mediator and advocate: the history of the honolulu community-media council a dissertation ...

293 Pages·2008·9.03 MB·English

MEDIATORAND ADVOCATE: THE HISTORY OF THE
HONOLULU COMMUNITY-MEDIA COUNCIL
A DISSERTATIONSUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE
UNIVERSITY OFHAWAI'IINPARTIALFULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FORTHE DEGREE OF
DOCTOROF PHILOSOPHY
IN
AMERICAN STUDIES
MAY 2005
By
Ralph Thomas Kam
DissertationCommittee:
FloydW. Matson, Chairperson
Dennis M. Ogawa
DavidE. Stannard
BeverlyKeever
RichardRapson
iii
©Copyright 2005
by
Ralph Thomas Kam
IV
To Kathy, Emalani and Joshua
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Iwould liketo extendmy gratitudeto the members ofthe Honolulu Community
MediaCouncil,past andpresent, for theircandor and availability. I also owe a debt of
gratitudeto the librarians and archivists at theUniversityofHawaii, especiallyJames
Cartwright, JoanHori andDore Minatodani, for suggestions ofand access to the
documentarymaterials. The staffofthe LegislativeReference Bureau also provided
valuable assistance. Thanks, too, goes to Anne Harpham, readerrepresentativeofthe
Honolulu Advertiser, for access to the newspaper's clippingmorgue. Myappreciation
also goes to the Teaching and Learning Centerat Hawaii Pacific University. Thanks also
to Doug andPaulaAnderson fortheirassistance intranscription ofinterviews.
Mostimportantly, Iwouldliketo thankmywife and children for theirlove and
supportofthis endeavor, andmyparents for instillinginme a love oflearning.
VI
ABSTRACT
This dissertationtakes the first comprehensive look at the political and intellectualhistory
ofthe Honolulu Community-MediaCouncil. Since 1970the council has played a
significantrole in shapingthepolitical landscape ofHawaii. This studydescribes the
council's dualrole as mediawatchdog and as mediachampion. As mediawatchdogithas
served as mediatorbetweenthe mostpowerful individuals andorganizations inHawaii.
Governors, mayors, andmediaconglomerateshave beenparties to its more thanone
hundredmediations. The councilhas also resisted increasingmediaconsolidation, and
promoted fair and accurate coverage ofindividuals and organizations. As media
championthe councilhas opposed government secrecyand censorship and lobbies for
increased access to governmentalproceedings. Using archival materials and interviews,
this studyexploresthe council's impact onmediapolicyand law. This studylooks at
factors contributingto the continuingviabilityofthe organization and its implications for
othercommunities interestedin forming press councils.
Vll
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V
ABSTRACT VI
TABLEOFCONTENTS VII
CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER2:PROLOGUE 16
CHAPTER3:LETITBE 43
CHAPTER4:DEJAVU 74
CHAPTER5:LETTHESUNSHINEIN 95
CHAPTER6:LIGHTS,ACTION,CAMERA 121
CHAPTER7:LIBERTYORLICENSE 128
CHAPTER8:PUBLICVERSUSTHEMEDIA 140
CHAPTER9:JUSTPOLITICS 149
CHAPTER10:BATTLEOFTHETITANS 160
CHAPTER11:STATEOFJOURNALISMINHAWAII 170
CHAPTER12:POLITICIANSVERSUSTHEMEDIA 187
CHAPTER13:PRESERVINGDIVERSEEDITORIALVOICES 203
CHAPTER14:COMBATINGA"CULTUREOFSECRECY" 221
CHAPTER15:FUTUREOFTHEHONOLULUCOMMUNITY-MEDIACOUNCIL. 240
APPENDIXA:HONOLULUCOMMUNITY-MEDIACOUNCILCHAIRSANDEXECUTIVE
DIRECTORS 257
APPENDIXB:CHRONOLOGY 259
APPENDIXC:FOUNDINGMEMBERSOFTHEHONOLULUCOMMUNITY-MEDIACOUNCIL
................................................................................................................................................................263
APPENDIXD:AWARDWINNERS 265
WORKSCITED 266
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
"Iinferthat [thepress'] security [... ]must altogether depend onpublic opinion,
andon the general spiritofthepeople andofthegovernment."
-AlexanderHamilton, The FederalistPapers, No. 84
This dissertation looks at the historyofthe Honolulu Community-Media Council, a
private, nonprofit voluntaryassociationthat"seeksto promote accurate and fair
journalisminHawaii, broadenpublic understanding ofthe role ofthe media, foster
discussionofmediaissues, strengthenpublic support for FirstAmendmentrights and
freedoms, and improvepublic access to information."! Formore thanthree decades the
councilhasplayed a significantrole in shapingthe political landscape ofHawaii through
its dual function as mediawatchdog and as mediachampion. As mediawatchdog, ithas
served as mediatorbetweenthe mostpowerful individuals andorganizations inHawaii.
Governors, mayors, and mediaconglomerateshavebeenparties to its more than one
hundredmediations. Inperformingthewatchdog function, the council also resists
increasingmediaconsolidation, andpromotes fair and accurate coverage ofindividuals
and organizations. As mediachampionthe council opposes government secrecyand
censorship and lobbies for increasedaccess to governmentalproceedings andrecords. In
doing so the council also has influencedissues centralto avibrantdemocracy-freedom
ofthepress, open government, mediaresponsibility, equal time, fair trials, andprivacy.
