Florida radio WAFC-FM switches from English to Spanish

Hmm? I thought English was the One Language to Rule Them All and only a matter of time before it swallows up all the rest of the world?

For more on why the spread of languages is more complicated than one might think (that is, it's not just a simple powerful-languages-eat-up-and-destroy-smaller-languages type of phenomenon), see this post.

Article:

Since 1980 Robbie Castellanos and Jim Johnson have been running Hendry and Glades county's radio stations, head-quartered in Clewiston. Florida. Broadcasting country music in English on their FM station and in Spanish on the AM station, WAFC FM is now all Spanish, simulcasting it's [sic] AM programming "Radio Fiesta."

The Glades Media Group, owners of the original stations in Clewiston, now operate seven radio stations in South Florida, "providing advertisers with a coast-to-coast platform," according to their advertising.

The Spanish stations have over the years provided Castallanos and Johnson with their profit center. With declining radio listeners nationwide, and most likely in the local area as well, and the growing numbers of Latinos, it looks like WAFC will cater to the Spanish listener.

From the Glades Media Group website, a pitch to advertisers, "Now that the Hispanic population has officially overtaken black Americans as the nation's largest minority group, the Glades Media Group is in the perfect position to help you reach them. The Hispanic population has grown almost four times faster than the rest of the country..."