Salt Lake City’s new sound
Inside the bold launch of Avanza, Utah’s Spanish-language public radio powerhouse
Creating a brand-new radio station serving Spanish-speaking Utahans isn’t something KUER initially set out to do. But through deep community engagement, unexpected opportunities and a bold vision, Avanza Radio was born.
How rare is a Spanish-language full-power public radio station in a Top 30 market? Pretty rare, it turns out. It’s time to talk about what happening in Salt Lake City and what’s being learned.
In this expanded OIGO, I present interviews with two central leaders in the creation of Avanza. Maria O’Mara is the executive director of KUER, Utah’s public radio station broadcasting from Salt Lake City, and its sister station PBS Utah, both licensed by the University of Utah. She shares how the station’s journey began with an invigorated community advisory board and evolved into the launch of a full-fledged public radio station in Utah. Later, Program Director Edgar Zuñiga reflects on building Avanza—from choosing its name and branding to fostering an engaged audience and developing meaningful content.
This is a special story. I hope you are inspired by this endeavor.
Let’s begin with Maria O’Mara. Her journalism career began as a reporter covering the Utah legislature, welfare reform, business and the environment for KUER. She then directed a variety of teams who produce news and information at the Salt Lake Observer, Deseret News, and KSL-TV. She left journalism for public relations in 2011, managing external communications at Rocky Mountain Power, before returning to the University of Utah as director of communication. She was the general manager of KUER from 2017 until 2020. 👇🏽
When you first started engaging with your community advisory board, did you ever imagine it would lead to launching a new station?
Not at all. That wasn’t the path we had in mind. But looking back, I can see that the foundation for Avanza Radio really started with the work we did in strengthening our community advisory board.
As a university-licensed station, KUER isn’t required by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to have an advisory board. We made a conscious decision to reimagine what that board should look like and what its role should be. We didn’t want it to be a programming board or a fundraising arm. Instead, we wanted a group that could give us honest, informed advice—especially from perspectives that differed from our management team.
So, we focused on making the board reflect Utah’s diversity in geography, ethnicity and age. We wanted members who would challenge us, and they did. I remember a specific meeting where, as everyone was leaving, one board member turned to me and said, “You’re doing good things here, but you’re doing nothing for the Latino community. We are the fastest-growing demographic in your market. You should be thinking about us more.”
That moment stuck with me. And because I knew that same board member would be back at the next meeting, it held me accountable. Surrounding yourself with people who push you to think differently makes all the difference.
You knew you needed to serve the Latino community better, but how did you land on launching a whole new station instead of, say, adding new programming to KUER?
At first, we considered other possibilities, like creating a streaming service. But then we learned that another station in town was going up for sale, possibly even up for auction. We also heard that out-of-state broadcasters were interested in acquiring the license.
At the same time, we were already in discussions about how to better serve Spanish-speaking audiences. The timing aligned in a way we couldn’t ignore. We started to seriously consider: What if we acquired this station? Could we start with syndicated programming, keep the license active, and then build local programming over time?
The idea resonated faster than we expected, and the University of Utah—our license holder—was incredibly supportive. One of the university’s core priorities is social impact, and expanding public media for underrepresented communities fit within that mission. The fact that they were already looking at ways to expand access on the more diverse west side of Salt Lake City helped reinforce that alignment.
Not only did the university approve the license purchase, but they also provided most of the funding to buy it outright. That meant we weren’t taking on debt to make this happen—a huge advantage.
The process moved incredibly quickly. The station never went to auction, and we negotiated directly with the seller, who supported our mission. We scrambled over the holidays to finalize everything legally and get the station on the air. Initially, we broadcast syndicated content from Radio Bilingüe for six months while we worked on hiring a team and developing local programming.
What advice do you have for cultivating relationships with university leadership, particularly when advocating for major initiatives like this?
I wish I had a step-by-step formula, but a big part of it comes down to relationships and trust.
I’m from Utah. I graduated from the University of Utah. And before KUER, I was the university’s director of communications. That background helped—not just because I knew the institution well, but because I had already built trust with key decision-makers. When you’ve been through tough communications challenges with people, they know how you operate. They trust you.
That said, I don’t think you need to have worked in university administration to build that trust. What’s important is being open, transparent, and proactive. I don’t take the approach of “laying low.” I want the university to feel like they can always reach out to me, and I want to be upfront about what we’re doing.
