“BREAKING : TELLING OUR OWN STORIES”

TELLING OUR OWN STORIES

The weekend of May 4–5, 2019, Hawai‘i Council for the We also explored the theme of “telling our own stories.” Humanities partnered with Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival As access to creating and sharing videos, writing, to bring together a weekend of programming titled “Breaking photographs, and other things online increases, how do News: Telling Our Own Stories.” In an era of the growing we tell meaningful and thoughtful stories that matter? power of social media, the increasing corporatization of mass Whose voices are missing from mainstream media, and media, and ongoing debates about “,” what an how do we remedy those gaps? Through hearing from oral important time to reflect on , how we make and historians, young woman filmmakers, Micronesian writers, consume media, and the role of storytelling in community and reading messages from the currently incarcerated, our and political education. community conversation was deeply enriched, thanks to the waiwai shared from many perspectives. A major focus of our program looked at the many facets of “breaking news,” and the changing role of journalism These essays explore further that rich time together, and we in our current political moment. We listened to experts invite you to read them and respond by sharing your own from the Star-Advertiser, Hawai‘i News Now, story with us. Civil Beat, Honolulu Magazine, PBS Hawai‘i’s HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i Public Radio, and Pulitzer Prize winners William Sincerely, Finnegan and Gilbert King. We learned about the deep kuleana of , how hard newsrooms work, and how rigorous research and complex storytelling is necessary to Aiko Yamashiro strengthening democracy. Executive Director, Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities ital content director at television’s mayor or we can crowdsource people to in- Why The Future News Now; Suevon Lee, education reporter terview, solicit tips, and brainstorm angles for with the online site Honolulu Civil Beat; Joel stories. The public tells us with a click what it Of Local Kight, engagement editor for the Honolulu likes and doesn’t like, and that helps us refine Star-Advertiser and website; and the content we produce. myself, news editor with Hawai‘i Public Ra- Journalism, dio. Our audiences are global: Mary said her out- let’s social media has a bigger footprint than If There’s To Be For all our platform diversity, we have simi- the population of Hawai‘i. That kind of reach lar challenges. There is the reality of limited outside of the state presents new opportuni- One, Depends resources, the competition for audiences and ties. the struggle to uphold high journalism stan- dards and fulfill our role as watchdogs and Innovation and creativity can flourish online. On The Public surrogates for the public. For us, this plays We’re able to present information in com- out daily in the face of social media’s dizzying pelling ways, use audio and images, embed By Sandra Oshiro speed and pressures to break news, update documents and create animation that explain quickly, and engage with audiences. complex topics in digestible ways.

More importantly, we hear from our audi- Before the Hawai‘i Council for the Human- ences directly and often. There are now mul- ities asked if I could moderate a panel on tiple ways they can respond to the news or journalism and democracy, I had been read- comment on our stories. They can tweet at us ing a book by Alan Rusbridger, the editor of or post on Facebook, and they can still pick during the tumultuous years up the phone to complain or send off a letter of the news industry’s digital upheaval. to the editor in praise of our work.

