Local news broadcasts, echoing APEC’s advance publicity, have been proclaiming that “the eyes of the world are on us” as the meetings get underway.
Actually, not so much.
I was curious, so did a quick Google News search using the terms “APEC” and “Hawaii.”
Guess what? No one has been paying much attention.
So far, only the fatal shooting involving a State Department security agent has gotten much press elsewhere, most of that relying on AP.
Perhaps the pace of reporting will pick up once the top level delegates are all here and the meetings themselves get underway. Perhaps.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
At least it gave Lt. Governor Schatz something to do for the past year, though, right?
Schatz don’t do nothing. APEC is controlled by bureaucrats and business people. The politicians like Abercrombie, Schatz and Peter Carlisle just read a few phrases from the press releases given to them.
It’t the same with the city council. Some surveillance cameras were installed before HPD went to City Council for authorization.
One would think that a meeting like APEC would draw the interest or attention of the business news outlets, but going to CNBC for instance, there is practially no discussion on the relevance of this meeting to the international business press. The only significant story dealt with Japan’s relationship to the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), because of the potential loss of agricultural jobs in Japan with low or reduced tariffs on products from the Pacific Rim. The agricultural sector has always played a big role in Japanese politics since the end of WWII and opposes the TPP in general.
APEC as an entity has no authority to do anything. Meet, greet, wear funny shirts and declare victory. Talk about all the meaningful, yet invisible, progress. Good opportunity to raise some campaign donations and as SilverLining says, at least the Lt. Governor had a job for a while.
What is the total amounts spent by the city and state for APEC.
Maybe it’s not worth the hassle and loss of businesses for the 99%.
I’m not surprised that there’s been no reporting on APEC-Honolulu, yet. There’s nothing to report!
In the 24 hour news cycle we occupy, it’s not what’s coming up (although both CNN and the S-A have a “week ahead” section on Sun/Mon), it’s what’s happening NOW, and there ain’t NOTHING happening NOW (except the shooting, sort of).
In fact, the most I’ve heard in the national media about the President’s upcoming schedule is that he’ll be watching a college basketball game that’s being staged on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (from which Osama bin Laden’s remains were dumped) while it’s docked in San Diego.
Whoop dee freaking doo!
There has been considerable reporting on APEC. You just need to read sources other than English.
In Chinese, there is discussion about the meeting between Chinese president and Taiwan leader. There is discussion of APEC in general, some pics, even a mention of the trees on Nimitz. There is mention of clashes with Obama and what Obama hopes to achieve. Sun Yat Sen gets some coverage even though he’s dead. A couple of stories look cribbed from the on-line Star-Advertiser. And yes, Japan is interested in the TPP, and so there will be talks with Obama.
Digging deeper, there is Japan local coverage of the tariff issue and whether dropping subsidies for rice will make the country dependent on imports (from the USA, of course).
It’s Asia-Pacific so reading in Asian languages is how to find whether there is coverage. As to the US press, I wonder how many reporters are actually here, put up by their papers in expensive Waikiki hotels.
Oh, and at least one Moscow paper has covered it, expecting friction between the USA and China on currency issues.