At the same time, I make it clear that while the university holds our license, it does so in public trust. KUER’s role is to serve all Utahans, and the university makes that possible. I say this often, both internally and externally, because it reinforces that this isn’t just a transactional relationship—it’s a shared responsibility.
What kind of community listening did you do as you were developing Avanza?
A lot—and we’re still doing it.
One of the biggest listening efforts we undertook was in Ogden. We identified the west side of Salt Lake City, West Valley City and Ogden as areas where we weren’t reaching audiences effectively. We initially focused on Ogden because we were considering opening a bilingual reporting bureau there.
We held virtual listening sessions in early 2021, right in the middle of a COVID spike. We didn’t just invite KUER listeners; in fact, we specifically looked for people who weren’t familiar with public media. The goal was to hear from the community itself, not just our existing audience.
These sessions were eye-opening. We heard about the need for job opportunities to keep young people in Ogden; concerns about gaps in the school system for students of color; and the role of arts and higher education—particularly Weber State University—in the community.
Ironically, Avanza’s signal currently doesn’t reach Ogden. However, one of the assets that came with our station purchase was a construction permit that will allow us to extend the signal. We haven’t done it yet, but it’s a priority. Meanwhile, we did hire a bilingual reporter, who has been covering Ogden’s Latino community. She doesn’t work for Avanza directly, but there’s collaboration happening across KUER.
Looking back, is there anything you wish you had known before starting this?
I underestimated how excited KUER’s existing staff would be about Avanza. I worried that people might see it as a drain on resources, but instead, there’s been a real sense of camaraderie.
We now have a weekly 15-minute stand-up meeting for Avanza, and staff from different departments—membership, sales, even the television station—regularly show up. They’re curious, they want to be involved, and they’re thinking creatively about how to support this new station. If I had known that from the start, I might have made some different decisions early on.
What advice do you have for other public media leaders considering a bold move like this?
Keep the dialogue open. Continue listening. We’re taking a different approach with Avanza than we have with our other stations. Before launching a new program, we run it by a focus group first. That slows things down, but it ensures we’re creating something people actually want.
At the heart of it, this is about being humble. We don’t claim to know what the audience wants—we ask. And we keep asking, even after we launch. That’s how we build something truly meaningful.
Now another perspective on Avanza’s launch, from Edgar Zúñiga, program director at KUUB 88.3.
Born in New York City to Colombian immigrant parents, Zúñiga first moved to Salt Lake City during middle school. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Mass Communication—Journalism and International Studies from the University of Utah. Throughout his 15-plus year media career, Zúñiga's journey took him to the East Coast, where he worked for NBC News and Telemundo Network. Most recently, he spent nearly a year and a half in Budapest, Hungary, as the American Red Cross Communications Delegate on the Ukraine Crisis Response. 👇🏿
How has the journey been for you, both personally and professionally, as you build Avanza?
It's been incredibly exciting to watch Avanza grow and to see the overwhelming support from industry colleagues, partners and, most importantly, the community. We started with a simple idea: there was a need for this kind of content and radio station, and we wanted to fill that gap. Seeing that theory validated has been humbling.
People tell me all the time, "I've always wanted a station like this in Salt Lake," or they mention how much they love our morning show, which we syndicate from UC Northridge in Southern California. That kind of feedback reassures us that we're on the right track.
What has the process been like for you as a first-time program director?
My background is in media—15 years as a producer in television news and nonprofit communications—but stepping into radio programming has been a new challenge. What makes a difference is my deep connection to this community.
This role isn’t just about knowing media; it’s about understanding the people we serve. I truly believe that to do this job well, you need to be from the community you're trying to reach. It's not enough to bring in a Latino professional from another state. They wouldn’t have the same understanding of Salt Lake’s audience.
Building the station has been both difficult and rewarding. We’ve engaged with focus groups, attended community events, and actively sought feedback to make sure we’re offering something that resonates. Hiring has also been a highlight—finding people who seem tailor-made for these roles, like they were waiting for this opportunity.
How did you land on the name “Avanza” for the station?
When I started, we had call letters and a frequency—nothing more. Naming the station was a huge process. We wanted something that represented movement, direction, and connection.
I brainstormed a list of ten names, and when we tested them in focus groups, "Avanza" stood out. To be sure, we held a community event with Salt Lake County Arts & Culture where over 100 people voted. Avanza won 2 to 1.
