Hispanic reporters seek equality
A local Telemundo affiliate may see lessened advertising unless parent NBC agrees to make concessions to the Spanish-language TV station’s reporters.
A union that represents about 3,000 Chicago television and radio broadcasters has asked advertisers to boycott Telemundo until reporters on the station receive pay and benefits equal to their counterparts on the English-language station.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) says that the nine on-air reporters and anchors at WSNS-TV/Channel 44 (a Telemundo affiliate) earn a median salary of $54,000, while those with similar jobs at WMAQ-TV/Channel 5 (an NBC affiliate) are guaranteed a starting salary of at least $78,000.
NBC purchased Telemundo during the spring for about $1.98 billion in cash and stock. The smaller Spanish-language station’s newsroom will merge with the Channel 5 newsroom sometime next year.
Union leaders have also charged that NBC executives are attempting to stop Channel 44 employees from joining the union, which could help the employees to fight for equal benefits and pay.
Paper to publish column in Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language will receive a regular spot for the first time in more than 50 years in a widely circulated publication on the Islands. The Hawaiian-language column, called Kauakukalahale, or “the rain of Honolulu,” will run every week in Sunday’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
Laiana Wong, who will edit the column with colleague Kekeha Solis, said, “The word ‘kukala’ is the word to announce, to proclaim. That’s what news does, like a bulletin. … Water, of course, is a source of wealth in Hawaiian, so information is the new kind of rain.”
Many subjects will be featured in the column, including people, news, comics and even recipes. Readers also will be able to submit articles, Wong said.
Hawaiian is used in newsletters and some newspapers, such as Ka Wai Ola o OHA, which is put out by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. It has not been seen in either of the two state dailies, the Star-Bulletin or the Advertiser, in years.
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