Lea el artículo en español aquí.
Their work is about informing the community, not creating fear.
It’s also about knowing your audience ― and, in some cases, providing it with a much-needed escape.
That’s how three local radio stations cater and respond to their listeners ― primarily immigrants and largely Spanish speakers ― in Sonoma and Napa Counties.
One, KBBF 89.1-FM, has been serving Sonoma County for 50-plus years.
Another, KRRS 105.7-FM, 1460-AM and 94.7-FM, a.k.a. “La Maquina Musical,” plays a bevy of popular Mexican songs along with broadcasting weekly informational programs.
The third, Napa’s “MegaMix” KVON 1440-AM, 96.9-FM, balances Spanish-language tunes with providing practical information to listeners.
Here’s a look at their different, yet similar, approaches:
Empowering and engaging at KBBF
In between news stories one Tuesday morning, a woman’s voice came on the air.
“Aqui esta el news bulletin,” she said using a mix of Spanish and English, a.k.a. Spanglish. “Here is the news bulletin.”
KBBF, the nation’s first bilingual public radio station, now 52 years old, remains steadfast in the intentions under which it was founded, said Alicia Sanchez, chief executive director.
Local Chicano students, with support from “fellow activists, farm workers, and a diverse community,” banded together in 1973 “to create a strong multilingual voice that empowers and engages the community to achieve social justice through education, celebration of culture and local and international news coverage,” according to the station’s website.
“All this kind of information, as founders put it, was to engage and empower the community through education and through information. So that was their vision,” Sanchez said.
With news delivered in English, Spanish, Trique, Chatino and Mixteco, the Santa Rosa-based station has a dedicated group of volunteers and board members who track the pulse of the community’s needs, Sanchez said. Right now, there’s an urgent need for information about seemingly ever-changing immigration policies, with immigration news comprising the bulk of the station’s programming.
“All of these attacks that are going on right now, we have dealt with them in the past,” Sanchez said, referring to the immigration policy changes under President Donald Trump.
Many times, when volunteers have spoken to listeners, especially undocumented immigrants, they tell them, “’I’ve been here before. I’ve been undocumented and in fear for 20 years, 10 years, 15 years,’” Sanchez said. “So it’s nothing new except that this administration … it’s been more daring … more abrupt.”
Informing people on topics related to immigration is important, but so is “going deep,” Sanchez said.
The station is “now trying to develop programs where we’re going a little bit deeper than just giving information to people, knowing your rights. But really going in and trying to do more sort of education as to why this is happening. How are you on a more personal level dealing with it? And how do they want their stories to be heard so that they can help others of how they navigated through this new environment that we have right now,” she said.
KBBF frequently features other well-known organizations who are “the ones on the streets, so we want to put those stories on our airwaves,” she said, emphasizing the station’s collaborative history.
“The biggest thing for us is to try to encourage people to not be so terrified that they can’t move,” she said.
La Maquina Musical: ‘A space of unity’
On La Maquina Musical’s website, the iconic logo of a train donning a red cowboy hat sits squarely above pictures of the station’s smiling hosts. There also are pictures of people at concerts, some holding prizes in front of the backdrop of its red pop-up tent with its logo printed on the back.
The pop-up tent can frequently be found at community parties, some hosted by the station itself.
Miriam Gomez, operations director with Luna Media, which operates La Maquina Musical, said the station balances fun with practical information for its listeners.
The station mostly plays top 40 regional Mexican hits, but has purposely created room for other, informative programming.
“We’re sharing a space of unity versus fear,” Gomez said.
Gomez, a KBBF alumna, said the station works to bridge information gaps between its listeners and significant community players, including law enforcement agencies like the California Highway Patrol and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Every Friday, listeners can tune in to an afternoon show with the CHP, intended to answer their pressing questions. And at least once a month, the station features a Spanish-speaking member of the Sheriff’s Office.
