SERIES OF REPORTS ON IMMIGRATION

An upcoming series of reports on KCBS-TV Channel 2 about the impact of the recently passed immigration reform law will be simulcast in Spanish on radio station KALI-AM (1430).

Starting Monday at 5:40 p.m., Penny Griego will begin a series of five-minute reports to be presented in English for KCBS viewers and airing simultaneously in Spanish for KALI listeners.

Bilingual simulcasts are nothing new for Los Angeles broadcasters. KTLA Channel 5 broadcasts a Spanish-language version of its evening news over a separate audio channel for specially-equipped television sets.

But KCBS officials said that “Out of the Shadows,” which seeks to explain the immigration law passed by Congress last year and the problems it poses for illegal aliens, is the first TV report also to be produced for a Spanish-language radio simulcast.

Henry Mendoza, the report’s field producer, acknowledged that the series was planned as part of the February ratings sweeps.

The bilingual connection was his idea, Mendoza said. “The people it most affects don’t speak English. If you really want to get the message out, you’ve got to make it available to them” in Spanish, he said.