CAP Act will help preserve Community Television

KOCT-Your Community Channel- has been providing programming for the Oceanside & North County community for over 31 years. There are PEG (Public Education & Government) channels in towns large and small all across this nation. Since 2005, PEG access channels have suffered severe setbacks as a result of statewide franchising laws.  The historic recession took an additional toll and as a result thousands of PEG channels have shut down over the past decade.

The good news is that U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin & Edward Markey have reintroduced the Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act legislation to ensure public access to local television programming.

The CAP Act amends the Cable Act to ensure that PEG fees can be used for any purpose not just for capital expenditures.  (Many  PEG channels  have funding for equipment but no funding for a  staff to operate them!)

Other important elements of the CAP Act are:

• Makes sure that cable operators transmit PEG channels without charge to the local government

• Makes sure that PEG channels are available on the Basic tier for service and available to all subscribers without the need for additional equipment.

• Allows communities to have the capabilities to transmit their programs in High Definition

• Allows communities to have the ability to submit programming guides just like all the other channels

We’ll keep you in the loop on this important legislation and seek your help in contacting your local Congressional and Senate representative in support of the CAP Act when it moves a little further down the legislative road….

John Rocco, President of the American Community Television said it best: “Now, more than ever, the CAP Act is desperately needed. Our local community media is critical to the communities as media continues to consolidate…the need for local Government transparency is at an all-time high. We must protect and preserve this precious community resource and make sure the local community is represented in the media landscape.”

 Random Pixels

• Have you ever wanted to see the ‘behind the scene’ action of our monthly KOCT program Oceanside Spectrum?

• If you come to the KOCT Open House on June 15^th from 2-5 pm you can watch a  ‘live-to-tape‘ talk show being recorded and take a self-guided tour of KOCT. This is great opportunity to meet KOCT’s staff, interns, volunteers and the KOCT Board of Directors too!

 Mark your calendars.

•    KOCT Station Manager has been out of the office and into the field to capture more scenic footage for an upcoming Oceanside & North County Tourism video. 

• Another production that has kept our crews hopping is our upcoming program Hopps Highway. Angela Wong and the KOCT crew have had the arduous task of filming interviews at Legacy brewery, Bagby Beer and Stone Brewing Company.

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  Watch this growing North County program in July.

•    Watch for the KOCT crew at this years Independence Day Parade on June 27^th—attend this patriotic event in person, cheer the parade participants and then watch the fun again on KOCT’s televised coverage.

Come and enjoy the Independence Parade of 2015 with KOCT!

• Congratulations to KOCT’s Miguel Blanco for winning the popular radio station’s 91X Poster contest!

•     Miguel is a talented KOCT Editor whose most recent KOCT project was the Adobes and Ranchos of North County. This award is just another example of KOCT’s award-winning staff!

KOCT and the Oceanside community are truly blessed.

Journalist Roundtable on KOCT

Tune into our next ‘live’ Journalist Roundtable  tonight, Thursday May 7th at 6 pm.  If you miss this ‘live’ show you can always watch Journalist Roundtable throughout the month of May on KOCT’s Channel 18 or as video on demand via KOCT.ORG

Our Guests will Include:

Matt Sanford with the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation to discuss Innovate 78.

Our second guest will be former Oceanside Council member Shari Mackin to discuss a Community Commentary she wrote in the local newspaper regarding the proposed Caltrans proposed Interstate 7/ state Route 78 project.

Our next guest is Louise Esola, former columnists for the North County Times and author of “The True Story of the Lost 74 of the Vietnam War”. 

Our final guest will be Mark Dice—local provocateur who has received millions of YouTube hits for his videos about Petitions that he get visitors to the Oceanside pier to sign no matter how outrageous the issues are.

Journalist Roundtable is hosted by veteran journalist Kent Davy. He is joined on set by KPBS's Alison St. John and columnist from the San Diego Union-Tribune, Logan Jenkins. 

The program can be viewed on Channel 18 Cox Cable in Oceanside, and AT&T U-Verse, county-wide channel 99.  You can also stream us live on www.koct.org on your smart phone or tablet.

Stay in tune with your community by tuning into KOCT – Your Community Channel!

Community Connection

On April 23^rd the KOCT crew put in a marathon day recording another for a series of Voice of Oceanside programs.

We interviewed Mayor Wood and Council member Chuck Lowery. Council member Esther Sanchez will be interviewed in May. 

Voice Host John Bonosoro interviewed Allen Kosup, the Caltrans I-5/SR 76 Corridor Director. You won’t want to miss this informative show that will discuss all the major roadwork planned and in development. This process includes Highway 76, the proposed I-5 & Highway 78 interchange and the suggested expansion of I-5.

Our guests were Ellen Schmeding, the director of Aging and Independence, and a volunteer Ombudsoman, Fred Gould. We also learn about senior scams and the County of San Diego’s Ombudsmen program. We also followed Frank Gould as he visits senior residents at a long-term car facility.  

We recorded the first KOCT interview with the ‘new’ Harbor Master of Oceanside, Paul Lawrence.

Thanks to the professional crew of audio, camera, director and other ‘behind-the-scenes’ personnel for producing another informative series of programs. Great Job!

  

Look for our new series of Voice programs in our May schedule or as Video On Demand via koct@koct.org.