In flipping through the pages of Breaking All of this engagement strengthens our con- News: The Remaking of Journalism and nection to the community. Often it pushes us Why It Matters Now, I relived the years that to do better and helps elevate our journalism. Rusbridger described, when the internet In a democracy, that’s important, too, since Constance Hale using her writer expertise to wrangle the crowd and social media were seen as passing fads and lead us in a workshop with Pulitzer winner Bill Finnegan we should be held accountable just as we and print with its millions of subscribers ap- on how to find the good story in a contested issue. press politicians to justify their actions and peared unassailable. challenge them when they deny the facts. Not least of all, whether we are nonprofit or Not long after the web’s ascendance, it commercial, there are bills to pay. A business Periodically during our discussion, we sur- dawned on many journalists that what was model that works for one outlet may not ap- veyed our audience with pop questions— then evolving in our industry was not a tem- ply to another. How can we sustain our local unscientific and broadly worded to be sure, porary spell of bad news but rather some- news operations if journalism is to continue but helpful in understanding who we were thing fundamental and structural. to play its vital role in our democracy and to addressing. In answer to one question, our do so free from the financial influences that audience by show of hands seemed to signal One newspaper after another fired its staff can color or diminish our coverage? It’s a that they trust local media more than nation- and closed its doors, having failed in the question much on our minds. al news sources. midst of an unforgiving recession to transi- tion to a digital world, one where much of As Mary pointed out, the platforms that we But this is not a competition. Without public the content the public paid for in print could rely on to help drive audiences to us are not faith in our journalism, we will lose the au- be gotten elsewhere for free. under our control. If Facebook decides to diences we need to sustain ourselves and are change its algorithm to disadvantage news diminished in our capacity to fulfill our role We remain today in the midst of that trans- outlets, there is a limit to what we can do in in a democracy. formation, still attempting in our newsrooms response. to change the wheels of the truck as it barrels “In the long run, trust is going to override down the freeway. Where we are headed and But the opportunities in this digitally driven everything,” Joel said. what all of it means for citizens who rely on landscape are there as well. We get to reach the news to stay informed is largely a case of out to our audiences across multiple plat- It turns out, we are not unappreciated: a re- “to be determined.” forms, whether from our core channels, on cent Pew Research Center survey of urban social media, through newsletters, or at live Honolulu news consumers indicates they are The four of us on our panel represented a events. We can find out from members of the generally satisfied with the job we do. Fif- spectrum of local media: Mary Vorsino, dig- public what questions they want us to ask the ty-nine percent say local journalists are in

2 touch with the community, 62 percent be- REFERENCES AND than journalists, both Neal and I explained lieve we report the news accurately and 61 RESOURCES how we saw our role as “explainers,” rather percent agree local journalists are transparent than “influencers.” We try to put the breath- about their reporting. Penelope Muse Abernathy. The Expanding less coverage of breaking news stories into News Desert 2018 Report. University of perspective. Catherine, who has extensive ex- But we get lower ratings when it comes to North Carolina School of Media and Jour- perience with social media, noted that many keeping an eye on local political leaders, deal- nalism, Center for Innovation and Sustain- consumers simply don’t know how to evalu- ing fairly with all sides, and including people ability in Local Media, Web, 2019. https:// ate the veracity of stories that appear on their like themselves in their stories—all of which Facebook feeds. What ultimately emerged www.usnewsdeserts.com/about/ should spur us to improve coverage, diversi- from our discussion was that more context, fy our sources and newsrooms, and raise the better data, and less drama would improve CNBC. “Town by Town, local journalism is level of public trust so needed for journalism civic discourse in the United States. dying in plain sight.” CNBC, Web, 10 March to survive. 2019. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/10/ Yet we ran short of time before we could fully town-by-town-local-journalism-is-dying-in- I frame our future in existential terms be- address the question that many in the audi- plain-sight.html cause I do believe that there is an urgency to ence found so troubling: What can the media all of this. Having watched The Honolulu do to resist the current “post-truth” moment Pew Research Center. “What are the local Advertiser sale and merger with its compet- in American politics? news dynamics in your city?” Pew Research itor, reading that more than 1,800 commu- Center Journalism and Media, Web, 26 nities since 2004 have lost all local news cov- I’ve reflected on this a bit since the festival— March 2019. https://www.journalism.org/ erage, and seeing news outlets fumble their and there are no easy answers. Along with interactives/local-news-habits/46520/ attempts to develop sustainable digital strate- many in the media, I’ve been quick to blame gies, I find myself playing the role of Chicken the proliferation of opinion-driven newscasts Little: the sky is indeed falling. Alan Rusbridger. Breaking News: The Re- like Fox News. However, the truth is that making of Journalism and Why It Matters most Americans don’t live in “echo cham- It’s up to all of us—journalists and the public Now. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018. bers,” hearing only news that reinforces their we serve—to keep the skies aloft. Journalists preexisting beliefs. Researchers at the Univer- by now know the challenges we face and are sity of Pennsylvania have shown that citizens not without help to deploy tactics proven to do consume news from a variety of sources work in our fraught environment. Citizens, if (Pickard 2014). Indeed, people who watch they patronize news operations that respond Fox News, are more likely to watch CNN to their information needs, should put their than most Americans. dollars down for that service, just as they pay for electricity, mobile phones and Netflix. How Can the The greater problem is that some citizens have stopped paying attention to the news “Good information shouldn’t be cheap,” as altogether. Suevon said. Media Combat As Netflix has replaced the evening news After looking across the landscape of the past “Fake News?” broadcast in many households, Americans 40 years, The Guardian’s Rusbridger, con- live lives that are relatively free of any news cludes that not all is lost if journalism acts to With Less at all. Corporate consolidations and in- remake itself—and the public pays attention. creased pressure to attract viewers have led “There are signs—sputtering, but hopeful. to an “outrage industry” that favors extremist If the world wakes up in time then we may Drama and views and provocative commentators (Berry be all right,” he writes. “Trust me, we do not and Sobieraj 2016). This has left the public want a world without news.” More Data with fewer trusted voices to help them navi- By Colin Moore gate contemporary debates and makes them Sandra Oshiro is an award-winning journal- particularly vulnerable to conspiracy theories ist and currently news editor at Hawai‘i Pub- of the sort that can quickly spread on social lic Radio in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Reach her at media platforms. [email protected] or on Twitter @sandraoshiro. What does it mean to be a talking head in It’s not that media isn’t trying, but many ap- an age when trust in the media is at an all- proaches have not worked as planned. For time low? I had the chance to explore this example, we might think that nonpartisan question at the 2019 Hawai‘i Book and Mu- fact-checking organizations have the power sic Festival with fellow panelists Neal Milner to neutralize the debates about truth that and Catherine Toth Fox. As , rather proliferate on social media. There are a num

