Flashback Thursday

It’s KOCT Flashback Thursday with a glimpse at memorable pictures from the KOCT archives:

Hosts for KOCT’s video magazine Inside Oceanside. City of Oceanside’s PIO Don Williamson and Amy Forsythe

Amy Forsythe with the Marine Corps at the Syrian Border during the Iraq war. Amy has continued her military media career, now with the Navy, and is currently in Guam. She is an amazing woman.

KOCT’s Station Manager Jacob Rush and Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman. August 2008

August 2001’s Journalist Roundtable (L-R) J. Stryker Meyer, North County Times Reporter,  San Diego Union-Tribune’s Logan Jenkins and then District Attorney Paul Pfingst

Marina Towers construction site circa 1966

KOCT Board of Directors – late 90’s

KOCT supporter and Fun Flights pilot Brian Shepherd & KOCT Board Member Janene Possell Shepherd creating a KOCT ‘Bonzer Tucker’ fundraiser PSA

City Clerk Staff circa 2000

Ron & Sandy Thurlow at Election Headquarters (KOCT's Administrative Assistant now famous Ojai artist)

Oceanside Programs New and Old

Oceanside programs new and old are the focus of this weeks Blog:  KOCT’s talented production crews have produced another interesting Newsbrief.   KOCT’s multi-talented Peter Bonscher was the Producer, Writer and Editor for a program about the  Oceanside Outrigger Canoe Club. The Videography was done by John Goodman and you can watch this new program on your smart phone, tablet or computer.

SuperGirl Surf Contest –Oceanside IS a surf community and this years SuperGirl Surf Contest had surf and much, much more. KOCT Station Manager, Jake Rush was also the Videographer for the contest and the program was edited by new KOCT employee, John Goodman.  This is an upbeat joyous celebration and easy to share with your family and friends who are not fortunate enough to live in North County.

KOCT’s Video On Demand has some other interesting programs from Yesterday you may not have discovered. The black and white movie “ Oklahoma Cyclone”  staring Bob Steele had many of its scenes shot right here in Oceanside in 1930.  Wickipeda describes the film: Oklahoma Cyclone is a 1930 American Western film directed by John P. McCarthy that is a forerunner of the singing cowboy genre . Note it was a big deal to promote the film as “All Talking”—in contrast to the Pride of Palomar.

Another gem in the KOCT vaults was the silent  movie the Pride of Palomar—many of the scenes were shot in the San Luis Rey Valley and at Rancho Guajome too. Oceanside Historian John Daley gives a brief introduction to the program. Here is a movie synopsis:  

 This virile drama, produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Pictures, was based on the novel by then-popular author Peter B. Kyne. After serving in Siberia during the Great War, Don Mike Farrell (Forrest Stanley) returns to California to discover that his father has died and the family ranch is now in the hands of John Parker (Alfred Allen). Parker's daughter, Kay (Marjorie Daw), falls in love with Farrell and tries to help him get his rights back. Her attempts, however, are in vain. Parker is working in partnership with Okada, a Japanese land speculator (Warner Oland), who is determined to have the ranch for himself. Farrell has to use all his resourcefulness to defeat the two men. First, he raises the necessary money through chasing down one of his father's debtors, and raises the rest at the racetrack. He then bluffs Parker and wins back his land -- along with Parker's admiration and Kay's hand. ~

Thanks to Kristi Hawthorne and the Oceanside Historical Society for helping KOCT obtain copies of these early movies and for the peek into our Oceanside past that they provide.

Kristi Hawthorne (L) with Board Secretary Kiersten Hill (R)

Newspaper Junkie Goes Cold Turkey (well almost)

KOCT has been providing local community information since its incorporation in 1984. When I joined the organization there were at least two large newspapers and many weekly papers in north county.  I wrote a weekly column for one of those papers and Bob Bowditch, the founder of KOCT, wrote a cable column for the Blade-Citizen for many years.

I love newspapers and pick up every local print offering that I find on the newsstands or sidewalk racks. Growing up in Santa Fe Springs meant access to at least three daily papers such as the LA Times and the Herald-Examiner. But that was then.

For the first time in my adult life, I have stopped receiving a local newspaper and I miss it. (OK I’m still getting the Sunday paper—I couldn’t go cold turkey)  Our only remaining regional paper has gotten too expensive to subscribe to and the digital reading experience is not the same—navigation is slow and cumbersome, there are too many pop-up ads, and with fewer local reporters, there are only a handful of new local stories per week.

I’m not alone on this journey—the July/August Columbia Journalism Review says that only 23 percent of Americans get their news from print compared with 75 percent who get it from digital (Reuters Survey).

