Kcts-TV's Local Vision Needs New Prescription

KCTS-TV: Who needs it?

That's what Northwest viewers may be wondering these days as Seattle's public television station lurches toward local self-obliteration.

You'd think that with public TV swamped by competition on the national front - from Nickelodeon, A&E, The History Channel, HBO, Showtime, etc. - the folks on Mercer Street would comprehend the importance of community coverage as a means to survival.

Nah. They killed Barry Mitzman's current affairs program, "Friday." They killed KCTS' participation in "Front Porch Forum." They killed the diversity-focused "True Colors."

So it's no surprise to learn that KCTS had a chance to pick up Seattle's best weekly public-affairs program for free - and yes, Mommy, they killed that, too.

For those who haven't seen it, "Northwest Week" is a half-hour interview show devoid of the glossy tricks and confrontational tone typical of our hidden-camera age. During its short existence, it has made the leap from public-access cable to a 7 p.m. spot Mondays on Tacoma public station KBTC-TV.

"Northwest Week" hangs much of its appeal on host C.R. Douglas. Sheathed in serious dark-rimmed glasses and sober suits, Douglas is mischievous intelligence incarnate: a Clark Kent whose interviewing superpowers turn on when he's got a hot topic between his teeth.

Most important of all - if you're in the public television racket - "Northwest Week" pays its own way. The show produces 40 new episodes a year out of grants from the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation and from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which doubled its funding from last season.

So how come "Northwest Week" got grabbed by the canny KBTC instead of the community-challenged KCTS?

According to Douglas, it need not have been so.

In spring of 1998, Douglas and "Northwest Week" producer Gary Davis felt their show was ready to move off public-access cable. They put out feelers to KOMO, KING/KONG, KBTC and KCTS.

At KCTS, now-departed producer Gary Gibson responded, telling Douglas to send tapes to local funding and programming honcho Kay Ingram. But progress was slow and when KBTC made an offer, Douglas accepted.

Still, he renewed his contact with Gibson and Ingram this spring, discussing the possibility of a co-production with KBTC.

"I called and left Kay Ingram several messages and she never responded," says Douglas. "When I finally got hold of her by calling at 9 a.m. one morning, she basically said there was no place on the schedule, but that she'd think about it."

Mind you, this was near the end of KCTS' 1999-2000 budget planning process - a process that would end with the axing of "True Colors" and "Front Porch Forum."

Further calls and letters to Ingram and KCTS Chief Executive Burnill Clark were never answered.

Reached last week, Ingram responded by again noting that scheduling had been a problem. Somewhat icily, she observed there was no point in KCTS carrying "Northwest Week" since it already was on KBTC - an ex post facto piece of logic considering KCTS rejected its first-crack opportunity.

Ingram also announced that KCTS was looking into development of a new weekly public-affairs show of its own under the aegis of executive producer (and late "True Colors" host) Enrique Cerna.

Pressed for details, though, she declined to elaborate. "We really are just looking at it as a concept now and can't describe it," she said. Asked about funding, Ingram gave a similar response: "We're looking at ways to fund it from both inside and outside, but really can't do that until we flesh it out."

Later, KCTS e-mailed a list of its 1998-1999 local programs: three arts specials and eight current-affairs specials, plus the quarterly call-in feature, "Ask the Governor."

That's less public-affairs coverage than the commercial stations in Seattle do. And these days, most of them do it better.

So if Seattle's public television station can't or won't serve the community, that brings us back to the original question.

KCTS-TV: Who needs it?

Kay McFadden's TV column runs Mondays and Thursdays in Scene. She can be reached at 206-382-8888, or at kmcfadden@seattletimes.com