Sunday, March 3, 2013

Musings: Bleed It

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, then two, when I read Casey Quel Fitchett's "A Letter from the publisher,"  extolling the virtues of new ownership for The Garden Island.

First, she feeds us this crock: “Local ownership with local sensibilities is a positive step for us, keeping money circulating in Hawai‘i and not going out of state.”

Uhhh, last I looked Oahu Publishing Inc. (OPI) is owned by David Black, of Black Press Ltd., a Canadian-based newspaper company.

Then she writes: “Another reporter will also be added initially, and we expect more growth.” But they just laid off business reporter Laurie Cicotello, assistant editor Tom Finnegan and another editorial staffer. So even if they hire one more reporter, they're still down two.

I know it's a sensitive point, because the OPI bigwigs actually stopped the presses 45 minutes into the press run — something you do only if the president has been shot or find a racial slur in a headline — to revise the “Kauai loses last press” story written by  Léo Azambuja. It seems they feared people would think the quality of the paper was declining if they read the truth: that three editorial staffers had been axed. So they just conveniently edited that part out.

That's why it's just a little bit hard to believe Casey when she writes, (emphasis added):

“OPI is committed to assuring The Garden Island remains a functioning, independent daily newspaper.”

Then she gives us this: Another positive for the entire community is OPI’s commitment to community philanthropy.

Mmmm, yeah, that's great, except what about the 25 people in our community who lost their jobs, jobs that some had held for over a decade, because OPI essentially outsourced their work to Honolulu?

Oh, and just to show you what kind of people they are, they didn't call in the folks who were being terminated and tell them they didn't have a job. No, they let them sit there all day as the people who were retained were told they did have jobs. Come 5 p.m., when the management went home, it became clear to those left sitting that they were no longer employed.

Classy.

We would all love to see TGI become a better paper. But it ain't gonna happen, Casey, by stuffing it with Kmart inserts, filler from Honolulu, a weekly business feature from the Wall Street Journal (wtf?) and crisp photos from OPI's "modern marvel" of a press — the one they're using to systematically stifle independent presses around the state.

No, Casey, it will require investing in quality reporting staff, and keeping your mitts off them — yes, we know you're a daily presence in the newsroom, where publishers should not be — so they can do their job.

Though I am a perennial optimist, I don't see that happening.

Because David Black didn't buy TGI to beef it up, but to bleed it.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just another sad island issue. TGI, you suck!

Anonymous said...

Joan, how do you stay a perennial optimist? I remember that feeling long ago, but it has eluded me for awhile.

Joan Conrow said...

Well, I just planted some seeds, and picked up the shell of a newly hatched bird and watched young bees doing their first flight orientation around the hive and saw the half moon floating in a wisp of yellow clouds this AM..... I guess the key for me is to stay focused on what's beautiful, even as I slog through the crap.

Anonymous said...

Very good points, Joan. I wonder if Casey even wrote that fluffing stuffer. One point that bears attention: OPI stopped the press before they owned or had the right to stop the press. The Thursday edition was the last edition under the old ownership. OPI being what it is (arrogant, condescending, etc.) wanted to control what wasn't theirs to control. Casey will be a puppet of an out-of-control monopoly.

Thanks for doing the simple math on the newsroom. Fire three staffers and hire one. I guess in Casey's world, that's adding staff. I wonder what readers and advertisers will be paying 6 months from now.

Elaine Albertson said...

There's nothing "good" about this buyout, other than the doors are still open and at least a few still have their jobs. I'll bet the editor from China English Daily is still there. I agree with everything you said, Joan. Sad.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Joan again for another great behind the scenes real story about the fate of tgi. What mainstream media passes off as truth today is pure shibai. I for one will never spend a penny on that paper. It will be interesting to see if they resurrect a paywall like the Star Advertiser.

Anonymous said...

TGI news reporting was horrible and their articles were written terribly.



Anonymous said...

Joan, we don't NEED them. You are all we need to get our news. Our island is SOOOO fortunate, lucky and grateful to have you, your brains, your wit, grammar and spelling top notch along with being waaaay fair and balanced in the HONESTY department. WE LOVE you and know WHO WE are!!! Mahalo for doing the job that others won't and we know who THEY are too. I know others join me in sending you a virtual Haz Mat suit with built in WIFi, a bouquet of clean flowers, the best organic food and your favorite beverage... a backhoe to keep digging with, LOTS of incense and roller blades! Keep going, Joan! ((((DRUMS... CHANTING... laughter and applause)))))

Joan Conrow said...