And while it’s true we have more media choices then at any time in history, we probably have less local news than we did only a few short years ago.  Kent Davy, the former Editor for the North County Times, sent me this link to a fascinating though depressing article by Joshua Benton, director of the Nieman Journalism Lab, entitled “As giant platforms rise, local news is getting crushed”.

The article discusses the ongoing loss of newspapers and how “Young people are already tuning out local TV news, just as they did to newspapers earlier…” Many young people state that they get most of their news from Facebook and other social media sites.

KOCT has also been affected by the many changes in media and media habits. Once, viewers would find us because we were on the standard channel tier they would ‘surf’ through and then discover a local program they enjoyed.  Today, however, like most PEG channels across the country, we are only available on the standard definition tier and many if not most viewers surf only in the high-definition tier and don’t realize we are still producing a wealth of valuable highly local programs.

Progress has had one big advantage over the past, however.  Formerly, KOCT was available only in Oceanside on Cox Cable. Today we are also available county-wide on AT&T’s U-Verse and world-wide via the internet on KOCT.ORG

KOCT streams both channels and we endeavor to make all of our programs available as VOD or Video On Demand. That means today’s viewer can watch when they want to and not just when KOCT puts their favorite program on their TV schedule. But we are also competing against thousands of other media choices from “House of Cards” to cute kitties.

KOCT does have one huge advantage over these other choices—we are the only non-commercial independent media outlet whose sole focus is the north county community we all live in and value. We cover and replay local and regional government meetings and provide long-form programs about local transportation, water, development and election issues. Not one commercial channel can say the same thing. That is what gives me hope and why I think we have a place and a future in this rapidly changing digital media universe.  There is only one KOCT- Your Community Channel.

Random Pixels

OCT’s new series about Oceanside's thriving Arts & Culture scene is funded, in part, by the City of Oceanside’s Arts Commission. One program covered in the series includes the Art Walk in Downtown Oceanside. This program features interviews with artists, visitors, and Art Walk creators, and showcases this cultural gem that takes place every month in Oceanside. This program was Produced and Edited by Angela Miranda. Watch now!

KOCT’s Station Manager Jacob Rush attended the 2015 National conference of the Alliance for Community Media that was held in Pasadena. There he received, on behalf of KOCT, a Hometown Media Award for KOCT’s “18th Annual Inter-Tribal Powwow”. The Hometown Media Awards recognize the best community media programming of 2014, and include student, independent producer, and access center professional categories. Judges scored over 1,000 entries that were submitted from around the country. 

The KOCT crew for this award winning program was:  Producer Angela Miranda, Videographer, Angela Wong and Grip, Tamara Ilich. The program was edited by Brandee Wyse Bovaird. 

Thanks to Promise Yee with The Coast News for an article about two large grants that our Oceanside Public Library received.  KOCT hopes to work with the Historical Society and the Library to tell the Latino story in Oceanside. KOCT has an archive of programs and interviews with Latino residents about our community and their history in Oceanside. We hope with this grant that KOCT can produce additional historical programs. If you know a business or individual who would like to help Underwrite these programs and contribute to Oceanside’s historical legacy please have them contact Tom Reeser at KOCT- 760-722-4433.

Born and Brewed in Oceanside

The Hops Highway is the fun designation of Highway 78 because of the many local breweries that have been established along this route from Oceanside to Escondido. “Born & Brewed: Oceanside” is a new KOCT program about the big impact craft beer is having on Oceanside and is produced by the City of Oceanside and KOCT.

In this video, we speak with Oceanside locals and brewers about the growth of craft beer and its impact on Oceanside’s economy and culture. Hosted by Marie-Claire Lemoine; featuring Chris Cochran of Stone Brewing Company, Mark Mericle and JJ Synder of Legacy Brewing Company, and Jeff and Dande Bagby of Bagby Beer Company. 

The program’s Producer and Editor is the talented Angela Wong who has produced a number of programs for KOCT. This is some of her finest work and I wish her well in her future endeavors!

