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KCET Orange

New Station Debuts This Fall

story by Cathi Douglas '80

KCET Orange–the innovative new PBS television channel that will debut in late fall–is the result of a carefully cultivated relationship between two organizations that, like two individuals, saw a lot in each other from the very beginning.

Cal State Fullerton and KCET, the West Coast flagship station of the Public Broadcasting Services, have bonded through fruitful sponsorship agreements and advertising accords over the past two years–all of them successful. KCET was the exclusive media sponsor for the new Performing Arts Center’s inaugural season and has supported CSUF in myriad advertising opportunities. CSUF President Milton A. Gordon, in turn, has become part of KCET’s Corporate Spotlight series.

“As Cal State Fullerton was partnering with KCET, we were getting to know the university, Titan Communications, and President Gordon,” said Al Jerome, president and CEO of KCET. “In time, we met with them to discuss the idea of a KCET digital channel, with special service to Orange County and CSUF as a partner.

“It’s not easy to bring two organizations together to mesh talents,” he adds. “It takes patience, creativity, and we have a good partner. KCET has a lot to give. Orange County has a lot to gain.”

The new, 24/7 digital television channel will broadcast to KCET’s 11-county viewing audience beginning in November, expanding the local programming KCET already provides to its viewers. It will become the fifth PBS station in Southern California. It is believed to be the only station of its kind in the country: One that is operated by a licensee in a voluntary collaboration with a university.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for both of us,” said President Milton A. Gordon. “To date, the KCET-CSUF partnership has been one of the best partnerships established in my 17 years at the university. Literally everywhere I go, someone mentions seeing me on KCET, or seeing the Performing Arts Center on KCET. The partnership has generated more visibility for Cal State Fullerton than anything I’ve engaged in.”

PBS programming will be supplemented with original programming developed in part with Cal State Fullerton faculty and students. KCET executives and CSUF deans are meeting to discuss the ways in which university and station staffs can collaborate on future programming.

“There are a lot of interesting things we do, and some of it deserves to be better known,” said Thomas Klammer, dean of the humanities and social sciences. “Some of it would be rich content for programming.” One example, he said, was oral histories of veterans from the El Toro Marine Base now being collected by the Center for Oral and Public History, a project that would lend itself to television.

Results of studies conducted by KCET showed great differences between the programming needs of Orange County and Los Angeles County viewers, noted Anthony Fellow, chair and professor of communications. “Orange County viewers appear to want more entertainment and cultural programs,” Fellow said. “Los Angeles County viewers want documentaries and public affairs programs. KCET Orange will be able to zone programming to meet the needs of both.”

Jerome agreed, saying that the station and the university will “learn to walk together.”

“We want to tap into faculty ideas and enthusiasm, the artistic and cultural, people and institutions of Orange County,” Jerome said. “The station will have news and information specifically for Orange County.”

He noted that Judith Anderson, CSUF executive vice president, is head of the Orange County Forum 2007, addressing the work of many corporations and nonprofits as well as philanthropic trends in Orange County–something that gives the university key knowledge about specific, interesting trends that could influence KCET Orange programming.

Faculty, of course, stand to benefit as KCET programming gets under way, with faculty-student research and projects some of the topics of interest for possible television broadcasting. “I see many possibilities for joint adventures,” said Roberta Rikli, dean of the college of health and human development, “especially related to dissemination of knowledge about important health issues, health information seminars, etc.… In addition
to health issues, other topics of interest could be any number of ‘social and human development issues’ since we also house programs in child and adolescent development, social work, human services and counseling – in addition to our more health-related programs in health science, public health, nursing, and kinesiology.”

KCET Orange will also include an educational component incorporating internships and programs to help prepare students for futures in public broadcasting. In fact, students such as junior Peter Martinez are already interning at KCET studios in Los Angeles (see accompanying story), and more opportunities will be available to additional students as the partnership grows.

“The KCET partnership creates enthusiasm and energy on campus, especially among faculty and students in our Radio-TV-Film and Communications Departments,” said Fred Zandpour, associate dean of the College of Communications. “The two departments can certainly benefit from KCET expertise and programming opportunities in educating the media professionals of tomorrow.”

Besides all the challenges inherent in a project requiring two large entities to work closely together, there is the question of funding. “Most any of this will take resources, which we might also be able to collaborate on – submitting joint proposals for funding by state, federal, or foundation agencies,” Rikli suggested. In addition, teams from both KCET and CSUF are working on fundraising, sponsorships and underwriting in support of the joint partnership.

KCET recently appointed Laurie Firestone to the newly created position of Executive Director for Development and Community Relations, Orange County. Firestone’s appointment represents a significant strategic step toward the launch of KCET Orange, as she will be responsible for the creation and management of a comprehensive fundraising program in the Orange County area, including development of relationships with KCET’s major and corporate donors and community volunteers.

At the same time, CSUF’s Pamela Hillman, vice president for university advancement, is encouraged by the reach that KCET offers Cal State Fullerton. “The exposure is tremendous in terms of the broadened audience alone,” Hillman said. “We need to be clear about what each party gets from this agreement…

Joint solicitation is not always easy, but it can broaden our base.”

Between now and late fall, dozens of planning sessions, high-level meetings and one-to-one conversations will take place in order to make KCET Orange a reality. Advancing a common mission will take thought and planning as the university and the television station’s executives work together to tap into the ideas and enthusiasm of both KCET staff and faculty and students. Still, Jerome believes that he and President Gordon share a clear vision of where the station ultimately will go.

“What could be better than working with a university?” he asked “The idea is terrific, it’s enterprising. It will be a model for others to follow.”