Life Times Television Program

"Life & Times," KCET-TV Channel 28's half-hour public affairs series, will go live five nights a week, beginning in January, station President and Chief Executive Officer Al Jerome said Wednesday. This will mark the first time in more than 20 years that KCET has had a live presence Monday through Friday nights. Only one of "Life & Time's" five weeknight editions currently airs live. The announcement came after the public television station's board on Tuesday adopted a $47.

After 15 years, KCET-TV is pulling the plug on its weeknight public-affairs series "Life & Times." It will cease production at the end of the year. The public television station did not offer a reason for the move but instead announced that it would be producing a new series, tentatively titled "SoCal Connected," that will premiere in 2008.

Talking heads get a bad rap. Nothing is more interesting, in fact, than interesting talking heads. The proof is KCET-TV Channel 28's "Life & Times," the best, most stimulating locally produced series on Los Angeles television. Granted, that's like calling Pete Wilson the best California governor in Sacramento. The competition isn't stiff.

A veteran KNBC Channel 4 newsman will be the new face at KCET Channel 28. Jess Marlow, whose 42-year career included a 27-year stint at KNBC as an anchor, reporter and commentator, is joining KCET's "Life & Times Tonight" later this month as an anchor of the news and public affairs program. Marlow, 71, is coming out of semiretirement Jan. 22 to host the daily series with continuing co-anchor Val Zavala.

Eighteen months after taking the helm at KCET-TV Channel 28, Al Jerome says without a moment's hesitation that what he's most proud of is putting plans into place to air live broadcasts of "Life & Times," the station's half-hour public-affairs series, five nights a week. The live broadcasts, which will also include news reports, begin in January.

Public-television station KCET, which has canceled virtually all of its local series, plans to launch a new series about people and issues in Southern and Central California in January, Channel 28 officials said. But station manager Stephen Kulczycki cautioned that funding for the ambitious weeknight project is not yet in place.

After 15 years, KCET-TV is pulling the plug on its weeknight public-affairs series "Life & Times." It will cease production at the end of the year. The public television station did not offer a reason for the move but instead announced that it would be producing a new series, tentatively titled "SoCal Connected," that will premiere in 2008.

At last, a sleaze-free 7:30 p.m. weekday alternative to "Hard Copy" and "A Current Affair." The welcome newcomer is "Life & Times," the current affair of KCET Channel 28. It's a promising half-hour series that may have the fresh eyes through which to observe Southern California and its inhabitants in interesting new ways. They aren't the swollen cynical eyes of local TV news, nor ones whose view is softened or distorted by rose-colored lenses.

A veteran KNBC Channel 4 newsman will be the new face at KCET Channel 28. Jess Marlow, whose 42-year career included a 27-year stint at KNBC as an anchor, reporter and commentator, is joining KCET's "Life & Times Tonight" later this month as an anchor of the news and public affairs program. Marlow, 71, is coming out of semiretirement Jan. 22 to host the daily series with continuing co-anchor Val Zavala.

Los Angeles public-television station KCET Channel 28 announced a double dose of good news Wednesday involving $2 million in production funding: * A grant of $1 million from the James Irvine Foundation to "Life & Times," the local documentary and studio discussion series, covering the next two seasons. The grant will fund four studio shows a week and 40 new documentaries. The foundation already had given $750,000 to the series, which premiered in January, 1992.

After everyone else in Los Angeles had him last week, Dennis Rodman, the newest and loopiest Los Angeles Laker, got seven minutes on the program anointed by its station as "an intelligent alternative source of news and information."

Eighteen months after taking the helm at KCET-TV Channel 28, Al Jerome says without a moment's hesitation that what he's most proud of is putting plans into place to air live broadcasts of "Life & Times," the station's half-hour public-affairs series, five nights a week. The live broadcasts, which will also include news reports, begin in January.

"Life & Times," KCET-TV Channel 28's half-hour public affairs series, will go live five nights a week, beginning in January, station President and Chief Executive Officer Al Jerome said Wednesday. This will mark the first time in more than 20 years that KCET has had a live presence Monday through Friday nights. Only one of "Life & Time's" five weeknight editions currently airs live. The announcement came after the public television station's board on Tuesday adopted a $47.

KCET-TV Channel 28 inaugurates the third season of its local series "Life & Times" tonight with substantial format changes: four in-studio, "talking head" programs a week instead of three, one documentary program instead of two, and a greater focus on statewide issues. The changes continue the trend of downsizing documentary evenings in the series, which premiered in January, 1992. In its first season, "Life & Times" embarked on an ambitious program of having three documentary nights a week.

Los Angeles public-television station KCET Channel 28 announced a double dose of good news Wednesday involving $2 million in production funding: * A grant of $1 million from the James Irvine Foundation to "Life & Times," the local documentary and studio discussion series, covering the next two seasons. The grant will fund four studio shows a week and 40 new documentaries. The foundation already had given $750,000 to the series, which premiered in January, 1992.

Talking heads get a bad rap. Nothing is more interesting, in fact, than interesting talking heads. The proof is KCET-TV Channel 28's "Life & Times," the best, most stimulating locally produced series on Los Angeles television. Granted, that's like calling Pete Wilson the best California governor in Sacramento. The competition isn't stiff.

After everyone else in Los Angeles had him last week, Dennis Rodman, the newest and loopiest Los Angeles Laker, got seven minutes on the program anointed by its station as "an intelligent alternative source of news and information."

At last, a sleaze-free 7:30 p.m. weekday alternative to "Hard Copy" and "A Current Affair." The welcome newcomer is "Life & Times," the current affair of KCET Channel 28. It's a promising half-hour series that may have the fresh eyes through which to observe Southern California and its inhabitants in interesting new ways. They aren't the swollen cynical eyes of local TV news, nor ones whose view is softened or distorted by rose-colored lenses.