2
TheHonoluluCommunity-MediaCouncilperforms these roles inthe common ground
betweenthe public, media, and government. FormercouncilmemberWilbur Schramm,
the founding directorofthe East-West Center's Communications Institute, described in
1977the model ofthe Honolulu Community-MediaCouncil as "situatedin the middle of
atriangle, between government, the media, and thepeople."z Althoughwriting about a
proposednational news council, the modelpresentedbyRalph Lowenstein ofthe
UniversityofMissouri School ofJournalism could apply also to local councils. He wrote
inPress Councils: Idea andReality: "Wemustpicture inourmind's eye powerful
national mediaonone side, powerful centralizedgovernment onthe other side, andnow a
powerfulnational press council inthe middle.,,3
Called"unique,,4byone ofits founders, the councilhas survivedlongerthan
dozens ofitskind, and evenwitnessed the birth and deathofits national counterpart. As
earlyas 1946thepublisherin Littleton, Colorado, had hosted a group ofcitizens to
"roast"his newspapers at an annual gathering. The CommissiononFreedom ofthe Press,
also known as the Hutchins Commission afterits chairman, UniversityofChicago
PresidentRobert M. Hutchins, recommended anorganization like apress council in
1947. The commission, initsreport titledA Free andResponsiblePress, called for "the
establishmentofanew and independent agencyto appraise andreport annuallyupon the
1FactSheet: HonoluluCommunity-MediaCouncil,HonoluluCommunity-MediaCouncil,Available:
http://ilind.net/mediacouncillimages/factSheet.pdf,27December2003.
2"SchrammFindsFaultwithMediaPanel,"HonoluluAdvertiser13 April 1977.
3RalphLynLowenstein,PressCouncils:IdeaandReality(Columbia,Mo.: FreedomofInformation
Foundation, 1973).
4JimA. Richstad, "Community-MediaPanelHereUnique," HonoluluAdvertiser 17November 1970.
3
performance ofthepress."s Therecommendationwas one ofthree items listedunderthe
heading"WhatCanBeDone Bythe Public." Just three years afterthe Hutchinsreport the
first press council appearedinthe United States albeit at a localratherthan national level.
Formedin SantaRosa, California, nearlytwo decades beforeHonolulu's, thepress
council lastedonlythree years.6Between 1967 and 1969 the MellettFund sponsored six
experimentalcouncils inRedwood City, California; Bend, Oregon; Cairo, Illinois; Sparta,
Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Seattle, Washington. Startingin 1970thePeoria
Journal-Starpaidthe 21 members ofits Women's Advisory Boardto solicit feedback
concerningthenewspaper.? Thus, severalpress councilsprecededthe Honolulu effort; all
butthe latterone, however, ended operationsbeforethe start ofthe Honolulu
Community-MediaCouncil. So, althoughnot apioneer, the Honolulucouncilhas
demonstratedits stayingpower. TheMinnesotaNews Council startedin 1971,just
months afterits Honolulu counterpart.8In the next couple years three more press councils
formed in IowaFalls, Iowa; Greenville, Mississippi; and Riverside, California; but all
threehad closedby 1976.9 The lattercouncil sharedwithits Honolulucounterpartthe
commitmentonthepart ofThe (Riverside) Press andDailyEnterprise to publishthe
council's findings but also the recognitionthat: "The editors in no sensewillbeboundby
SCommissiononFreedomofthePress.,AFreeandResponsiblePress: AGeneralReportonMass
Communication;Newspapers. Radio. MotionPictures.Magazines. andBooks(Chicago,IL: TheUniversity
ofChicagoPress, 1947).
6ClaudeJeanBertrand,AnArsenalforDemocracy: MediaAccountabilitySystems,HamptonPress
CommunicationSeries. CommunicationAlternatives(Creskill,N.J.: HamptonPress, 2003) 150.
7Bertrand,AnArsenalforDemocracy:MediaAccountabilitySystems 156.
8WashingtonNews Council: History, WashingtonNewsCouncil,Available:
http://www.wanewscounci1.org/History.htm. 3January2003.
9Bertrand,AnArsenalforDemocracy: MediaAccountabilitySystems 157.
4
the council's findings; theyretain absolute discretion indetermining the content ofthe
newspaperaswell as ultimateresponsibilityfor what appears inprintinthe news and
editorial columns."l0 More thantwo decades later, a 1998 split ofthe six-year-old
NorthwestNews Council resultedinthe establishment ofthe WashingtonNews
Counci1.!! Today, Honolulu, MinnesotaandWashingtonhave the onlyremainingmedia
councils intheUnited States, though dozens ofnational andprovincialnews councils
exist inothercountries.
Internationally, press councilshave ahistoryfar exceedingthe half-centuryof
U.S. experience. Press councilshave a lineage that dates backto 1916when Sweden
establishedthe first national press counci1. Finland andNorwayestablishedtheircouncils
around adecade later.!2 In the years following World WarII, various organizations
expressedincreasedinterestin freedom ofexpression. TheRoyal Commissionofthe
Press in GreatBritainproposed establishingapress council there as early as 1943, though
the actual entitywould onlyform adecade later-the first English-languagenational
counci1. Eventoday, the onlydefinitionof"press council" inEnglish language
dictionaries is one containedinthe OxfordEnglish Dictionary, and itrefers not to a
general ideabutto the specificbodyestablishedin GreatBritain. Anotherpost-war effort,
the UniversalDeclarationofHumanRights, adoptedbythe United Nations in 1948,
includes inArticle 19: "Everyonehas the rightto freedom ofopinion and expression; this
10RiversidePressCouncil,n.d., n.p. HonoluluCommunity-MediaCouncilArchives, SpecialCollections,
HamiltonLibrary,UniversityofHawaii.
11AbouttheMinnesotaNewsCouncil,2002,MinnesotaNews Council,Available:http://www.news
council.org/about.html, 12September2004.
12Bertrand,AnArsenalforDemocracy: MediaAccountabilitySystems 131.