3 ber of terrific online services, such as Fact- What can the media do to resist the current check.org, Politifact, and Snopes, that work “post-truth” moment in American politics? to dispel all manner of myths from bizarre There is no silver bullet, but putting the news Deeper urban legends to pernicious rumors about in perspective and relying more on data and elected officials. less on drama can help. This is doubly true Connections for pundits like me. The best way to compete But research suggests that attempts to debunk with the outrage industry is by providing the Digitally rumors often draw further attention to them perspective and tools to help viewers think By Sha Ongelungel and may even help them spread (Marietta beyond the 24-hour “breaking news” cycle. and Barker 2019). There is also no evidence that presenting the facts persuades citizens Colin Moore is a political science professor and that their evaluations of a political opponent director of the Public Policy Center at the Uni- are incorrect. People are more likely to ques- versity of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He serves as a po- Watching social media evolve has been a lot tion the integrity of fact-checking organiza- litical analyst for Hawaii News Now. like watching puppies and babies grow up. tions than to reevaluate their previously held They start out cute and innocent, and cynical beliefs. Even worse, many studies show that REFERENCES people like me look to them when we need Americans become even more attached to a reminder that the world is, indeed, a love- their false beliefs when they are shown evi- ly place. But, these days, it feels as though Adam J. Berinsky. “Rumors and Health dence that they are untrue (Berinsky 2015). social media has hit puberty, learned how Care Reform: Experiments in Political to talk back, and keeps chewing up all my Misinformation.” British Journal of Political So, what can be done? nice things. To be fair, we are all still growing Science, vol. 47, 2015, pp. 241–62. up on social media. We are all learning how As our discussion at the festival revealed, we to maneuver the trolls and misinformation Jeffrey M. Berry and Sarah Sobieraj. The need to provide more context. What do sys- while finding belonging and better ways to Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media tematic studies say? What should we as cit- use social media platforms. and the New Incivility. Oxford University izens worry about and what’s simply noise? Press, 2016. These are the questions we need to answer. My social media journey started when I was But this requires journalists to work against a seventh grader in Oregon. Given a choice Morgan Marietta and David C. Barker. some of their most deeply ingrained instincts between a Jazzercise class in the school gym One Nation, Two Realities: Dueling Facts to focus on human drama in their reporting. or an HTML class in the computer lab, I in American Democracy. Oxford University chose what sounded far less likely to result Press, 2019. One way to accomplish this goal is to rely in injury and embarrassment—HTML class. more on data and less on anecdotes. The rise The teacher went into the history of hyper- Victor Pickard. America’s Battle for Media of “” has been one of the most text markup language, which seemed like Democracy. Cambridge University Press, positive, although relatively unheralded, de- something from Star Trek, and I was pretty 2014. velopments in news in the past decade. much lost. I remained lost in the proverbial sauce until he handed every student a work- Finally, part of the solution requires us to re- sheet with more futuristic looking codes, and invest in quality journalism and civic educa- then something clicked. It took me one week tion. One way may be to tax search engine to build my first website on Geocities. After and social media platforms like Facebook one year, you could find me on Geocities, and Google to provide funding for public Tripod, and Fortunecity. Within three years, service journalism. Some journalism advoca- I was blogging on Xanga and LiveJournal cy groups like the Media Reform Coalition about Palauan politics and my experiences in the United Kingdom have suggested a two as a Palauan-American. You could type “Pa- percent tax on major beneficiaries of digital lau” or “Palauan” into a Lycos search, and my advertising, for a public fund that would pay name would appear on the first page. That for local news coverage and investigative jour- was more than two decades ago when I came nalism. These corporations have absorbed to realize building my “online brand” could much of the ad revenue that used to go to lead to building community. , but they do not support the hard work of news gathering and reporting—the At that time, the online Palauan community work that is needed to provide context and was minimal at best—mostly college students

