News that KPMR is eliminating its newscast, Noticias Univision Costa Central, has sparked community reaction. The last show is currently slated for Dec. 30.
A group of community leaders, led by Silvia Uribe, co-chair for the Latino Democratic Caucus, held a conference yesterday urging Entravision to keep the Spanish-language newscast on the air.
Uribe pointed out that for the past 8 years the show has been on the air, it has established a trust and credibility among viewers.
According to Noozhawk, a Santa Barbara local news site, community advocates argue that eliminating the newscast “would leave more than 200,000 community members in California’s Central Coast uninformed and at constant risk during a state of emergency.”
In an email statement sent to Noozhawk, Station Manager Gabe Quiroz said: “KPMR will continue to provide our viewers with news and information that is important to them — including news and information related to local emergencies and other events — through the broadcast of Univision’snationally-syndicated evening news, public service announcements, community calendars, information provided on the station’s Web site and other local initiatives.”