KCET, channel 28, is an independent, non-commercial public television station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KCET's studio is located on West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is atop Mount Wilson. Al Jerome is the current CEO and president, serving since 1996.

KCET was a charter member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) at its inception in 1970. The station was Los Angeles's main PBS affiliate until December 31, 2010, when it ended its partnership with PBS after 40 years. KCET's management cited unresolvable financial and programming disputes among its major reasons for leaving PBS.^[1] KOCE-TV (channel 50), licensed to Huntington Beach, Orange County, replaced KCET as the area's primary PBS affiliate.^[2]

For much of its time on air, KCET had broadcast from its studios in Hollywood until moving to new offices in Burbank in 2012. The move has left KTLA as the last remaining radio or television broadcaster in that neighborhood as stations have moved on to other cities and neighborhoods in the region.

History[link]

KCET signed on September 28, 1964 as an affiliate of National Educational Television, or NET, with Jim Case heading all of the program direction. It was actually the second attempt at an educational station in the Los Angeles area. KTHE, operated by the University of Southern California, had previously broadcast on channel 28, beginning on September 22, 1953.^[3] It was the second educational television station in the United States, signing on six months and four days after KUHT in Houston, Texas, but it went dark after nine months due to its primary benefactor, the Hancock Foundation, determining that the station was too much of a financial drain on its resources. In 1970, KCET became a charter member of PBS. For most of the next 40 years, it was the second most-watched PBS station in the country.

The call letters KCET stand for Community Educational Television, not to be confused with the organization of the same name formed by Daystar Television Network in 2003, which made an unsuccessful bid to purchase Orange County public television station KOCE.

KCET is located in a historic area of Hollywood, used as a film and television studio from 1912 to 1970. KCET purchased the former Monogram Pictures property in 1971, assisted financially in part by both the Ford Foundation and the Michael Connell Foundation. The newest building is named the Weingart Educational Telecommunications Center which houses KCET's master control, digital control rooms, ingest, and editing stations on the first floor and engineering, new media operations, and news and public affairs on the second floor.

As of 2011, Al Jerome is the president and CEO.

All KCET programs are produced in high definition and the station's main channel is transmitted in 720p.

On October 8, 2010, KCET announced that it could not reach an agreement to remain with PBS and would become an independent television service as of January 1, 2011. In a letter to viewers, board chairman Gordon Bava said that PBS wanted KCET to pay $7 million for its programming — more than double what KOCE was paying.^[4]

On March 30, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported that KCET was in negotiations to sell the studio to the Church of Scientology, with KCET relocating to a smaller location following the sale, in light of KCET's sharp decreases in ratings and pledges following dismembership from PBS.^[5] The sale of the property, which was sold for $45 million,^[6] closed on April 25, 2011, with part of the proceeds going towards KCET's leasing of the studios^[6] until new facilities are found.^[7][8] KCET currently has plans to relocate to a new complex in a high-rise building in Burbank.^[6]

At the end of 2011, contributions and grants to KCET decreased even further, down 41 percent from the previous year to $22.3 million.^[6]

Slogans[link]

• "Community Supported Television" (c. 1976-198?)

• "Member Supported Television for Southern and Central California" (198?-1997)

• "Infinitely More" (1997–2010)

• "Rethink TV" (January–December 2011)

• "Be Moved" (December 2011 – present)

Programming[link]

As the flagship PBS station for the Pacific Time Zone, KCET was a major producer of PBS programming.

It produced the acclaimed Carl Sagan series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in 1978-1979. KCET produced or presented Hollywood Television Theater, Trying Times, and the Hispanic family drama American Family for PBS, and was one of the consortium of stations that produced American Playhouse.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, KCET produced a six-part miniseries in conjunction with the BBC called Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State.

As of 2007^[update] productions include its award-winning and signature news and public affairs program Life & Times hosted by Val Zavala (underwritten by The Whittier Foundation, Jim & Anne Rothenberg, QueensCare, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Boeing, and the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department). Huell Howser's California's Gold is produced at the KCET lot.

KCET also produced the weeknight talk show Tavis Smiley and a PBS science show, WIRED Science. Peabody award-winning shows A Place of Our Own and its Spanish language equivalent, Los Niños en Su Casa are taped at the KCET studios. Both programs, part of the KCET initiative, have received a generous grant from BP to expand its coverage as a nation-wide television program designed for care-givers.