Awww, that's very sweet. Mahalo for the encouragement and especially that virtual Haz Mat suit! lol

Anonymous said...

You are so very welcome, Joan!

Anonymous said...

Mahalo e Joan!

Elaine Albertson said...

I'm glad I'm retired. The only answering I have to do now is to my own sense of ethics and responsibility. I was truly sick of having to "spin the crap" for the public as Quel has done here. I feel that if she really believes what she wrote, then she wasn't half as bright as I gave her credit for when I met her some years ago when she was schlepping advertising for one of the weeklies. One can snark about TGIs lack of proofreading (which I have on occasion), but it really isn't much worse than the Star-Advertiser's, or even CNN's. Journalism is not what it used to be, the attention to accuracy and detail is gone (except in the case of folks like Joan Conrow), and the evolution of TGI is right on that continuum. Maybe someone with discretionary cash (ie., money) would like to start up a real newspaper here. Ya tink?

Anonymous said...

One interesting thing to note is that Casey's husband, Brian Fitchett, was also laid off from the TGI Sales Dept., so apparently OPI doesnt turn a blind eye to nepotism the way Lee Enterprises did...

Anonymous said...

Renee Haines was the editor from the China English Daily. She was fired by Casey almost a year ago. There hasn't been a permanent editor there since.

Anonymous said...

Try and call the Garden Island news front desk in this Lihue location...or any TGI desk for that matter.

Does the call come into the office in Lihue? No, no direct calls come into this newspaper any longer. Calls go straight to switch board at The Honolulu Star Advertiser on Oahu.


Well, speaking of presses...hot off the press, TGI Comments Board will no longer be available. The online version of TGI is being revised, and the forum is removed.

What will become of the TGI family of "Welcome Home"... where the door screen don't hang right, and the faucets drip at night? Kinda sad.

Someone check on RGGJR to make sure he isn't rolled-up in a ball somewhere with withdrawal pain.

In all seriousness, the new parent company knows nothing about TGI or this community if it chooses to prevent readers from engaging in and reading the Forum. As unbelievable as it gets at times, TGI Forum is a pulse point for the Kauai community.

Probably the only reason OPI would remove the comments board is because of liability concerns. Kauai--the wild, wild west. Let's face it, it was Kauai cowboys who prevented the Super Ferry from docking. That pretty much sums it up.

KimoRosen said...

Mahalo Nui to Oahu Publications for rescuing The Garden Island newspaper from a possible bankruptcy and potential financial meltdown. It's sad that many TGI employees lost their jobs, but it's also a blessing that everyone didn't lose their jobs, which very easily could had been a reality if Oahu Publications had not come to the rescue.

Anonymous said...

Really kimo? I wonder if you'd be saying the same thing if it was your job that was taken...abruptly I might add. Yeah they may have rescued the paper but OPI is all business and no heart. They handled the transfer coldly, with no sympathy for those who were cut loose. It's nothing personal? Tell that to the people who been there 30 plus years. it's their 2nd family. It's always personal, especially here on Kauai.

Anonymous said...

Good point Anonymous, March 7 at 10:40 PM. Add loosing employment on small island Kauai. It will be difficult to recover this loss.

Another corporation encrouching. Heartless. OMG, what was the deal with TGI writer Tom LaVenture's recent coverage of the murder trial? The stories were pretty much useless.

You can tell the writer has no involvement in the community. If he did, his stories wouldn't read as if he is writing about a Crayola Crayon drawing contest, and Tom accidently got the color of Crayons mixed up that 5 different Kinddy students were using. LaVenture did this important homicide story no justice. The Defendant's gang was probably feeling pretty smug.

Tom had no business assigned this story. It was obvious in his writing it made no difference to him whether or not he wrote sound stories.

Anonymous said...

What do you think of the new Editor in Chief Bill Buley hired to start on April 15th? Does Casey herself have a job as TGI publisher?

Anonymous said...

Well, it looks like the powers that be finally wised up and fired Casey Quel! Fired on a Friday and in front of everyone? Looks like someone got a taste of her own medicine... Good riddance.