May 24th, 2008
At around 9:00 a.m. today, Clear Channel Communications activated their version of Radio Free Hawaii at KUCD 101.9-2 HD digital. Kathy with a K, who is a full time personality on KSSK FM and one of the original RFH deejays from the 1990s, started the broadcast by playing music selections from the 50 ballots the station claimed to have.
Later in the day the station switched over to an automated program that is supposedly playing music voted for by the listeners. Other than the occasional reminders to visit the new Radio Free Hawaii site on Ning to vote, there is currently little or no personality to distinguish this brand from the other Clear Channel HD stations or from the original incarnation of the monicker.
For those without an HD radio set, the new Radio Free Hawaii stream can be heard from this link:
Clear Channel’s Radio Free Hawaii Audio Stream
May 21st, 2008
KFVE TV got a new sports deal from the University of Hawaii to continue broadcasting the school’s sports events. The 6-year contract will pay KFVE over $14 million. Oceanic Cable will continue to faciliate the broadcast of pay-per-view games under the new contract.
KFVE has been broadcasting most of the University of Hawaii sports events for the past 25 years. Oceanic and KFVE teamed up to bring certain games as pay-per-view events. The contract covers those games that are not broadcast by national networks such as ABC TV and ESPN.
More Information: StarBulletin.com | KFVE TV | University of Hawaii Sports
May 21st, 2008
TV news anchor Joe Moore announced last night that he will be at KHON TV’s anchor desk for another 10 years. Moore’s new contract runs through the year 2018. Terms are undisclosed. From Erika Engle’s column in today’s Buzz:
Joe Moore has a new 10-year deal to anchor the KHON-TV news. He has been leading up to the announcement on last night’s 10 o’clock news since Friday, when he began talking about his 40 years in news as a prelude to a statement about his future.
Go to this link for more details: StarBulletin.com | Discussion Topic | KHON TV
May 19th, 2008
Bill Bigelow, a former Hawaii journalist, actor and marketing executive died yesterday (May 18) after a long fight with cancer. He was 75. From HawaiiReporter.com’s story:
A former U.S. Navy officer, he lived in Hawaii for over 40 years and is a well known local radio and TV journalist, having been a reporter and news anchor on KHON-TV and KGMB-TV, plus drive-time radio news anchor on KCCN and KHVH in Honolulu. He was host & producer of the popular Hawaiian music international radio program “HAWAII CALLS” in the early 1990s, and recently hosted a weekly TV program called “NOW HEAR THIS” sponsored by the Navy League of the U.S.
More details at HawaiiReporter.com.
May 14th, 2008
It is quite apparent that “Dog the Bounty Hunter”, the A&E network reality show featuring Duane “Dog” Chapman and his bail bonds business and posse is coming back to the airwaves. A media advisory was recently released:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Honolulu, HI – Hawaii press are invited to a private media-only event with the cast of A&E’s Dog the Bounty Hunter, including Duane “Dog” Chapman and Beth Chapman, as well as Niger Innis from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and A&E Television Network executives.
A&E’s Scott Lonker, vice president, nonfiction and alternative programming, will introduce the panel, and announce the popular reality series’ return to television this summer. One-on-one interviews with the Chapmans, Innis, and A&E will be conducted following the announcement and group photo ops.
Here is a summary:
WHO: Dog the Bounty Hunter Cast, Niger Innis (CORE), and A&E executives
WHAT: Media event and one-on-one interviews
WHEN: Starts at 11:00 a.m. - May 14
WHERE: The Kahala, 5000 Kahala Avenue.
HOW: Only media receiving this invitation are invited
For regular updates and the latest news, please visit www.dogthebountyhunter.com.
May 6th, 2008
The latest Arbitron ratings for the Winter period is reported today in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. There are no suprises as the morning show team of Michael W. Perry & Larry Price on Clear Channel’s KSSK FM & AM lead the pack of prime-time morning shows.
Overall the top 5 radio stations in the Honolulu market are:
- KSSK 92.3 FM
- KINE 105.1 FM
- KRTR 96.3 FM
- KCCN 100.3 FM
- KPHW 104.3 FM
Ever wondered who the bottom dwellers are overall? You can see them at the Radio & Records Website. The 3 Honolulu Radio stations at the bottom of the Arbitron pile are:
- 3. KKNE 940 AM
- 2. KLHT 1040 AM
- 1. KGU 760 AM
The entire listing of ratings for all Honolulu stations overall are at the Radio & Records site.
Traditional radio listening is on the decline. How many of you regularly listen to the radio all of the time or at least some of the time? Leave a comment below.