A few kids' shows also come from KCET -- Storytime, The Puzzle Place, Adventures from the Book of Virtues, The Charlie Horse Music Pizza, and Sid the Science Kid (the latter now airing on KOCE).

Award-winning California Connected ended its run in 2007 after five seasons.

On December 9, 2010, KCET announced their new program schedule without PBS affiliation in 2011. Commercial-free programming will include classic and blockbuster movies, travel, science, and drama programs, British sitcoms and news programs, as the station maintains their relationship with program syndicators American Public Television and NETA, among others, which allow non-PBS stations to air their programming. Some of the programs that were announced and/or continued on the new lineup include Globe Trekker, Rick Steves' Europe, Burt Wolf: Travels and Traditions, The Nature of Things with David Suzuki, Doc Martin, The McLaughlin Group, Inside Washington, BBC World News, Keeping Up Appearances, As Time Goes By and Visiting With Huell Howser.^[9]

Future programming plans for KCET during 2012 include expansion of its interview program, LA Tonight with Roy Firestone, to each weeknight; as well as Your Turn to Care, a documentary about caregivers hosted by Holly Robinson Peete; BBC crime drama Inspector George Gently; and Classic Cool Theater, a showcase of classic films, cartoons and newsreels.^[6]

Digital television[link]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Digital channels

For its first seven years on digital TV, the majority of the programming on KCET's high definition subchannel 28.1 (outside of most primetime shows) was different from the main signal on Channel 28 (which was initially operated on digital subchannel 28.2 and was later replaced with KCET Orange), as was with most other PBS stations with HDTV capabilities. With the arrival of new programming services from PBS and V-me (which airs on digital subchannel 28.3) in mid 2007, programming from the main signal was integrated into the HD subchannel to accommodate for space, while at the same time preserving the integrity and demand for quality HD programming. In August 2007, KCET began broadcasting PBS World under digital subchannel 28.4. World's lineup includes programming related to world culture, news and history.

On January 1, 2011, with the suspension of its active membership in PBS, 28.2 became "KCET Kids and Family" airing mostly children's programs, 28.3 remained V-me (which operates independently of PBS), and 28.4 began airing MHz Worldview. The former had 28.2 is KCET Orange and 28.4 is PBS World.

Other ventures and partnerships[link]

KCET's long time studios in Los Angeles

KCET's website produces original multimedia web content including CA Stories. There are also video clips, podcasts, television schedule, contact information, and a Life & Times blog.

In 2006, KCET established an exclusive media partnership with Cal State-Fullerton. In 2007, KCET and Cal State-Fullerton collaborated on the new digital subchannel network "KCET Orange", which aired on Channel 28.2 until the January 2011 PBS dismembership, and the majority of Southern California digital cable systems. The network aired programs like Life and Times, plus additional arts and cultural programming tailored to Orange County. Contributions from students from Titan Communications TV^[10] and the College of Communications^[11] was intended to expand Cal State-Fullerton's contribution to KCET.^[12]

KCET also had a digital cable channel, KCET Desert Cities, which was available for Time Warner Cable subscribers in the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area until the January 2011 PBS dismembership.^{[citation needed]} It was carried on Channel 218, and its programming schedule differed from the main Los Angeles signal.

KCET offers their studio facilities to commercial productions to provide themselves an additional stream of revenue. They have been used mainly for the productions of the Game Show Network, including 2007's Camouflage and the 2010 revival of The Newlywed Game KCET's studios also hosted the MTV game show webRIOT and the California Lottery's Saturday evening programs, The Big Spin and Make Me a Millionaire.

Rebroadcasters[link]

KCET utilizes several repeaters to extend its coverage:

FCC actions[link]

On February 4, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined KCET $10,000 for failure to make its public file available for inspection by the general public. The fine was stemmed to an incident on August 19, 2010, when an FCC agent, not identifying himself as such, requested the security guard on duty that he would like to see the public file; the guard denied him access, as he was told that he would need to make an appointment. A return visit the following day (August 20) gave the same results. It wasn't until another visit that day that the agent was able to see the public file, but only after identifying himself as a FCC agent. According to the FCC document, the Executive Assistant for KCET explained that "the General Counsel of Station KCET was not in the office during those two days and that she did not know the exact organizational rules regarding public access to the station's public inspection file." The Security Supervisor also said that he was just following the station's security procedures. The FCC later levied the fine, citing that while security delays are reasonable, the fact that the examiner was unable to see the public file without an appointment without identifying themselves as such led to the fine.^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

• KCET Online
• KCET Desert Cities
• CA Stories
• KCET Podcasts
• KCET Lot History
• List of KCET's shows
• "Life & Times" community blog
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KCET
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KCET-TV
• Program Information for KCET at TitanTV.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

Philip Stephen Hendrie (born September 1, 1952) is an American radio personality and voice actor.

