header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
April 19
1880 - Pico Oil Spring Mine Section 2 patented by R.F. Baker and Edward F. Beale [story]
E.F. Beale


Viewers in community after community are being exposed to Santa Clarita's ultra-local cultural activities and history.
| Monday, Aug 29, 2011

Host Roger Martin interviews Santa Clarita Councilwoman Laurene Weste for an episode of "Out & About" at Hart Park in April 2010.

People all over the world are finding out about the William S. Hart Mansion, Lombardi Ranch and other Santa Clarita Valley locations.

That’s because in recent months, the long-running TV series, “Out & About with Roger Martin,” has spread well beyond SCVTV and its sister station in Beverly Hills.

Today the program – hosted by onetime SCVTV staff member Roger Martin and often featuring Santa Clarita events and locations – is carried on cable television channels across the United States, on satellite TV in five European countries, and on three broadcast channels in New Zealand.

“Jim and I have worked hard to develop a worldwide audience, and we’re keeping at it,” said Martin, referring to his longtime producer Jim Lichnerowicz.

“It’s exciting to know that a worldwide audience is learning about our ultra-local cultural activities and history,” Martin said.

Through “Out & About,” Martin and Lichnerowicz are able to focus on events that are off network television’s beaten path, such as the Ramona Days festival at Rancho Camulos and a Western-themed fundraiser at LARC Ranch in Saugus.

 

A New Series

Martin’s venture into the great Southern California outdoors began in March 1991 when he was on the staff of BHTV Channel 3 in Beverly Hills. A producer at the station, Lichnerowicz, offered to produce and edit a news magazine series with a suggested title of “Out & About in Beverly Hills.”

Martin abruptly snuffed out the idea when he determined there was not  enough new material in Beverly Hills to sustain an entire series.

“So it became ‘Out & About with Roger Martin’,” the host said. “We expanded the concept to include events mostly around Los Angeles and Southern California, with some coverage in New Mexico, Utah and Canada.”

The duo continued to go “out and about” when Martin joined the SCVTV team in 1995.

Twenty years have seen the production of more than 267 episodes – 100 more than “I Love Lucy,” Martin notes – and most contain coverage of two different Southland events.

“That makes well over 500 places we’ve visited,” Martin said, “shooting, learning and airing the experience.”

 

Santa Clarita Coverage

One of Martin’s earliest episodes to feature the Santa Clarita Valley came in 1994 when he was still on staff in Beverly Hills. Martin and Lichnerowicz were the only L.A.-based crew to provide thorough, documentary-style coverage of the devastation wrought locally by the Northridge earthquake in January of that year.

Guiding the pair was SCV resident Dianne Wohlleben, who would stay with them and contribute to later episodes.

Martin’s earthquake coverage included interviews with local victims, and with then-Mayor George Pederson and current City Manager Ken Pulskamp, who was assistant city manager at the time.

Martin strikes a classic pose that is growing increasingly familiar to people outside of Southern California.

The episode aired “even before the SCVTV studio was fully constructed,” Martin said. It was one of the first programs to be shown on SCVTV in 1994 after Santa Clarita’s two separate public television channels merged into Channel 20 on the local cable systems.

Today, SCVTV is available in Santa Clarita on Time Warner Cable Channel 20, AT&T U-verse 99, and worldwide at SCVTV.com.

And today, it is the Internet that is helping Martin and Lichnerowicz achieve global syndication.

A Web-based service utilized by community television channels (including SCVTV) enables other stations to download “Out & About” episodes. Martin said some of the best response for his program through the new distribution method has come from Fort Worth, Texas.

A TV station in Huntington, West Va., has aired the show regularly for years, he added. And for the past dozen years, it has been available on Channel 36 in Los Angeles.

This week it makes its debut on KCLV Channel 2 in Las Vegas. It continues to run weekly on SCVTV.

