Community Connection- Throwback Edition

Our next few Community Connections will be Throw Back Editions because KOCT is celebrating 30 years of service to our north county community!

Former San Diego Union-Tribune and North County Times reporter and columnist J. Stryker Meyer (Left) was our Journalist Roundtable Host for many interesting programs. Here he is joined by a North County Times Reporter and San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Logan Jenkins. They are interviewing San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst in 2001.

Here is an earlier photo from the 1990’s when Tom Morrow hosted the program and is joined by a San Diego Union-Tribune reporter (Left) and J. Stryker Meyer when he was a reporter for the North County Times. Behind them are the KOCT crew and Jerry Salyer (back row second from right). (Note ‘Tilt’s east coast ‘sock’ or lack therein that we would tease him endlessly about..)

Congressman Darrell Issa, 49^th District, at a Town Hall Meeting at the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce in 2001.

KOCT worked with a local community group, Barrio Arte in the early 1990’s to help young people find creative alternative to gang participation. We dedicated the entire wall of the KOCT studio to this giant mural and many young people from our most high-risk neighborhoods spent days at the station painting this colorful creation with anti-gang messages. For one anti-gang program we had the opportunity to interview boxer Oscar De La Hoya who told an ABC crew to wait till he finished his interview with KOCT! He recounted his own childhood in tough neighborhoods and how boxing was his ‘ticket out’. Below is the finished mural. (The mural no longer exists due to the last remodel of the KOCT studios)

Good information from the Media Alliance about Public Access TV:

The Good News and the Bad News About Public Access TV

On the completely great side, the California Legislature passed AJR 39, a joint resolution from California's State Government asking the federal government to please fix the clause in the 1984 Cable Act that restricts much public funding of cable access channels to capital only without operational support. This clause, which is supported by virtually no one, has contributed to the closure of community media centers across the state of California.

On the less wonderful side, a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rulemaking process on cable franchise renewals appears to be taking the path of least resistance under the leadership of Commissioner Peevey, and endorsing a rubberstamp process that ignores service level to the community and complaints received during the cable service renewal process. Media Alliance's latest set of (somewhat futile) reply comments can be found here.

More news in support of PEG channels like KOCT:

And recently, at the 82^nd Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, a resolution was made calling for the restructuring of the 1984 Cable Act. The resolution, which was passed unanimously, encourages the U. S. Congress to amend federal legislation pertaining to community access television stations. These stations like KOCT, currently receive Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) fees. However, PEG funds. must only be used for capital improvements. The resolution calls for allowing those funds to be used for operation costs as well.

With the support of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, KOCT urges the U.S. Congress to make the minor legislative changes that will allow PEG fees to be used for the operations of our community access television station. The resolution supports the power of public access stations. Community television channels provide transparency and access for local governments with their residents and business owners by broadcasting City Council and hospital  meetings, voter information for local elections, topical talk shows on local issues and topics and other events like the recent Independence  parade. 

“LIVE FROM KOCT” THIS WEEKS COMMUNITY CONNECTION

What could be more joyous than to live in Oceanside during the summer months?  The waves have been great and the water warm. A great way to share the joy of Oceanside and summer is by watching, sharing and enjoying Video On Demand available on KOCT.ORG.

Last summer the Parks and Recreation Department put on a great summer concert: The Surfaris Concert—If you have to work but want to also enjoy great classic surf music here what you do, click below and listen while working on that Spreadsheet and thinking about this upcoming weekend.

http://koct.org/video/detail/the_surfaris_concert

Oceanside is blessed with a number of great surf spots, white sandy beaches and residents who love water sports and the beach lifestyle. This year we seem to have mostly missed the MayGray & JuneGloom but as you’ll see from this 1999 Long Board Contest we are not always so lucky. However there was a strong swell for this 15^th Annual contest and this program features Kahuna Bob as host, Chris Ahrens as announcer and some great nose rides by Dale Dobson:

http://koct.org/video/detail/15th_annual_longboard_contest_1999

In 2000 the Long Board Contest had Waves & Sunshine :

http://koct.org/video/detail/16th_annual_longboard_contest_2000

The City of Oceanside is also blessed with many residents from the South Pacific. KOCT’s talented crew and Mobile Studio captured many of the large Sister City and Samoan Celebrations at the band shell going all the way back to when Mayor Larry Bagley would greet and participate in the Kava Ceremony with the elders of the Samoan Community. Click here to enjoy the 1992 Samoan Day Celebration:

http://koct.org/video/detail/samoan_day_celebration

What Is "live on tape”???

KOCT is unique for a number of reasons: We are one of the only non-profit community television stations in San Diego County, one of the most active PEG (Public Education Government Access) channels in the county and one of the best at "live on tape" television production.

What constitutes 'live on tape"? Our City Council and Tri-City Hospital board meetings are one example: the KOCT staff prepares the c.g.s. (character graphics--names, titles, and agenda summations) in advance so when the person or subject comes up we can 'bring up' the information without having to type it on the spot. Sports, parades and Journalist Roundtable are also examples of our 'live on tape' production technique. We input into our computer the pictures, power points, graphics and titles in advance and 'pull' up or show to the viewer the appropriate picture when the guest discusses that subject.

Most of our shows have a minimum of four cameras and our audio specialist and director are in constant headphone contact with them during the course of a show to bring you the right shot at the right moment. If you were a camera operator you would hear 'ready one' and 'tighten up' meaning the director is about to take to your camera and zoom in just a bit before you hear 'take 1' meaning your shot is live. At the same time you might hear the Director asking  Audio  to raise or lower the levels on the guests microphone, instruct another technician  to ready a graphic and  tell the floor director to signal the host that its only 1 minute to the first break. (And sometimes the Executive Producer is simultaneously on the phone to a guest who has not shown up for their segment with only 15 minutes to go!)

A live production is an exciting, stressful form of production usually reserved for programs that air 'live' and that have little time for editing prior to being shown on KOCT. It is cost effective to produce a program this way and if need be, mistakes can be corrected 'in post-production’. For example we can, in editing, add additional photos to illustrate an interview or add a cutaway to an out-of-focus shot. I am proud to say we seldom have to do so.

Our most recent production, the Independence Day Parade is particularly challenging because the pace of the parade is out of the control of KOCT, we might have to ask our Hosts to ‘vamp' because the parade is going too slow or for them to skip their written script because its going too fast and the next parade participant is about to go past all of our four cameras. I think our crew, engineer and IT specialist  did a great job setting up the four cameras, camera platforms, program set, lights, microphones and intercoms early that morning and airing the parade 'live' for residents who couldn't attend in person. Long after the last parade participant has stopped marching KOCT's industrious crew was still breaking down equipment, packing up the cameras and preparing the finished program for extensive replays--often only an hour after the parade has ended!

So that is 'live on tape' an exciting production style that KOCT has utilized since our formation 30 years ago!  Congratulations to the entire KOCT crew for excellent parade coverage! Thanks to the City of Oceanside staff for helping us with electricity, parking and internet issues.  A special thanks to our two volunteer parade hosts: Kristi Hawthorne and Tom Brault for their great performance and play by play announcing and congratulations to Director and KOCT Station Manager Jake Rush for being the Ring Master on our parade coverage and many KOCT 'live on tape' productions.