Leslie Wilcox Blogs

Hawai'iana

         It seems a lot of viewers were surprised to find out, watching our program Long Story Short, that the commonly used word "Hawai'iana" was coined here at home by a beloved educator and composer,  Nona Beamer.

         And it's NOT a derivative of "Americana."

         Judging by the phone calls  to PBS Hawaii, we had a 58-year-old scoop.

         "Eh, I can find out more about the word 'Hawai'iana'?" asked a caller.

          "What's the story again about 'Hawai'iana?" another wanted to know.

          The story, as told by Aunty Nona, can be found in a transcript of the show elsewhere on this website.  But here's the gist of it:

           In 1949, Aunty Nona was leading a workshop of public school teachers, and she presented the new word.

           "Now the 'ana' is the root word--to measure, to evaluate, to determine what is the best," she told the teachers. "So we're going to concern ourselves with that and teach only the best of Hawaiian culture in the classroom."

          Aunty Nona adds in Long Story Short, "I didn't mean 'ana' like Americana, Mexicana, like a conglomerate of things, you know. ..I meant to measure everything we're going to teach and offer the children the best in the culture."

          And that was how "Hawai'iana" came to be a word. Nona Beamer is duly credited with it in reference sources.  And I'm glad the story of the word origin reached a new group of islanders.

          And-- so did word of another of Aunty Nona's legacies.

          "You know the song, Pupu Hinuhinu?" a caller asked. "I learned that in second grade; my daughter's learning it in school now. That was written by somebody who's alive?"

           You bet. Aunty Nona again, speaking and singing to another generation.

            

         

         

Getting Personal

     People ask me how much of an adjustment it was to move  seven months ago from my longtime position as KHON2 News Anchor and a leader of the Lokahi Giving Project, to President and CEO of PBS Hawaii.

     Not as much as you'd think, perhaps because of the warm support of  board and staff and my  10-year history with the station, hosting television programs including the syndicated show "Asia Now."

      Frankly, writing this web log, or blog,  has required the greater adjustment! Traditional journalism doesn't use the pronoun "I".  Blogging means shaking off my habit of neutral, third-person newswriting and communicating personally.

       I'm still negotiating the learning curve, redefining my comfort zone.  But I'm enjoying the new reach into cyberspace.  I love the fact that it has plenty of room and respect for individuals and independent voices. From mass communication, we've moved to conversations.

      

Time Flies...

    Our newest weekly TV production, Long Story Short, aired at 2:30 this afternoon, in its usual repeat showing following first broadcast at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

    In the weekend time slot, a different audience catches the program. This afternoon, a couple of viewers emailed to suggest the half-hour "Long Story Short" was TOO short. That's a compliment to our guest, the wise and irrepressible Aunty Nona Beamer, who knows how to tell compelling stories in song, dance, classroom lessons--anykine!  She knows the art of providing just the right amount of imagery and detail, and leaves us wanting more.

     A story need not be long to convey what's needed. When contemporary authors were asked to try story-telling at its pithiest, here are two results:

     Helen Fielding: Dad called. DNA back. He's not.

     Blake Morrison: Womb. Bloom. Groom. Gloom. Rheum. Tomb.

     Aunty Nona employs more words, facial animation and gestures!

     A half-hour may be too short when Aunty Nona is sharing stories--but Long Story Short is nonetheless a rare television program, with no commercial interruptions, devoted to getting to know remarkable people, one at a time.

BoingBoing

    Any TV station that tells you it knows the future of the television industry is bluffing, lying, or deluded. In fact, all long-standing media entities are trying to see where they're going in an increasingly cluttered and competitive media landscape.

    It's a challenging field--and when I sit down with our board and staff to chart a five-year plan, our heads are full of the variables that must be considered, including unforeseen social/technological developments. Relying on viewer contributions to chart our course is both anxiety-producing and a source of pride. Perhaps because I'm from the news business, in which success requires one to be flexible and nimble, I accept and am even exhilarated by the uncertainties, preferring to see them as opportunities.

    Our mantra here at non-profit, locally owned PBS Hawaii is that we're working to expand across digital platforms. We know we'll be doing more multi-casting (we already have a PBS Hawaii Kids channel on cable (443). a high-definition channel on cable (1010), and an over-the-air "how-to" channel called "Create.") We're seeking the bandwith capacity to present video and live pictures online, podcasts, etc. And we're working to translate our local TV programs online. Right now, we're offering transcripts of our newest weekly production, Long Story Short, on our website. The transcripts make for interesting reading, as intriguing folks explain how they handled adversity, or share their views on changes in our islands..

