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Word "on the street" is that Kamehameha Schools will turn down future federal funding in hopes of avoiding challenges to its Hawaiian-based admission policies, a reflection of recent right-wing attacks on Hawaiian rights. The move is a major change for the institution, which has been a major vehicle for federal funds intended to improve the condition of Native Hawaiians.I was reminded that Gannett Pacific's reach extends beyond its Carolina newspapers. A check of FCC records shows it is also the named owner and license holder of WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. Interestingly, the station simply describes itself as part of Gannett Company Incorporated, without any mention of Gannett Pacific, and the FCC reports a mailing address c/o Gannett in Arlington, Virginia.
Thursday's public radio airing of the recent controversy about Honolulu Weekly and alternative publications in general failed to ignite any sparks. Weekly Publisher Laurie Carlson and her critics confined themselves to a narrow range of issues and concerns. The central issue of writer's pay wasn't even raised until just minutes before the end of the program.
Carlson admitted retaining tight control of the newspaper's contents and tone, an obvious and admitted source of constant conflict with her editorial staff. Perhaps she needs to discover the wonders of an editorial page, which could provide her a personal publisher's forum while leaving overall control of the weekly product in the hands of her editors. It's one of those practices of corporate media which the Weekly could learn from.
It rained hard overnight in Kaaawa, leaving just a few clouds on the horizon this morning. It's always hard to know how the weather will be reflected in the colors of dawn. The uncertainty adds to the daily anticipation.
Oh--almost forgot--I posted a few new dog photos.
Here's a sad tale from a former Hawaii resident now living in New York:A friend of mine in Manoa tried to subscribe to the Star-Bulletin last week and was told it was not possible to receive it in that area. I found that astounding.Can this be true?
MidWeek's former vice-president for advertising and sales obtained confidential inside information about a competitors' winning bid for printing a Papa John's pizza advertising insert, according to a lawsuit filed last month.
The suit alleges that Chris McMahon, now retail advertising manager for Gannett's Honolulu Advertiser, wrongfully fired MidWeek account exec Linda Westover-Salyer in August 1999 after she received a misrouted fax containing the confidential bid information and, on the advice of her immediate supervisor, notified the advertising agency believed to be the source. The handwritten fax was received at MidWeek on Myers Advertising letterhead, but the header information on the fax indicated it had been sent from Valenti Brothers Advertising, the suit alleges.
McMahon confronted the plaintiff the next day, saying that he was the intended recipient of the fax, which was not addressed to MidWeek.
"McMahon ranted about waiting all evening for the fax from Valenti Brothers. McMahon then berated plaintiff for several minutes about call the Myers agency. While doing so he was red in the face and waiving his hands in the air like a child having a temper tantrum," the suit alleges.
During a second meeting, McMahon allegedly "scratched at his face in a crazy fashion until he drew blood. He also banged his head on the desk several times."
Westover-Salyer was immediately suspended and later fired, the suit claims. It says McMahon and MidWeek's then-owner, RFD Publications, should be required to pay damages for wrongful termination, infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and other violations.
Also named as a defendant is MidWeek's Ken Berry, now an official with the new Star-Bulletin/MidWeek.
Court records indicate the defendants have not received copies of the suit because of a drafting error, and have not had an opportunity to respond to its charges.
5:50 a.m. and the day's first flash of fear. A blank screen matched by a blank mind. Faith that movement of the fingers will start blood flowing somewhere in the brain and an idea or two will emerge. It's also useful to wake the brain before dealing with the cat on the roof or other feline affairs. Hopefully the process will complete itself before another one of those "ahem...where's my morning fix?" emails arrives in the In Box.Weeklywords.net is the new address for the ongoing discussion of issues surrounding Honolulu Weekly, and Town Square is this afternoon's hour of discussion with Weekly publisher Laurie Carlson on Hawaii Public Radio's KIPO-FM.
Laurie Carlson and John White will be on my live, call-in show, Town Square (today), August 30, from 5 to 6 p.m. should anyone like to participate in a discussion about the Weekly, alternative journalism in Hawaii in an era of increased consolidation, and yes, the flap over the pulled piece, etc. Studio number is 941-3689 (FM89).Aloha, Beth-Ann Kozlovich
I'm reminded that you can listen in "live" via your computer, using either RealAudio or QuickTime. Just follow "where to listen", and then select KIPO Live down at the bottom of the screen.
Here's an interesting Advertiser factoid. Back on March 28, Gannett Pacific Corp., which publishes the Honolulu Advertiser, announced that it was buying PMP Company, which publishes several weekly community papers on Oahu. That purchase finally closed and was registered with the state earlier this month.
