Marisa O'Neil and Jeff Benson
The KOCE-TV Foundation officially takes over Orange County's only
public broadcasting channel today, after more than a year of
fundraising, legal wrangling and nail-biting.
Coast Community College District trustees voted 4-0 Wednesday to
give the final OK for the foundation to take over the station after
having placed the winning bid more than a year ago. Since then, the
sale faced a legal challenge from a spurned bidder, financing
difficulty and FCC approval.
Trustee Armando Ruiz was not at Wednesday's meeting. Because of
his retirement Sunday and subsequent reelection Tuesday, his new term
does not begin until December.
The trustees' vote, coupled with the FCC's recent approval of the
sale, clears the way for the KOCE-TV Foundation to start revamping
the station and its programming. Among those plans are more local
programming, including an expansion of its "Real Orange" news show.
The station will continue to televise college courses for the
district's three colleges.
"Over the coming months, you'll see more live stuff and more local
stuff," KOCE-TV President Mel Rogers said. "Some of the best local
election coverage ever done was done [Tuesday night]. You'll see a
lot more of that as time goes on."
Rogers said new programming will be fused in over the coming
months, though he had no timetable for any specific programs.
After three deadline extensions granted by the Coast Community
College District, the foundation made the $8-million down payment to
the district last month. The final $28 million purchase price of the
station includes $17.5 million on a long-term note and another $2.5
million worth of programming.
KOCE-TV Foundation chairman Bob Brown and other foundation
representatives Wednesday presented district officials with an
oversized check for $8 million.
"This team really dedicated a lot of hours to make this happen,"
Brown said. "Mel Rogers has been a strong contributor in helping us
raise funds. He's the best salesman around."
Trustees George Brown, Jerry Patterson and Walt Howald spoke on
behalf of the district.
"I was certainly pleased and tickled by this," trustee George
Brown said. "We worked long and hard, and there were many times when
we wondered if it was ever going to happen. But now Orange County has
its own broadcast station."
The trustees voted to spend $1 million of the proceeds for
additional courses. Orange Coast College, the largest of the
district's colleges, was forced to cut 1,500 classes from its
