Trusted Southern California Public Media Sources PBS SoCal, KCET and KPCC Announce Cara Santa Maria as Host of All-New Daily Regional News Program SOCAL UPDATE
New Weekday Series Brings Viewers Vital Issues and Topics from Across the Region
Available for Free on Radio, Television, Online Streaming, Podcasts and Social Media
CONTACT
JP Shields
747.201.5886
JPShields@pmgsocal.org
Katie Fuchs
The Lippin Group for Southern California Public Radio
646.493.0215
Kfuchs@lippingroup.com
kcet.org/SoCalUpdate | pbssocal.org/SoCalUpdate | kpcc.org/SoCalUpdate
Los Angeles, Calif. – April 19, 2021 – PBS SoCal and KCET, Southern California’s flagship PBS organizations, announced today in collaboration with Southern California Public Radio’s flagship radio station 89.3 KPCC-FM that Cara Santa Maria will take over as the host for the previously announced new on-air and online program called SOCAL UPDATE. The new weekday series available on radio, television, online streaming, podcasts and social media features fair and accurately sourced, vital news issues from across the city. SOCAL UPDATE is published for on-demand listening anywhere podcasts are available. Two distinct, 2-minute daily segments will air on television every weeknight on PBS SoCal (5:28 p.m. PT and 10:58 p.m. PT) and every weeknight on KCET (5:28 p.m. PT and 5:58 p.m. PT, as well as a combined four-minute report at 8:56 p.m. PT Mon. - Thurs.) prior to the 6 p.m. PT daily airing of the award-winning news series PBS NewsHour and BBC World News on both stations respectively. SOCAL UPDATE is also available to stream on the free PBS App.
Cara Santa Maria is a Los Angeles Area Emmy® and Knight Foundation Award-winning journalist, science communicator, television personality, author, and podcaster. She is a former reporter/producer of KCET’s investigative news series SOCAL CONNECTED. She is the creator and host of the weekly podcast, Talk Nerdy, and co-host of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. Additional correspondent/co-starring credits include National Geographic's Brain Games and Explorer, Netflix's Bill Nye Saves the World, Al Jazeera America’s TechKnow and Fusion’s Real Future, among many others. She holds a B.S. in Psychology, M.S. in Neurobiology, M.A. in Clinical Psychology and is currently working toward a Ph.D.
Topics thus far have included the potential for school openings, the city’s rent crises, financial challenges for regional childcare providers, the potential impact of proposed new immigration plans and more. Pending the news of the day, SOCAL UPDATE may feature conversations with Southern California’s leaders, journalists and experts as well as an alternating panel of reporters. The daily report promises to keep both viewers and listeners informed of locally sourced news.
For episodes of SOCAL UPDATE, viewers can visit pbssocal.org/SoCalUpdate, kcet.org/SoCalUpdate. Audio episodes are available at kpcc.org/SoCalUpdate and listeners can subscribe on NPR One, Apple Podcasts, or wherever podcasts are available.
Join the conversation on social media by tagging #SoCalUpdate
About PBS SOCAL and KCET
PBS SoCal and KCET are both part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California, which was formed by the merger of PBS SoCal and KCETLink Media Group. PBS SoCal is the flagship PBS station for diverse people across California and delivers content and experiences that inspire, inform and educate. PBS SoCal offers the full slate of beloved PBS programs including MASTERPIECE, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, FRONTLINE, and a broad library of documentary films including works from Ken Burns; as well as educational content including PBS KIDS programs including DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and CURIOUS GEORGE. KCET is on-air, online and in the community, and plays a vital role in the cultural enrichment of Southern California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions and its website, kcet.org. For additional information about both KCET and PBS SoCal productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org and pbssocal.org KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Chromecast. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV, Amazon and Roku platforms. For more information please visit kcet.org/apps.
About Southern California Public Radio (SCPR)
Southern California Public Radio (https://www.scpr.org) is a member-supported multi-platform public media organization that has garnered more than 500 journalistic honors since 1999. Recognized as a national leader in public service journalism and civic engagement, SCPR’s flagship radio station, 89.3 KPCC-FM, reaches more than 900,000 listeners every week as the most listened-to public radio news service across Southern California. The network’s five stations (89.3 KPCC-FM, 89.1 KUOR-FM, 90.3 KVLA-FM, 89.9 FM, and 89.5 KJAI-FM) deliver award-winning local news coverage to the diverse communities of the region, including a robust slate of signature programs from NPR, APM, the BBC and PRI. LAist (https://laist.com) is a digital news site committed to in-depth reporting about life in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Its award-winning work reaches over seven million people per month, and in 2019, the brand grew to include LAist Studios (http://laiststudios.com), a dedicated podcast development and production studio. Furthering SCPR’s commitment to premium on-demand audio storytelling, podcasts from LAist Studios aim to reflect the ethos of Los Angeles — a forward-looking, minority-majority community built upon unmatched diversity, inclusion, and drive — going beyond geographical borders to connect with listeners around the globe who share the LA state of mind.
