This collection consists of the papers and audio cassettes collected and created by journalist and talk show host, Joe Ortiz. This collection also contains the papers related to Mr. Ortiz's successful public relations company, Joe Ortiz and Associated.



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Joe Ortiz has the distinction of being the first Mexican American in US history to conduct a talk show on an English-language, commercial radio station. He began his broadcasting career in 1971 at KABC TALK RADIO 790 AM in the highly competitive Los Angeles media market. He went on to become an award-winning broadcaster, news reporter and newspaper columnist in Los Angeles for over 20 years. Raised and educated through the religious principles of Catholicism, he drifted away from the Catholic Church in his late teens and instead became involved in civil rights, politics and other human endeavors. On January 5, 1975, after many years of living a hectic jet set lifestyle, he turned his life over to Jesus Christ and began attending services at various Assemblies of God churches in Southern California. After much Bible studies and growing in the Lord, on August 29, 1979, he formed what is now called God's Broadcaster Ministries, Inc. From 1979 to 1986, he traveled throughout the country evangelizing the Gospel and lecturing from his first book, Saved, What Do You Mean Saved? Fascinated by prophecy and end time's topics, and his journalistic penchant for delving into the true meaning of words found in the Bible, Joe began an extensive study of prophecy and eschatology, using various Greek and Hebrew dictionaries and concordances to provide him greater clarity as to what biblical words truly meant. As he continued studying the Bible, he began to notice inconsistencies in the prevailing pre-tribulation "Rapture" theory the Assemblies of God Church professed. Not wanting to offend his pastors or teachers at the churches he attended, he took a leave from his local church and his broadcasting activities to begin writing The End Times Passover in 1985. In 2006, after 20 years of research and writing, Joe self published his original manuscript into two books with Author House Publishers in Indiana, entitled The End Times Passover [Etymological Challenges to Millenarian Doctrines] and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation [The Sequel to The End Times Passover]. Throughout his researching and writing of The End Times Passover, he operated his own public relations company, Joe Ortiz & Associates, where he developed and implemented publicity services for numerous clients, including special events and fund raising campaigns that featured many celebrities and sports personalities, including Milton Berle, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rita Moreno, George Lopez, Vincent Bugliosi, Edward James Olmos, Pia Zadora, Freddy Fender, Sha Na Na, Paul Rodriguez, Boy George, Ricardo Montalban, as well as sports celebrities such as LA Dodgers Manny Mota and NFL Football legends Jim Plunkett and Tom Flores. He provided public relations services to numerous community organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, Manny Mota International Youth Foundation, Hollenbeck Youth Center, Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Salesian Boys and Girls Club. He also managed the press relations for many elected officials including California State Senator Diane Watson (now a member of the US Congress), former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (now deceased), and Los Angeles City Councilmen Richard Alatorre, Robert Farrell and John Ferraro (also deceased.) Prior to forming the company in 1988, Joe worked at various social service and public relations positions including Job Agent for the California State Employment Development Department; Parole Officer for the State of California; public information specialist for the Greater Los Angeles Community Action Agency; teacher/counselor at the Los Angeles Unified School District's Skills Center Program; Director of Employer Relations at South Bay College and as the National Director of Corporate Development for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. A 20-year veteran news reporter and talk show host, Joe Ortiz began hosting shows on KABC-AM 79 in 1971. He also conducted radio and television talk shows at KLOS-FM (72-73); KCBS (then KNXT) Television (72-74); KPFK-FM Radio (where he was Chief News Reporter from 75-76) and the "Prime Time With Joe Ortiz" show, which aired on KPPC-AM in Pasadena (85-86) and KPZE-AM in Anaheim (88-89). He also starred in a 6-9 a.m., weekday, drive time show (Mornings with Joe & Cris) with comedian Cris Franco at KPZE-AM Radio in 1989. His last stint on radio was in 1992 as a substitute host for Dennis Prager on KABC TALK Radio during the Persian Gulf War. In 1976, he received a Golden Mike Award for news reporting while at KPFK-FM Radio and the Angel Award for Best Talk Show Host in 1973 while hosting the shows The Siesta Is Over and Bienvenidos at KCBS Television in Los Angeles. In the November, 1989 issue of Hispanic Business, he was named to that national magazine's 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the US for his broadcasting excellence. Educated at the University of California at Riverside and UCLA, he holds California State credentials authorizing him to teach Public Relations, Public Affairs Broadcasting, Human Relations in Business, and Personnel Training and Related Occupations. He has taught at Riverside City College and both Los Angeles and Riverside Unified School Districts. In June 2000, he returned to his hometown of Indio, California and managed a family emergency homeless shelter in Palm Springs for three years. Now semi-retired due to physical injuries, he lives with his wife Martha, a Registered Nurse at a major southland hospital, and devotes much of his spare time to more extensive Bible research, as well as managing several blogs and web sites, and provides public relations consultation services to various nonprofit groups dedicated to unwed mothers, the homeless and youth services.

25 linear feet.

For students and faculty researchers of UCLA, all others by permission only. Copyright has not been assigned to the Chicano Studies Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archivist and/or the Librarian at the Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.