In 2008, I was retained to develop programming strategy for HITN-TV, a Spanish-language public television network located in Brooklyn’s historic Navy Yard.
The recommendation: Create low-cost, primetime series that respond to the urgent information needs of around 50 million U.S. Latinos.
Immigration was the no-brainer as topic #1.
- With super-scarce resources, we went on to develop Inmigración 411.
- We delivered 27 x 30′ episodes that were packed with valuable information.
- The expert and charismatic host was the LA-based immigration lawyer Victor Nieblas.
And Now…
Ten years later, the immigration status and access to citizenship of foreign-born American residents are under ferocious threat.
As a former wetback, I wish that we could reassemble the team and the funding to remake Inmigración 411 for today’s harsh new world.
Do any of my readers have any ideas??
One-sheet
Here is a one-sheet sheet that we drafted at the time:
Inmigración 411 is a new program from HITN that addresses the urgent need expressed by U.S. Hispanics for information about U.S. Immigration Laws and their enforcement.
The program provides viewers an opportunity to present their most pressing questions to the program host, Victor Daniel Nieblas.
Victor is a Los Angeles attorney and director of the National Board of Governors for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Inmigración 411 guests range from senior legal professionals and INS officials to individuals who are deeply worried about their status.
The 30-minute, weekly, Spanish-language program is comprised of:
- Case studies of immigrants concerned about their status
- An immigration law update
- Victor Nieblas’s responses to telephone and email questions from viewers
- Interviews with experts and officials from the Center for Immigration Studies
- Endorsements of CBO’s (community-based organizations) and other sources of valuable information
Some of the program topics will be:
- Marriage / Matrimonio
- When the Applicant Dies / Aplicante Muere
- Legalization / Legalización
- Deportation / Deportación
- Family Petitions / Petición familiar
- Raids / Redadas
Credits
- Jose-Luis Rodriguez was founder and executive director of HITN.
- I EP’d the series. Nora Segovia was our AP in NYC.
- Pepe Lobo produced in LA. He and Victor were a pleasure to work with!
- BTW, Pepe produced Discovery’s very first original program back in the mid-Eighties.
- Florentina Balseca was HITN’s director of Programming.
- Our next series was College Admissions 411.
- It demystified the daunting U.S. process for applying to and paying for a university education.
- Pixeldust Studios delivered the graphics packages for both series.
Speaking Engagement:
AIDC 2017
Melbourne, March 5-8
Instant Documentary: So you think you know Live Video?
- LIVE! video is immediate, unscripted, and it loudly rings the bell for “authentic”.
- Broadcasters and Cab/Sat channels are green-lighting live prime time ‘events’ as well as series. And they’re commissioning hybrid forms of live content for their social media platforms. Their targets are the young viewers who are drifting away from the channels. Dominating the conversation is social media, where viewing of LIVE mobile video content has exploded.
- This panel explores how producers, channels and online content services are all testing live video solutions that will compete in a Facebook and YouTube world. The panelists describe the demanding editorial, technical and scheduling challenges of delivering LIVE programming.
- Learn why LIVE! is the wave of the future, driven by channels who are redefining themselves as video-based brands that operate across platforms, and as social media leaders double down on their investment in original video content.
Speakers
Laura Fleury, A&E, New York
Nicola Harvey, Buzzfeed, Sydney
Graham Wallington, WildEarth, Johannesburg
Michael O’Neill, ABC, Sydney
Moderator: Peter Hamilton (ex-Sunshine Tech)