Ida Choy

by Jay-E Shih, '98

Ida Choy's soft voice has touched thousands of Chinese in the San Francisco area.

She has served as a radio programmer and anchor at several San Francisco stations with Chinese-language programs since graduating from the University of Oregon in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in Telecommunication and Film.

Choy is a call-in radio show host and program manager at Chinese Information Radio, which is owned by Sing Tao Daily--a daily newspaper based in Hong Kong. She helped start up the station, which began broadcasting on April 8, 1996, from inside the Sing Tao Daily building in Chinatown. Choy estimates an average of 200,000 Chinese-speaking people tune in to her station daily.

"We mean a lot to our listeners," Choy said. People like to call in and chat. We receive a lot of gifts, too."

Most of the programs are in Cantonese, the dialect spoken in Hong Kong and Canton. There also are a few in Mandarin, the official language of China. The station's target listeners are mostly factory workers, housewives, people who work out of their homes, and drivers.

Sometimes even Sacramento listeners can receive the frequency. The station's primary competitors are Chinese television stations, she said.

"We are the only Chinese program on the air in the afternoon. There is only one other station. People have to buy a specific type of radio to listen to its programs," Choy said.

Choy has become well-known in the Chinese community because she's been a radio news anchor for years. Currently, she hosts a morning call-in program called "Lifestyle Hotline." She brings in people working in different professions such as stock market analysis, health, consumer issues, and law.

She also is the station's program manager. Choy uses many different kinds of programs: those produced by the station, shows purchased from Hong Kong or Taiwan radio stations, and infomercials. The station also has contracts with notable Chinese people, such as Ming Lin We, a famous news analyst who gives weekly Hong Kong updates.

Because the station is small, Choy's job as program manager is the same as at any large radio station--and more. In addition to her work as program manager, she networks with the local Chinese community, handles administration, hires staff, oversees the advertising department and trains new anchors. With this job, she faces a lot of challenges such as personnel issues. Last year, Choy had about 35 people working for the station, but they had to cut back to only 15 this year.

She said she loves the opportunity broadcasting gives her to learn and to meet interesting people, such as San Francisco's mayor. However, working in media targeting a Chinese-speaking audience is not as financially rewarding as working in the mainstream, she said.

"Our salaries are very far from Connie Chung. But they are still decent," said Choy.

Choy immigrated to Portland from Hong Kong in 1973 with her family. She chose to work in San Francisco because, as a minority, she thought she would have a better chance of finding a job in broadcasting in a large city.

Choy said the job is very rewarding to her.

"It's been the horizon of my career," Choy said.