 

New Episodes, New Audiences

Martin, now 70, left SCVTV in 2003. But Martin and Lichnerowicz haven’t scaled back their production schedule. If anything, they’ve stepped it up.

In community after community, first-time viewers are being exposed to new and repeat episodes that have featured the Hart Park Animal Fair, the opening of the Jan Heidt Newhall Metrolink Station, the Gibbon Conservation Center in Saugus, Pumpkin Days at Lombardi Ranch, various street art festivals in Santa Clarita, and last year’s unveiling of the new William S. Hart postage stamp on the grounds of Hart’s Newhall home.

When Rancho Camulos celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 1910 D.W. Griffith film “Ramona” with Mary Pickford, and when the SCV Historical Society celebrated the life of Charlie Chaplin in February, Martin and his crew were there.

“Viewers all over the world are beginning to be exposed to the highlights of the good life in the Santa Clarita Valley,” Martin said.

 

For detailed episode information, visit www.outandabouttv.com and click on the “episodes” button or follow the link to the show’s Facebook page. “Out & About with Roger Martin” can be seen Mondays at 9:30 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. on SCVTV, and online at SCVTV.com.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT LINKS
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Wednesday, Apr 17, 2024
The Santa Clarita Valley Concert Band will perform a "Starry Might" concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday May 4. The concert, under the direction of Tim Durand, will be held at the Canyon Theatre Guild, 24242 Main St., Newhall, CA 91321.
Monday, Apr 15, 2024
The Santa Clarita Shakespeare Festival is expanding its 2024 Summer Season to include a weekend of performances at the MAIN in July by members of this summer’s youth Shakespeare Camp.
Friday, Apr 12, 2024
Take a magic carpet ride through the enchanting countries of the Middle East to experience an eclectic combination of music and dance from Egypt, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Emirates and more. Desert Dreams, An Evening of Dance and Music will appear on stage at The MAIN in Old Town Newhall Thursday, May 2 at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2024
"Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany," presented by Ingrid Garner will open Friday, April 26 at The MAIN theater in Old Town Newhall. The show will run for four performances.
Monday, Apr 8, 2024
 Vegetable dishes just got tastier.
Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
Princess Cruises, headquartered in Valencia, and ship builder Fincantieri of Monfalcone, Italy have announced the mutual decision to postpone the delivery of the next Sphere Class ship, Star Princess.
Princess Cruises Postpones Delivery of Star Princess, Inaugural Cruises Cancelled
1880 - Pico Oil Spring Mine Section 2 patented by R.F. Baker and Edward F. Beale [story]
E.F. Beale
The Master's University men's golf team shot a 13-under 275 to finish second at the Golden State Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championships held at Briarwood Country Club in Sun City West, Ariz.
TMU Men’s Golf Places 2nd, Women 5th at GSAC Championships
Join local nonprofit Project Sebastian for an exhilarating day of racing and community support at its Rare Warrior 24 race on Saturday, June 1, at Heritage Park in the heart of Santa Clarita.
June 1: Rare Warrior 24 Race Benefiting Project Sebastian
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station Station deputies will be taking part in the “DEA National Drug Take Back Day,” Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in front of the SCV Sheriff’s Station, located at 26201 Golden Valley Road.
April 27: Drug Take Back Day at SCV Sheriff’s Station
The College of the Canyons Center for Civic and Community Engagement—in collaboration with COC’s Golden Z Club—invites the community to attend the Nonprofit Community Resource Fair on Tuesday, April 30.
April 30: COC Hosts Nonprofit Community Resource Fair
College of the Canyons made quick work of visiting L.A. Valley College in a shortened 11-3 home victory that came on a day in which the program unveiled its newly named Michele Jenkins Softball Team Room during a pre-game dedication ceremony.
Lady Cougs Outslug L.A. Valley 11-3
For aspiring scientists at The Master’s University, taking up a student research project is no small commitment.
Retired Professor Continues to Mentor Aspiring TMU Scientists
