This Week on KCET's Award-Winning Weekly Series 'SOCAL CONNECTED': Are They Art or Ads? The Controversy Over Murals Containing Company Logos and Ads, and the Gray Area that has Emerged Between Art and Advertising

BURBANK, CA

 -

Sept 5, 2014 -

SOCAL CONNECTED, KCET's Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning

series explores the debate that has developed since Los Angeles adopted a new

ordinance in 2013 governing public murals. The law states original art murals

must be free of all commercial logos or advertising. However, since the

ordinance went into effect, two murals have been removed. One was a mural that

contained the image of a modified Converse sneaker; the other, which was the

album cover for the band, Foster the People, contained no logo or ad. SOCAL CONNECTED reporter Nic Cha Kim

explores the ambiguous area between art and advertising, and asks whether

L.A.'s murals should be commercial-free.

This story is based on KCET.org's Departures'

coverage of murals in Los Angeles. For more, go to www.kcet.org/murals. 

The story airs on Wednesday, September

10, 2014 at 8 p.m.

This week's

SOCAL

CONNECTED

also features:

Citizen

Scientists Discover New Species of Insects

- A Los Feliz family is hoping to name a fly they caught

in their backyard after their son, Brady. That is just one of the perks that comes

with being a "citizen scientist" for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

County. There are thousands of insect species still to be discovered and dozens

of them have already been found on people's property. Science reporter Cara

Santa Maria looks at the program that gets L.A. residents involved in research.

Guerilla

Gardeners

- They work

under cover of darkness, without permits or permission. They are guerilla gardeners

who find an ugly and neglected plot of city-owned land and transform it with

succulents and other hearty plants. Anchor Val Zavala meets the people who are surreptitiously

beautifying small sections of Los Angeles.

Strange Desert Homesteads - Today rundown, abandoned shacks dot

the desert landscape of the Morongo Basin. But in another era, they were called

"jackrabbit homesteads"; tiny homes occupied by a hearty few who took up

an offer of cheap land from the U.S. Government in 1938. These skeletons hold

the stories of their long-gone occupants and have inspired some artists

and writers to turn them into creative living spaces today. This segment is based on work from

KCET's Artbound.

Broadcast Premiere Date: 

Wednesday, September 10

at 8 p.m.

Repeated: Friday, September 12 at 8 p.m. and

Sunday, September 14 at 6:30 p.m.

SOCAL CONNECTED is anchored by 16-time Emmy®-Award

winner, Val Zavala. Contributors include

science journalist Cara Santa Maria, reporters Derrick Shore and Jennifer

Sabih, documentary filmmaker Nic Cha Kim and writer Nick Hardcastle.

The

television broadcast executive producer for SOCAL CONNECTED is Val

Zavala; digital executive producer is Zach Behrens; and Linda Burns is senior

producer.

ABOUT

SOCAL CONNECTED

SOCAL CONNECTED, winner of a Peabody® and two

duPont Awards, 23 Emmy® Awards, 24 Golden Mikes, 48 LA Press Club Awards, two

Gracie Awards, and four regional and one national Edward R. Murrow Awards,

including Best News Documentary and

Los

Angeles Magazine

's "Best New Local TV Program" of 2009, airs

exclusively on KCET. For more information, to view episodes online or to leave

comments, please visit www.socalconnected.org. 

SOCAL

CONNECTED

is made possible through the generous support of The Ahmanson

Foundation, Chapman University and the MaddocksBrown Foundation.

ABOUT

KCET

On-air,

online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and

educational enrichment of Southern and Central 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 50-year history, KCET has won

hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs

programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality

educational family and children's programs, its outreach and community services

and its website, kcet.org. KCET is a donor-supported community institution. For

additional information about KCET productions, web-exclusive content,

programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET is a

service of KCETLink.

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