned what seemed like everything on cable?

Today there are hundreds of networks available to American households—category after category, catering to an almost limitless list of audiences.

Add to the congested airwaves, cables and satellite signals the fact that networks aren’t easy to create, and one has to asked oneself, “Why start a new one?” That was precisely what we wanted to

Latin Cool going national

know when we recently spoke to Daniel Crowe, president of the hot new network LATV (pronounced el-ay-tee-vee).

STARTING FROM SCRATCH Unlike so many networks today, which have spun off from something else, LATV is its own master. The brainchild of Walter Ulloa and Daniel Crowe, it is a network designed from the ground up.

“I met Walter Ulloa while working for Univision in the early 1980s,” said Crowe, recalling the inception of LATV. “We became friends and often talked about the need to create television for young Hispanics.”

At the time, there was very little on broadcast or cable specifically targeting young Latinos. Even more importantly, none were doing it in English, let alone bilingually. Over time, the talk became more focused and more serious. In 1999, LATV began to take shape.

Crowe saw firsthand the huge gaps in the Hispanic broadcasting marketplace. Latinos in general, and Latino youths in particular, were significantly underserved by the media.

He also knew these were rapidly growing demographics, and there were opportunities for catering to these underserved markets.

“In 1999 we began working to create LATV,” Crowe recalls, “and in 2001 we created a block of bilingual programming on KJLA in Los Angeles.”

That may seem like a modest beginning, but LATV’s launch in 2001 was just the first step in a large, Herculean plan. From the very beginning, the programming was a platform from which the network would launch. LATV slowly and methodically kept to plan, developing more programming and working to promote the network.

The big break came last spring (April 2007), when LATV partnered with the Post Newsweek Broadcast Group, and it was officially launched as the first digital television network programmed specifically for young Hispanics.

Other networks have come into the fray. Mun2 was launched in 2001 as a sister network to Telemundo. MTV Tr3’s was launched in 2006, though its lineage can, in part, be traced back to MTV en Español and Mas Musica. Both of these cable networks have programming catering to the Hispanic youth.

So what makes LATV so interesting? We decided to find out.

studying Spanish and started talking with my friends’ parents. Back then most Hispanics were focused on ‘fitting in’ and urged their children to speak English. Now those same friends are learning and speaking Spanish as well as English so they can fit in.”

Crowe followed his instinct and passion.

His first job out of college was as a producer for Spanish International Television (SIN) TV station. Over the next 20 years, Crowe would go on to hold various management positions at Univision, Telemundo and Galavision.

That resumé alone is impressive, but it’s only half of the story. Not only is Crowe experienced in broadcasting for the Hispanic market, he’s also someone with a great track record for startups. His vision

THE VISIONARY’S VIEW To properly understand LATV’s future, you need to take a look at Daniel Crowe’s past.

Crowe knows his way around startups, and he knows his way around the Latino market.

“Growing up in Southern California in the 1970s,” tells Crowe, “many of my friends were young Hispanics. I was fascinated by the vibrant Hispanic community. I began

Croweʼs talent appears to more then just trend

spotting. He’s a master of that, for sure. He’s also very

talented at matching technologies to the trends.

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INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

for media startups has helped him on numerous occasions.

His early recognition of the Latino market potential was the first display of Crowe’s astute future vision. Another example was his ahead-of-the-curve launch of Internet Mercado, a Spanish-language e-commerce website. Also, in 1995, Crowe started the first major market Spanish rock station, L.A.’s Ritmo 98.3, which he sold two years later to Cox communications.

Crowe’s talent appears to more then just trend spotting, although he’s a master of that, for sure. He’s also very talented at matching technologies to the trends. As a student at UC Santa Barbara, he realized Spanish was his “ticket in” to this market.

During the ‘70s and ‘80s, broadcast and

cable’s boom days, he had a front row seat.

He saw the need in e-commerce for Hispanics. He also found a hole in the market for a Spanish rock-and-roll radio station.

That’s where the real beauty of LATV’s master plan comes in. Once again, Crowe used his formula of matching emerging trends with underserved market needs and emerging technologies.

OPENING DIGITAL DOORS Beginning in February 2009, broadcast television stations will switch off their analog transmissions and move to digital. This has driven traditional network and cable TV broadcasters to take a hard look at their business models, and try to reengineer them in order to take advantage of the rad-

ically new technology.

When the switchover occurs, broadcast television stations will no longer transmit analog signals. To receive the digital signals households will need new televisions or hardware to accept or convert them. (Yes, analog television users, those without new equipment, cable or satellite, will switch on their televisions and receive snow!)

On the plus side, the new digital format will open up bandwidth for non-television needs, such as police, fire departments, and other civil use of the airwaves.

More importantly, the digital signals allow for multicasting. This lets a broadcast station transmit one, two, three, or more subchannels.

This becomes a big boon to broadcasters, who may choose to rebroadcast on local cable or satellite systems. This, in turn, opens up new avenues for programming, advertising, revenue, etc. Television may again become the wild wild west of technology.

With LATV, Crowe seeks to leverage this transition from analog television transmission to the new digital standard. Unlike legacy broadcast or cable networks, based on the analog models, LATV has the benefit of building a digital network from the very beginning. A critical component of the LATV business model is leveraging the advantages of the soon-to-take-effect digital network.

Rather than deliver only on cable, or only via broadcast stations, LATV is partnering with broadcast stations, which may also be delivered locally on cable systems. When combined with additional delivery on some satellite networks, LATV becomes a triple-threat for household delivery.

This multi-prong approach will help LATV quickly ramp up households that can get LATV. Currently they can be seen in over 9 million homes, but come February 2009, they’re expecting better than 40,000,000.

“As a digital multicast network,” tells Crowe, “we will reach the 40+ million

JANUARY 2008 / INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA

25

Latin goingCool national population over the air, on basic cable, and on basic satellite. We have the potential of reaching a much larger audience than other cable networks programmed for Hispanic youth.”

STAYING AHEAD Insightful market analysis and applied use of technologies are helping LATV move to the forefront of Hispanic youth programming. Currently there’s a mix of music and entertainment-related shows that are gaining steam with their audiences.

