Trials may better station
There is an old Chinese proverb -- occasionally credited to the Roman
Seneca -- that goes: “The gem cannot be polished without friction,
nor man perfected without trials.” The same seems to be true of
Orange County’s public television station.
KOCE-TV has certainly gone through more than its share of trials
in the last few months as the Coast Community College District
debated to whom it should sell the station, which, because of budget
troubles, it can no longer run. As the station’s future came down to
a handful of multimillion-dollar bids, it appeared inevitable that
KOCE would end up in the hands of religious broadcasters, depriving
the county of locally produced programming as well as TV-based
courses for students at Orange Coast College.
Last week, however, those trials and that friction began to
produce a shiny surface when the Coast Community College District
agreed to sell the station to the KOCE Foundation. Its leaders,
including some of the county’s biggest business people, promise not
only to keep the station as it is, but make it even better. Among
their programming ideas are live community broadcasts, better
business shows and increased coverage of the county’s art scene.
“Whether we’re having a Pavoratti opening or a play at the college,
we should be there,” said Joel Slutzky, a board member of the KOCE
Foundation.
It is a promising mix of programming, one that should make the
station more relevant to more homes and more capable of filling the
empty local TV news hole.
But before such shows appear on county TVs, the station must go
through a few more trials. To win the rights to the station, the KOCE
Foundation still must prove that it can shoulder its $32-million
dollar bid, which will be paid as $8 million cash and $24 million in
a long-term note. But all signs are positive that the real troubles
are past.
The district’s final vote on the issue is scheduled for Dec. 10.
Perhaps Newport Beach and Costa Mesa residents can schedule time to
watch it on KOCE?
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