Is this an option for CBS in Boston

[Garrett Wollman]

<<On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:36:10 -0400, "Bill O'Neill" <me@billoneill.us> said:

> As the Hispanic population further integrates (generation-wise) will the 
> demand for Spanish-language radio be as much in demand? Music, yes, but 
> language?  Just a thought. I know this was brought up here a few years 
> ago and generated some interesting feedback.

The jury is still out on that one.  The Brazilian (I believe) family
next door to me named their youngest child "Matthew", and at five his
English sounds much like the other five-year-olds' in the
neighborhood.  On the other hand, Brazilians are not Hispanics, so
that doesn't really answer your question.

There have certainly been notably successful stations running a
bilingual English-Spanish format, with mix-and-match music and jock
patter in whatever language comes out first.

The big question is, to what extent will Spanish speakers going
forward follow the pattern of previous generations, in which the
"native" language is usually lost by the third generation.  (Leaving
aside, if you will the political question of whether you think this is
good or not.)  This was true of nearly all non-English-speaking
communities over the past century, even among internal migrants; my
mother's parents deliberately stopped speaking French at home when
they moved from Maine to Connecticut because they thought using
English at home would help their children fit in better with the
Italians and the Poles in their new home town.  But today, with many
more media choices and far more goods and services intended for
Spanish-speakers, there may be less social pressure to conform to the
majority language.

-GAWollman