[edit] The Phil Hendrie Show

He is best known as the host of The Phil Hendrie Show, a comedy talk radio program that is syndicated throughout North America on Talk Radio Network. The Phil Hendrie Show has become renowned for its unique and controversial guests (actually fictional characters created and voiced by Hendrie himself).^[1]

Hendrie moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Miami, Florida where he further developed his show. The show then moved to KFI in Los Angeles, California and was nationally syndicated to approximately 100 radio stations. Hendrie was married in 1997 to radio talk show host Maria Sanchez. Their wedding was held at the Queen Mary and was broadcast live on KFI. In February 2005, Hendrie was moved from his flagship station, KFI, to XTRA Sports 570 AM, a sports talk radio station also based in Los Angeles.

In early 2006, Hendrie, despite a new contract from XM satellite radio, announced that he felt he had reached the limits of what he could do in “terrestrial talk radio” and expressing a desire to shift his career focus toward acting. On June 4, 2007, it was announced that Phil Hendrie would return to radio June 25, 2007 from 10 PM to 1 AM PST on The Dream Radio Network, with shows airing weeknightly. The new incarnation of Hendrie’s program is a combination of character voices from his old show and lighthearted political commentary.

Hendrie hosts a show on KTLK 1150, Monday - Friday from 11 PM to 3 AM. On November 20, 2010, Hendrie returned to KFI for the Saturday 7 PM to 10 PM slot but quit at the end of February 2012 in order to concentrate on his KTLK show, television appearances, and other projects.

Views and blog[link]

Hendrie considers his views unique for modern talk radio: on one hand, he is a registered Democrat who vocally supported Bill Clinton, voted for Al Gore over George W. Bush in 2000, both Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale over Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, and Michael Dukakis over George H.W. Bush (although Hendrie claims “I had to hold my nose when voting for Dukakis”). Hendrie is also adamantly pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and pro-amnesty for illegal immigrants. At the same time, he is extremely supportive of the Iraq War as well as the War on Terror. He voted for and supported President George W. Bush in the 2004 election, chiding Democrat John Kerry as trying to be “all things to all people” and cautioning listeners that Bush would in time be viewed as one of the greatest American presidents. These views caused a stir among some of his fans and tended to dominate his show throughout 2002 and 2003. Hendrie eventually started a blog titled "George W. Bush is God," seemingly to incite those who felt he was moving too far to the right. The blog came down after a few weeks, partly because Hendrie was tired of squabbling with readers. He supported Barack Obama in 2008, as noted on his September 11, 2008 broadcast.

Acting career[link]

Hendrie did voice work in 24 episodes of the animated TV series King of the Hill, beginning with the 1999 episode "Three Coaches and a Bobby". His last episode was "Uh-Oh Canada", which aired in May 2009.^[2]

Hendrie has also guest starred in three episodes of the animated TV series Futurama, usually voicing different members of a hippie family known as the Waterfalls, beginning with the 2000 episode "The Problem with Popplers", in which he played Free Waterfall Junior.

He voiced the computer I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E. and the Chechen terrorist in the 2004 feature film Team America: World Police.

In 2006, Hendrie had a recurring role as Dick Green in seven episodes of the NBC sitcom Teachers. From October 2006 to December 2007, he guest starred as a military base radio talk show host in five episodes of The Unit.

He appeared as the New Jersey Nets coach in the 2008 Will Ferrell film Semi-Pro. That same year, he appeared as Rudolph 'Rude' Carnahan in the TV movie Giants of Talk Radio.

Hendrie appeared as a prank-calling DJ in "Me? Jealous?", a February 2012 third season episode of the TV series Modern Family.

He also appeared in the several episodes of New Girl starting with the April 10, 2012 episode as a pompous sports talk radio personality.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Phil Hendrie at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website
• Phil Hendrie on Myspace
• Phil Hendrie's page on AM-KFI Los Angeles - Archived December 1998
• Radiotapes.com: featuring an aircheck of Phil Hendrie’s final show on WCCO-AM/Minneapolis–St. Paul