A polished new KOCE

There is an old Chinese proverb -- occasionally credited to the Roman

Seneca -- that goes: “The gem cannot be polished without friction,

nor man perfected without trials.” The same seems to be true of

Orange County’s public television station.

KOCE-TV certainly has gone through more than its share of troubles

during the past months as the Coast Community College District

debated to whom it should sell the station, which due to budget

troubles it could no longer afford to support. As the station’s

future came down to a handful of multi-million dollar bids, it

appeared inevitable that KOCE would end up in the hands of religious

broadcasters, depriving the county of locally produced programming as

well as TV-based courses for students at Golden West College.

Last week, however, those trials began to turn perfect, the

friction to a shiny surface as the Coast Community College District

agreed to sell the station to the KOCE Foundation. Its leaders,

including some of the county’s biggest business people, promise not

only to keep the station as it is, but make it even better. Among

their programming ideas are live community broadcasts, better

business shows and increased coverage of the county’s art scene.

“Whether we’re having a Pavoratti opening or a play at the college,

we should be there,” said Joel Slutzky, a board member of the KOCE

Foundation.

It is a promising mix of programming, one that should make the

station more relevant to more homes and more capable of filling the

empty local TV news hole.

But before such shows appear on county TVs, trials remain. To win

the rights to the station, the KOCE Foundation still must prove that

it can shoulder its $32-million dollar bid, which will be paid as $8

million cash and $24 million in a long-term note. But all signs are

positive that the real troubles are past.

The district’s final vote on the issue is scheduled for Dec. 10.

Perhaps Huntington Beach residents can schedule time to watch it on

KOCE?