La Raza Condemns "Offensive" Ohio Radio Contest

Washington, DC - NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, today called on Columbus, Ohio radio station WTVN-AM and its parent company, Clear Channel, to apologize for the station's contest in which the "winner" received a free trip to Phoenix, Arizona "to spend a weekend chasing aliens and spending cash in the desert." NCLR will file a complaint in conjunction with other Latino civil rights and media organizations with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

"The passage of SB 1070 has provoked a lot of reprehensible anti-Latino and anti-immigrant rhetoric but a radio station bankrolling someone to 'hunt' human beings for sport represents a new low," stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. "The owners and directors of WTVN might think that this is all in good fun but what is happening to Latinos - citizen, legal, and undocumented alike - in Arizona is no joke. We are asking for an immediate and unequivocal apology from the station and its parent company."

Noting that the station's contest has triggered considerable outrage in Latino communities in Ohio, Arizona, and nationwide, Murguia concluded, "It is important to keep in mind that the American people own the airwaves over which WTVN broadcasts. As such, we will ask FCC Commissioners to ensure that threats against American citizens -- such as the one encouraged and promoted by WTVN - are not taken lightly and dealt with in an appropriate manner as soon as possible."

For more information, please visit www.nclr.org | www.facebook.com/nationalcounciloflaraza | www.myspace.com/nclr2008 | http://twitter.com/nclr.

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