Latino Public Radio Reaches Out to Government Officials To Save Station
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
A GoLocal report published on Monday unveiled the frustration by one of Rhode Island's top Latino journalist because of the demise of Latino Public Radio (LPR) and the pending sale of the station's frequency by RI Public Radio (RIPR).
Reynaldo Almonte, CEO, President and General Manager of LPR is making a direct appeal to elected officials in Rhode Island to support the station’s efforts to stay on the air at 1290 AM.
The station is slated to go off the air on the radio after negotiations with RIPR and the prior board members fell apart. He states “Latino Public Radio is a vital tool for our community to stay informed on important information and for our government leaders to disseminate that information to Latino listeners.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLatino Public Radio is requesting that RI Attorney General Peter Kilmartin to intervene in this situation by invoking the Public Radio Conversions Act, which was enacted in Rhode Island in 2004, to prevent the sale of a nonprofit public radio to a private, for-profit or commercial organization.
They are also asking other elected officials throughout Rhode Island for their public support and for them to call the Attorney General to encourage the implementation of the Act to stop RIPR from removing the station from the radio.
Almonte is appealing directly to Governor Gina Raimondo to “Prevent RIPR from destroying the only not for profit Latino radio station serving our community. Latino Public Radio is an essential member of our community, it would be disastrous to lose their station of choice.”
Since Latino Public Radio is based in Cranston, Almonte is also requesting that Mayor Allan Fung also support the station by personally calling the Attorney General to voice his support to save the station. “Mayor Fung is a frequent guest on our station and he understands the value of using our station to get important information out to our community.” said Almonte
In addition to these efforts, the situation has attracted the attention of Rhode Island’s Black and Latino Caucus at the State House and they have convened a meeting this afternoon to discuss on how to save the station.
“Together we can make our voices heard and ensure that future generations of Latinos have access to quality public media.” concluded Almonte.
READ THE GOLOCAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE DECISION TO SELL THE STATION BY RIPR,
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