I can clearly remember the feeling, shared by many in the journalism community back then, that the Gannett monolith was wreaking havoc with the reporting of news with its cookie cutter, top-down orders about how stories should be written and packaged, and its cut-throat corporate business practices aimed at demolishing competition.
Remember “The Chain Gang“?
Then Gannett hit hard times, its stock plummeted, it unloaded the Honolulu Advertiser…and now the company has taken another big step towards getting out of the newspaper business altogether by splitting into two companies, one made up of its newspaper and publishing group, the other broadcast and digital properties.
As Forbes notes, “the divorce between Gannett’s two core businesses will spur greater investment in both arms and could lead to a merger or acquisition a year from now.”
In plain language, either or both parts of Gannett could be gobbled up by new owners as a result of this split.
At one time, most people would have said this was unthinkable. Now its probable.
Who would have thunk it?
For more on how Gannett got into this spot, check this post from the now defunct Gannett Blog.
And who would have predicted that Governor Neil Abercrombie’s $5 million campaign would be in danger of being swamped by David Ige’s underfunded challenge?
I should say that I’ll be voting for Neil. But I can understand the perspective of friends who won’t be making that choice.
But many of the criticisms he faces are contradictory. I’ve seen online comments referring to the governor as a “Communist,” while from the progressive side he’s seen as pushing corporate-based development-oriented policies. I’ve seen others who go refer to old grievances against Neil dating from actions he took in the 1980s. Not really fair, but this is politics.
To tell the truth, Neil’s campaigns have had to deal with “high negatives” among potential voters throughout his career. There was always a chunk of voters–maybe a third, maybe more–who were rabidly anti-Abercrombie and would never vote for him. But he has always been able to cobble together a majority, winning election after election.
Now, it’s possible that, over time, that experience led him to just write off those who expressed disagreement with his policy directions, assuming that the next election will be like all the rest, and he would again be able to win without their support.
But this time, pre-election polls are suggesting that the alienated-from-Abercrombie voting block may have crossed an important threshold. There are those who will never forgive Neil for once having long hair and a full beard. But now they’re on the same side as a bunch of progressive environmentalists who look back at the battle over the Public Land Development Corporation as a breaking point. And progressives supporting open government have gotten used to having the governor as a roadblock. And then there are longtime supporters who reported hitting a “closed door” after the 2010 election and feeling they were left outside after putting “their candidate” in office.
The anti-Neil folks have always been there. But now there are more of them. A majority? There’s always a first time.
The governor’s campaign seems to be focusing on turning out his supporters. I’m one of them, and I’ll cast my vote, but I don’t know that it will be enough.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
It is all Bush, Palin, and Lingle’s fault.
Maybe I am a dinosaur but I can still remember when the only two hotels in Waikiki were the Royal and the Moana, when Aloha Tower was the tallest building in downtown and when Hawaii was really an exotic destination.
Now… we are building a solid wall of concrete from downtown to Kapahulu. Already there are rumblings that Mr & Mrs mainland and Mr & Mrs Japan are complaining the we over promise and under deliver and are looking for alternate destinations. My gut feeling is that our tourist industry is doomed to a slow decline as we pave paradise.
As with many others, I had been an Abercrombie supporter for many years, but no more. He has forgotten his past and has sold the state out to developers and special interests. Anyone who thinks that Kakaako will end up as a graceful, walkable, livable community is delusional. The developers will take their money and run. Abercrombie will be long gone and we will be left with a congested high-rise slum.
“Due to the impending storm’s Govenor Ambercrombie should extend the number of voting day’s until he can regain dry ground.”
too bad Gore couldn’t do the same…………..
What’s behind the fascination with tunnels?
Undecided, are you paying attention to Seattle’s tunnel endeavor? Like, OMG.
Progressives in a snit throw Neil Abercrombie under the bus; conservatives suck it up and march in lock step for Sarah Palin. “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Loomis: Double Ditto
One poll is a snapshot in time. Multiple polls taken weeks apart saying the same thing (i.e. Ige holding a double digit lead over Abercrombie) is called something else: a trend.
“One poll is a snapshot in time. Multiple polls taken weeks apart saying the same thing (i.e. Ige holding a double digit lead over Abercrombie) is called something else: a trend.”
you’re telling us something we already know and you are missing the point. past polls do NOT tell us what will happen once Aiona takes the stage.
past polls (n0 matter how many you cite) are snapshots in time; they cannot and do not make predictions of the future. i’m not repeating this again.
Thought y’all (especially t) would appreciate the excerpt, even tho most commenting on this blog already have this knowledge.
“It’s important to understand that, since small changes in the framing of a poll can produce dramatically different responses, it is possible to produce polling that seems to show agreement with any position the sponsor of the poll desires.”
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/08/america-is-not-turning-libertarian.html?mid=twitter_dailyintelligencer