The word itself means “to advance” or “move forward,” which captures both our mission and the experience of our communities in the U.S.
How did you approach the station’s branding?
We wanted the branding to feel authentic—created by and for the community. I noticed a local Mexican restaurant with incredible branding and reached out to ask who designed it. That led us to Orlando Porras, a Latino designer from Utah who completely understood our vision.
The logo has a retro yet modern aesthetic, inspired by Latin American printmaking and block lettering. It features a monarch butterfly, a powerful symbol of migration and resilience, which exists both in Utah and throughout Latin America. The circular flourishes around the letters resemble musical notes, tying back to our radio roots. Our goal was for audiences to see it and instantly recognize it as their own.
What was your first broadcast day like?
We started small, with a two-to-three-minute segment called Conexión, where we interview nonprofits and share critical information with the Latinx community. Since Spanish-language public affairs programming is nearly nonexistent in Utah, we knew there was a demand for this kind of content.
Creating content without knowing exactly how it will be received is both exciting and daunting. But we listen closely to audience feedback and use data to guide us. Seeing our programming resonate with listeners makes it all worth it.
You’ve emphasized tracking audience data. Why is that important?
My background in commercial media taught me that numbers matter. Public media isn’t driven by ratings the way commercial stations are, but data still helps us measure impact.
When we first went on the air in early 2024, we had around 500 listeners. By the end of the year, that number had grown to 5,700—a tenfold increase. More importantly, our time spent listening is often between an hour and an hour and a half. That tells us that people aren’t just tuning in; they’re engaged.
One reason for this could be that our station offers Spanish-language music without commercial interruptions, something unique in this market.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to create something similar but feels limited by resources or experience?
I’m still new to this myself, so I don’t want to be overly prescriptive, but here’s what I’ve learned:
If you’re in media and see a gap in coverage—whether it’s for Latinx audiences, rural communities or another underserved group, speak up. Journalists and producers are often closer to the communities they cover than media executives. Use that knowledge to push for better programming.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Stations like Radio Bilingüe, The Drop in Denver, and KEXP in Seattle are doing incredible work. See what’s working and adapt it to your community’s needs. Also, authentic content comes from people who understand the audience firsthand. If your newsroom wants to improve its coverage of a specific group, you need to hire people from that group—not just as reporters but in decision-making roles.
Lastly, I’d say start small. We launched with Conexión—a simple, easy-to-produce segment. Now, we’re piloting a full-length 30-minute public affairs show. You don’t need a massive budget to make an impact; you just need creativity and a willingness to experiment.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is making sure your content resonates. If people feel heard and represented, they’ll keep coming back. 🟢
Cafecito: stories to discuss ☕
Winding down. America Amplified, which worked with public media organizations over the last six years on initiatives such as Spanish-language engagement, has announced its end. 💀
Expansion. The Business Journal reports that Radio Bilingüe has added stations in California, Texas, Oregon and New Mexico to its portfolio. 📻
New formats coming. Radio Ink covers two new formats now being distributed by the Hispanic Radio Network and possibly coming to your city. 👓 One is a Top 40 format inspired by radio in Spain, while the other is a “Jack FM”-style format utilizing Mexican regional music.
Tiny Desk. Anamaria Sayre (see my 2022 OIGO interview) was announced as the co-host of the new show, Tiny Desk Radio, coming to public broadcasting. 🎵
Covering communities. The Latino Media Consortium has announced its first event for March 25, a legal briefing webinar for publishers serving immigrant communities during this period. 🔥
El radar: try this 📡
Talk about Latine outdoors priorities. KNPR highlights the views of Latinos regarding conservation amid moves by the White House. It seems like a discussion to have with your residents. 🌳
Ask about your legislative Hispanic politics. The Great Transformation wades in on the debates over political caucuses, and it might be an interesting story to investigate locally. ✅ Mike Madrid argues that the political shifts should prompt everyone to reassess assumptions about the Latinx electorate and how lawmakers organize legislative interest groups.
Talk internally about big money opportunities. The Latino Donor Collaborative has issued its new report on the potential revenue available to media makers when they engage Hispanic audiences. 💸
The next OIGO arrives March 28. Join Paige Robnett and I this morning at 11 Eastern when we talk organizational culture with Nika White as part of her Intentional Conversations series. You can register here.
You can buy me a coffee to support OIGO.