Sometimes it seems the media outnumber illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Alan Gionet, who trekked to the desert with photog Eric Blumer, hopes to shed a different light on the issue with the first of his new series, “Tough Questions” (10 p.m. Sunday, KCNC-Channel 4).
“I don’t want it to be the same old shtick,” said Gionet, brought back to Denver in March to anchor the weekend news at Channel 4. “What I tried to do is, ‘Tell me something I don’t know.”‘
What he found in the area around Nogales and Douglas, Ariz., might surprise some. “When the border shuts down in some areas, people move to other areas. They’re moving to some really horrible areas. People are dying. There is a real issue in the deaths of these people.”
Gionet doesn’t subscribe to the bigger-wall theory. “We looked at what works and what doesn’t. That’s the point of ‘Tough Questions.”‘
Custody fight
It’s not all witless banter. Local radio can be a behind-the- scenes battle too.
John Hayes, program director at KCUV 102.3-FM, went on the air the other day to make a mysterious announcement that an in-house performance by the band Indigenous was canceled “due to political pressure from another radio station with a big, powerful owner.”
No station named but we now know it was Clear Channel outlet KBCO 97.3-FM that squelched Indigenous’s appearance because it wanted the band for its own Studio C.
Nevertheless, KCUV will continue to play Indigenous’ single, “Fool Me Again,” Hayes said, because “it’s about the music.” Management at KBCO did not return calls.
Weekend highlights
Today
Two sides of high school life are contrasted in back-to-back showings of “Blackboard Jungle” and “American Graffiti” (6 p.m., Turner Classic Movies).
Saturday
Comedian Cedric the Entertainer shows off his versatility in “Taking You Higher,” shot in L.A. in April (8 p.m., HBO).
Sunday
Global warming – real or Chicken Little? Tom Brokaw looks at the complexities in “What You Need to Know” (7 p.m., Discovery Channel).
Around the dial
No way: Reporter/sometimes anchor Whei Wong has left KDVR-Channel 31 to become communications director for Douglas County schools. … Liberal radio host Al Franken back in town on Aug. 24 as part of “Stand Up 4 Change” at the Paramount Theater. Top ticket a tidy $100. Info at 303-830-8497. … Dom and Jane, the morning crew at KIMN 100.3-FM, host their free concert, featuring the Angie Stevens Band and The Trampolines, at 6 tonight at Clement Park in Littleton. … Quotable: “I like to do ‘issue’ stories. It’s great if you’re a reporter.” Alan Gionet
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