But state business registration records show Gannett Pacific also acquired two other newspaper companies a few weeks earlier in March--Multimedia Publishing of North Carolina, publisher of the Asheville Citizen-Times (Voice of the Mountains), and Multimedia Publishing of South Carolina, publisher of the Greenville News.
At first I thought this was some kind of mistake, but it was confirmed by a certificate signed by the Secretary of State of South Carolina attesting to the merger into Gannett Pacific, a Hawaii corporation. A copy of the certificate can be accessed online from the State of North Carolina's web site.
So what's the corporate logic that leads Gannett to plop these two Carolina newspapers into its Pacific division? Go figure.
Those interested in recent criticisms aimed at Honolulu Weekly by former staff and writers should tune in tomorrow (Aug. 30) from 5-6 p.m. for Town Square, an interview show on Hawaii Public Radio stations KIPO (89.3 FM) and KIFO (1380 AM). Host Beth Ann Kozlovich will talk with Weekly publisher Laurie Carlson and former editor and current freelance writer John Wythe White. Live calls can be expected to add a bit of spark to the program.The Advertiser fired another salvo in the news war with this morning with another no-byline story, this time challenging Star-Bulletin circulation figures that have been given to advertisers. The article appears to attack the accuracy of the figures, contrasting them to audited numbers recently released by the Advertiser based on a special privately commissioned audit. Officials of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) are cited as the source, based on ABC's response to a complaint made by the Advertiser.
On closer inspection, though, ABC's comments are focused on apparent violations of the agency's publicity policies and do not actually address whether the circulation claims are true or false.
It appears that the Advertiser's decision to commission a special audit rather than wait for the regularly scheduled audit figures to be released early next year, created pressure on the Star-Bulletin to present data of its own. Since the regular ABC audit numbers are not available yet, the S-B apparently compiled and circulated "unofficial" numbers. Unofficial, not false, although the Advertiser's story tries mightily to imply the latter.
I stayed home yesterday to prepare for guests we had invited out to dinner.
It was hot in Kaaawa. Then RoadRunner and Internet access went dead. Then late in the afternoon I heard that the only road had been closed when a power pole was knocked down in the accident that zapped RoadRunner. Meda and our guests were all trapped on the other side of the closed road, although one lane had been reopened by the time they actually reached the scene.
Then, as we sat at the dinner table, the power went out and stayed out for another 45-minutes or so. It gave a conversation about classic scary movies a different edge, and the cats, suddenly shy, could slip closer to the human action without being observed.
The University of Hawaii's student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is sponsoring a Sept. 4th "All Student Q&A" session with UH President Evan Dobelle and newly appointed Manoa chancellor Deane Neubauer, and the event is already controversial.
It seems that SPJ turned down a request from KTUH, the campus radio station, to hold the event in the Campus Center so that it could be broadcast live. SPJ rejected the idea of broadcasting to a larger student audience and instead scheduled the session for Hemenway Auditorium.
The decision was explained in an email message sent out earlier this summer to SPJ advisors and several university public relations staffers:
After talking with many varied voices campus-wide about the event and considering the best options that will produce successful results and create the most choice access for the students, SPJ-UH has decided that the forum will focus solely on UH student interaction with the new president and interim chancellor. To eliminate a possible intimidating environment for the students and achieve the best free flow of exchanges between the audience and the speakers, the forum will take place in Hemenway Theatre and not be broadcast from the ballroom.It was an ironic decision for the campus group, which has which has a rich history of actively pursuing openness and access, including a recent lawsuit against the UH Board of Regents alleging the secret search resulting in Dobelle's hire violated the state's Sunshine Law.
Dobelle, by the way, reports his UH salary of $442,000 as the only source of income for himself and his wife, Kit.
"I own no stocks or bonds or receive any outside income," Dobelle reported in the financial disclosure statement filed with the State Ethics Commission at the time of his appointment. He reports no house, no debts over $3,000, and says he does not serve as an officer, director, or trustee of any organization.
The absence of any reportable financial interests is interesting.
On the home front, Ms. Lizzie is finally getting over the effects of Sunday's visit to the vet.
She was still splayed out on the same chair when we arrived home last night, a full 24-hours after she first crashed there, but she seemed alert and managed to choke down both dry food and some canned food.
And by the time Leo woke me up soon after midnight to complain that his favorite food dish was empty, Lizzie was up and active. By this morning, she seems back to normal.
Did I mention that she's just a tiny thing? She weighed in at just six and a half pounds, a pound less than than her sister, Harriet.
