There is so much to learn yet, from the simple, like which streets connect Alii Drive to Queen Kaahumanu Highway, to the more complex, like the environment, trends in crime, budgets, history, the island.
There is so much to learn yet, from the simple, like which streets connect Alii Drive to Queen Kaahumanu Highway, to the more complex, like the environment, trends in crime, budgets, history, the island.
And how to write an editorial.
This is my first editorial.
Well, let me wiggle on that one. This is my second editorial. I wrote my first editorial a while back, but only because my boss, the editorial writer, went on vacation, and allowed me to but asked me not to crash the car. I took the keys and didn’t even speed, so my first editorial thanked a community group for raising funds for a good cause, which was fair enough, because they needed to be thanked.
So this is my second editorial, and I want to introduce myself and what I want to see from our newspaper and hope to see from you, our readers.
My name is Tom Hasslinger and I’m the new managing editor at West Hawaii Today. I come here after two good years on Kauai, and before that, several years as a city hall reporter in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a fabulous water town with an Ironman all its own and which, believe it or not, reminds me of Kona.
There were a few other little stops before that but it’s been a nice run covering local news.
Which will continue here.
My goal in this new position is to keep our stories, fresh, fun, in depth, unique and hyper local. What’s hyper local? It’s feature stories on you, West Hawaii, the fisherman, the 60-year-old black belt student, Miss Kona Coffee contestants, farmers, ranchers, cowboys, athletes, business innovators, Good Samaritans and people up against hardships. Everyday people, the saying goes, real people.
What’s fun? Well, a lot really. Like a first person account of a well-known, better yet secluded, hiking spot.
And local content can be simple, too. Businesses, or anyone really, if you have plans to donate $750 or more to a nonprofit, let us know and we’ll run your photo of the check presentation or a photo of the organization putting your money to use. Not as a platform for bragging, but to encourage others to do the same. It takes a village, or villages, you know, even if they’re picturesque ones.
But while we highlight the good, we’ll also point out the bad. Hypocrisy, misdeeds, crime and environmental decay are facts of life everywhere. We won’t shy away.
But we want to know what you think. And not just about the paper. Years working in local news, people who make a name disparaging the small daily are as common as two-sided nickels. We’re not the New York Times, we know, but we’re going to bust tail like we are — except we’ll avoid throwing news out of Washington, D.C., on our front page.
Unless, of course, we can localize that feed coming out of the nation’s capital.
We want to know what you think about local topics. We want to give you that platform. Guest commentaries are encouraged, we want you to have your turn. In fact, that’s what we’re going to call them, “My Turn.” Send us your photo to run with your guest opinion, and we can dress it up on the printed page, just like a national columnist. Oh, we’ll still have George Will, just like on the opinion page today, and the AP staples, but local voices on local topics resonate just as deeply, often times more so. Send us your feedback at thasslinger@westhawaiitoday.com, letters@westhawaiitoday.com, or wht@aloha.net.
Wanna bend my ear, just call 930-8600.
So with that, the second editorial is in the books. I’m thrilled to be a part of West Hawaii. I’m thrilled to learn, through you, through our stories, all about where I live.