Atencion Spanish-speaking broadcasting professionals! Your multi-lingual skills are being sought to fulfill the need for the growing numbers of Hispanic broadcast outlets.
Lombard-based Illinois Center for Broadcasting’s program, starting Jan. 15, was in response to broadcast executives who said they had trouble finding well-trained, qualified Spanish-speaking broadcast graduates to fill entry level positions, said ICB school director Patrick Johnsen.
So far, the response has been “very large” to their recruitment quest, said Johnsen.
Having Spanish-speaking instructors makes sense, since Hispanics account for 26% of the Chicago population and around 14% of the U.S. population.
The growth of Spanish radio and television stations across the country has been monumental, Johnsen noted. In major media markets like Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, Miami, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Kansas City, and Seattle, the Spanish share of the market is as much as 30% or more of the media outlets.
Chicago alone has seven Spanish radio stations and two Spanish network outlets. Los Angeles has 18 radio stations and eight TV outlets, with Hispanic shows often topping the ratings.
