Rise of Asian American Violence, UNMH Stroke Center & Media Diversity | 4.2.21

On New Mexico in Focus… The Asian American community held a rally in downtown Albuquerque this week in response to an increase in violent and harassing incidents across the state. That surge mirrors what is happening all over the country in the wake of charged and divisive language about the COVID-19 virus. It was just about two weeks ago that eight people were killed, six of them females of Asian descent, in a mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. Police officials were reticent from the start to call the shootings a hate crime. Host Gene Grant talks with members of the local Asian American/Pacific Islander community about how bad things have gotten here in New Mexico, and what can be done to turn the tide. Diversity has also been a huge challenge for years when it comes to local news coverage. Those concerns include not only the diversity of faces that deliver the news, but also the types of stories that are told. Gene Grant recently sat down with Albuquerque’s first African American president and general manager at a major news station, Lori Waldon of KOAT-TV. The two talk about the importance of who tells our stories and what those stories say about our communities. Gene Grant also sits down with three people at the center of a major development on the local public health front. The University of New Mexico Hospital was recently certified as the state’s first comprehensive stroke center. They discuss how this new designation will lead to faster and effective treatment for stroke patients, not just in Albuquerque, but across New Mexico. Host:  Gene Grant  No Line Opinion Panel Segments: Rise of Asian American/Pacific Islander Violence  Host: Gene Grant  Guests:   Kristelle Siarza, volunteer executive director, Asian Business Collaborative  Sachi Watase, executive director, New Mexico Asian Family Center Diversity in the Local Media Landscape Host: Gene Grant  Guest:  Lori Waldon, general manager and president, KOAT-TV UNM Hospital’s Comprehensive Stroke Center Host: Gene Grant  Guests:  Andrew Carlson, MD, neurosurgeon  Torsten Rohde, RN, director of UNMH Stroke and Heart Failure Programs  Michael Torbey, MD, chair of the UNM Department of Neurology