From daily news to critical emergency updates, Radio Saigon KREH in Houston, Texas, a Bustos Media station, is a vital source of necessary information for the city’s Vietnamese community.
The station was founded in 1999 by journalists Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy, a husband and wife who are both award-winning war correspondents from South Vietnam. “Our heart is radio,” Vu told NAB’s Melissa Eastlake in an interview for Asian American-Pacific Islander Heritage Month. “It is in our blood. It’s a calling, it’s a passion, it’s a mission.”
“I know this station is the community’s lifeline. That’s what they call it,” Vu said.
“It meets all the needs of the community. We take everybody’s questions about anything from politics, from medical, to legal, educational, real estate, everything.”
Vu noted the station’s services are especially vital during natural disasters and other emergencies. “During Hurricane Katrina, more than 30,000 Vietnamese evacuated from Louisiana to Texas, and because of our radio station, everybody opened their homes for them,” Vu said. “I heard the people from Louisiana had been living in their cars, using the restroom in a Vietnamese mall here. So, I came and made a report right away. I realized that’s what we’re supposed to do because we’ve been refugees. And so that’s why I reported that on the radio.”
“I think the radio is the best way to connect people.”
“You can get on the air and turn on the mic and then you can talk exactly to people,” Vu said. “You can hear what they need and then you can ask other people in the community. Is someone living near that area that can bring food to that family, that can bring gas and help medicine to that person? And people do.”
Getting this in-depth information in Vietnamese is truly life-changing information for many of Bustos Media’s KREH listeners. “Many people, when they came here, they don’t speak the language. They have to depend totally on their children.” Proudly, Vu adds, “They tell me before they had to ask their kids, what’s happening? Now, the kids come home and ask what’s happening.”
“Our listeners can adjust to live in the U.S. better and become a part of the community. They tell us it’s the first time they feel that they belong to this country and they can contribute.”
Earlier this year, Bustos Media President Amador Bustos wrote in Radio Ink about this special role ethnic radio stations serve in communities across the country. “We provide a unique and vital service. Many of these stations’ audience are non-English speakers and will be underserved by general market media. During the COVID-19 pandemic, during major fires and hurricanes Bustos Media stations have played an outsized role in keeping these listeners safe, informed and healthy.”
Learn more about local radio’s role in America’s communities, and what you can do to protect radio’s future.
