KOCE’s future belongs with the public, viewers

Wednesday, trustees for the Coast Community College District will

have their first chance to speak as a group about the latest twist to

the sale of KOCE-TV. With the threat of a lawsuit hanging over their

heads, it’s safe to assume that their words will be careful and

measured, if not a bit frustrated and angry.

If trustees do show anger, they will only be reflecting how a

majority of people who live within the district’s boundaries feel.

There is widespread disbelief that the district’s sale of the public

TV station to the KOCE-TV Foundation has been derailed by first a

court ruling in June and more recently a request by Christian

broadcaster Daystar that the court award it the right to buy the

station for as much as $40 million.

If it all sounds painfully familiar, it is.

In December 2003, the district board voted to sell the station to

the foundation for $32 million -- $8 million of that in cash. Daystar

had submitted a $40-million, all-cash bid, which trustees rejected as

being filed after the bidding deadline. Daystar sued, but the Orange

County Superior Court upheld the sale to the foundation. The Federal

Communications Commission then transferred the broadcast license to

the foundation, which officially took over the station last year.

And that, everyone but the people at Daystar figured, was that.

Like all those who favor the foundation, we believe the

responsible course of action is to keep the station public and local,

which is what the foundation has done.

Unfortunately, the court lately seems to be thinking differently,

and if Daystar ends up getting control of KOCE, it will be a loss for

Newport-Mesa and the county. There are already too few local media

outlets, and certainly nothing can replace KOCE when it comes to

producing educational programs. Certainly Daystar -- whose officials

say they plan a lawsuit if the district doesn’t accept their

arguments and sell the station to them -- has no background in such

work.

A hope, though, rests in the fact that this story has already

taken plenty of unexpected turns. Perhaps another will appear soon,

and the foundation will get to keep KOCE, and the public will get to

keep its TV station.