Crowe describes LATV’s programming as a kind of “Latin Cool,” that blends live action, animation, and music videos.

Shows like “The Homies Hip Hop Show,” “Ceasar & Chuy,” and “Mex 2 The Max” are

growing in popularity, and not just among Latinos. The hip sensibilities appear to be forging some crossover success with nonHispanics as well.

But what will it take for LATV to succeed? That’s the million, or possibly billion-dollar question.

Crowe thinks their challenges will not be unlike those of any other network.

Ultimately, reaching homes is a critical necessity. Hitting the 40+ million mark, when the digital switchover happens, will help LATV reach critical mass in delivering huge audiences. Ripple effects of this change will be more programming, more national sponsors, and hopefully market demand to drive even further household penetration.

Crowe and his LATV team know it will take more than just eyeballs, though those eyeballs will need to like what they see.

That means, “Creating relevant programming that resonates with our young biculural audience,” says Crowe.

And finally, LATV is not just thinking TV. They know and acknowledge that the term “television network” is only tempo-

rary. Their content is already designed with other digital platforms in mind. Look to LATV to take a leadership role in shifting its content to Internet, mobile devices, VOD, and other emerging technologies. Combine that with the fact that research is showing that Latino youths are some of America’s earliest technology adopters, and we may be looking at a new recipe for media success in the coming years.

A BULL MARKET? LATV has smart money behind it, and a crackerjack management team leading it, including Crowe’s co-president/COO Howard Bolter who was previously Sr. VP at E Channel. They’ve assembled an edgy creative team., and they’re producing programming and content the market is responding to.

We’ll be keeping our eyes on LATV as the digital transition comes into being.

With that in mind, one can’t help but feel left out, financially speaking, being that LATV is privately held. This network, even though it’s just in its infancy, makes one wish it to be publicly held. One can always wish for an IPO!

A SAMPLING OF LATV’S PROGRAMMING

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INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

Creating Opportunities and Opening Doors 13th Annual Imagen

Entertainment Industry Job Fair FREE To The General Public • FREE Workshops

Saturday, February 9th, 2008 9AM – 4PM

[

DoubleTree Hotel 924 W. Huntington Dr. • Monrovia, CA 91016 (Huntington Drive exit off 210 Freeway)

No Registration Necessary NOT A CASTING CALL

Job Seekers: Dress Professionally & Bring Copies of Your Resume

Scheduled Session Times 9:00 - 10:00 AM 10:00 - 11:00 AM 11:00 - 12:00 PM 1:00 - 2:00 PM 2:00 - 3:00 PM 3:00 - 4:00 PM

]

Attendees will be admitted in groups with a maximum of 300 per session.

Imagen is offering this event at no charge to the general public.

For more information, go to www.imagen.org email: info@imagen.org or call 877-344-9441

RAQ-C:

The Night C

R

aquel Cordova is her name, but

she’s known throughout the southland as Raq-C. They call her “The Night Chick”. She’s young enough to be the granddaughter of many of L.A’s top radio personalities, but she’s a seasoned pro

already perched atop a fast-grow-

ing format, of a fast-growing sta-

tion, which caters to the fastest growing segment of our population.

Flip on Latino 96.3, “L.A.’s #1 Party Station,” from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and you’re in for a high-energy ride that rivals your favorite theme park roller coaster. Raq-C takes to the microphone with an infectious enthusiasm that blends music, talk, laughs, and a surprisingly realistic view of L.A. youth culture.

Listen for just a few minutes, and you’ll get a dose of this fast talking Latina, jumping in and out of both Spanish and English. Strangely, English-

One of L.A.’s hottest broadcast properties— and possibly the next Oprahcita—this redhead firecracker commands the airwaves as radio’s coolest confidante.

only speakers don’t seem to be troubled by the Spanish, and Spanish-only speakers don’t seem to mind, either. More importantly, the vast majority of Angelenos, of every ethnicity, seem quite at home with the hybrid language that really is a reflection of what you hear on the streets of L.A. Off the air, Raq-C is, well, Raq-C. There’s no off switch. She’s just as up, just as on, and just as real. And that’s the first clue why you can’t spend five minutes with her or listening to her without liking her.

BY BILLY COLINAS PHOTOGRAPHY BY TERRY SUTHERLAND

But beneath the rap and the rhythm, something else is brewing. Deep down, Raq-C is less a celebrity, and more like one of us. She’s part friend, part psychologist, part guru, part party girl, and part loving daughter. She’s doesn’t just talk about keepin’ it real, she lives it.

hick

For now she’s a shining star of metro radio, but it’s only a matter of time before national media gobbles her up. National syndication?

Book deals? Television? If you ask me, probably all of the above.

See for yourself.

JANUARY 2008 / INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA

29

RAQ-C:

The Night Chick After listening to some of your shows, and reading your MySpace page, it seems like you’ve got a different relationship with your listeners than most DJs, certainly different from most party and dance music DJs. Your listeners seem to see you as more of a friend, or even confidante. How does that feel?

It feels awesome. I can genuinely say that when I go places, I get treated like a celebrity, but I don’t feel like a celebrity. I’ve always been the kind of female—and the kind of person my parents raised me to be—that keeps my feet on the ground. When people write to me on MySpace, there are times when I’m up until three in the morning answering back. But if I have to, I will. I know I would not be where I’m at without my listeners.

I don’t take my position or the fact that I work in L.A. for granted. I feel so blessed. I don’t even look at work as work. When I’m on the air, from 6:00 to 10:00 every night, Monday through Friday, it’s like therapy for

were about to be disconnected. She had a two-month old baby. But everything out of her mouth was negative. I said, “Have you ever stopped to thank God that you’re alive? Look at what you’re putting out into the universe. Everything you’ve just said is about how everything is bad. You’re not thinking positive. Maybe things are going to be okay.”

By the end of the call, I could get her vibe, and she was so relieved.

She was back to breathing normally. I mean, she had wanted to kill herself! I want to be able to educate and empower these women.

Just because you’re in the dumps doesn’t mean you’ve got to stay in the dumps.

