Look and Listen

Biography

Joe Ortiz was born in Indio, a small desert town in Southern California. After a stint in the Air Force as a military policeman, he became involved in community and social service activities before launching a 25 year career as a radio and television talk show host, news reporter and newspaper columnist. Having 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. Raised and educated through the religious principles of Catholicism, he drifted away from the Catholic Church early in his teens. On January 5, 1975, after many years of living a hectic, jet-set lifestyle, Joe Ortiz turned his life over to Jesus Christ and began attending various Assemblies of God churches in Southern California. After much Bible study, on August 29, 1979, he founded God’s Broadcaster Ministries, Inc. (GBM). From 1979 to 1985, he traveled throughout the country evangelizing the Gospel and lecturing from his first book, Saved? What Do You Mean Saved? Fascinated by end times topics and his journalistic penchant for delving into the true meaning of words found in the Bible, he began an extensive study of eschatological matters and began reading and examining hundreds of books written mostly by dispensationalists and Rapture advocates. He began comparing the various key words used by pre, mid and post-tribulation advocates, by using Greek and Hebrew dictionaries and concordances to provide him greater clarity as to what those specific words truly meant. As he continued his studies, he began to notice vast differences between the actual words used in the Bible and the prevailing pre-tribulation “Rapture” theory the Assemblies of God and many other evangelical churches were teaching. Not wanting to offend his pastors for teaching what he felt were major doctrinal errors, he left the AOG church and founded God's Broadcaster Ministries, Inc. in August, 1979. After five more years of extensive Bible research and comparitive word studies, he began writing The End Times Passover and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation in 1984. Throughout his researching and writing of these two books, he also formed his own public relations company, Joe Ortiz & Associates, specializing in promoting product and service campaigns to many individuals, small to medium sized companies and many major corporations. He also developed and implemented major publicity campaigns for various celebrities and sports personalities, including Milton Berle, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rita Moreno, Boy George, T. Berry Brazelton, Ricardo Montalban, Manny Mota, Tom Flores, Jim Plunkett, and many others. He has provided public relations services to numerous community organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, Manny Mota International Youth Foundation, Hollenbeck Youth Center, Protection & Advocacy Group, Latin Business Association, Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Salesian Boys and Girls Club, as well as the Boy Scouts/Tom Flores Celebrity Golf Tournament. He has also managed the press relations for many elected officials including California State Senator Diane Watson (now a US Representative), former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, and Los Angeles City Councilmen John Ferraro, Richard Alatorre and Robert Farrell. Prior to forming his own company in 1988, he worked at various community and public relations positions including Job Agent and Parole Officer for the State of California; Public Information Specialist for the Greater Los Angeles Community Action Agency; administrative and media deputy to Los Angeles City Councilman John Ferraro; teacher/counselor at the Los Angeles Unified School District's Skills Center Program; Director of Employer Relations at South Bay College; and National Director of Corporate Development for MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. A 25-year veteran news reporter and talk show host, Joe Ortiz (in addition to his social work jobs) began a broadcasting career in Los Angeles on KABC Talk Radio in 1971-72. He also conducted radio and television talk shows at KLOS-FM and KCBS (then KNXT) Television, KPFK-FM Radio (where he was Chief News Reporter) and Prime Time With Joe Ortiz, which aired on KPPC-AM in Pasadena. He also co-hosted a Christian talk show with Mike O'Brien at the same station for one year called Heart & Soul. He then took his Prime Time show to KPZE-AM Radio in Anaheim for one year, then starred in a 6-9 a.m., weekday, drive time show (Mornings With Joe & Cris) with comedian Cris Franco at the same station. His last official hosting job was as a substitue for nationally syndicated host, Dennis Prager, during the Persian Gulf War in 1992. He conducted this special show at KABC Talk Radio, the same station where he began his broadcasting career 21 years earlier. In 1976, he received a Golden Mike Award for "Member, Best News Team" while working as the Chief News reporter at KPFK-FM, Pacifica Radio; and the Angel Award for "Best Talk Host" while hosting the shows “The Siesta Is Over” and “Bienvenidos” at KCBS Television, Channel 2, in Los Angeles. In the November, 1989 issue of HISPANIC BUSINESS, he was named to that national magazine's "100 Hispanic Influentials" list for his broadcasting excellence. Educated at various southern California colleges, including the University of California at Riverside and UCLA, he holds California State credentials authorizing him to teach Public Affairs Broadcasting, Public Relations, Human Relations in Business and Personnel Training and Related Occupations. He has taught at Riverside City College and both the 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 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.

Inspiration

I am inspired by the word of God and authors/writers who understand the content and intent of scripture.