Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 17 January 2003 — Page 2

PAGE A2

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2003

4

WHII-Univision to debut Feb. 3

HONORING I)K. MARTIN I l) I III K KIN(, |R.

IN KEEPING WITH HIS SPIRIT OF PEACE AND BROTHERHOOD, WE SALUTE THE DREAM OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING )R.

Indiana Republican Party

Spanish language TV station for city Special* to The Recorder Scott Blumenthal, regional vice president for the LIN Television Corp. has announced the launch of'WIIH-Univision For Indiana, a new television station that will begin broadcasting Feb. 3. “In response to the growing Hispanic population in Central Indiana, LIN Television and WISH-TV are pleased to announce the creation of WIIH, the first Univision network television station in Indiana,” said Blumenthal. “With the popularity of Univision and the strength and reputation of WISH-TV, we are very excited about this station’s potential and what it will have to offer our viewers.” When it comes to Spanish-lan-guage television in the U.S., Univision is No. 1 with an audience share approaching 80 percent in some time periods. In fact, every one of the top 20 programs in Spanish-speaking U.S. households is a Univision program. “Our network is the fifth-larg-est network overall, out delivering both WB and UPN in head-

to-head competition,” said Ray Rodriguez, president and chief operating officer of Univision. WIIH-Univision For Indiana’s broadcast schedule will include such popular network programs as “Privilegio de Amar” (“The Privilege of Love”) and “Sabado Gigante” (“Giant Saturday”), which just celebrated its 40 th year on the air. Additional syndicated programming and local educational, community affairs and newsprogrammingwill round out the station’s schedule. “Our stations (LIN Television) are best known for three things - their commitment to local news, community service and technology,” said Blumenthal. “But out of these three, news is our trademark.” WIIH-Noticias a las 11, a halfhour local news broadcast, will debut a month later on March 3. Blumenthal announced that a formal introduction of the anchor team would be released at a later date due to current talent negotiations. WIIH and WISH-TV will share many production and news resources including a new $4 million state-of-the-art, digital newsroom.

“This demonstrates once again our company’s commitment to be the first at enterprising opportunities that benefit the entire communityofviewers,”said LeeGiles, vice president and news director of WISH-TV and WIIH. “It’s an exciting, pioneering concept to share the talent and resources of News 8 to produce a daily, local newscast that will uniquely serve our Spanish-speaking viewers. With more time devoted daily and weekly to local news than any other Indiana television station, we are looking forward to adding this new broadcast of news and information to even better serve all of our viewers.” The WIIH offices and studio will be located in the recently constructed LIN Television Hub at 1950 N. Meridian St. The Midwest hub, also home of WISHTV, will ultimately house services for 16 of the LIN stations. For more information on WI I H-Univision For I ndiana and the complete Univision network schedule visit its Web site at www.indyunivision.com.

DRUG ► Continued from Page 1

drawbacks and complaints. Seniors who have received drug discount cards are happy that | stepsarebeingtakentoassisttheir needs concerning prescription drug costs, but are upset at the meager savings. “I want to know what makes the drug companies think that 1 can afford a prescription at $60 if I can’t afford it at $70?” questions 67-year-old Ray Plural. “I appreciate the small difference the card does make, but I think as senior citizens that buy a lot of prescriptions we deserve more savings.” Indiana has also developed a program to assist its senior residents. HoosierRx is a program created by Gov. Frank O’Bannon and the Indiana Legislature for

individuals who are 65 years old or older, an Indiana resident, does not have prescription drug coverage, and has a monthly income of $997 or less if single, and $1,344 or less if married. Eligible seniors who receive a HoosierRx drug card will enjoy the benefit of 50 percent off their prescription medicine. “HoosierRx is a state funded program that does not limit its enrollees to certain types of drugs and does not have a preferred drug list,” said HoosierRx policy analyst Lola Sawyer. “But, there is an annual benefit limit of $500, $700, or $1,000 depending on the seniors’ incomes.” Seniors question why the benefit is only 50 percent and why there is a benefit limit on their prescriptions. In order to help the large number of Indiana’s lowincome senior citizens, the 50 percent benefit extends the money

to the vast number of people who need assistance with the cost of their prescription medicine. The TogetherRx card is comparable to Indiana’s HoosierRx card, but has a benefit saving of only 20 to 40 percent compared to HoosierRx’s 50 percent. TogetherRx has a slightly higher income requirement of $28,000 for individuals and $38,000 for couples, which opens the door a little wider for approval. There are other options for seniors who do not have prescription drug coverage, including AffordableRx which is a consumer savings club established by volunteers. AffordableRx negotiates on the behalf of the individual with Licensed Canadian Pharmacies and claims it brings the absolute best prices and reliable service. Prices are cheaper in Canada because of governmental price controls.

Kv*

: ■ -V . r , , ' . small dreamers, with big dreams

NORDSTROM honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day