    We welcome participation and involvement. Our goal is to engage in a conversation with our viewers/readers/listeners, in order to bring out the stories of Hawaii. Our non-commercial network, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), provides national and world programs about arts and culture, science, public affairs, history and more.

    It's fun watching new media entities evolve. For example, there's a new online TV show that traces its roots to a fanzine, a fan-written online magazine that launched in 1989 in San Francisco. The fanzine became one of the most popular blogs in the country, BoingBoing.net, and now it's got an online TV show putting out daily reports. Old-line companies are paying attention--IBM is sponsoring the TV presentations on tv.boingboing.net

    So where's television going? Nobody knows for sure, so beware of pompous pronouncements.

     But in a digital economy, I'm excited that we must listen well and go to new places, in different ways, if we're to  survive and thrive. 

   

Mahalo for Mabuhay!

It was a kick to be in our Manoa studio this week for the airing of a director's cut of Emme Tomimbang's "Mabuhay with Aloha" documentary.

     Emme, in a striking red terno (formal evening wear), joined us live, along with dozens of Filipino community leaders. Emme is elegant AND down-to-earth. She joked beforehand that she hoped she wouldn't refer to documentary DVDs as "BVDs," as she has before! (She didn't.)

     A volunteer phone bank was busy answering calls. On the other end of the line, voices tinged with Ilokano, Visayan and Tagalog dialects. Callers were happy and excited to be pledging financial support (which keeps PBS Hawaii going.)

     "I never saw my story on TV before," a caller said. "That's my story!"

       Emme's documentary showed the struggles and achievements of Filipinos in their first 100 years in Hawaii.

     Some of the callers explained they sometimes feel invisible. (Many are service workers, not corporate honchos.) And yet Filipinos comprise 14 to 17% of Hawaii's population.   

    With media consolidation, there are fewer independent voices, less local identity represented in the media.

    Fortunately, PBS Hawaii is locally owned and locally focused, and we're dedicated to telling the stories of Hawaii.

    Thanks to Emme's documentary and support from Filipino leaders, we gained an infusion of new PBS Hawaii members, who see that they have "a place at the table" at public television.

    In fact, they literally have a place at the table, because we've invited our new members over to the TV station next month, for a "mirienda" party!

Click here for more photos from the "Mabuhay with Aloha" event.

Voices of New Media

     It's nice to see Peter Kay, successful local web entrepreneur and acknowledged "computer god" as measured on an online geek test, drop in on this blog.

     Thanks, Peter! And I hear you, as you wonder whether a mainstream TV station will depart from Old Media thinking and allow viewers/users/listeners to drive the agenda.

     New Media concepts may be easier for this "alternative" broadcast network. Our job has always been to listen to diverse voices in our community. And PBS Hawaii is the only LOCALLY owned television station in the 50th state; we have a voice independent of any Mainland home office.

     In my years in TV news here, I worked for a succession of out-of-state owners. During my first seven years at KHON2, I think we went through six owners. In my mind, I worked for the public, not the owner du jour. But no question--far-away corporate offices decided and doled out the resources, usually without regard, for example, to the air travel needed to reach different island communities. Hawaii TV news remains Honolulu-centric.

       PBS Hawaii is working to translate its rich television content across the digital platforms. We are not commercially driven and rely on viewer support to do this.

       We look forward to being part of vital conversations about our communities. Conversations that have texture, color, fire, aloha, point and counterpoint. Lively ongoing discussions and discourse.

        Who wants a hollow monotone? Who wants a homogenized view of the world? Who lives in the Hawaii of travel brochures?

        Peter, you asked "Is PBS ready for this?" I think so. I know that our staff welcomes more access, more authentic viewpoints and more dialogue. And we believe in fairness and respect for others.

        In this age of media consolidation, we need more voices, not fewer.      

      

Forging a New Media Path

All of my adult life, I've worked in the media. The whole time, I've had home delivery of newspapers, watched television newscasts, subscribed to national and international current-events magazines, and read books voraciously. Along the way, of course, I added the wide world of the Internet to my media choices. 

It's interesting to see how my grown children are now choosing their information sources. My husband Jeff and I have four grown children in a blended family. Two of the "kids" left their native Hawaii to strike out on their own, for higher pay and a lower cost of living, on the Mainland. When they set up housekeeping, there was NO consideration of newspapers, TV news or newsmagazine subscriptions. Why waste the time and money, they figured, when they can custom-design electronic information feeds for delivery to their computer? If they're especially interested in a subject, they order news alerts to their cellular phones. They don't bother with "appointment" television. Not when they can record TV shows and watch them at their convenience, without commercials. Books? Well, sometimes.

