KCET's Award-Winning 'SoCal Connected' Celebrates Black History Month, Delves Into Climate Change and Reports on This Year's Academy Awards

Airing 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Nightly

of special Oscar^® coverage leading up to Oscar Weekend, plus a look

at what's become a sizzling housing market in the Southland. On President's

Day, a repeat MLK Day special will be aired in celebration of Black History

Month.

In honor of Black

History Month, SoCal Connected will re-air this year's MLK Day special

episode. Expert panelists focus on what the reelection of President Barack

Obama signifies in terms of the country's racial tolerance; the state of

African American political power in light of the growing Latino population; the

image of African Americans in the entertainment industry; and whether we are

moving toward a post-racial society.

A special

"Climate Change" special kicks off with reporting on the politics of climate

change, focusing on current events such as Obama's State of the Union and the

scheduled February 17 Forward on Climate Rally in Washington, D.C.

Then, Madeleine

Brand speaks with two environmental experts: Alex Hall, UCLA professor and

environmental historian, and fellow UCLA professor and environmental scientist

Jon Christensen. The interview will be followed by a repeat of Brand's

interview with Jeff Orlowski, the filmmaker behind the climate change

documentary Chasing Ice.

Due in part to

record low interest rates and fewer foreclosed properties, the housing market

in the Southland is sizzling again.  Over

the last year, housing prices in L.A. County alone rose 9.7 percent, but as

And how does the typical family compete with "flippers" and other

investors who are able to purchase homes above asking price with cash? An

update is also provided.

Also, Madeleine

Brand and Val Zavala speak with Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin about the L.A. that

"could have been" if a few urban planning proposals had been successful at the

beginning of the 20th century. "Never Built: Los Angeles" is a reflection of

these proposals, and will be showing at the A+D Architecture and Design Museum.

Every year, the

Oscar race seems to get more intense. Jennifer London examines the high stakes

involved in the 2013 Academy Awards campaign and examines how the Best Picture

contenders are marketing their nominated films more aggressively than ever this

year.

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 10:00 p.m. exclusively on KCET. For more information, to view

episodes online or to leave comments, please visit www.socalconnected.org.

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; and The California Endowment. 

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:

Ariel Carpenter

or Ayn Allen

KCET

Communications Department

747-201-5243; acarpenter@kcet.org

747-201-5886; aallen@kcet.org

or

Michelle Marron

or Liza Nedelman

MPRM

Communications

323-933-3399

mmarron@mprm.com

lnedelman@mprm.com

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