Sad to see KCET's long-running local newsmag, "Life & Times," disappear at the end of the year. The PBS station will fill the void by launching a weekly show, "SoCal Connected," but replacing a daily show with a weekly entry isn't much of a tradeoff.
Meanwhile, KCET will fill the 7 p.m. void with rebroadcasts of the 11 p.m. show "Tavis Smiley." Huell Howser's popular 7:30 show continues. From a press release:
Beginning on New Year's Eve, KCET will partner two of its most popular personalities by airing the Tavis Smiley show and Huell Howser back-to-back each weekday. On December 31, KCET will present the broadcast premiere of the Tavis Smiley show at 7:00 p.m.; the same episode will air late-nights nationally on PBS, including at 11:00 p.m. on KCET.
Celebrating the 15-year run of its award-winning news and public affairs series Life & Times, KCET concludes the series with three special episodes airing on Wednesday, December 26; Thursday, December 27; and Friday, December 28. The series will trace the evolution of Life & Times, which has earned dozens of prestigious awards - including 26 Los Angeles Area Grammy® awards and 32 Golden Mikes - for its reporting on politics, the economy, the environment, education and culture.
With the conclusion of Life & Times, KCET continues previously announced plans to premiere a new weekly TV news magazine to launch in 2008 with a working title of SoCal Connected that will draw on Life & Times, and California Connected, which aired throughout California for five seasons.
The new program includes an emphasis on timely, regional news coverage of important issues and proposed solutions, vibrant web-based interactivity, provocative points of view and a celebration of the Southern California lifestyle.
KCET says Val Zavala, vice president of news and public affairs and former anchor of Life & Times, will continue with the station and work on "SoCal Connected."
No comments:
Post a Comment