Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

[kahalabrah]

I've been wondering why all the local TV stations are filled with male haole anchors when Hawaii's population is majority asian?

[Kilinahe]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

Wow, Paula Akana is a haole male? News to me. And Shawn Ching is haole? And I guess I must have missed the memo about Tasha Kobashigawa being a guy.

[lavagal]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

I've been wondering why all the local TV stations are filled with male haole anchors when Hawaii's population is majority asian?

is it? it's majority asian? really?

[LikaNui]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

Pamela Young is a haole male?
I wonder if Gary knows.

[kahalabrah]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

As an asian male, it is a little annoying that there is little asian/local representation on local television. You named ONE male asian anchor.

[FreaknHaole]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

Joe Moore is a haole? The way he talks?

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

There's also Ben Gutierrez over at KITV. Does he count?

[kimo55]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

There's also Ben Gutierrez over at KITV. Does he count?

only to seven.

[helen]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

Is Guy Hagai still at KGMB?

[Kilinahe]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

I believe he is. And Rob Mizutani is still on. So is Robert Kekaula. Look, underrepresentation of minorities chaps my hide, too, but TV news in Hawaii is not lacking for Asian males.

[scrivener]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

Joe Moore is haole, but he's local. Aiea High School. Is your problem your perceived lack of Asians in the field, or your perceived lack of locals? I'm not being snippy; I just want to know what your beef is so I know how to participate in this conversation.

[kahalabrah]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

As a mainland asian recently relocated to Hawaii, I'm very aware of the lack of asians in the media. So naturally, I am merely questioning why there is more haole representation, across the board, male/female than asian/local representation at the highest levels of Hawaii media.

Please see my post under education as well. HPU Racist Marketing Campaign.

Thank you for your replies

[pzarquon]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

I guess you could say there's over-representation of Asian males, specifically, in sports, specifically, and under-representation of Asian males, specifically, in solo anchor slots, specifically, but... well, as a local, and an Asian male, I usually have a lot to grumble about when it comes to the national media landscape (a lot!), and yet I've always been quite happy with the mix I see in local television news.

And Scrivener makes a good point. "Local" still includes a lot of the haole reporters and anchors you see.

As an aside, I have long observed an odd disconnect between the perceptions of a mainland U.S. Asian American and one from Hawaii (I used to subscribe to A. Magazine, and simply couldn't identify with all the rage), and really, I wouldn't say either is right or wrong. A Brendon Tanaka from Seattle might be a little over sensitive, while a Glen Watanabe from Pearl City might not see a problem at all when there might actually be one.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

kahalabrah*, if you're new you may want to come up to speed on several discussions we've had here that I suspect will be relevant:

How can you distinguish a local from a non-local?

Meaning of the Word 'Haole'?

I Not Haole...I Portuguese!

"Asian" vs "Oriental"

Take a look, and comment if you like.

* And what a loaded username that is!

Edit:
Oh yeah, and one more:
What does 'katonk' mean?

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Why No Local Anchors on Hawaii TV

As an aside, I have long observed an odd disconnect between the perceptions of a mainland U.S. Asian American and one from Hawaii (I used to subscribe to A. Magazine, and simply couldn't identify with all the rage), and really, I wouldn't say either is right or wrong. A Brendon Tanaka from Seattle might be a little over sensitive, while a Glen Watanabe from Pearl City might not see a problem at all when there might actually be one.

Yup. I saw this too when I was in California. From what I could tell, it seems to be deeply rooted in the experience of growing up as an actual minority, amidst a huge white majority, which we in Hawai‘i can't really relate to.