present deeply researched and data-driven Pundits, influencers, or great performers? These folks had us and professionals on a University of Hawai‘i stories. cracking up on Sunday morning, talking about opinion and listserv called the “Bridge List,” and all born commentary in journalism. and raised in Palau. I was an adoles

4 cent Palauan-American with more questions fying your allies and accomplices. es that followed. People from within my own than commonalities. While grateful for all Connect with them, strategize with community spoke up, offering stories of bul- the Palauans who were patient enough to an- them, and trust them to draw on lying and discrimination that they had been swer and explain anything and everything to their strengths to handle the next hesitant about sharing before the hashtag. me, I could never escape the cloud of my own step. Anything else is wasting your My favorite Palauan music producer, Regn- “Americanness” and longed for a community time and resources, and when have er Techitong (@itsregnaahh), tweeted about that fit me better. you ever had that luxury?” living in Hawai‘i while attending high school and how he wouldn’t admit to being a Micro- After the Bridge List (and listservs in gen- nesian except to other Micronesians: eral) fizzled out in popularity, there came a website called “Friendster.” Friendster was a “I felt embarrassed and it’s some- “social networking website,” different from thing I’ll never forget for as long as the world of clinical email groups and cha- I live. I still to this day can’t believe trooms filled with anonymous alter egos. I I let some racial slurs make me hate could create a profile and connect with others and deny a huge part of who I was. who shared my interests. More importantly, I But it wasn’t long after high school could find other Micronesians! This exciting that I realized the power of embrac- new website resulted in my introduction to ing who you are.” (Oct 1 2018) Kapinga.com (which eventually became Mi- croIslands.com). I was still an awkward teen- Others who were not part of the greater Mi- ager in real life, but now I had equally awk- cronesian community contacted me asking ward Micronesian-American teenager friends for more information and if there were ways to whom I could vent about the trauma of for them to help. The story of #BeingMicro- living between two cultures and my concerns nesian was featured in national . over the future of our communities. Digital- These leaders dropping really hard and necessary truths about The level of support and interaction I was media representation of Micronesians. Thank you for your ly, I felt like I had found my home. courage and dignity and standing together. having with people all over the world gave me a renewed sense of purpose. Native Ha- With today’s mainstreaming of social media That was not my intention when I created waiian cultural historian Adam Keawe Mana- and its rise to social and political power, I the #BeingMicronesian hashtag on Twitter lo-Camp, who owns and administrates the am fully aware of how powerful and painful in 2018. I was in a foul mood after reading “Hawaiian History and Culture” Facebook misinformation can be. From politicians pre- xenophobic comments on Stolen Stuff Ha- group that’s over 27,000 members strong, senting “alternative facts” to regular citizens waii Facebook post. The comments ranged reached out and even wrote an op-ed piece spreading inaccurate stories about the greater from the usual insults about Micronesians for Civil Beat that outlined the historical Micronesian community—I have witnessed being leeches on resources, to calling for a connection between Native Hawaiians and the dissemination of misinformation trans- purge of Micronesians in Hawai‘i and going Micronesians. form reasonable people into fear-mongering “hunting for cockroaches.” It can be hard to purveyors of online bigotry. I have mourned see the good in humanity when I read those We can utilize the same social media plat- for the mental health of long-admired activ- comments—whether in Facebook groups, on forms that were used to demonize our com- ists as I watched compassion fatigue, or emo- posts from local news media, on Instagram munities to inform, educate, identify, and tional burnout, take its toll, forcing them “humor” accounts, or just individual tweets. mobilize ourselves and our allies. Six months to walk away from the issues that mattered Truth be told, the comments had me on the after Adam and I had our first meeting, we to them the most. In activist and advocacy verge of falling victim to the same compas- launched two nonprofit organizations (In- spaces, fighting the trollish misinformation sion fatigue that had claimed the fighting digenous Pasifika and Progressive Pasifika) monster remains my most significant person- spirit of my nearest-and-dearests. #Being- as well as multiple ongoing projects rooted al challenge. Micronesian started because I was angry and in our shared goals of social justice. We are disheartened over the increase of anti-Mi- working alongside organizations and individ- How do I continue pushing forward online, cronesian sentiment over the past few years. uals we came to know through social media. in the face of obstacles and enemies that can- I wanted someone else to recognize this and By bringing together different perspectives not be contained? I follow my dad’s advice: be just as angry as I was, instead of saying and communities, we are finding and forti- “they are just jokes,” or that people wouldn’t fying intersections that have been ignored by “Your job isn’t to go out there and say these things if the community didn’t de- too many for far too long. Climate change change minds. Your strength is serve it. is a social justice as well as a feminist issue. putting the information out there, Consent is about gender roles and sexual making the truth accessible. Stop Unexpectedly, some of my most beautiful power dynamics and also about socioeco- wasting time arguing with the and meaningful human connections came nomic equality. We cannot address Indige- willfully ignorant and start identi- from #BeingMicronesian and the media piec- nous rights and self-determination without

