Without PBS, public TV’s KCET becomes independent production center

WASHINGTON — KCET, the Los Angeles public television station that cancelled PBS programming last winter, is being watched closely by public broadcasting executives here as it charts a new course – as an independent public TV station that is also a regional production center. KCET achieved surprising success with its spring post-PBS schedule of international news from the BBC and NHK, re-runs of cooking shows and a limited number of locally-produced programs: After initially losing half of its audience last winter, by May it was attracting more viewers than PBS station KOCE, which was running "Nova," "Masterpiece," and the rest……