Sometimes I share personal stories that go on in my life that my listener’s say, “Hey, I’m going through that, too!” To me having a good relationship with my listeners is super important. I don’t live in fantasy-

“Ever since i was a little girl, i would always tell everybody, ‘I’m going to be on tv!

I’m going to be on the radio!’” me. I just close the door to the studio, and it’s just me and L.A. I like to blog a lot now, too. Some nights when I get off the air, I’m so pumped that I can’t fall asleep. So I just sit there in front of my computer and blog. Sometimes I’ll just blog my feelings, or maybe I’ll read a book or magazine article and it will bring up some feelings.

Your station, Latino 96.3, is called “L.A.’s #1 Party Station,” and it’s usually pretty fun, but your listeners sometimes make some pretty heavy phone calls.

I got this call on the air yesterday that broke my heart. It was a lady who I ended up talking to off the air. She seemed young.

She had three kids, from three different guys. She didn’t have money. Her lights 30

land—except sometimes when it comes to guys. [LAUGHS] Ever since I was a little girl, my mom told me that I had a gift. And you know when parents tell you stuff, positive stuff especially, you believe it. I think now, in the position that I have, I have the ability to share my gift with the world. That’s to empower women. I just have the gift to be able to be me on the air and off the air. If you catch me at a restaurant or someplace, and you’re one of my listeners who says, “What’s up Raq-C,” I’ll sit there and eat with you and BS with you, because I’m just me all around, 24/7.

You mention your parents. What was growing up like for you?

I grew up in Riverside, Calif. I was the

INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

] Part of Raq-C’s magic comes from her ability to talk with anyone at anytime on just about anything. Above, she is keepin’ it real with DJ Nio Encendio who has the time slot just prior to Raq-C. At right, she receives a “shout out” from one of her many listeners. [

youngest of three children. I grew up in a middle class, Salvadoran family. I had a really good childhood. We had a close family, and being the baby of the family, I got away with a lot. By the time my parents got to me, they had already been through all the hustle and bustle with the other kids.

[LAUGHS] I went to a private Catholic school from the third grade to the eighth grade. After that, my parents gave me the choice of going to public or private high school. I chose to go to a public school. I was so ready to go to a public school.

I wasn’t really into boys in high school.

I was really into getting good grades and maintaining my GPA. Ever since I was a little girl, I would always tell everybody, “I’m going to be on TV! I’m going to be on the radio!”

I was always the kind of kid who would watch the news instead of watching cartoons. I loved it. I wanted to be informed.

My mom would change it to like “Alvin and the Chipmunks” or “Dennis the Menace,” and I’d say, “Put it back, put it back!”

Whenever there were holidays or parties at my house, I was the kind of girl that would come out with my mom’s high heels and her scarves, and put on shows for entertainment. I didn’t try hard to entertain, I just did it! It came really naturally.

mended me to somebody at a hip-hop station in Palm Springs, Calif., so that’s where I jammed to. I went right on air, and I was the morning show co-host. But I worked two jobs. I did the morning show, and I worked at Smart and Final just so I could afford my own apartment.

But with all the sacrifice, in the back of my mind, I knew I was going to get back to L.A. at some time. That was my goal.

How did you make the move from Riverside?

I knew Riverside wasn’t going to take me anywhere, so I told my dad, “Either move me to L.A. to be closer to the radio stations, or I’m jamming there myself—and I’m taking your car with me!” [LAUGHS] And I think my dad knew I wasn’t kidding. I was determined to get out of Riverside. A lot of my friends had gotten pregnant or were into drugs and had no goals. I was always very focused.

At the end of high school, I was like a bomb ready to explode because I wanted to pursue my career so badly. Right after high school I started in at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, Calif. We call it “Harvard on the Hill!” [LAUGHS] How did you get started in radio?

I got an internship at a local radio station, and I found a mentor. I wanted to follow his every footstep. He told me he had gone to the Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting, ARB we call it, in Huntington Beach, Calif. It was $10,000 for a 10-month course!

I know a lot of people who went there but ended up never doing anything with radio. They went there, they got all hyped about it, but they didn’t really take it into their own hands. I did.

After my internship, my mentor recom-

Palm Springs was the first of several big moves for you, right?

I’ve made drastic changes in my career.

I went from Palm Springs, which gets to 120 degrees in the summer, to a station in Chicago,

basis. It’s my music, hip-hop and reggaeton.” I called my bosses and said, “You guys need to transfer me back to L.A.” I let it be known that I wanted to come back to L.A., and at first they said, “No, you’re doing good over there.” But I threw a fit, and finally I got the opportunity to come back. [LAUGHS] I got back here when I was 22, so I was the youngest DJ in the market. I think it’s every DJ’s dream to work in a huge market like L.A. or New York. So when I finally got here, it felt kind of surreal.

You’ve achieved a lot success already in your career. What are your secrets?

I think a big part of my success is that I started as an intern. I was able to work in the marketing and promotions department, where I was able to be a street-teamer.

Street-teamers are like the face of radio.

Those are the kids that are out there setting up canopies, setting up tents, rockin’ the

“i think it’s every dj’s dream to work in a huge market like l.a. or New York. so when I finally got here, it felt kind of surreal.” where it’s, like, below zero! [LAUGHS] In Chicago, my role on the morning show was “La Pochita.” That means somebody who is Latina, but born in the United States, like third- or fourth-generation Latina. My Spanish wasn’t really that good, and it was an all-Spanish station. So whenever I got stuck in Spanish, and I was in character, they would allow me to flip it to English. We got a lot of listeners who would not ordinarily listen to a Mexican regional station, but they would listen because of me. So things were going good over there.

When I was in Chicago, I got the word that 96.3 in Los Angeles, which was El Sol before, was changing to Latino 96.3, and I freaked out. It was, like, “This is me! It’s a bilingual format! I can bust it in English and Spanish, like I always do on a daily

mike. When I do events now, the streetteam comes out in me.

My heart is in it because I started at the bottom. People here at the station have said, “We remember when you were a streetteamer, and you used to always say you were going to be on the air. Now you are!”

