Monthly Highlights
September 2002 through May 2003:

In September Helen Thomas, a veteran White House newspaper correspondent who now writes a column for the Hearst syndicate, gave us a fantastic behind-the-scenes peek of the White House press corps in action and her views of the Bush administration and its actions before the Iraq War. Thomas was pointedly ignored by President Bush at a recent press conference, a staged event during which only certain reporters were allowed to ask tame, adulating questions of the President while other reporters were not allowed to ask questions. Thomas has been openly critical of the President.

In October Linda Deutsch, a journalist who covered major West Coast news stories that included the Patty Hearst abduction and Charles Manson trial, discussed the state of journalism in courts along with highlights of her news career.

In November, the Media Council was treated to a view from the “other side” of the FCC controversy. Our own Richard Miller summarized the concerns that the HC-MC had regarding media ownership. In response Rick Blangiardi, general manager of KHON and KGMB, talked about a variety of concerns regarding EMMIS' multiple ownership issue in Hawaii. Is it good? Bad? Or just a non-issue? Blangiardi outlined the situation as he saw it and took questions from members.

For the month of December, a mid-year business meeting was held. Discussion centered on reorganization of HC-MC with comments by the executive committee members. It was agreed that a statewide version of the Honolulu-based media council probably would not be easily workable. A possible reorganization of HC-MC, however, might be modeled on that of the Hawaii Historical Society, which has term-specific committees and a governing board with a widely diversified membership. The Media Council might succeed on statewide basis with a new name, but there were plenty of pros and cons about this in the discussion. There was, however, strong agreement that specific, clarified goals and a possible redefined mission were needed for the Council plus a better system of collecting membership fees and hiring a paid administrative assistant--the latter becoming an urgent need. Holly Green was subsequently named to the post and continues to serve capably in this capacity.

New York Times columnist Frank Rich joined us in January and he talked about his years as a journalist with the Times and the changes in journalism coverage he has witnessed. His service at the Times also included stints as op-ed editor and senior writer for the Sunday New York Times Magazine.

Media Council member Cobey Black was asked in February to speak to the HC-MC. Cobey detailed the research and writing of her new book, "Hawaii Scandal," which retraced the how and why of the notorious Massie murder case in 1930s Hawaii.

In March, the annual Freedom of Information Day luncheon (sponsored jointly by the Media Council and Society of Professional Journalists) was held at the East-West Center. Two writers jointly received the Fletcher Knebel Award: Tim Ruel, Star-Bulletin reporter and Cobey Black. Ruel made extensive use of the Freedom of Information Act to dig up information for some outstanding stories. Black was cited for excellence in research and writing of her book on the Massie case. The main speaker was Sander Vanocur, TV newsman covering the White House and known for his Vietnam War coverage. His engaging presentation was titled "Can Democracy Survive Mass Media?"

In April Moya Gray gave us an inside view of open government (or lack of it) in Hawaii and her leadership of the Office of Information Practices.

The month of May brought the HC-MC a group of print and TV journalists from nations in the Pacific and Asia who were visiting Hawaii under the auspices of the East-West Center's Jefferson Fellows Program. The “Jeffs” met with the Chair and five of the immediate past Chairs to learn about the HC-MC. Later the Jeffs gave the Council an uneasy glimpse into the repression they often face gathering and disseminating news for their various publications and television stations. One of the journalists, answering a question from the audience, agreed there was a gathering consensus among news people in Asia that the American media had gone soft on blunt reportage of the current administration and appeared afraid of antagonizing government officials - a big change from earlier days when a feisty U.S. press energetically tackled controversial international and national issues. Another Asian journalists said Fox TV News, although immensely entertaining, appeared to be virtually a lackey of the right-wing federal administration. The journalists told us they could capture U.S. TV news broadcasts on satellite dishes just about anywhere in Asia and were actively tracking our TV coverage. The journalists also detailed changes in media coverage and related government policy on press freedom in their areas since 9-11 and the Iraq war. The over-all picture they presented was not upbeat, although in some areas in Asia, such as India and the Philippines, a certain amount of grudging press freedom appears to be surviving. This meeting was one of the most intense and informative of the entire year.