April 22nd, 2008
Apparently fans of ABC-TV’s “Lost” which is filmed in Hawaii will have to settle for an abridged 4th season, due to this past winter’s writers strike. It was announced today that the series will fall 5 episodes short of their original episode run and that the last episode of the current season will air on May 29 as a 2-hour finale.
From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin website:
“Essentially, one hour of television is 41 minutes. As a result of trying to cram that story in, around the finale the rubber hit the road, and we realized it all felt very rushed and we were shortchanging our emotional moments, our character moments,” said “Lost” co-creator, executive producer and writer Damon Lindelof. He and executive producer/writer Carlton Cuse spoke to members of the national press last week in a conference call from Los Angeles, and deftly hinted at future plot lines without revealing too many details.
The TV series resumes its current season on KITV Channel 4 this coming Thursday night starting at 9:00 p.m.
Additional Links
April 15th, 2008
KGMB TV’s news division has won 3 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for stories they did on the Hawaii Superferry and the Hawaiian Language. Their website at kgmb9.com was named as “Best Broadcast-Affiliated Web”. KGMB was the only Hawaii based station in the awards competition.
KGMB, KITV, KITV, KHNL and KHET TV are also in competition for the Northern California regional Emmy awards.
April 11th, 2008
The Office of the National Marine Sanctuary Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently commenced a partnership with television stations KHNL and KFVE (K5) in Honolulu, HI. The Earth and Sea Project: Going Green in Hawaii is a year-long series of environmental reports on KHNL News 8 and K5 News.
The Earth and Sea Project focuses on local environmental preservation and protection. Topics include sustainability, global warming and specifically what individuals, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and corporations are doing to repair and enhance the environment on land and in the ocean.
Allen Tom, the Pacific Islands Regional Director for the National Marine Sanctuary Program, is proud of this exclusive partnership. “In the history of NOAA and the Sanctuary program, it is unprecedented for a news organization to make a commitment to environmental coverage of the scope, breadth and depth of The Earth and Sea Project,” said Tom.
Keep reading →
April 11th, 2008
Work produced by Hawaii Student Television (HSTV) was recognized at the 2008 Pele Awards Celebration on Saturday, April 5th at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Tapa Ballroom. A special Exhibition Category was designed to celebrate the outstanding work being produced by HSTV and Hawaii’s Elementary, Middle, High School and College students. The best student television video in this Exhibition category was for Hulihe’e Palace on the Big Island. HSTV’s Therapeutic Foster Parent PSA, which was created for Child & Family Service and Hawaii Foster Youth Coalition Anti-Drug video were also recognized. The awards ceremony was hosted by TV personality Andy Bumatai.
“As I have said many times and on behalf of Hawaii’s students must re-emphasize, even though HSTV is very grateful to receive such recognition, we are just the administrators that connect the dots. It is Hawaii’s students and schools that participated in creating these HSTV productions, along with their mentors and the supporting organizations, that deserve the real credit and recognition,” commented Robert Olague, HSTV President/Executive Producer.
The Pele Awards is the most prominent advertising award in Hawaii designed to recognize the best advertising and design work created in Hawaii. The Hawaii Advertising Federation (HAF) is the largest unifying voice for advertising in Hawaii. Their mission is to promote the business of advertising and communications through professional education, recognition of excellence, government relations, self-regulation and public service.
April 10th, 2008
South Kohala’s KWYI at 106.9 FM recently launched their new website which can be found at http://www.kwyi.com/. The site features tabs for contact information, music charts, advertising, links and station information. KWYI plays an adult contemporary music format and has been under the same local ownership for more than 10 years. Their chart link features the Radio & Records top 30 hits.
April 9th, 2008
Erika Engle reports in her Buzz column that Clear Channel radio is ressurrecting the “Radio Free Hawaii” brand with a new HD broadcast of the format.
Radio Free Hawaii coming back, in HD
Radio Free Hawaii, which prided itself as the island’s anti-corporate radio station in the 1990s, is being resurrected — by the ultimate corporate radio entity.
The seven-station cluster owned by Texas-based Clear Channel Communications Inc., will launch its Radio Free Hawaii format May 24 on 101.9-2, which requires an HD radio to hear.
COMMENTARY
It remains to be seen whether or not Clear Channel and their programmers can keep the brand true to its original format. As stated in the article, the station will never be the same without the presence of the original format’s founder, Norm Winter of Jelly’s Books and Records.
It also remains to be seen whether or not this will contribute to the growth of HD broadcasting and set ownership in Hawaii. The entry price for an average HD radio is around $200, which is quite steep if Clear Channel wants to go for a young demographic. Young people also prefer to listen to and program their own music on an iPod, so that should also be considered competition.