I think I’ve gone through a lot at my young age. I mean, my parents’ divorce really affected me at the age of 15. I went through a lot of therapy. So I made the decision at 18 that I could use it as an excuse to fail, or as an excuse to succeed. I think the key to my success it keepin’ it real with my listeners.

On the whole, has being a Latina been an advantage or a disadvantage in this industry?

Being a Latina has been an advantage for

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RAQ-C:

The Night Chick me. There are a lot of women that claim to be Latinas, and they might be, but the difference with me is that I embrace my culture. I know what my culture is about. I always tell people about the radio station, Latino 96.3. It’s gone beyond a radio station by making people feel proud to be Latino again.

What’s it like being a Latina role model?

I get a lot of listeners who have graduated with a journalism degree or a communications degree, that say, “Okay, Raq-C, we want to pursue radio and communications, but where do we go from here?” I tell them that the best thing I did was intern. I didn’t look at it like I wasn’t getting paid, I looked at it like, “I’m at an L.A. radio station. They’re letting me do commercials and voice-overs.

They’re letting me learn!” Whenever I’d record a commercial, I’d ask the engineer to give me a copy. Then I’d go home and share it with my mom, and that would excite me. I knew I was working to the top.

In my career, I’m really aggressive in what I do. I know what I want. I won’t step on toes, but I’ll get there, you know what I mean? There isn’t really anything that I’ve

done in my career that I have to say, “I regret that.”

Who are your role models?

One of my role models is Oprah.

Oprah is like power! She’s inspiration. She knows how to empower women. She’s used her power in a positive way. She’s an icon. I Tivo her show every day. There’s a lot of other people that are doin’ it real big in the industry, but I see a lot of phoniness in people.

I also love my mom. She’s a big inspiration in my life. I’ve seen her hit rock bottom and come right back up. Somebody else I look up to, believe it or not, is Jennifer Lopez. I love her. All the trials and tribulations she has gone through. She is a Latina who has kicked ass in a lot of different areas. She’s doing it no matter what.

What would you find fun to do in the future?

I want to do a daily TV show. I want to do a red carpet show where I ask those real blunt questions, and they answer it because

it’s me! [LAUGHS] I’m a big talker. I like to talk a lot.

On your website, we read the bio that your sister wrote. She mentioned that she thinks you might be the next Oprah. If that’s the case, will you grant us another interview?

Absolutely! I will be doing Inside Latino Entertainment Magazine. We’ll be doing another interview from my youth center. I want to open a youth center. I want success stories to come out of that.

FORMAT FORTUNE? As “El Sol,” KXOL in Los Angeles could never break through the 2% listener marketshare barrier. That is, until mid-2005.

As part of Spanish Broadcasting System Inc.’s (NASDAQ: SBSA) stable of Hispanic radio stations, it seemed to be lost in the clutter of L.A.’s highly competitive Spanishlanguage airwaves.

The station switched to Latino 96.3, “L.A.’s #1 Party Station,” and now spins hip-hop and reggaeton in mixed tongues. They adopted the new “hurban” format, which blends Spanish and English in an effort to attract the fast-growing young urban Latino market. The dual-language platform had failed in previous attempts, and was seen by some as a risky venture for the L.A. station.

But back in 2005, Station Manager David Haymore and Programming Director Pio Ferro saw it less as a risk and more as an opportunity. They knew that L.A. was home to 4+ million Latinos aged 12 and older. That represents some 40% of the city’s overall population. With the vast majority of those as English speaking, bilingual, or “English capable”, those numbers could translate into a huge opportunity.

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Latino 96.3 now enjoys listenership of more than double that of their previous station format, with AQH shares up from 2 to averaging well over 4, and as high as 9 in some time slots. In radio ratings, that’s huge. In certain key audience demographics, they rank as high as 2nd overall in the market, which means they’re competing with (and often beating) local powerhouse English-only stations such as KIIS-FM, POWER 106, and KROQ. Raq-C is helping the station soar to new heights. Potentially more seismic is her infectious enthusiasm, which is capturing the hearts of not only both male and female listeners, but Latinos, African-Americans, Whites, and Asian-Americans.

Latino 96.3 appears to be a new metaphor for the opportunities that can be gained by understanding this burgeoning market. Raq-C and Latino 96.3 embody a new strength and vitality, gained by their “shock and awe” assault of the Los Angeles airwaves that, simply put, is working.

With Raq-C and Latino 96.3, it’s not about the language. It’s about delivering the goods that a huge portion of L.A.’s radio listeners want to hear.

PRIORITIES

The New Nielsen Family Diversity isn’t an HR buzzword at The Nielsen Company; it’s a mission critical part of market intelligence.

BY BRIAN HEMSWORTH ike it or dislike it, but the world revolves around audience measurement. Politics doesn’t make a move without polling. The stock markets move based upon public opinion. And audience measurement is the basis for the economics of virtually every type of media we know of.

There are a lot of companies that do audience measurement of mass media. The truth be told, many of them, and by some estimations most of them, are Nielsen companies. Nielsen has become the name in audience measurement, both literally and figuratively. Literally, because last year, Dutch-media conglomerate VNU decided to change its name to The Nielsen Company to take advantage of the powerful brand equity Nielsen had established.

Figuratively, because Nielsen is synonymous with television audience ratings. The terms “Nielsen ratings” and “Nielsen families” have become commonplace even outside of the entertainment industry.

Audience measurement as a science has always been challenged. Is it valid? Is it accurate? Is it valuable? Rarely a sweeps period goes by without whines and whimpers about the system.

The bottom line is modern statistical analysis is the best we have. More importantly, at the end of the day, it’s pretty darn accurate. Ask any graduate business student who has had to pour blood, sweat and tears into statistics and data analysis, and you’ll find that when done correctly, polling such as audience measurement is extremely accurate.

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The old adage of “garbage in, garbage out” pertains directly to audience management. When it comes to accuracy, the mix of the people you choose for your survey is everything. Choose the right number of the right people and ask them the right questions, and bingo, you have a projectable sample.

In the world of entertainment and media market intelligence, Nielsen is the big dog. Better put, they’re a pack of big dogs. Dozens of its companies, properties, and business units are analyzing everything

we see, hear, touch, taste, smell and think about. The problem is that the world is changing around us, and it’s changing rather quickly.

