PRESS ROOM
Contact:Judith Schaefer, KOCE
jschaefer@koce.org
714.756.0383
714.895.0837
KOCE-TV ADDS PBS VICE-PRESIDENT TO NEW OPERATION
(Huntington Beach) Orange County’s recently reborn PBS station, KOCE, today announced the hiring of a top PBS executive as its new Executive Vice- President.
Linda Taira, PBS Vice-President for Member Affairs for the past 7 years, will join the KOCE team later this spring according to KOCE President, Mel Rogers. “Obviously, we’re very excited to bring someone of Linda’s caliber to KOCE,” Rogers said. “We see this as an important step toward making KOCE a world class public service media company.”
Taira brings a breadth of media experience to her new position. Formerly a Washington, DC and New York City based correspondent for CBS News and Chief Congressional Correspondent for CNN, Taira moved into the world of public relations in the mid 90’s working as a Senior Managing Director in the Washington DC office of Hill and Knowlton Public Affairs Worldwide.
“This is an ideal opportunity and time to be joining KOCE,” said Taira. “Having worked with many PBS stations around the country, I recognize the great possibilities and potential for KOCE. With an engaged board, a strong and respected station leader, and community support for a locally based public television station, all the critical pieces are in place to build KOCE into one of Orange County’s most visible and valuable assets.”
The hiring of Taira is the first major personnel move by the station since it was purchased from the Coast Community College District by the KOCE-TV Foundation in November. As part of the ownership transition, KOCE retired or transferred to the Coast District, nearly half of its full-time workforce. “We needed to shrink to grow,” said Bob Brown, KOCE Foundation Board Chair. “Now, armed with a new business plan and a growing staff, we’ll soon be in a position to truly make a positive difference in our communities.”
“We’re committed to a KOCE that can fill the huge Orange County media void and create for residents a unifying virtual downtown, enabling us to see our issues, events and each other in our family rooms each evening,” said Rogers. “We can’t keep our promises to our local viewers without the best possible senior management. With the addition of Linda to the team, we’ll be better able to raise funds, meet community needs, offer educational services, unify Orange County and serve diverse audiences throughout Southern California.”
KOCE continues to defy current broadcasting trends by significantly growing its weekly cume audience during the past four years making the station one of the top ten most watched PBS stations in the country. Despite its Orange County base, more than half of its regular viewers live in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
