So what's up with the Weekly?

[buzz1941]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

Uh, I'm a local haole. I only feel FOB when I'm on the mainland. Mainland people are weird.

[dick]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

Uh, I'm a local haole. I only feel FOB when I'm on the mainland. Mainland people are weird.

Uh, I know...

[sin]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

What i'd like to know (and I haven't checked all the posts yet so maybe someone has already answered this) is what members of the local hula community think about burl's coverage of merrie monarch. myself i think burl tried to do something different, not offensive, but then again i don't devote my life to the art as some people do.

so what's up, any takers out there? i'm way more interested in their opinion than what haug thinks he knows about something.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

Mainland people are weird.

Amen to that!!!
Oh...wait a minute...I need to check what it says on my mailbox...

[Middleman]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

Yes, the Honolulu Weekly was wrong to devote a cover story to Burl's Merrie Monarch coverage. The decision lacked good news judgment and, frankly, the Weekly's story was equally confusing.
Burl also was wrong to respond in the manner he chose. He took a chance; yes, that's good. It's good when a writer tries to break out of the box. More writers should take chances. Unfortunately, the concept didn't work.That's life. He should either say nothing or apologize to his critics and promise to do better next year. Furthermore, he needs to quit his Advertiser-made-me-do-it whining. Geez. Get over it. The Advertiser is not responsible for all of Burl's problems. Burl is too good of a reporter/writer/historian to blame a third party.

[Palolo Joe]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

Unfortunately, the concept didn't work.

That's your opinion, and you shouldn't try to speak for others. I, and a number of people I spoke with about this issue, liked the story. It brought a fresh perspective to MM that has been sorely lacking in recent years.

[MadAzza]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

He should either say nothing or apologize to his critics and promise to do better next year. Furthermore, he needs to quit his Advertiser-made-me-do-it whining. Geez. Get over it. The Advertiser is not responsible for all of Burl's problems. Burl is too good of a reporter/writer/historian to blame a third party.

1. You have got to be kidding. Burl has nothing to apologize for. His were the most readable, entertaining stories about Merrie Monarch I've ever read, anywhere. Sure, I'm biased, he's my buddy, but it's also true. I actually made it to the end of every one of Burl's stories!

2. He didn't "blame" the Advertiser for his story (huh?); there is nothing to be blamed for. I'm sure Burl doesn't want to give the Tizer credit for his story!

It was a pretty transparent way for the Weekly to try to "get back" at Burl for his bare-knuckled honesty in HT, though. Obviously, they couldn't take the heat from a bunch of ... What did they call Hawaii Threads? A bunch of "wannabe journalists"? So one of HT's wannabe (har) journalists got Mr. Haire so tweaked that he devoted his cover to a silly attempt (by an apparently quite forgettable former S-B intern, no less) to do ... well, whatever that was an attempt to do. Impersonate a junior high school newspaper, perhaps.

Pathetic. And funny as hell.

[buzz1941]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

Uh, it wasn't the Tizer that "made" us cover it the way we did. It was the notion that starbulletin.com is read world-wide, not just in Hawaii.

And what's wrong with being competitive?

And Middleman thinks I should apologize to Kawehi? I think not.

[Middleman]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

Didn't mean to stir the pot. I just think that in such debates, what good does it do to take jabs at Wanda Adams' reporting? Her reports were well written, informative and entertaining.I've spoken to many hula fans, and all praised her reporting.
Again, it was dumb for the Honolulu Weekly to devote a cover story to Burl. But that debate is between Burl and the Weekly, and it shouldn't include minimizing Ms. Adams' outstanding work. Part of being a competitor means acknowledging the good work of the competition. Ms. Adams did good work, as did Dennis Oda, as always.

[MadAzza]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

Didn't mean to stir the pot.

And I didn't mean to sound pissy. Sorry if it came across that way.

I'm just glad I don't have to worry about getting that assignment. It's probably one of the hardest a reporter (writer, whatever) can get. So much material to cover, long days, no time to sit down and mull things over before you write ... just bang it out ASAP. My hat's off to anyone who even tries to cover MM.

[Middleman]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

You're right about that Mad. What makes it difficult is the amount of passion it generates among the participants and instructors. It's not an easy assignment.
Again Mad, it wasn't personal. I'm glad you stood up for you friend. But these are no-win debates, and rather than fueling arguments, it's sometimes best for a writer to say: "Thanks for your opinion." Even if you've done the best you can, it's always good to think you can do better. The day we leave our newsrooms thinking there's nothing more to improve upon, that's when we should think about leaving the business.

[MadAzza]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

The day we leave our newsrooms ...

A-ha! I *knew* that was you!

[Leo Lakio]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

It was the notion that starbulletin.com is read world-wide, not just in Hawaii.

Which best explains why I enjoyed it so much. I've never been to MM, but am hula haumana off-island; the article was written in a very welcoming style, that succeeded in drawing in a reader and creating the environment for them.
I used to read both papers' coverage of all hula and music events; the prime reason I don't check the Advertiser with the regularity that I do the S-B is simple: the Advertiser's webpage takes so much longer to load and navigate (for me) than does the S-B's.

[buzz1941]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

If I gave the impression Wanda's MM coverage was lacking, I'm sorry. She does outstanding work, and it's in the same successful niche she has carved out for herself over the years. But describing it is not the same as criticizing it.
And our decision not to do our stories in the same manner as Wanda's is not a criticism of her style, it's just an effort to be different. That's what happens when you have two newspapers in a town. Why should one ape the other? Clearly some readers liked one over the other, and vice-versa, but it was the two together that provided balanced coverage.
I apologize if I'm edgy on this subject. Try explaining to your kids why their father was the subject of a mean-spirited assault for no apparent reason on the cover of a newspaper.
And so I'll just shut up on this subject now. Or get back to the topic in the header, which ain't about me.

[damontucker]

Re: So what's up with the Weekly?

This weeks edition should be interesting to see the follow up!!!

I should be getting it at my normal p/u place in about an hour!