In the United States, no group is creating change more quickly and more dramatically than the Latino population. That’s why the editors of Inside Latino Entertainment & Media decided it would be a good idea to have a chat with the people at Nielsen to see just how they’re dealing with the changes.

What I found surprised me. No, surprise isn’t strong enough: it shocked me. My

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PRIORITIES research unearthed a secret weapon, one that is helping empower the Nielsen Company to see change not as a challenge to its way of doing business, but rather as an opportunity for even better market intelligence.

PEEKING BEHIND THE METER Nielsen’s secret weapon isn’t a new meter, a new chip, or some statistical algorithm created at MIT. It’s their public affairs department.

ing in the language that they should be.”

While Nielsen Media Research has been gathering television viewer data from one side of the company, Gil and her team have been gathering market intelligence from the other side.

“We have brought in third party groups to look at how we do things,” says Gil. “My feeling is that we have nothing to hide, so you have to make everything open and accessible in case we are doing something

to be able to look at the eyes “ Weofneed our clients and not be afraid of what we see. ” Yes, public affairs. At most companies, the public affairs department attends PTA meetings, has a table at charity functions, and makes its conference room available to local special interest groups. At Nielsen, it’s a critical business unit that is active in developing key corporate strategies.

Thanks, in large part, to the efforts of Mónica Gil, an energetic Latina who Nielsen recruited from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign. Under her watch, the company is forging new ground in diversity, community outreach, and market understanding. The Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs, Gil doesn’t just talk the diversity talk—she makes sure Nielsen walks the diversity walk.

“Measuring communities of color is a high priority of the company,” says Gil. “If you look at how we recruit Latino households, we have to make sure that the procedures and methodologies in recruiting households is effective. For example, I have been heavily involved in looking at how our field reps recruit households, whether they are recruiting bilingual households or Spanish dominant households, whether the field reps are actually speak34

wrong.”

As a result, the company now has three advisory councils: the Latino Advisory Council, the Asian-American Advisory Council, and the African-American Advisory Council. These are comprised of 10-12 outside experts who provide input on everything from methodology, promotional materials, and even hiring. Their efforts result in recommendations and suggestions that are disseminated to all of Nielsen’s executives, including the top tier.

“It’s wonderful to be able to tap into experts who live, work and play in the communities we are reaching out to,“ continues Gil, “because at the end of the day, they provide a better credibility than just somebody walking in and saying ‘Hi. We’re really trying to build a relationship with the communities we’re reaching out to.’”

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DIVERSIFIYING DIVERSITY Nielsen has also put together employee resource groups. These include a Latino group, an African-American group, an Asian group, a Disabled group, a Womens group, and a Gay and Lesbian/GLBT group.

The resource groups are able to provide input to Nielsen executives. Every resources group has to have a senior executive sponsor who conveys information and recommendations to the CEO about what their specific needs are.

One might worry that efforts like these look good to the outside world, but fail to really make a difference in the way business is done. Nielsen’s Public Affairs department is involved with marketing teams, branding teams, and the field teams.

In fact, they’re involved with almost every aspect of the company.

} Nielsen’s famous meter makes data gathering easy Their challenge for the future will be making sure Nielsen families represent the American rapidly changing demographics.

Another common trait of corporate public affairs departments and diversity programs is that upper management likes to keep them in the public eye, but out of the executive conference room. Not so with Gil. “I have a relationship with every single one of the senior vice presidents to make sure that our needs for public affairs are being met,” says Gil. “It’s an absolute commitment from the top down. If you don’t have the commitment from the CEO, then it’s a lot harder to make things happen. I have access to the CEO, and a budget that is substantial enough to get the job done. It’s easy for people to talk about diversity, but it’s hard to be a team player when you’re not on the team. Nielsen has made me a player on the team.”

Mónica Gil V.P. COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH

CHANGE DYNAMICS In doing research about their own company, Nielsen has found the least familiarity

“It’s easy for people to talk about “ diversity, but it’s hard to be a team player when you’re not on the team. Nielsen has

”

made me a player on the team. with their brand among Latinos, AfricanAmericans, and Asian-Americans.

As American demographics change, and the minority population continues to grow, Nielsen will continue to focus not only on inclusion of these groups in survey samples, but also in raising brand awareness among these audiences. Whether U.S. born, foreign born, English speaking, bilingual, or non-English speaking, Nielsen seeks to include everyone.

“The company has definitely made a commitment to Latino households,” says Gil. “Not just to Latinos, but all audiences of color. Diversity is a mission critical func-

ónica Gil was raised in what she refers to as “truly the portrait of a MexicanAmerican family.” The youngest in a family of twelve, she grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Her drive and idealism were apparent early on. She made the varsity track team as a freshman in high school, and knew what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to “change the world.”

A bright student, she went to college at U.C. Berkeley, where she studied political science. Originally thinking law school, she returned home after college, and decided to be a student commuter, driving several hours a day to get her Master’s degree in Public Policy from USC. At the end of grad school, a friend introduced her to a rising political star named Antonio Villaraigosa, then the new majority leader of the California State Assembly. She came aboard his staff as a field rep, and stayed on through Villaraigosa’s first attempt at running for mayor of Los Angeles, where she worked up to the position of Deputy Press Secretary.

Villaraigosa lost that election, and Mónica moved on to stints at Telemundo and GMMB, political consulting firm and ad agency. But she landed back on the campaign trail, once again for Villaraigosa and his second attempt at running for mayor. Villaraigosa won, a race she is still proud of winning. (We were unstoppable!”)

Just a day before the actual election, she was offered a job at Nielsen, a position she would eventually accept. As head of west coast communications, and nationally of Hispanic outreach, her dedication to worthy causes and driving work ethic have served her well. She’s passionate about her work, and passionate about serving the community.

“I don’t think I’m the traditional public affairs person. For me, it’s not just about pushing your brand outside the company, it’s about bringing what’s important to the community inside the company. I have an opportunity to do that right now. What a great job, huh?”