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is warning residents not to use a Vietnamese herbal ointment called “Cao Bôi Trĩ Cây Thầu Dầu” (Castor Oil Hemorrhoid Extract) because it contains lead and can be fatal.
Public Health Urges Residents to Avoid Vietnamese Hemorrhoid Cream
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a California Apprenticeship Summit Wednesday to raise awareness of apprenticeship opportunities and career technical education pathways that connect California’s youth to high-wage, high-growth career opportunities.
State Apprenticeship Summit Connects Youth to High-Wage Opportunities
College of the Canyons student-athletes Nichole Muro (softball) and Angelo Aleman (baseball) have been named the COC Athletic Department's Women's and Men's Student-Athletes of the Week for the period running April 8-13.
COC Names Nichole Muro, Angelo Aleman Athletes of the Week
California State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, announced Wednesday his bill improving transparency between parents and schools’ sexual education curricula passed out of the Senate Education Committee.
Wilk’s Sex Education Transparency Bill Clears Senate Committee
1945 - Actors Harry & Olive Carey sell Saugus ranch after 29 years; now Tesoro del Valle [story]
Carey Ranch
The 76.6-mile-long Antelope Valley Line has the third-highest ridership in Metrolink’s system with an estimated average of 9,000 passengers daily. However, the uneven terrain and single-tracking along the line in some areas forces trains to travel at a slower speed which results in an estimated travel time of approximately one hour between Santa Clarita and Union Station.
Metrolink to Hold Public Meetings on AV Line Capacity, Improvements
Team Dragon Eyes, affectionately known as TDE, is gearing up to host its highly anticipated Fifth Annual Dragonboat Festival race on Saturday, June 1 at Castaic Lake, Lower Lagoon.
June 1: Team Dragon Eyes to Host Fifth Annual Dragonboat Festival Race
This year marks the 20th year that the city of Santa Clarita has been hosting the annual Bike to Work Challenge. The community is invited to celebrate by riding a bike to work the week of May 13, and stopping by a pit stop on Thursday, May 16.
Party at the Pit Stop, City Paves Way for 20th Annual Bike to Work Challenge
Ready to take control of your financial future? Join the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs Center for Financial Empowerment for the next installment in the Lunch & Learn Financial Capability Month webinar series, "Understanding Credit.
Online Financial Workshops with County DCBA
The Santa Clarita Valley Concert Band will perform a "Starry Might" concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday May 4. The concert, under the direction of Tim Durand, will be held at the Canyon Theatre Guild, 24242 Main St., Newhall, CA 91321.
May 4: SCV Concert Band Presents ‘Starry Night’ at CTG
After a record-setting 2023 combatting organized retail crime, the California Highway Patrol continues to aggressively disrupt and dismantle illegal operations throughout California.
CHP Continues Organized Retail Crime Crackdown, Recovers $4.2M in Goods
Celebrate Earth Day on Monday, April 22 with California State Parks at any of the 280 unique park units across the state. State Parks has numerous Earth Day-themed events planned. They include in-person activities such as guided walks and hikes, workdays and a bioblitz, as well as virtual programming with a live dive broadcast exploring the hidden world of the ocean.
April 22: Celebrate Earth Day at California State Parks
1930 - Telephone switchboard operator Louise Gipe, heroine of the 1928 St. Francis Dam disaster, tries & fails to kill herself over an unrequited love [story]
Louise Gipe
Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Major Crimes Bureau Detectives worked closely with Century Station Detectives after learning of a serial robbery crew committing crimes throughout Los Angeles County. 
Serial Robbery Crew Arrested
Join the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center for their second annual Cornhole Tournament fundraiser where all proceeds will support mental health services to anyone in need.
May 18: Samuel Dixon Cornhole Tournament Fundraiser
California State University, Northridge will confer honorary doctorates on four alumni, all respected leaders in their fields, at the university’s commencement ceremonies next month.
CSUN to Confer Honorary Degrees on Business & Education Leaders, All Alumni
SCVNews.com