Blogging the Aloha State and Beyond
Newspapers continue to struggle, but local television news audiences have grown slightly. Most people now get their news on mobile devices, but the once niche medium of podcasts has seen its audience surge. And that’s only in the last year. Journalism and the overall media industry is in constant flux, which...
Student speech on college campuses is again being challenged in Hawaii, with two separate stories surfacing in recent weeks: the administration take-over of Kapi‘o, the student newspaper at Kapiolani Community College, and a lawsuit filed against UH Hilo over restrictions placed on the distribution of literature on school grounds. They’ve definitely stirred up...
Hawaii’s media landscape remains in constant flux. Last year brought the end of the Honolulu Weekly, and the launch of HuffPost Hawaii. Hawaii-based entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar is building First Look Media (with journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Jeremy Scahill, and others). And Hawaii was where NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden had his crisis of...
Last week I was honored to be a part of a panel discussion that explored the news business in the era of social media. The venue was the weekly live roundtable program “Insights” on PBS Hawaii, hosted by Dan Boylan (who is also a political columnist for MidWeek). My fellow panelists...
The House Judiciary Committee today unanimously voted to advance a bill that would remove the sunset provision in Hawaii’s so-called “Journalist Shield Law,” otherwise known as Act 210 (HB2557) from the 2008 Legislative session. The law gives the press (“journalists and newscasters”) some protections against being forced to reveal sources...
The Online News Association was founded in 1999, and I signed up pretty early in its history, full of ideas for Islenews.com (which became HawaiiNews.com which is now HawaiiStar.com). My dream of building a robust grassroots local news site is still just a dream, but fortunately, the ONA has soldiered...
The headline proclaims, “Civil Beat Shares Hawaii State Employee Salaries” — but there’s a catch: you have to pay to get full access to the information. To be sure, there’s a reasonable and deep debate to be had over whether the names and salaries of government employees should be public in...
This morning, Pierre Omidyar‘s local news startup Peer News hosted a conference call with journalists to provide an update on their venture, which was first announced in November. Among the key announcements made was that John Temple was coming aboard as editor, and that they were planning to launch by April...
While the mainstream, corporate media is still struggling to find its footing in the digital age, grassroots online news initiatives everywhere are putting down roots. Citizen journalism and independent media are near and dear to my heart, so I’m always interested when a new venture is launched here in the...
KITV news anchor Shawn Ching is leaving the station after November to pursue a career in law. Coworker Rich Fewell broke the news on Twitter this afternoon. The Roosevelt High School grad has been with the station for over twelve years, starting as its sports director in 1995. He previously...
From the irrepressible Malia Zimmerman, editor of Hawaii Reporter, a call for testimony in support of HB 2557 HD1, which limits “compelled disclosure of sources or unpublished information” for journalists — otherwise known as a “journalism shield law.” HB 2557 HD1 “relating to evidence” will be heard this Thursday in...
Hawaii Rep. Neil Abercrombie was the only Democrat to side with the Bush Administration in voting against a media sheild bill that would protect journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources. It’s an odd vote for a man who may just be the last surviving long-haired hippie in congress,...
What I’m Reading Hawaii Wire