By EVELYN BARGE Palisadian-Post Intern For seven employees at the Local Television Network studios in Hollywood, going to work is like a high school reunion every day of the week. That’s because all seven graduated from Palisades Charter High School in the 1990s, and they have come together once again to pursue, instead of a high school diploma, careers in the entertainment industry. And, unlike high school, they’re also getting paid for it. “It’s so neat that our lives are intertwining from a long time ago,” said Jaime Nelson, LTN senior producer. “Among the people who all went to Palisades High School, our lives have continued to grow together, and we’re all still working together.” Nelson, Jenny Bosustow, Rebecca Koenig, Gabe Wallace, Brent Stangel, Forrest Stangel and Adam Smart are the seven Pali graduates among some 160 employees at LTN, a cable network designed for the 18-34 demographic in the Los Angeles area. The network is the brainchild of founder and CEO Justin Mahy, an investment banker from New Zealand. While Mahy, now 33, was living in Toronto, Canada, he took note of the city’s local television network called City TV. “He was inspired by it and wondered why we didn’t have anything like it in the States,” Nelson said. LTN took up residence in a four-story building on Hollywood Boulevard, just above Star Shoes nightclub and several blocks from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The building is vacant, except for the top two floors, which are occupied by LTN’s production offices. Nelson, who owned a clothing company for three years and was working as a freelance producer, first heard about LTN two years ago through John Smart, who had already begun working with Mahy on the early stages of sales and development. Smart’s children, Adam and Amy (the actress), also went to PaliHi and grew up in Topanga with Nelson. “When I found out about it, I couldn’t get it out of my head,” Nelson said. “I started writing and shooting things, and, once they were ready to make the pilots and sales tape, I was very happy to produce it.” Nelson, a 1994 Pali High graduate and a UC Santa Cruz graduate, began working at LTN while it was still a start-up venture. Watching the company grow from a small crew of six people “has been amazing and surreal at times,” she said. “It just feels like a train that’s in motion and there are no brakes, and we’re just going full-force ahead.” LTN officially launched on October 3 as a nightly block from 8 p.m. to midnight on Southern California sports channel KVMD-TV. The channel is distributed via Adelphia, Charter, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and the DISH Network and reaches about 3.7 million area households. Programming is run by Greg Brannan, the former executive vice president of programming for E! Networks. The network features nine shows that cover local fashion, music, extreme sports, dining, travel, nightlife, subcultures, the entertainment industry and street basketball. The shows change every night across the network’s four-hour time slot. (For program schedules, visit www.ltnla.com.) “Our philosophy is that we’re going to be part of our viewers’ lifestyles,” Nelson said of LTN’s programming. “We are going to help them connect to all the options they have in the city, all the stuff that’s there and accessible in real life. We decided to cover all the bases.” But LTN executives have even bigger objectives for the network. “The big-picture plan is that we will be a 24-hour network,” Nelson said. “LTN is actually a brand of television, so eventually we’ll also be going to other cities. It will always be about local programming for our demographic in that particular city.” Bosustow, a 1995 PaliHi alum, graduated from San Francisco State and then lived in Spain, where she worked as a photographer for “In Madrid” (“the L.A. Weekly of Madrid”). After returning to Los Angeles, she learned from Nelson, her friend since ninth grade, that LTN was hiring Web producers. Bosustow interviewed with another senior producer, Merah Chung, and was hired in August. She now works as Web producer for three of LTN’s shows: “Night Guide,” the nightlife show; “City Vibe,” the music show; and “Red Light,” the subcultures show. She said working at LTN is an experience unlike any other, because the network’s employees aren’t just trying to reach the target demographic’they are part of the target demographic. “You’re at these meetings and looking around the table, and everyone is in the target audience,” Bosustow said. “Everyone is from L.A. or has been here for a number of years, and people are just throwing ideas out about everything they’ve been doing in the city. We are all just so excited to make shows about the L.A. we actually live in.” Rebecca Koenig, a 1996 Pali graduate and UC Santa Barbara graduate, said it was this excitement that Bosustow passed along to her when they first started talking seven months ago about job opportunities at LTN. At the time, Koenig was working at the Elyse Walker boutique in the Palisades. After submitting her resume, Koenig was hired in October as the stylist for all nine LTN shows. “I’ve been excited about it ever since I set foot in this office,” said Koenig, who grew up in the Highlands. “I’ve always been interested in styling, and it’s such a hard field to break into. I feel like I’ve hit the goldmine.” Although coordinating wardrobes for nine different shows is overwhelming at times, Koenig said she feels up to the challenge. “Everyone has been so appreciative and supportive, and everyone wants to be involved.” That sense of support and optimist is a common thread throughout all of LTN’s operations, Nelson said. “There’s definitely a family tie woven through this whole company. The company is like a big family.” Bosustow said the positive energy is a reflection of the people who work at LTN, people who have been given a chance to pursue their dreams. “A lot of people who work here wanted an opportunity to show what they can do,” she said. “There’s a lot of really incredibly talented people who have been assisting in various positions, and they have finally gotten the opportunity to be in charge.” Among LTN employees, there is no question that the company is headed for success. “It’s incredibly ambitious starting a television network and an in-house production company,” Nelson said. “I feel very busy, but, when I have a moment to step back and see the caliber and talent of people that have come together to do this, I feel so lucky. There’s not a doubt in my mind that it’s going to be successful.” The network’s ratings tell a similar story. On several nights, the network has pulled viewers away from MTV and also received higher ratings that MTV, VH1 and ESPN. “That’s almost unheard of for a network that’s only been on-air for a few months,” Nelson said. “The bottom line is that we’re getting good ratings, which means people are watching.” In the aftermath of the fall launch, the Palisadians at LTN said they have simply enjoyed working at a company that values their ambitions. And, what’s more, spending time at work is like spending time with friends. “I think we all just appreciate that sense of home we can create for each other here,” Nelson said.
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