10 Must Read Stories From The Week Of July 9 – 13
The primary election is less than a month away and coverage of candidates and campaigns continues to top our reporting effort.
This was a big week in that regard. We are making an effort this year to do whatever we — as a news outlet — can to encourage people to participate in voting. One way is to explore why Hawaii’s voter turnout is so low and offer some ideas from other areas of the country that have worked to get people to the polls.
Our special series, Hawaii’s Vanishing Voter, by veteran investigative and political journalist Ian Lind, is a very deep dive into that issue and provides much insight into the reasons people in Hawaii just don’t vote.
Also this week, Civil Beat joined with KITV News to host a live televised debate featuring the three leading candidates for Honolulu mayor, one of the most important races of the year.
But timing is everything and it turned out corporate news executives at Hearst Corp., which owns KITV, and Time Warner Cable, which broadcasts the station to the overwhelming majority of Hawaii residents, chose this time to butt heads in a dispute over fees to carry the station. So KITV has been blacked out for most people in Hawaii this week, including Wednesday night’s debate.
Still, local news leaders recognized the need for Honolulu residents to be as informed as possible about this very important race. They set aside their business and professional rivalries and found a way to sidestep — at least for one evening — the standoff between the corporates offices in New York.
Hawaii News Now, which operates three TV stations here, broadcast the KITV-Civil Beat debate on its stations. PBS replayed it later in the evening. And Clear Channel radio stations aired it as well.
That sort of coming together for the public’s benefit is unprecedented, at least in Hawaii, and we’re pretty sure it doesn’t happen elsewhere either.
That was the big news for us this week. But here are 10 more stories you shouldn’t miss.
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Carlisle, Cayetano Both Aim Fire At Caldwell in KITV-Civil Beat Debate
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Social Issues Center In First Televised Hawaii Congress Debate
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Sperm Banks For Coral? One Scientist’s Unusual Plan To Save The Species
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Honolulu Prosecutor: Prostitution Investigations ‘Very Active’