Watching how my children have their lives wired is helpful to me as PBS Hawaii seeks to thrive in the digital economy. We know we can't be "just"  a TV station. We've got to get our rich content on our website, streaming programs and offering video on demand. We've got to offer more content and more convenience, more ways to interact on the web.

But there's one thing that hasn't changed. There's no substitute for personal contact. No generational difference there. It's still important to see, to talk, to listen in person. That's why our far-flung family doesn't settle for only an Internet connection--and that's why I'm happy for opportunities to leave the TV station and connect with viewers.

The Long and Short of It

       How long is too long a story? In commercial TV news, the worry is that viewers will get bored and and click the remote to find a snappier pace.

       "Keep it short. You can tell the story of World War Three in a minute and 30 seconds." I heard that more than once from newsroom supervisors.      

        When I started in TV news in 1977, a 20-second "soundbite" was the norm. Often there were longer 'bites--I recall the late Kauai Mayor Eduardo Malapit getting one minute and two seconds on the 6 pm news to explain, haltingly, his handling of a hotel controversy.But PR professionals teaching at paid media workshops would say: "You've got a very small window to make your point. Make it your single overriding objective to say what you need to say in 20 seconds!"

       Forget 20. And banish the thought of 1:02! Now the average is more like eight seconds. Once in a while, it's four seconds--just long enough to let the newsmaker say, "I'm voting for the bill," or "I didn't kill my wife," just long enough to flash the speaker's name "super" on the screen.The reporter or anchor paraphrases the gist of the story, to keep the story short and to keep the show moving.

       Me,I prefer to hear speakers tell their own stories. And that's why it's a pleasure to have a role in PBS Hawaii's newest local program, Long Story Short, featuring interesting people sharing stories in conversation.

How a person tells a story is sometimes as revealing as what he or she says. You get a sense of character along with the content.

      Long Story Short premieres tomorrow night at 7:30 on PBS Hawaii, with Maui recording artist Kealii Reichel, and will air every Tuesday night with a different guest. Not all the guests will be well-known, because some of the most intriguing people in Hawaii are not household names.

      Like all regular PBS Hawaii programs, the half-hour program isn't interrupted by commercials. But you know what? Even though it's a heckuva lot richer than eight seconds, or 20 seconds, even a half-hour isn't long enough when the stories are compelling.

Why a CEO Blog?

    I'd like to "break the glass" of the television monitor and get to know PBS Hawaii viewers. This blog offers  another way to engage and keep in touch. Please post online, or if you'd prefer, write to me at leslie@pbshawaii.org

You can subscribe to this feed by clicking on the link in the column to the right->

Purple Passages

  When I was 10, my purple Schwinn bike took me everywhere I needed to go.  I called it Lilikoi, after the purple passionfruit blossom, because I was passionate about riding and the bike was as purple as it could be.  Lilikoi picked up an impressive collection of scrapes as I rode it joyfully and heedlessly up and down curbs, over rocky paths, between close-growing trees. (Come to think of it, I acquired a lot of scrapes too.)

   And every Saturday of summer, my purple bike carried me alongside the swoosh of traffic on Kalanianaole Highway, from Niu Valley to the Aina Haina Library, where I checked out as many books as they'd let me. Seven.

   My  bike racked up mileage, but it was the books that really got me places. The written word was my entree to fascinating worlds outside my neighborhood.

     The 10-year-old superhero star of the new PBS Kids animated show "Wordgirl" would understand. This caped crusader revels in crimefighting and word usage. "'Absurd"  she says about the villain whose weapon of choice is a haunch of meat.  She rebukes him for poor word choices as well. "Preposterous!" she huffs.

   Another new PBS kids show features a young superhero who possesses the power to read--"Whyatt," star of "Super  Why!"

    And still another PBS show is "WordWorld," where words become a pre-schooler's  best friend and save the day. 

    These smart, funny shows are backed by serious academic curriculum.

    This is television supporting and encouraging reading, bringing words to life.

    I'm glad to be working on behalf of a media network that delivers rich vocabulary and imaginative stories to keiki.

    Purple bike and scrapes optional.

"Wordgirl" airs Mondays at 4PM on PBS Hawaii.

"Super  Why!" airs Monday through Friday at 8AM on PBS Hawaii.

"WordWorld" airs Monday through Friday at 1:30PM on PBS Hawaii.