2008 Events

7/11/08

Thank you for joining us for the 2007 annual SPJ Hawaii chapter Awards Dinner.

This is our first year in the Dole Cannery ballroom. So I hope you will be pleased with tonite's dinner.

Tonite, we recognize the best in Hawaii journalism in the areas of print, broadcast, and internet.

The awards dinner is one of the many programs sponsored by your SPJ Hawaii chapter.

The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation's most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.

The Hawaii chapter is here to support local journalists and foster excellence in our profession for the benefit of our communities and its people.

I'd like to take a moment to recap some of the many programs and initiatives SPJ's Hawaii chapter has been working on for you throughout the year.

* During this year's legislative session, we worked on crafting a shield law to protect journalists from having to reveal their sources. Hawaii is now one of 36 states in the nation with a shield law. SPJ will be sponsoring a discussion on the shield law with attorney Jeff Portnoy Aug. 21 at noon at the Honolulu Advertiser building. You're all invited to attend. I believe Jeff is here tonite if you want to meet with him.

* We continue to be involved in open government issues. This year, we questioned why crime logs at the University of Hawaii weren't made available, and why the city wanted to keep a mass transit technology panel from meeting in public.

* We also foster the next generation of journalists. Every year, we provide professional opportunities for college students by placing them in paid summer internships in print, broadcast and public relations. We'll be introducing this year's lucky interns to you later this evening.

* We provide opportunities for you to meet and hear the nation's top journalists. We co-sponsored a talk by Sheila Coronel, an award-winning Filipino journalist at Columbia University's investigative journalism program. Also, local boy Byron Acohido, a USA Today reporter, was here to talk about his Pulitzer-prize winning investigative stories.

* And we can't end the year without poking fun at Hawaii's news events, politicians and other newsmakers at the Gridiron, scheduled for Oct. 24-25 at Diamond Head Theatre. Gridiron regulars know how much fun the show is. If you've never seen the Gridiron, I highly recommend it. All proceeds from the show go to fund our internship program. Due to the show's popularity, we'll be adding a Saturday matinee this year for the first time ever. Mahalo to KITV's Keoki Kerr and the Advertiser's Robbie Dingeman for again leading the show's production, and showing us that it's OK to laugh at each other and ourselves sometimes.

We hope to continue with programs that advocate for you and good journalism in Hawaii.

As we recognize the best of Hawaii journalism tonite, we'll also be saying goodbye to a woman who represents the very best in journalism. She laid the foundation for many journalists, many of whom are in this room tonite. She has also dedicated her career to advocating for more open government and accountability. Later this evening, we will recognize University of Hawaii professor Bev Keever, who will be retiring after 26 years of teaching.

The Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce its Annual Awards Dinner and Presentation and a tribute to retiring University of Hawaii Journalism Professor Beverly Deepe Keever Date: Friday, July 11, 2008 Time: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Place: Dole Ballrooms (Lanai room) Please join in celebrating our industry’s successes.
4/1/08

Thank you to the judges of the Region X (Pacific Northwest) Newspaper Contest

Helen Altonn
Laurie Au
Dave Briscoe
David Butts
Alex Da Silva
Susan Essoyan
James Gonser
Gerald Kato
Nancy Cook Lauer
Marsha McFadden
Stirling Morita
Sandra Oshiro
Gene Park
Robert Shikina

3/17/08

 FOI Talk by Sheila Coronel

By Robert Shikina

Chapter Member

Around the world, the news media have never been freer than it is today, but there is a high price to pay for that freedom, said award-winning investigative journalist Sheila Coronel.

Hundreds of journalists have died or remain behind bars because of their work.

Meanwhile, in the United States investigative journalism faces a threat from a business pressures that favors entertainment over quality reporting, she said.

"Journalists are having a heyday in exposing crime, corruption. The bad news, of course, is we pay a price for such exposure," Coronel told dozens of people Monday afternoon at a Freedom of Information Day luncheon on the University of Hawai'i campus as part of Sunshine Week.

The Honolulu Community-Media Council, Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and several other organizations sponsored Coronel's speech as part of the Ah Jook Ku lecture series.

Coronel is director of Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism - Columbia University and the 2003 Ramon Magasaysay Awardee for developing investigative journalism in the Philippines. She helped found the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, which became the premier investigative reporting institution in the region.

"Investigative journalism has flourished … in many transition countries," Coronel said. In those countries, competing in crowded markets "has made journalists more aggressive in exposing wrongdoing and exposing corruption."

But along with grown of the press, more journalists -- usually local citizens -- have been killed around the world in the post-democratic era than in eras with more governmental control.

"They're being deliberately targeted for their work," she said. "They can make change possible. They become a danger to the powers."

At the end of 2007, 127 journalists worldwide were imprisoned, facing charges against a government or sometimes no charges at all, she said.

During her speech, "Endangered Watchdogs? Investigative Reporting in Troubled Times," Coronel said the news media have grown in developing countries because of so many new avenues for news and a hunger for information. The boom in media has been largely in Asia where China and India were ranked first and second respectively in newspaper circulation, compared with the rest of the world, she said.

In some cases, governments have fueled the media expansion after realizing the media can prevent corruption at the local level and educate businesses, leading to greater national profit.

In China, media market reforms have also led to media growth. When the Chinese government cut subsidies to newspapers, companies were forced to become aggressive in investigative reporting, despite the socialist system, she said.

"The need to survive in that market has forced newspapers to be more aggressive, more expose-oriented in their reporting," she said. The result is a "vibrant media environment in China."

Journalists have also gained press freedoms through freedom of information (FOI) laws around the world. In 1996, when the United States passed its first FOI law, only one other country had a FOI law. Today, 70 countries around the world have FOI laws, half of them having passed them within the last five years, she said.

But there's a downside to the new press freedoms.

"The rise of commercial media has also meant the rise of dumbed-down news and 'infotainment' throughout the world," she said.

In the United States, the problems of investigative reporting are different than in developing countries, Coronel said.

She said income from advertising and circulation is not sustaining newspapers, especially as more people get their news online. While advertisers have moved online, the profit is not enough to sustain news production, leading to a decline in investigative reporting, she said.

In addition, journalists in the United States have faced more pressure to reveal confidential sources, hindering investigative reporting.

However, she sees a possible solution – nonprofit groups, which can fund in depth reporting without commercial pressure, are stepping in to do investigative journalism, and citizen are making contributions as well.

"Citizens are filling the gap in watchdog reporting, providing needed information," she said. "Increasingly, the line between citizens and journalists is becoming blurred."