SHINING
LIGHT ON OCEANSIDE SINCE 1984 In
1984, with the encouragement and support of the City of Oceanside, a separate
non-profit corporation, Oceanside Community Service Television Corporation (KOCT)
was formed. KOCT
was made responsible for providing Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) access
programming to the citizens of Oceanside. WE
ARE YOUR CHANNEL KOCT-The
Oceanside Channel is celebrating over 20 years of community television service
in the City of Oceanside. Oceanside Community Television (KOCT) is a non-profit
Corporation that provides public, educational and government access programming
and services on Cox Communications Channels 18 and 19.
KOCT provides "live" coverage and replays of all City Council meetings, produces
and airs documentaries, local sports, talk shows and innumerable other community
programs. KOCT also provides Community Bulletin Boards so that government and
local non-profit agencies can publicize their events. KOCT
is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors representing various segments of
the community and operates with a 13-member full-time staff and the assistance
of part-time students and volunteers. A
contract agreement with the City of Oceanside stipulates that KOCT is responsible
for Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) access. KOCT's channel 19 is the
Government Channel with City-related information and programming. The County Television
Network (CTN) is also shown on channel 19. Channel
18 -The Community Channel provides a range of programming including public and
educational access, local origination and the California Channel. Both Channels
18 and 19 are in operation 24 hours a day. KOCT
supplies all of the technical assistance and equipment for the production of its
programs. It augments its professional staff with part-time workers and student
interns from local colleges. The station provides invaluable experience for individuals
interested in telecommunications careers. Student interns and interested volunteers
can obtain valuable on-the-job experience. KOCT's
continued success and growth will ensure that the people of Oceanside retain a
mass media platform well into the 21st century. KOCT's award-winning programs
and services have brought national recognition and acclaim to The Oceanside Channel.
KOCT's premiere magazine format program, Inside Oceanside, won first place in
the 2006 Hometown Video Awards competition. KOCT
prides itself on its responsiveness to community desires, needs and suggestions
and welcomes your comments. HISTORY
KOCT
began in the early 1980's when recently retired local resident Bob Bowditch and
other volunteers approached the City of Oceanside about videotaping City Council
meetings. For the first time equipment and television time were being made available
to many cities because of the growth and development of cable television. (Although
in the early 70's Oceanside did have one of the first local origination stations
in the nation via Footcone and Belding) These
volunteers began working with City staff to videotape city council meetings, edit
them into two-hour programs. The tapes were hand-delivered to the cable companies
headed for airing. In 1984, with the City's encouragement, a separate non-profit
corporation, Oceanside Community Service Television Corporation (KOCT) was formed.
KOCT
was made responsible for providing PEG (Public, Educational, and Government) access
programming for the citizens of Oceanside. Bob Bowditch, his wife Ida, William
Sinatra and many, many other volunteers oversaw the development of KOCT, acquisition
of equipment and rental of the first studio. Upon his death in 1989, KOCT's Board
of Directors hired a full-time staff and made the current Executive Director,
Tom Reeser the General Manager of KOCT. In
October of 1999 KOCT launched two dedicated channels: Channel 17- The Government
Channel and Channel 18- The Community Channel. KOCT received the Alliance for
Community Media Award of Overall Excellence for Local Origination in the 1999
Hometown Award competition. In January of 2002 KOCT's Government Channel moved
to its present location--Channel 19. KOCT
now employs 13 full-time employees, 21 part-time employees and numerous volunteers
and college interns. KOCT is widely recognized as a great place to start a professional
broadcast career because of the variety of programs that it annually produces.
The production staff utilizes state-of-the-art production tools to document the
life and times of San Diego county's third largest city: The City of Oceanside.
Thanks to capital funding provided by Cox Communication to the City of Oceanside
for PEG support, KOCT recently upgraded its equipment and doubled the size of
its facility. back
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