Posted on April 28, 2005

Ad Putting L.A. in Mexico Called Slap in Face

Anna Gorman and Susana Enriquez, Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2005

New billboards advertising a Spanish-language newscast on KRCA-TV Channel 62 were intended as an attention-grabber for its core audience, but instead have struck a nerve with activists seeking to curb illegal immigration.

The billboards show two cable newscasters sitting in front of the downtown skyline, with “Los Angeles, CA” printed above. The “CA” is crossed out, and “Mexico” is stamped alongside in bright red letters. Underneath are the Spanish words, “Tu ciudad. Tu equipo.”—Your city. Your team.

“This is almost a poster-board for illegal immigration,” said Peter Amundson, a volunteer with the California Republican Assembly. “This is America. We’re a land of immigrants—legal immigrants. This is not Mexico. This is the United States.”

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Executive Vice President Lenard Liberman said Noticias 62 was a popular news program in Los Angeles and noted that people of Mexican descent made up a large portion of the city.

“We tell the story behind L.A.., and we tell the story behind Mexico,” he said. “If they find that offensive, I’m sorry. But you just have to drive around L.A. to know that this is a Hispanic city.”

Burbank-based Liberman Broadcasting owns 16 Spanish-language radio stations and four television stations around the nation. The company leased the billboard space from Clear Channel Communications, which began putting up the ads last week. There are roughly 75 posters with the same message going up around the region, said Tony Alwin, a senior vice president for Clear Channel.

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Stuart Fischoff, who teaches media psychology at Cal State L.A., said the billboard was like “sticking a finger in your eye” to immigration reformers. “The joke here is, ‘We’re taking back California,’” Fischoff said. “Underneath the joke is part of the truth.”

Read the rest of this story here.


At Least it’s Not “Alta California”

Lonewacko Blog, April 25, 2005

WND has a picture of a billboard for Los Angeles TV station KRCA (62 UHF). The billboard contains the words “Los Angeles, CA”. Except, the “CA” part has been crossed out and replaced with the word “MEXICO.” And, a Mexican monument has been superimposed on the L.A. skyline.

The subtitle of the ad reads: “Your City. Your Team.” Now, in the normal context of a local TV news broadcast that would be a normal slogan. However, in this context the bit about “Your City” takes on a whole new meaning.

The owner of KRCA appears to be “KRCA License Corp.”, which appears to be a DBA for Liberman Broadcasting. You might have heard from them before: they produced Gana la Verde, the show where contestants ate worms in an attempt to get an immigration lawyer who might get them a green card.

And, in the “at least we have something in common” department, GLAAD issued this press release a couple months ago: “GLAAD, NCAVP Lead Coalition Calling on Liberman Broadcasting Corp. to Stop Airing Violent Anti-Gay Content”. Perhaps as a result of their complaint, Nissan, Chevrolet and Kentucky Fried Chicken stopped advertising on the shows in question. Maybe those companies would be interested in U.S. sovereignty as well.

Corporate information on Liberman is here and here.

Read the rest of this story here.