In 1991, when Ho`ike was born, I stood up in a public meeting and said that if Ho`ike did only one thing, it should have to create what I termed a”hot set.” A hot set would consist of a mike,
In 1991, when Ho`ike was born, I stood up in a public meeting and said that if
Ho`ike did only one thing, it should have to create what I termed a”hot set.”
A hot set would consist of a mike, camera, monitor and videotape recorder.
This equipment would always be set up and available to the public during normal
business hours. A member of the public could walk in, sit down, press the
record button, say their piece and press the stop button when finished.
A
simple and inexpensive concept (under $1,000) giving any member of the public
immediate access to the medium of television. As a video producer with over 30
years experience, I can assure the reader that setting up such a system is a
no-brainer, but of course this never happened. Instead, barriers to access were
immediately erected, requiring weeks of training, certification and confusing
scheduling.
This”gatekeeping” behavior was inexcusable and intentional on
the part of both Ho`ike staff and board members. It effectively limited public
access for years. Ho`ike staff, instead of facilitating access, became the
major producers of public access programming, a private club excluding all but
the most dedicated members of the public.
Ho`ike then entered the
commercial video market, competing with independent video producers for
contracts. Independent video producers could not compete with the cable
subscriber-subsidized Ho`ike staff and eventually stopped bidding against
Ho`ike for these contracts. This situation continues to this day.
Ho`ike’s
mission has changed from facilitating public access to becoming producers
themselves. Serving the public has become a bother and secondary to Ho`ike’s
own productions. The people managing the theater of public opinion have decided
to become a production company for hire.
This year, as a Ho’ike board
member, I had the opportunity to introduce a resolution establishing a hot set
to increase public access. The set resolution was approved and funded. Months
later, I resigned from the board, protesting a resolution the board passed
forbidding the audio or videotaping of Ho`ike board meetings by members of the
public. I could no longer be part of an organization claiming to be
operating”in the spirit of Sunshine and promoting public access” that had
passed a resolution prohibiting the public from videotaping or audiotaping
their own board meetings.
When I resigned, I mistakenly took comfort in the
belief that I had at least furthered the goal of increased public access by the
establishment of a hot set (AKA”The Open Mic”) that would give members of the
public greater access. Unfortunately, this walk-right-in, sit-right-down,
40-hours-a-week, unscheduled open access to the medium of television has been
subverted into a staff-controlled, once-a-week, three-hour shadow of the
original intent.
Ho’ike Community Television is doing a huge disservice to
the public. Their job is to facilitate the public’s access to the medium of
television. The reality is that Ho’ike has done and continues to do just the
opposite. Judging by their gatekeeping mentality and sloth-like movement
towards greater public access, it would appear Ho’ike thinks its job is to
prevent public access.
Ho`ike’s latest effort,”The Open Mic” (“Ho`ike
offers the public a chance to air their views” Nov. 11), is illustrative of
their latest effort to limit public access while creating the illusion of
increasing public access in a press release.
After nine years of
struggling to get Ho`ike to do their job, this subversion of intent is truly
disappointing.
ED COLL
Lihu’e