She may just get the chance to change the world afterall. I

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PRIORITIES A Sampling of Nielsen Company Properties The Nielsen Company is, in fact, many companies. Collectively they represent the entertainment’s most powerful source of market intelligence.

Here’s a look at some of the different companies under the Nielsen umbrella.

AGB Nielsen Media Research international television audience measurement

Editor & Publisher monthly newspaper industry trade publication

Nielsen Media Research television audience measurement (“The Nielsen Ratings”)

Adweek weekly advertising industry trade publication

The Hollywood Reporter daily entertainment industry trade publlication

Nielsen Mobile measurement the telecommunications industry

IMS media planning and analysis software

BASES a Simulated Test Marketing (STM) firm

Kirkus Reviews weekly book review trade publication

Billboard weekly music industry trade publication

Hey! Nielsen opinion engine and social network website for entertainment enthusiasts

Brandweek weekly marketing industry trade publication Burrill Life Sciences Media Group media and conference company focusing on life sciences

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Homescan & Spectra provides consumer-centric marketing and sales solutions for the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry

Back Stage (East & West) entertainment-industry publication aimed at actors, performers and casting directors; also Ross Reports periodical, Actorfest tradeshows, Casting.BackStage.com website, etc.

Mediaweek weekly media (Television, radio, print and outdoor advertising) trade publication

Nielsen/Net Ratings Internet measurement Nielsen SoundScan Measurement of music sales and downloads Nielsen RingScan a service of Nielsen Mobile, tracks ringtone sales Nielsen VideoScan provides VHS and DVD sales information PERQ/HCI pharmaceutical and healthcare promotion research

Nielsen BookScan Point-of-Sale (POS) data for the book industry

R&R radio trade publication

Claritas provider of marketing information and target marketing services

Nielsen BDS radio airplay monitoring system

Scarborough consumer research & information

Clio Awards advertising and design festival and awards show

Nielsen BuzzMetrics Measurement of consumer-generated media

SRDS media rates and information publications

Computing and IT Week weekly newspapers for the computer industry

Nielsen EDI Measurement and research for the motion picture industry

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The Bookseller weekly book industry trade publication

tion—I wouldn’t be here otherwise. I definitely see my job as an agent of change.”

The Nielsen companies have reached beyond borders of the United States, and global change is also having an impact.

Nielsen has launched and acquired numerous companies and properties abroad that are helping feed information into their data banks. Because of this, Nielsen’s ability not only to embrace diversity, but also use it as an opportunity to refine and reengineer their core businesses, is clearly evident. They understand that a majority of the world population is non-white, and that the complexion of Nielsen families, the world over, must mirror the changing population dynamics.

Changing audience panel composition is one thing. Truly understanding the needs of different audiences is a much harder task, but one Nielsen appears to be happy to undertake. Society, itself, may be less apt to accept change, and the changing complexion of “the Nielsen family” and “Nielsen homes.”

Gil understands the importance of embracing diversity and change in the future.

“We need to be able to look at the eyes of our clients and not be afraid of what we see. I feel like I am a part of a unique moment in our company’s history.”

“I’ve been on the other sides, television and politics,” says Gil, “and I was cynical of ratings. Now at Nielsen I have found nothing but an amazing group of people with integrity who want to do the right thing. They’re a company that has learned to put their money where their mouth is.

“I have never worked with people who are so committed to doing the right thing.

And I really mean that.”

Diversity as a mission critical function—what a concept!

BRIAN HEMSWORTH has spent the past 27 years working in entertainment, media and marketing. He’s written for dozens of publications, and is a member of the adjunct faculty of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

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Capitol Concerns Catching up with U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis, the first Latina member of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet

BY HELEN HERNANDEZ here has been so much attention on the Internet, it seems like broadcasting had fallen out of the political limelight. That’s changing very quickly, with the convergence of technologies, the “digital divide” and the country’s move to digital television next year.

Not since the days of cable’s land rush, multi-station ownership or HDTV discussions of past decades has there been this much attention focused on broadcasting legislation. In Washington D.C., all of this falls on the shoulders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and more specifically, its Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

With all this action heating up on the hill, we decided to catch up with Congresswoman Hilda Solis. Rep. Solis was first elected to office in 1985, when she became the first Latina elected to the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees, representing the cities of El Monte and So. El Monte in Southern California.

“That was kind of a big break for us,” remembers Solis, “because there had never been any Latina elected to represent the community there. We were still going through that struggle where you have a large number of Latinos that live there, but they don’t necessarily vote and they don’t necessarily run for office. It was kind of a breakthrough.”

Solis would later spend time in the California Assembly, California State Senate, and eventually be elected to the United States Congress to represent California’s

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32nd District. The district is home to more than 630,000 people and her constituency is more than 60% Hispanic.

On the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, she’s part of the Congressional team that oversees such key areas as television, radio, satellite, and the Internet. The Subcommittee also oversees the often controversial Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Solis has found herself on the frontlines of many issues affecting the entertainment industry, and in turn its home, Los Angeles.

“I am very excited to be a part of this subcommittee,” Solis told ILE in a recent interview, “because I do represent Los Angeles, not just the constituents in my district but because Los Angeles is a hub. It’s one of the largest media markets. I think it’s very important to be able to have a voice at the table and to be able to talk about uniquely important issues that affect minority communities, and in this case, the Latino community.”

DTV TROUBLES As the digital television changeover gets closer, there is increasing concern over problems that may arise. Will everyone know, understand or be able to adjust to the new standard? Will everyone be able to afford the new equipment?

“We’d like to make sure a broad number of our community members have access to ample information to be prepared for that transition, because come February 2009, everything changes.

“We think many low-income Latinos will be affected by the transition, may loose their signal and will not know what to do.

That will cause a public safety problem if there are emergency issues that come up.

“We need to make sure that everybody involved in this transition has a role to play in outreach, to roll out not just PSAs on television and cable, but to make sure they’re doing an advocacy type program. We will be dramatically affected if we’re not involved from the get go on this transition.

“That’s been taking up a lot of our time.

