Earlier this month, there was a shake-up in Spanish-language radio as 18 large-market stations throughout the U.S. are being sold. Some are understood to be ultraconservative, and the new buyer it’s a group run mainly by Democrats. The stations include Radio Mambi in Miami.

In an interview with Radio Ink, Latino Media Networks co-founder Stephanie Valencia spoke about various topics, including the plans for the radio stations, along with the one in South Florida, which has been at the heart of tension over this takeover. 

The first question asked to Valencia was about the decision to launch their network, which is an initiative “to help Latinos make sense of the world and their place in it.”

“Latino Media Network is a content creation and distribution company that is intended to help Latinos make sense of the world and their place in it,” Valencia said.

“There’s an ocean of information that Latinos are navigating in the world today, and they are looking for trusted voices, messengers, and platforms to make sense of the world.”

When it comes to the plans for stations like Radio Mambi in Miami, Valencia says that their intention isn’t to turn to station into a one that gears to Liberals.

“No, and we are not intending for this to be political in the Democratic and Republican sense of the word. Part of what we want this to do is build empowerment for Latinos. Radio is an important platform to help shift the sense of our own identity and belonging in this county. Part of the challenge we have as Latinos isn’t that people don’t see us.”

“In fact, we’re invisible in a lot of cases to many different people, but that we don’t see ourselves as being influential or that we don’t belong here. That we feel like guests here in this country. So part of the notion of our own ability to create power and empowerment among Latinos is our own ability to see ourselves as belonging here and being influential as well.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) made headlines calling for the Supreme Court justices to be impeached for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, leading SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly to label the congresswoman a “moron.”

Kelly joined Newsmax’s Eric Bolling on Monday night to discuss the rollback of federal protections for abortion rights, which is when the conversation shifted to the remarks made by Ocasio-Cortez. 

“Well, I’ll distinguish between the two because I think AOC is a moron,” Kelly said. “I think Elizabeth Warren is smart — she’s ideological and not necessarily aligned with you or with myself.”

“I think AOC is not that smart, and she really just wants to be a star. She’s sort of a Kardashian in Congress. I guarantee you she hasn’t read the decision, and I guarantee you she has no understanding of what substantive due process is or the history of any of what she’s talking about.”

The radio host stated that the impeachment motion was “ridiculous” and predicted it “will go nowhere.” Furthermore, Kelly wrote off the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh accusations, saying, “all the justices play a little fast and loose with how they’re going to decide cases and how they’re going to treat precedent.”

NPR has a new Vice President of Programming and New Content Development as the company has elevated Yolanda Sangweni to the position, the radio station announced in a press release.

Since joining NPR, Sangweni has supervised the launch of new projects by the station, such as “The Limits with Jay Williams,” the growth of “It’s Been a Minute,” and the innovation of a new radio show for NPR’s history podcast “Throughline,” which recently won a Peabody Award.

“I am so excited to take on this new role,” Sangweni said. “It’s such an incredible opportunity to bring more stories and voices to NPR. I hope to expand NPR’s programming in a way that is rich in nuance, culturally resonant, with a high standard of excellence.”

“And I get to do it with the best of the best-the content development team and journalists behind shows like Throughline, Code Switch, and It’s Been a Minute, who are truly world-class.”

Sangweni brings plenty of experience before arriving at NPR in 2020, as she spent time with Luminary, where she was the Director of Programming and Editorial. 

Furthermore, Sangweni spent nine years working for Essence, starting as an entertainment editor and eventually becoming their Digital Content Director overseeing the organization’s multi-platform digital content strategy.

“Yolanda is a caring, dynamic content leader who has already moved NPR forward in so many ways,” Senior VP for Programming and Audience Development Anya Grundmann said. 

“She has overseen award-winning work, built high-functioning teams, and crafted initiatives that will be transformational in our efforts to make NPR relevant to new audiences traditionally under-served by public media. I’m thrilled that she will be positioned to have even greater impact in her new role.”