Costa Mesa TV channel garners high honor

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- In the basement of City Hall, among dozens of high-tech

gadgets and monitors, a star was born.

Costa Mesa Television Channel 74, which operates from an underground

station at City Hall, was honored this month with the most prestigious

“Star Award” by a regional telecommunications association.

The city’s cable channel took the first place award for “Overall

Excellence in Government Programming Under $250,000 Operating Budget”

from the Southern California and Nevada chapter of the National Assn. of

Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.

Dane Bora, the city’s video production coordinator, said he and his

staff had been pursuing this prestigious award since 1996.

“We’ve won awards in other categories before, but this is the one I

truly wanted because it is not just for one show but recognition of

overall good programming,” he said.

The regional associations give the “Star Awards” to outstanding

programs produced by public, educational and government facilities,

officials said. Entries are judged on the basis of creativity, technical

proficiency and diversity of programming.

Bora said he had to submit 10 clips from various city programs,

including Costa Mesa Prep SportScene, The Community Report and the

Fairview Park Tour. The combination proved to be a winning one.

The city has been honored by the association five times previously,

but never could grasp that top spot, Bora said. In 1996, the city placed

third in overall programming and received the same results in 2000. Bora

said he and his staff have consistently tried to break that third place

ceiling.

Bora credits new editing technology with the increased quality of

local programming. Advanced equipment allows the production staff to

create better special effects, better graphics and better transitions, he

said. Bora said he believes it enhances the grade from that of a local

cable show to broadcast quality.

“I don’t know if that’s what caught the judges’ eyes or not but that

is what has improved the quality of our shows,” Bora said about the new

equipment.

Resident Doug Sutton, who consistently praises the city’s cable

production team, was not surprised at the accommodation.

Sutton said Channel 74 is an extremely positive and grossly

underutilized community resource.

“Watch just one of Dane’s telecasts, whether it’s a kid’s sporting

event, snow day or a historical snapshot of Costa Mesa and you can’t help

but think how much more this medium and his management could do for this

town,” Sutton said.

Sutton said if he could, he would double their budget and expand their

mandate to include community forums, commentary, more event coverage and

profiles of Costa Mesa’s overachievers.