BUCK'S BLOG
Reflections On The Past Year,
Looking Towards The Future
J.M.
Buck
The holiday
season is a time of year when many reflect on the events and accomplishments
that occurred during the year. 2005 is no exception.
With the 2006 just around the corner, I, for one, am marveling
over the many amazing things that have taken place this year,
both in my life as well as around the world.
Hurricane Katrina was an event of momentous proportions. People
around the world watched and listened as southern Louisiana, Mississippi
and Alabama were inundated by flood waters, as horror stories
poured forth from the Superdome, as over 1,300 perished. We shuddered
as subsequent gruesome scenes were reported, we rejoiced upon
learning of heroic rescues and miraculous survivals.
And there are still many families that went through the harrowing
ordeal of Katrina that still call the inside of a sports arena
home.
But many are thankful just to be alive. So very thankful.
I believe many of us learned and grew from Katrina. Many discovered
a deep desire that they never knew they possessed to reach out
to their fellow man. Maybe for the first time since that fateful
day on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans stopped paying so much attention
to insignificant trivialities in their personal lives and stepped
up to the plate, their hands reached out in compassion.
Looking back on 2005, this past year has taught me that in most
instances, there really is a silver lining on every cloud. It
also taught me that channeling anger and frustration into positive
channels can create something amazing. I’m talking about
The Maui Examiner, of course.
I must admit, I have been amazed at how fast this publication
and the number of Examiner readers is growing, against all odds.
In August of this year, I was working as Senior Investigative
Reporter, and previously Assistant Editor, of Maui Weekly. After
the sale of the Weekly to the Maui News (who is owned by Ogden
Newspapers, Inc. (ONI), I found myself out of work.
ONI owns all of the daily and weekly newspapers on Maui except
Maui Time Weekly. Why was I cut from the reporting staff after
the sale to ONI? Simply because my stories stirred up controversy
and exposed wrongdoing. Here I was, chasing tow truck operators
that were littering our roads with derelict vehicles while Maui’s
ONI-monopolized news publications were carrying pieces with stunning
headlines like “Paper Made From Cut Trees.”
Now here’s where the “silver lining” lesson
comes in.
I was angry. Just downright pissed off.
“The people of Maui are being cheated,” was the thought
at the forefront of my mind. I was furious at how the mass media
under-estimated the intelligence of their readers.
I thought about running for mayor. I bitched and moaned and screamed
at the top of my lungs. I complained so much about the unjustness
of the situation that my acquaintances wouldn’t call me
back anymore.
Thankfully, just when I was ready to throw in the investigative
reporting towel, several of my dearest friends talked me out of
it.
That’s when The Maui Examiner came into being. The first
bare-bones issue was uploaded on August 22, 2005.
This is the last issue of Volume 1 of The Examiner. A volume runs
from the first issue of a calendar year to the last issue of that
year. The next issue will begin Volume 2. We made it through the
year! And thanks to readers like you who want something more than
what you can get in mass media, this publication has grown to
have an opt-in mailing list of almost 5,000 readers in just four
months.
Amazing.
The Examiner is still at the “grass roots” level,
consisting of myself and a core group of friends who believe in
freedom of speech, truth in the media, and that an informed public
can make a difference.
What’s next for 2006? I hope to be able to publish The Examiner
on a weekly basis, then eventually, daily. But first, we need
advertisers. With advertising revenue, we will be able to pay
investigative reporters to bring you more of the news behind the
news in Maui County. That is the #1 priority of this publication.
For sales, we need advertising sales representatives. There are
immediate openings for qualified individuals.
I have big dreams for this publication. However, all things take
time. But I believe that dreams can and do come true. They already
have.
I want to extend a special thanks to those people who gave me
hope and encouragement during the creation and first issues of
The Maui Examiner. These friends kept insisting that people really
would want to read a publication like this one and they wouldn’t
let me give up, even when sometimes I thought I wanted to.
Big thanks to Mauka Simpson, Madhup Joshi and Carlo Marchetti
for your inspiration and positive reinforcement. You stood by
me unfailingly in this endeavor. More special thanks to Rick Feingold,
who consistently donates his time to write news briefs and do
whatever else needs to be done to make sure the publication gets
uploaded on time, to Lynn Araki-Regan for her great commentaries
and keeping me updated with happenings in our county government,
and to Ellen Pelissero in the Mayor’s office for also keeping
me “in the loop.” A big mahalo goes out to Dick Mayer
of the Kula Community Association for his excellent and constructive
input. And to the rest of “the team” who have made
The Examiner happen (you know who you are), mahalo nui loa.
But the biggest thanks goes out to you, our readers, who believe
in the truth and want to know about it.
Yep, it’s been an interesting year. And I can tell you this
– I don’t complain anymore, even though I have to
work two “real” jobs to make ends meet.
And if I catch myself even wanting to complain, well, I just think
about those families who lost everything and will be spending
the holidays inside a sports arena.
