KCET’s Mission

The real tragedy is not the lack of National Public Radio programming in L.A., it is the lack of public television programming in the center of the entertainment industry (“Poised to Spread an L.A. State of Mind,” by Sean Mitchell, June 4).

With one of the largest audiences in the country, tremendous facilities, huge fund-raising efforts and the proximity of the entertainment business, KCET produces no national programs, one regional California program and a local news broadcast. This is disgraceful.

People in the industry are continually begging KCET to open up its programming (myself included). Many of the finest and most well-heeled individuals in the Southern California communications industry would volunteer their time and talent to the station if it made an effort to contend with stations from Washington state, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Tampa, San Francisco; not to mention the giants of Boston, New York and Chicago.

Maybe it’s time for new leadership at KCET, someone with vision and an interest in education instead of fund-raising and building a donations brick wall on the lot and an even larger wall between the creative community of Los Angeles and the rest of the country.

JOHN BLANCHETTE

Santa Monica