KPCC turns to sports for Latino co-host with Madeleine Brand *

Big day for radio items so far. The latest is about KPCC, which as you may remember began looking last year for a Latino host to pair with Madeleine Brand and take the show national. Target audience: "the new American mainstream," with a focus on "Latino and other multi-ethnic audiences." Turns out the host will be A. Martinez, who has held a number of sports radio gigs in Los Angeles, including at XTRA Sports 690, XTRA Sports 1150, some Dodgers work and most recently as a host at ESPN Radio. He also has done guest stints on KPCC. He joins Brand as co-host starting Monday, according to the LA Weekly:

This morning marked the last broadcast of KPCC's the Madeleine Brand Show. Don't fret, your favorite Babe of NPR will still be heard weekday mornings on Southern California Public Radio--she'll just be bantering with a swarthy new co-host.

Brand, who has hosted the eponymous hour-long show since 2010, announced this morning that starting Monday she will share billing with A. Martinez from ESPN Radio. Henceforth, the Madeleine Brand Show will be known as Brand and Martinez.

Martinez's bio says that he grew up in Koreatown, graduated from Daniel Murphy High School, played baseball for Los Angeles City College and graduated from Cal State Northridge with a journalism degree. He hosted "Dodgertalk" starting in 2000.

* Monday update: KPCC posted an announcement on the new Brand and Martinez show without mentioning any plans about going national or adding an hour. "Don't worry, we're not changing much," says the blog item. "We've added a new cast member."

Last year:
KPCC to 'evolve' Madeleine Brand into national Latino show
KPCC refines job posting for new co-host