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KCETLink's Award-Winning SoCal Connected Moves to New Times as Season Five Comes to a Close

By Angelica Alumia
March 28, 2013
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Begins Airing Fridays at 9:30 p.m. and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. as of Week of April 1

Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2013 - SoCal Connected, the award-winning news program, today announced that, as of the week of April 1, it will be moving to new times - Fridays at 9:30 p.m. and repeating on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. Since the show is going on its annual hiatus, upcoming episodes will consist of select original segments, as well as highlights from the past season. 

"SoCal Connected is going on hiatus as Season Five ends this week, although we will continue to be on the air twice a week with some original programming and the best of the season," said Bret Marcus, executive producer, SoCal Connected and senior vice president, News and Factual Programming, KCETLink. "As happens every year, there are questions about the show's future. And the answer is always the same, SoCal Connected depends on public funding and we don't know at this time what that funding will be. We are very proud of what we have accomplished this year, and hope the show will be back for Season Six."

SoCal Connected is known for its prize-winning investigative reporting and Season Five was no exception. The news team was the first to report on the Los Angeles Unified School District's hiring of the  Reverend Joseph Piña, a local priest accused of sexual misconduct. Also, SoCal Connected was the first to air church tapes describing the "L.A. Model," an experimental plan that placed some suspect priests in desk jobs in the Archdiocese or helped them find employment throughout the city, without informing the public of their misdeeds. Additionally, the program uncovered questionable practices in the awarding of contracts by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. And, SoCal Connected investigated policies and procedures in municipalities around Los Angeles, including Compton, Huntington Park, Irvine, Bell and Huntington Beach.

"We are very proud of our fifth season, as we initiated more changes than ever before," said Marcus. "SoCal Connected moved from airing one night to five nights a week. Radio personality, Madeleine Brand, joined host, Val Zavala, on a nightly basis as a special contributor. And, we produced more than 80 episodes - three times as many as in Season Four."

This season so far, SoCal Connected has received the most prestigious award in broadcasting, the duPont-Columbia University Award for Investigative Journalism, as well as two Golden Mike Awards.

About SoCal Connected
SoCal Connected, winner of a Peabody and two duPont Awards, 17 Emmy® Awards, 19 Golden Mikes, 41 LA Press Club Awards, two Gracie Awards, and three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, including Best News Documentary and Los Angeles Magazine's "Best New Local TV Program" of 2009, airs nightly at 5:30 p.m. with encores at 10 p.m. exclusively on KCET. For more information, to view episodes online or to leave comments, please visit www.socalconnected.org.

SoCal Connected is made possible through the generous support of The Ahmanson Foundation serving the Los Angeles community since 1952; Jim and Anne Rothenberg; the Maddocks Brown Foundation; The John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation; The California Endowment and UCLA.  

About KCET
On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. KCET currently produces the Emmy®, duPont-Columbia and Peabody Award-winning SoCal Connected, a hard-hitting prime-time nightly television news program that examines the issues and people of Southern California. Throughout its 48-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children's programs, its outreach and community services and its website, kcet.org. KCET is a donor-supported community institution. For additional information about KCET productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org.

CONTACT:
Susan C. Mills
Public Relations
KCETLink/SoCal Connected
Email: smills@kcet.org
Phone: 747-201-5416 

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