We’ve even had hearings with the FCC about this, to ask them what they’re doing to fund this effort, and we haven’t really

many low-income Latinos will “We think be affected by the transition, may loose their signal

”

and will not know what to do. gotten great response from the Chairman, Mr. Martin.”

Solis is also working on involving the retail sector. There are plans to offer coupons that could be given out to disadvantaged citizens. These coupons would reduce the cost of converters by as much as $40. As Solis was quick to point out, this is critical because, “Not everybody in our community will be able to buy that plasma TV with all the components!”

“We’re really behind in terms of rolling this out,” continued Solis. “What we’re really concerned about is that Spanish-speaking families will be the most impacted, because they’ll get the information late, and it won’t come to them in the normal or traditional ways they get information. We had a hearing around this issue, and many people were concerned about the public safety aspect, and the fact that even many elderly that live in assisted living homes and convalescent

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homes will be affected. If they don’t have the funds or ability to make that transition, then they’re going to be cut off as well.”

DIGITAL DIVIDE While the transition to DTV appears to be at the top of the Subcommittee’s to do list, other issues are also brewing. There’s concern with the emerging “digital divide.” It’s the concept that many of the “haves” of this world are able to take advantage of new digital technologies, while the “havenots” are unable to make use of newer technologies. The smarter, more affluent parts of the world, or society, get access to digital technology, while the less fortunate groups do not.

Another key concern is media ownership. As this new media emerges, and digital transition “frees up” space, there’s a concern that the same large and wealthy conglomerates will win all of the opportunities, while smaller, and often minority groups, will lose out.

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We’re going to “ have to prepare young people to get into these very

”

specified careers.

“We continue to see a very small number of Latino’s actually getting into media ownership,” tells Solis. “Women and minorities are losing out in terms of being able to acquire some of these licensing opportunities. We’re very concerned with the recent movement by the FCC to loosen media

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ownership in the name of trying to get more access to non-traditional communities. In fact it’s going to have the reverse effect and it’s going to make it harder for minority- and women-owned businesses to get in, because they won’t have the capital to compete and the insider information that usually goes with that.”

Solis sees ownership and access of new technologies, through such things as the DTV transition, as critical factors for underserved communities as we move into the future. Ownership means access. Access means equality. Equality means opportunity. And opportunities means jobs, which is good for any community.

“The digital transition is happening so quickly, and we know we need to grow the labor force, as well. We’re going to have to prepare young people to get into these very specified careers that require a lot of technical expertise, that can move our communities into those job opportunities, because they pay very, very well.”

XCU Xtreme Close-Up: Below The Line

Nancy Romero Vitals POSITION: Associate Director MEDIUM: Television CURRENTLY: The Dr. Phil Show BORN: Ventura County, California RAISED: Encinitas, California EDUCATION: UCLA, Bachelor’s Degree MAJOR: History

On Her Career BREAKING IN: As a student at UCLA, Romero learned the value of internships.

She held several intern positions, one doing research and statistics for CBS and another as a White House intern in the news summary department. Both were secured through the UCLA Internship Association.

The Association has been in existence for more than 35 years and places interns both locally and nationally. Romero’s internships enabled her to get a feel for the industry and what she wanted to do.

FIRST JOB: After graduating from UCLA, Romero began work as a production assistant at KTLA News in Los Angeles. Once she got her foot in the door, she became a planning editor and also started field producing with news icon Stan Chambers. Her early event assignments included the Oscars, various important political events, and several high-profile criminal trials such as the Menendez brothers, Rodney King and O.J. Simpson. At KTLA, Romero came to identify herself initially as a “news” gal.

THE SWITCH: After five years at KTLA, Romero was ready for a change. She was eager to switch from the creative side to the technical side. Her mentor in the news department at KTLA took her under his wing and introduced her to reality projects and talk shows. Together, they worked on reality projects and talk shows that were both in English and Spanish.

LESSONS LEARNED: Romero realized the value of knowing important people in the 42

industry. She also discovered how small the entertainment industry really is when she decided she was ready for another full-time stint. She gathered up her confidence and sent her resume out to a few key people.

She asked them to pass it on to whoever they felt might be interested in her skills.

THE ROAD TO DR PHIL: Lo and behold, she got a call from a brand new show called “The Dr. Phil Show.” Romero landed a job as a post coordinator. Now, six years later, she is an associate director. She is in charge of timing the show, a job she absolutely loves. Even though it requires long hours and endless hard work, she finds it very rewarding.

CURRENT ROLE MODELS: 1. Romero’s parents. Her mother is a woman with incredible drive who taught her daughter the importance of doing the best she could and the value of hard work. 2. Her mentor. Running project opportunities by him, Romero values his advice as much as she did when they worked together at KTLA. A good mentor is there for the long haul and Romero has found two in her mother and her mentor.

BIGGEST HURDLES: Recognizing the difficulty in securing one of the precious few directorial jobs in the talk show arena, sometimes Romero questioned whether all the hard work and long hours were worth it.

But she didn’t linger on doubt. Having the support of the DGA makes her job a lot easier. The DGA has given Romero an understanding of her duties as an AD and what she should be earning. For that support, Romero is grateful.

GREATEST SUCCESS: Being a woman in a very male-dominated technical field.

Romero is currently the only female in her post-production online department. She also values the collaborative relationship she has with her editor Errin Vasquez.

She includes the respect and work ethic that she has with her editorial team as a great success.

IN FIVE YEARS: Romero sees herself still working on “The Dr. Phil Show,” which is

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PHOTO: STEVE HIGGINSON

The Joys Of Giving Back

contracted through 2013. Following the show, she would like to move into a more directorial role with either a sitcom or another talk show.

ON LATINOS IN ENTERTAINMENT: There are a lot more Latinos becoming household names. In addition, there is a great diversity in areas of Latino expertise. One great thing is that Latinos will continue to help others that are just starting out.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF GIVING BACK:

UCLA’s Entertainment Night—attended by a crowd of 500-600 undergrads interested in tips on getting started—is one of the many opportunities Romero uses to give back. Sharing resources, expertise and experience: “A couple of years ago, a young woman that I met at a previous Alumni evening called me out of the blue and said ‘I came across your card and I was wondering if I could have lunch with you.’ She drove up from Orange County and met me on the lot. While we were having lunch, she produced a notebook and started reading verbatim of what I had told her on the night we met. I looked at this girl and said ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ And she said ‘No… You had that kind of impact on me.’ I try to give back in any way that I can.”

