Free Republic

McALLEN — Some of the biggest names in conservative talk radio have been stripped of their microphones — at least in the Rio Grande Valley. Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage are among the radio talk show hosts who will no longer have a spot on the local airwaves after Clear Channel pulled the plug on Brownsville’s KVNS News Talk 1700 AM. The station has switched over to a new Spanish format that will play songs from the 1970s to 1990s. The three-year-old station couldn’t draw a large enough audience, said operations manager Billy Santiago. “We couldn’t get any...

Rock 'n' roll may never die, but Modesto's active rock station has bitten the dust. New Rock 96.7 FM, a Clear Channel station, switched to the Spanish-language format "La Preciosa" early Tuesday. It now broadcasts a Spanish variety format,

SAN ANTONIO -- A segment warning undocumented immigrants about immigration agents could be delaying San Antonio's leading Spanish-language radio station from renewing its license. In the recurring KROM-Radio segment, callers report sightings of immigration agents. “Estreo Latino'' disc jockeys then alert listeners about the location of limones verdes, or “green limes.'' The words refer to the dark green Border Patrol uniforms and green-lined SUVs. Since the segment started five years ago, there hasn't been public outcry. No complaints by the Border Patrol, which has an eight-agent office in San Antonio. But retired Houston lawyer Joe Ray Blalack has asked the...

San Antonio's leading Spanish-language radio station could be forced off the air or face fines over a quirky controversy juxtaposing immigrants and green limes. A recurring segment started five years ago by KROM-Radio "Estéreo Latino" involves people calling in to report sightings of immigration agents in the city. The station's disc jockeys then alert listeners, particularly undocumented immigrants, to steer clear of the named locations. No actual mention of federal agents is made — DJs speak of limones verdes, or "green limes," a euphemistic reference to Border Patrol agents, who traditionally don olive-green uniforms and drive green-lined SUVs. Curiously enough,...