If you want to watch this new program right now on your Smart Phone, Tablet or Computer Click Here!

http://koct.org/video/category/shop_oceanside/detail/born_brewed_in_oceanside

 You can catch this new program on KOCT’s Channel 18 and Channel 19 at the dates and times listed below:  

Born and Brewed: Oceanside (August 2015 playout)
DATE	Channel 18	Channel 19
11-Aug	7am, 4pm
12-Aug	330pm	8:30pm
13-Aug		3:30pm, 8:30pm
14-Aug	3:00pm
15-Aug	5:30pm	9:30am, 9pm, 11:30pm
16-Aug		8:30am, 6:30pm
17-Aug		4:30pm, 8:30pm
19-Aug		9pm
21-Aug		7:30am, 6pm
22-Aug		10:30am, 10pm
23-Aug		8:30am, 3:30pm
24-Aug	3:00pm	7:30pm
25-Aug		2:30pm, 6:30pm
26-Aug		4:30pm, 8:30pm
27-Aug		10pm
28-Aug		7pm
29-Aug		1:30pm
30-Aug		7pm

A North County Adventure

KOCT had a good turnout for the premier of “A North County Adventure” – the first comprehensive north county tourism video shot in Hi-definition. The short program features beautiful aerial footage of our Pier, Mission and other north county attractions.

In attendance on Tuesday night were KOCT Board Chairman Liz Rhea, Vice-Chair Margret Merlock and board Secretary Kierstin Hill.  Board members Frank Gould and Gwen Price were also part of the festivities. “A North County Adventure” was funded by a Community Enhancement Grant of $10,000. This program was set up using a percentage of Transient Occupancy Tax Revenues to stimulate tourism and promote the economy. KOCT is grateful for the support of the tourism industry, visitors and the San Diego Board of Supervisors who oversee this program.

Hayley Peterson, Kierstin Hill, Cerina De Souza

On hand Tuesday night to see the new video was 5^th District Supervisor Bill Horn, Chamber of Commerce CEO David Nydegger and Leslee Gaul, President/CEO of Visit Oceanside Conference & Visitors Bureau.  KOCT thanked Supervisor Horn for his support as well as the three Underwriters for the program:  John Osborne with AT&T, Amber Ter-Vrugt  with Scripps Health and Visit Oceanside’s Leslee Gaul.  The narrator for the program is Meg (Banta) Ford who has worked with KOCT on many projects — you’ll recognize her unique voice from her many years on local radio. 

Leslee Gaul, Supervisor Bill Horn, Tom Reeser

KOCT’s Executive Director, Tom Reeser, explained that a unique aspect of the grant was the creation of a hi-definition video ‘bank’ –images of north county that will soon be available to agencies who promote north county tourism.  Visit Oceanside will administer this service and it fills a long- requested need by agencies hoping to promote tourism in Oceanside and north county but needing iconic footage. They now have it—and in hi-definition.  

Our fearless editor Miguel Blanco

Tom acknowledged that the beautiful images were made possible by the creative team of Station Manager Jacob Rush and Editor Miguel Blanco. Jake produced the program and shot much of the footage including the helicopter aerial footage. KOCT hired a Carlsbad helicopter company for the aerial footage, thus keeping the grant funding in north county.

Icon Helicopters

KOCT has been producing award-winning tourism and promotional videos for over 30 years.  Tourism is a clean industry that creates jobs and brings much needed revenue to our city to help pay for public services, roads and infrastructure.

KOCT will begin airing this new video soon –Watch for the LINK in an upcoming Community Connection!

New programs on KOCT!

COMING SOON

KOCT’s camera crews and editors have been very busy and  they want to share to share their efforts with you! Oceanside High School Spectrum has just been edited and features interviews with Dr. Ron Pirayoff, the Principle of Oceanside High School. Lou Fosnut, OHS Counselor and Dr. Jim Fosnut, OUSD Consultant were also interviewed. Finally the talented host for the program, Robert Rasul interviews retired CIF Championship Coach John Carroll. Thanks to KOCT volunteer Maya Maryvilla for her awesome editing efforts!

Juneteenth 2015 was another annual community event our camera crews attended. Host Elaine Swann finds out about the origins of this event and meets an amazing saxophone player too.

Filipino Cultural Celebration 2015—This years Filipino Celebration was well attended and remember that it's easy to share these brief programs with friends by sending this link to them. They can watch KOCT programs on their computers, smart phones and tablets or the old fashion way: by tuning to KOCT channel 18. You can check out our easy to use Program Guide by clicking here.

The KOCT crew recently attended the event How Can You Reduce and Recycle. Held at the El Corazon Senior center, the event promoted conservation and sustainability. It included water and energy conservation and everyday things we can do to reduce waste. 

KOCT ‘s camera crew also attended the North County Water Summit at the Vista Civic Center. The topic was “The Reality of Today’s Water Issue-Solutions Through Innovation.

So make sure to tune in to KOCT to catch our Newsbriefs and the Water Summit. The best way to stay tuned to community events, topics and cultural celebrations is to watch KOCT-Your Community Channel.