KDLS: A Broadcast Built on Heart, Humor, and a Thousand Tangled Cables

Long before HD cameras, ring lights, and the power of PA systems, there existed the wonderful and occasionally glitchy institution at De La Salle High School, KDLS. To understand KDLS is to understand a time when creativity ran wild, cables tangled like vines, and the phrase “We’re live!” was a lifestyle.

What began in the mid‑1970s as Video News moderated by Br. Tom Cannon quickly grew into a cultural phenomenon woven into the daily rhythm of Spartan life. Students operated analog tape recorders, basic microphones, and studio equipment that would seem delightfully prehistoric by today’s standards. Yet for the Spartans of that era, KDLS was nothing short of revolutionary, a place to hone communication skills, explore storytelling, and bring campus life to the screen in a way no PA system ever could.

KDLS wasn’t just a broadcast. It was a classroom without desks, a studio without limits, and a playground for curiosity. Students learned on the job, managing everything from morning announcements to recorded event coverage. They discovered how to frame a shot, how to project their voices, and how to keep calm when a tape jammed at the worst possible moment. These experiences built not only technical literacy, but confidence, the kind that sticks with you long after graduation.

For Spartan Kent Camera ’86, now Vice President of Production for Fox Sports, KDLS was the launchpad. 

Kent remembers, “Sitting in Brother Clarence Schenk’s media class, watching something unusual: 10 to 15 minutes of end credits from ABC’s Olympic coverage. Names scrolled endlessly across the screen, camera operators, editors, audio engineers, production assistants, people the average viewer would never notice.” He wondered why Brother Clarence had them watching this marathon of names.

Then came the lesson, actually, three lessons that shaped the way Kent saw television. 

“First, Brother Clarence taught us that a broadcast is built by countless people that viewers never see. There’s a place in television for every kind of talent, not just the ones in front of the camera. Second, TV is a team sport. Every role matters, and success depends on trusting and relying on one another, just like on the field. And third, those names in the credits represent pride. Most viewers won’t remember them, but seeing your name scroll by means you contributed something real and gave your best.”

Those lessons, about teamwork, opportunity, and pride in your craft, stayed with Kent. And they became part of the KDLS spirit that shaped generations of Spartans.

The 1980s were an especially formative decade for KDLS. As media technology evolved, so did student ambitions, and the show expanded to include two segments: the DLS News and Target Youth Counselling, both aired on Channel 6 in Walnut Creek and Concord. Far more than a segment, Target was an academic class that ran from September to June, giving students hands-on experience with every part of television production. It was where Spartans learned to test equipment, run the studio, manage homeroom announcements, and produce special features on everything from the food drive to class elections. Students weren’t just speaking to their classmates; they were speaking to families, neighbors, and viewers across the region. The stakes were higher, the expectations sharper, and the pride even deeper.

In the 1990s, KDLS continued to adapt as media became more central to youth culture. Digital editing tools began to appear in classrooms, and students experimented with early desktop video editing and CD-based audio production. The club’s work increasingly blurred the lines between a traditional “broadcast club” and a comprehensive student media initiative, incorporating elements of journalism, interview segments, and multimedia storytelling. Participation in KDLS offered an informal incubator for future broadcasters, journalists, and media professionals, an impact evident in alumni who went on to careers in media and communication.

KDLS has lived many lives, from the analog days of Video News to the Channel 6 era of Target. Through every upgrade, every blooper, every “Are we rolling?” whispered a little too loudly, one truth has never changed: KDLS was always powered by Spartans who dared to create. And standing right beside them, year after year, were the moderators who kept the whole beautiful operation humming.

From Br. Tom Cannon to Br. Clarence Schenk, Br. Daniel Morgan and Mr. Robert Rothgery each brought their own style, their own spark, and their own belief that students could do extraordinary things with a camera, a microphone, and a little encouragement. They were the steady hands behind the scenes, part mentors, part directors, part miracle‑workers, who guided generations of Spartans as they learned to tell stories, solve problems, and trust one another.