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?