Entravision Radio, a division of Entravision Communications Corp. long considered an innovator in segmenting the Spanish-language radio market, has introduced a new format: “Jose: Toca lo que Quiere.”

The name translates to “Jose: Play What We Want” and is aimed at Hispanic adults ages 25-54. It features artists such as Vicente Fernandez and Los Angeles Negros, adult contemporary music dating from the 1970s to today.

Given the name, Jose could be seen as a Spanish-language version of Infinity Broadcasting Corp.’s Jack format, which targets generally the same age group’s nostalgia for the music of its youth. However, L.A.-based Entravision says that the comparison is not complete.

“Yes, people do make the comparison and Jose is similar, but we think stronger than Jack,” said Entravision spokeswoman Kim Holt. “Jack swings back and forth between genres, from Twisted Sister to Crystal Gayle, while Jose sticks to one genre, more of the soft pop end of the Mexican regional format. We think that will encourage our listeners to listen longer.”

Entravision originated the much-copied pop format they call Super Estrella heard locally on KSSC-FM (107.1) featuring artists such as Shakira and Ricky Martin who also have a significant non-Hispanic fan base.

For now, Jose is launching at five stations, including Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto in California, with no announcement yet on whether it could eventually replace programming at any of Entravision’s three L.A. stations.

Polling Detailed


Like polls? A new partnership between the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg News will result in more of them from both news organizations.

Under the deal, Bloomberg will co-sponsor at least 10 national polls a year. The financial news service will not add personnel to the polling unit, but the two news organizations will collaborate on topics and questions while splitting the costs.

“It also gives us a chance to do more in-depth polling, where you can get more chewy stuff about what people really think,” said Times Washington bureau chief Doyle McManus, who will coordinate joint polling with Bloomberg starting in January.

Al Hunt, executive editor of Bloomberg’s Washington bureau, also said he wants to contract for some national polls that the Times might not be interested in running itself. The Times also will continue its own polls on regional topics, such the coming special election.

The arrangement comes at a time when polling has become increasingly costly. The rise of cell phones and caller ID services make it harder to gather a representative sample of respondents, forcing pollsters to call more people than in the past.

The Times conducts its polling from an in-house unit headed by poll director Susan Pinkus, who directs a staff of five and an on-call crew of 160 part-time interviewers. The unit typically churns out around two dozen polls in a presidential year and half that in the off-years.

Harry Pinchon, a University of Southern California professor who has extensive polling experience as president of the Tom & #225;s Rivera Policy Institute, says more than ego can be involved in a media company deciding to do its own polling in-house.

“Any particular data set can be interpreted 50 ways, so there’s a tendency among polling professionals to think that their poll is going to be more accurate than the other guy’s because they have more control,” he said.

While around a dozen media polls tracked the 2004 presidential race, Pinchon says the L.A. Times-Bloomberg match potentially offers some interesting West Coast-East Coast synergies that the predominately East Coast-based sponsors of the other national polls can’t easily match.

DirecTV Consolidation


DirecTV Group Inc.’s Latin America unit will create 30 new positions at its broadcast center in Long Beach as it consolidates the operations of its two U.S. broadcast centers.

The El Segundo-based satellite TV service is cutting 100 jobs in Miami Lakes, Fla. and will close the center in the second quarter of 2006. Those operations will move to the Long Beach center. Bruce Churchill, president of DirecTV Latin America, said in a statement that the company was seeking to cut costs and improve efficiency.

At the same time it is consolidating operations, DirecTV will expand its Spanish-language channel lineup by launching SUR Mexico, a new channel in association with SUR Corp. It will feature a selection Mexico’s best regional networks and be available on the DirecTV Para Todos service.

On the Prowl


Salem Communications Corp. is again in acquisition mode.

The Camarillo-based religious radio broadcaster has purchased the print and online assets of Singing News Magazine, a Southern gospel music magazine with 200,000 readers that has been published in Nashville, Tenn.

Salem also announced several radio station purchases and strategic station swaps. It will spend $10 million to buy two more stations in the Orlando, Fla. market from Alton Rainbow Corp. and TM2 Inc., respectively. That came on the heels of last month’s acquisition of an Orlando AM station from James Crystal Florida Inc. and a Detroit AM station from Christian Broadcasting System Ltd. Both deals involved swaps.

Salem will own 105 radio stations when all the announced transactions are completed, including 66 stations in 24 of the top 25 markets.

Kid Disney


The launch of a new Walt Disney Co. parenting magazine called Wondertime lies in the hands of VitroRobertson, the largest ad agency in San Diego.

Owned by MDC Partners of Toronto, VitroRobertson is no stranger to the Magic Kingdom, having worked on Disney educational DVD programs that include Little Einstein and Baby Einstein.

Wondertime, a quarterly magazine aimed at mothers with children from infants up to 6-year-olds, is expected to hit newsstands in February. Christina Mahan, senior account executive for VitroRobertson, expects the magazine to have more than a “few hundred pages,” with about half of it being advertising-driven. “We’re targeting major ad agencies with clients that have children and baby accounts,” Mahan said.

The magazine will sell for $4.95 on newsstands. An introductory subscription offer of 10 issues for $10 will also be offered, Mahan said.

VitroRobertson plans to start an aggressive ad blitz in such trade journals as Advertising Age, as well as other online and print outlets.

*Staff reporter Deborah Crowe can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 232, or by e-mail at

dcrowe@labusinessjournal

.com. San Diego Business Journal reporter Marion Webb contributed to this column.