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CALENDAR FEBRUARY 1 Call for Entries—Deadline ITVS International http://itvs.org/producers/funding.html.

FEBRUARY 9 13th Annual Imagen Entertainment Industry Job Fair DoubleTree Hotel, Monrovia, CA FEBRUARY 15 The 23rd Annual Imagen Awards Call for Entry Period opens www.imagen.org FEBRUARY 15 Call for Entries—Deadline CineFestival 30 www.cinefestivalsa.org

MARCH 6 – 16 15th Anniversary San Diego Latino Film Festival UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas, Carlsbad, CA MARCH 14 Call for Entries—Official Deadline New York International Latino Film Festival www.nylatinofilm.com MARCH 31 Call for Entries—Deadline International Student Film Festival www.studentfilmfestival.org APRIL 4 – 16 24th Chicago Latino Film Festival Chicago, IL

FEBRUARY 24 80th Annual Academy Awards Kodak Theater, Los Angeles, CA

APRIL 11 – 20 41st Worldfest Independent Film Festival Houston, TX

MARCH 7 – 9 NALIP National Conference 9 SIN LIMITES: Trends in Pan-Latino Cinema Laguna Cliffs Marriott, Dana Point, CA

APRIL 18 Call for Entries—Regular Deadline San Antonio Underground Film Festival www.safilm.com

MAY 9 Call for Entries—Late Deadline San Antonio Underground Film Festival www.safilm.com MAY 14 – 25 Festival de Cannes Cannes, France JUNE 19 – 29 Los Angeles Film Festival Westwood Village, CA AUGUST 2 23rd Annual Imagen Awards Los Angeles, CA OCTOBER 9 The Imagen Foundation’s Powerful & Influential Latinos in Entertainment Annual Luncheon Los Angeles, CA

If you have an event you’d like to tell us about, email it to: editor@hmhmedia.com.

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IT’S A

WRAP!

Lights! Camera! Action!

Are you ready for your close-up?

BY IRMA LA BOMBA ’ll always remember Gloria Swanson’s immortal scene in “Sunset Boulevard” as she descended the curved staircase of her once grand mansion, tilted her head for just the right camera angle and uttered the infamous line, “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.” She was just one of many great stars of the cinema’s Golden Age who lived their entire life just to hear those words—”Lights! Camera! Action!”

My fantasy as a teen growing up in the ’50s was taking Hollywood by storm and returning home to a ticker tape parade, the key to the city, and waving to the crowds from a new model convertible. It was a great dream until my alarm clock woke me up.

And the reality was that I grew up loving movies because they took me to places where I could meet the most beautiful people in the world. Okay, so I didn’t know their teeth were capped and their nose was different from the one they were born with, but then what did I expect for fifty cents?

Actually, a fifty-cent piece bought us a lot—a bag of popcorn, a soda, a candy bar, a double feature, a newsreel, a cartoon, and best of all, the cliffhanger serial that kept us coming back.

I also fell in love with the characters, who transported me to another world without ever having to leave the dark theater.

They remained with me even after the lights came on and I walked out into the bright sunlight. Then, I would skip home, my head in the clouds, still impressed by what I had seen and believing that if the poor girl in the films could become a star and live happily ever after, why couldn’t I? In my reel world, I could dance like Ginger Rogers, sing like Debbie Reynolds, be as gorgeous as Audrey Hepburn and have a slew of handsome actors in pursuit of my affection. In my real world, Elsie the cow was a better dancer, and the only singing I was

I

46

allowed in the chorus was to lip sync in the back row, and the most memorable thing the campus hunk ever said to me in high school was, “Hi clown.”

Fast-forward in the 20th century and a rude awakening. Although my generation grew up admiring actors like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Susan Hayward, and John Wayne, I suspect few people knew that Rita Hayworth was part Spaniard.

Except, of course, the penny poker critics, a group of little old ladies who gathered ‘round my aunt’s kitchen table every night to gossip and play penny poker. They knew her real identity was Margarita Carmen Cansino, the daughter of a Spanish dancer.

Ahem, according to the penny poker critics, not too many people knew that!

But we were immune to the rarity of Hispanic faces on the big or small screen, probably because we grew up in two worlds and a two-theater town where we could watch films in either English or Spanish and enjoy the talents of American stars as well as Cantinflas, and Pedro Infante.

Then along came television and we gravitated to a whole new generation of actors, among them the penny poker critics’ favorite, “La Loca” aka Carol Burnett on the “George Gobel Show.” And while Hispanics were hard to find, a few did make it to the small screen, such as Linda Carter, Elena Verdugo, and Desi Arnaz, a TV icon who revolutionized the way sitcoms are taped today.

Now, it’s reality shows. Back then it was game shows. Later came “AKA Pablo,” starring Paul Rodriguez and a huge family of actors that included almost every Hispanic in Hollywood. Unfortunately,

INSIDE LATINO ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA / JANUARY 2008

even with all that talent, it failed to click with audiences, unlike the “Bill Cosby Show” and the “George Lopez Show,” which in later years became rating hits.

While retaining some of their culture and mainstreaming their humor into universal themes, their audiences could identify with the characters, regardless of their own race or ethnicity.

Today, thanks to veteran actors who have paved the way for those waiting in the wings, and organizations such as The Imagen Foundation, Hispanics can see themselves mirrored on the big and small screen in greater numbers, and in more positive ways than ever before.

How about you? Are you ready for your close-up?

IRMA LA BOMBA is the brainchild of a former columnist and journalist who has written for two major community newspaper chains in Los Angeles. Her column, “A Look on the Lighter Side With Irma La Bomba” ran exclusively in Eastern Group Publications, the oldest and largest chain of Hispanic owned bilingual newspapers in the U.S. She’s back with a whole new set of essays, as she shares with you a look on the lighter side of entertainment. She can be reached at editor@hmhmedia.com