Here’s one small but aggravating reporting lapse. Not a big thing, but one I know a little about.
You may have seen the Star-Advertiser’s lead “Business Brief” yesterday: “Apartment3 to shut down Sunday”
For those who can’t jump the pay wall, the brief story quoted from announcement on Facebook and Twitter by the owners of the restaurant/lounge on the edge of Waikiki, and then relied on the owners for an explanation of the closing.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that this will be our last week in business due to circumstances beyond our control,” read an update that was posted to Apartment3’s Facebook and Twitter accounts….
Despite solid reviews and a faithful customer following due to its owners’ deep roots in the bar and nightclub industries, issues arose between the restaurant and the Century Center Association of Apartment Owners — the biggest of which were noise and parking complaints from other residents in the building.
The problem is that the story didn’t report the real reason for Apartment3’s demise, which was really quite simple. They weren’t paying their bills.
A quick online check of records, would have turned up the lawsuit filed by the landlord, Century Center Condominium, based on a large amount of money owed for back rent, utilities, parking fees, and other expenses.
Those noise and parking “issues” reported in the Star-Advertiser story were raised by lawyers for Apartment3 in a counter claim against Century Center, but the judge ruled against them and threw those claims out. The original lawsuit was then settled with a stipulated judgement against Apartment3.
I’ve been a member of the Century Center Board of Directors during this period, so I’m familiar with the issues. The unpaid amount owed to Century Center will likely be more than $100,000. A court hearing is scheduled for next month to set the damages.
Without leaving the newsroom, a reporter could have also found other evidence of financial problems, including a state tax lien filed against Apartment3’s parent company, Level 3 R&L LLC in 2010, and an earlier 2009 lawsuit by a vendor seeking to collect on unpaid bills.
Anyway, simply reporting that the closing was due to “circumstances beyond our control” without any other checking falls short of my expectations, but perhaps I expect too much.
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Wow, thanks for posting this. I also saw that brief. I thought it was kind of lazy to simply quote Apartment3’s Facebook page.
I also thought it was odd that Apartment3 was going out of business at all. I happen to know it is considered one of Honolulu’s premier night clubs among the young and fashionable and (assumedly) rakes in tons of cash.
So your additional insights perplex me all the more!
Yet another example of a 1 paper town. And still no good alternative on line beyond blogs. Hopefully someday someone will find the way to make enough money for this to happen.
Holy cow. No offense but how does a responsible Board let a tenant get $100k in arrears before decisive action?
If the SA did an in depth as you suggest on every small news brief the paper would never get published. You can’t research them all. Ian, you would have been a hall of fame football coach calling all those plays after the fact and with all day to do it. Having said that, the owner of this club is well known for moving from place to place and leaving a mess behind. He’s now the owner of the “club” that was once Nick’s Fishmarket. With all of these unpaid bills left behind how does he keep opening up new places?
“If the SA did an in depth . . . ” This is but one example. I have noticed times when the SA will do a full-blown story about something, e.g, plastic bags, and then not include other important information. It’s poor reporting in my opinion.
This is the worst defensive argument yet posted on Ian’s site.
Here are Ian’s exact words:
“Anyway, simply reporting that the closing was due to “circumstances beyond our control” without any other checking falls short of my expectations.”
Ian is not seeking an investigative report on every brief. Just reporting on a story without checking out some of the basic facts and statements IS NOT JOURNALISM. IT IS PR. Just because someone puts out a press release or says something does not mean they just get quoted! Some editors would get red-faced if a reporter took that approach.
A person who works in the media with this poor of an approach to journalism should be fired and move on to PR. If you disagree, please do us a favor and ask an editor at the Star-Advertiser before posting another defensive response.
OK I just gotta chime in here.
The court documents were cited in the Honolulu Pulse version of the story: http://www.honolulupulse.com/slider/in-the-mix-apartment3-closing
The story is on Pulse because Pulse is our nightlife product, and Apartm3nt closing is nightlife news.
The story clearly states that Century Center representatives did not respond to calls for comment.
Pulse is a “nightlife product”? Thats funny because I could have sworn it was an advertising supplement. Sort of like how SA is a “journalism product” these days?
I think we can trust that Gene Park is being objective (from Twitter):
Gene Park ?@GenePark
Sad to hear one of my favorite bars, @apartm3nt, will be closing doors Sunday. It was a regular date place for me.
Any new takes on the developments in the Deedy case Ian?
We’ll get in-depth reporting when we’re willing to pay for it.
Now that is a strange comment. S-A readers are (behind the paywall) “willing to pay for it.” They did not get it.
Meanwhile, iLind.net readers get in-depth reporting … free of charge.
So, you were saying?
If I could Facebook “Like” a comment… this would be one.
Ron Mizutani made a great comment recently when he was on Leahey & Leahey about the lack of mentors in the newsroom, which could apply to radio, newspaper, etc. Either the young kids coming up thru the ranks are not listening to advice or the elders are not giving it out for whatever reason. Good advice is priceless when you really think about it.
Yikes! Thanks Ian.
SA editors, huuui!
“typical CEO made $9.6 Million” is the headline on a piece on the Hawaii News Now app. Fine print: it is what you made if you were CEO Of one of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the US and you have been on the job more than 2 years in your present role.
It’s kind of like looking only at the top 10 highest paid bloggers and writing a headline that says “typical blogger gets paid more than $1 million per year.”
If the media is gonna dish out criticism…..
maybe it needs to listen to criticism?
heaven forfend.
same lame PR effort by Hawaii News Now:
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A popular Honolulu lounge is celebrating its last few hours in business. Customers stopped by Apartment3 on Sunday night for a final farewell. The club opened in 2009 and welcomed celebrities like Johnny Depp, but a conflict over the noise level is forcing the business to close its doors in Century Center for good.
“Mainly we’re closing due to noise issues with the building that are really out of our control, but it’s always tough. “When you have a business like this in a residential building, there’s always going to be conflict. Some things are just unavoidable,” said co-owner Flash Hansen.