KCOS, the El Paso PBS station, is our community’s source for engaging quality content with a focus on three key areas: education, arts and culture and news and information. For more than 38 years, viewers have known us to be the trusted source for outstanding PBS programs they can count on, including Masterpiece, Nature, NOVA, Frontline and more. “Only in El Paso” is a web series that’s been in production since 2013 and tells positive and unique stories about the people and places one can only find in our region.
The project is created and produced in partnership with local filmmakers. Also collaborating are Destination El Paso and PBS Digital Studios. Three full seasons have been completed (30 episodes) of unique mini-documentaries telling the stories of people, places, and experiences you can find only in El Paso. These videos have reached over 100,000 viewers to date, and will reach many more in the coming years through distribution at the El Paso airport, visitelpaso.com and the Only in El Paso YouTube channel.
Each episode is produced by a different digital storyteller from the El Paso area and explores topics such as arts, culture, music, living on the border, economic growth, and more. Examples of episodes have included “The Architecture of Trost,” “El Paso Boots,” “Underestimated: Koreans in El Paso” and “Los Matachines de San Lorenzo.” It is not unusual for episodes to focus on art, such as a recent episode on El Paso murals.
The goal of the project is two-fold: to provide opportunities to area filmmakers while expanding perceptions about what El Paso has to offer. To ensure quality programming and services, KCOS has developed a strong plan that creates a strong foundation of success for our organization, our partners and our participating artists. The plan was created to assure quality storytelling and videography as well as a good experience for all those collaborating. During our call for artists, KCOS shares our guidelines which ask prospective participants to share story ideas and a resume. While we do not expect artists to invest in creating a short without knowing if they have been chosen, we do ask them to share previous work to ensure they have the ability to produce a film. A committee of area industry and civic leaders will choose projects from the proposed topics. Once chosen, KCOS meets individually with each filmmaker to develop individual plans, create storyboards and sign contracts.