Passing Jim Leahey's Trust Test

      I've known sports commentator Jim Leahey for more than 30 years, back to when we both worked in Bob Sevey's KGMB Newsroom. He's smart, knowledgeable, generous, opinionated, volatile, dedicated, funny, maddening.

      Despite his sharp edges and my wish to avoid getting lacerated, we've always gotten along well. I like him very much and respect his considerable talent. But more than a year ago, when I took the job of President and CEO at PBS Hawaii, where Jim co-hosts the weekly program LEAHEY & LEAHEY with his son Kanoa, I wondered whether there'd be a climate change in our relationship, from warm to Arctic.

      Why? Because of Jim's self-styled "Rules of Broadcasting": 1)Always be yourself. 2) Tell the truth. (So far, so good--but look what's next: 3) Never trust broadcast management.

       I've heard of Jim's loud, impassioned arguments with TV station officials at more than one of our local affiliates. I've personally heard him pronounce some of them idiots.

       Of course, Jim is a journalist at heart, and good journalists question and resist authority. Most, in their challenges, aren't as bold, as gifted with extravagant adjectives and as masterful with sarcasm. He's a man of conviction and he can be an angry man.

      So yesterday, before the taping of the week's LEAHEY & LEAHEY show, I asked Jim whether he trusts me and PBS Hawaii management.

      He seemed surprised. Of course, he said.

      "Because this is a different kind of TV station," he told me. "This is for the public, for the community. This is a good place."

       Whew.

       I gotta say, it means something to pass Jim Leahey's trust test.

       Jim loves the concept of public television, using a section of public airwaves for the enlightenment of people. He loves having a show at a locally owned and operated TV station. And he loves that the station is committed to using the Hawaiian value of pono (fairness, balance, what's right) to make decisions.

        Managers here hold ourselves to high standards, and we know that we don't always measure up. At least we can count on Jim to be our early-warning system (as in heat-seeking missile!) if he senses something amiss.

        Still, I'm always mindful of that quote from an unknown author: "It takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it."

        So, this public TV station tries relentlessly to keep the trust we hope we've earned.