Ms. Lizzie perks up
Here's a good rumor to start the week concerning the recently announced pact between the Honolulu Advertiser and KHNL/Channel 8.A rumor is going around that says that Channel 8 approached the 'Tizer with a deal they couldn't refuse--basically, they will pay Gannett for use of their news and reporters from the 'Tizer newsroom. Channel 8 won't have to hire more reporters and will probably even lay 1 or 2 off. Gannett gets paid for doing nothing and the reporters get screwed because they get nothing extra and will have to appear on Channel 8 to report. Of course the 'Tizer can't make their reporters appear on TV, but if a reporter says no and refuses to play the game, you know where that reporter will end up with their bosses - shitsville. Brilliant isn't it?It sounds reasonable. Deals like this have been the subject of newsroom debates before, usually leading to the conclusion that the Guild contract is likely to get a real workout if print reporters are pressured to go on camera or to do extra work to facilitate a broadcast version of their work.
I expected this to emerge first as an issue on the Star-Bulletin side after David Black successfully negotiated modified work rules in the new S-B contract, which now allows considerable flexibility in assignments outside of one's primary position.
This is going to be very interesting.
We somehow managed to survive a late afternoon visit to the vet yesterday with four of our eight cats. We go to the VCA operation in Kaneohe, a 25-minute drive from here. That's 25 minutes of crying and yowling. The cats, I mean, not us, although it makes you want to join in.
This was all routine. Annual exams and vaccinations, plus microchips for Lizzie and Harry so that Big Brother can identify them in an emergency.
Silverman, Leo, and Harry all bounced right back from the trauma. Lizzie, though, chose a chair to curl up in and has been there now for 11 hours, causing me a bit of worry, although she's eaten a bit.
If it's not one thing, it's another.
The first complaining email didn't come in until 6:22 AM.The message: "ahem ahem ahem...."
The meaning: Whatsamattayou? Where's today's entry?
What can I say? I didn't force myself out of bed in time for the normal pre-walk entry, and then the Sunday Star-Bulletin and breakfast intervened as well. It is, after all, the biblical day of rest, although claiming divine authority is going to be a bit of a stretch.
So here goes. First, I discovered an inadvertent "bait & switch"--somewhere along the way the link from the Anniversary 2001 banner at the top of the page went walkabout, leaving would-be voyeurs unable to access the photos of our big adventure. That, hopefully, has now been fixed.
The photo gallery has been updated for the week.
And the following came in response to my all-too-flippant mention of our gray bird situation:
In the year 2525 it will be discovered the Kaaawa dumb gray bird would have been pivotal to stem cell research & Neil Abercrombe of Bishop Museum, a dog person, will archive your site & fine your considerable cat estate for its unbridled consumption of anything moving in 2001. The solution is www.cyberpounce.com, for only $14.95, including in-depth Jungian feline stress analysis and guaranteed kitten on the keyboard protection.
I'm making progress of sorts on my latest art mystery, described here in brief a few days ago.
This revolves around an old oil painting found on eBay, signed "GHM/24", presumably the artists initials and the date (1924).
The 1924 painting compared to a modern photo of
the Waianae mountains seen from Diamond Head.
I though that I recognized the mountains visible in the background beyond the fishermen in the canoe, and comparing the painting to a modern photo confirmed my belief that it's a view of the Waianae mountains with the distinctive flat top of Mt. Kaaala visible just to the right of the canoe.So I know the painting is of a Hawaii scene, and the paint and condition appear consistent with a 1924 date.
I've also got a working hypothesis that "GHM" is George Herbert Mead, the famous social philosopher and social psychologist at the University of Chicago. Mead was married to Helen Castle, the daughter of Samuel Northrup Castle, one of the founders of Castle & Cooke, and the couple escaped the Chicago winters and visited the Castle family in the islands many times. Some of their friends also visited, including the famed sociologist and reformer, Jane Addams, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, who stayed with the Castle family when she visited Hawaii. Amateur painting was a popular pastime in those days, and I'm hoping to find evidence that Mead picked up a paintbrush on occasion. Mead would have been 61 at the time.
Of course, this is wild speculation on my part, so far at least. The hypothesis is useful because it gives a focus to further research in attempts to either prove or disprove it. I've been sending emails to various scholars interested in Mead, hoping that someone has gone through personal papers that might yield clues about his artistic nature, or its absence. In the meantime, I'm looking for people in Hawaii who might have signed a painting with the same initials.
It's an interesting search. And it's actually quite a nice little painting.
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Since November 2, 1999
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