Sgt. Juan Valencia of the Sheriff’s Office was on Paty La Shula’s show recently talking about how people are imitating law enforcement, which has created more fear of law enforcement, he said. La Shula commented how this comes amid the spread of misinformation.
In a similar vein, he promoted a meet-and-greet with members of the Sheriff’s Office, along with Graton firefighters.
“It’s very important that people go to meet these officials who work in that area,” he said, to help people learn about the agency, dispel misinformation and create connections.
Having done this for about a year, Valencia said “It’s nice because people are starting to put a name to a face and the Sheriff’s Office. Trying to show people that we’re out here to help, we’re not against the community and we’re human.”
Recently, Gomez said, listeners frequently ask for more information on Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s whereabouts in the community, but the station won’t share details on ICE’s whereabouts until that information is verified, she said.
“We don’t want to cause panic, because people are afraid,” she said.
People generally welcome the ongoing programming with law enforcement, Gomez added.
“I think it offers (people) a space of clarity and to feel a little more secure,” she said.
The informational programming historically hasn’t been limited to law enforcement, and also has included organizations such as First Five, the Sonoma County Library, the county of Sonoma, she said. The station has also featured local businesses who “provide information so the people can find the services,” she said.
KVON MegaMix: ‘Happiness and information’
Napa Valley’s MegaMix is self-proclaimed as “music-intensive,” but when emergencies arise, “we will change our format to whatever the community needs,” said Will Marcencia, co-founder of WineDownMedia, which operates the Spanish-language KVON MegaMix as well as English-language station KVYN 91.3 FM.
The type of music the station offers is in its name, “MegaMix,” ― “mega variety,” of Spanish-language genres, said radio host Alma Garcia from the studio.
Though KVON began offering part-time Spanish-language programming in 2017 during the North Bay fires, it wasn’t until 2022 that it became a full-time Spanish language station, said Marcencia. He and fellow co-founder and wife, Jessica Marcencia, were both former Univision reporters in Los Angeles before they focused full-time on radio.
“We’ve got the training to respond to the community’s needs,” he said.
The day after the Pickett Fire broke out in Napa County, the station posted updates from an interview with a Spanish-speaking Cal Fire public information officer on the fire’s size, what firefighters’ shifts look like, and how the aerial attack would unfold.
Even before ICE raids were top of mind for so many, the station began hosting a regular paid program with attorneys from K&G Immigration Law, which has offices across the North Bay.
Marcencia said this program largely teaches people “what to do,” in the face of raid fears and immigration questions through “tip-driven” information, he said.
They usually join Garcia’s mid-day show, with Garcia fielding questions either from callers or via WhatsApp messages, Marcencia said.
When speaking about the widespread fear and the importance of being prepared, Garcia uttered a common phrase, “El saber es el poder,” or “knowledge is power.”
And, to counter the heaviness of immigration, she typically offers “motivational,” programming, with “mental, emotional and spiritual” tips and “a little bit of gossip,” she said with a laugh.
It’s not uncommon to encounter other types of practical information, like the “adoptable pet of the week” or how to care for a guinea pig, Marcencia said. Garcia mentioned that the station has partnered with a number of local organizations, whether as advertisers, paid programs or show guests, she said.
On this day for example, not far from Garcia, Esmeralda Gil, interim executive director of Puertas Abiertas, sat in a nearby studio before she recorded an ad. The community resource center, which serves mostly Latino community members, was announcing a new home where people can access its services.
And just as it is important for some listeners to know where they could get help with form filing or financial literacy, Garcia underscored the balance she and her team tried to strike.
“We bring happiness, but we also bring information,” she said.
And, she wants listeners to know “they’re not alone … we’re here to support them.”
How to listen
KBBF: kbbf.org, 89.1-FM
KRRS, La Maquina Musical: lamaquinamusical.us, 105.7-FM, 1460-AM or 94.7-FM
KVON, MegaMix: kvon.com, 96.9-FM or 1440-AM
You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @sawhney_media.