5 acknowledging who benefits from these ry, not fluffy details or what the reporter rights being violated. Many of our struggles Where thinks (unless they are writing an op-ed; stem from colonization, which is not an iso- that would be a different story). lated historical occurrence but a widespread Objectivity international problem that continues to What I noticed, however, is that condi- hugely impact our lives. We know the road to solidarity and equality means starting with Meets Emotion: tioning writers to favor concise expla- this uphill climb, but we also know that there nations can remove a sense of human is strength in numbers and that knowledge is Journalism as an connection and sincerity in one’s work. power. Most of all, we know that we have the Falling into a set formula becomes mun- upper hand by making deeper connections Artistic Medium dane and comfortable (not in a good digitally. way), thereby creating apprehension to By Kailanianna Ablog explore anything that deviates from this formula. Sha Merirei Ongelungel is a Palauan-Ameri- can rabble-rouser, artist, designer, and sporadic How can viewing journalism as an artis- podcaster living in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. You can If carrying a tripod and running up tic medium cultivate a healthy balance of connect with her on Twitter (@sha_merirei), hills in Mānoa Valley or interviewing Instagram (@merirei), or peruse her work at sincere, emotional response and objectiv- notable political figures have taught me www.merirei.com. ity? anything, being a student can be an invigorating experience. Pursuing A PLACE FOR ART REFERENCES AND stories, understanding multiple perspec- tives, presenting your findings, and cor- RESOURCES As a junior now at UH Mānoa, I got to recting mistakes are just a handful of the serve as a Program Assistant to Hawai‘i responsibilities that reporters adhere to. Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp. “There Are Council for the Humanities, where I In the words of the Society of Profession- Many Ties Between Hawaiians And Micro- helped organize and promote “Breaking al Journalists’ Code of Ethics, we must nesians.” Civil Beat, Web, 28 Sept. 2018. News: Telling Our Own Stories.” Be- “seek truth and report it.” tween drafting email bursts and design- #BeingMicronesian Twitter thread, @sha_ ing flyers, the “Fearless: Creative Media merirei, that began in September 2018. I began my journalistic endeavors during and Telling Courageous Stories” panel See also @itsregnaahh and his Twitter post my sophomore year at Sacred Hearts caught my attention the most. on 1 Oct 2018. Academy. During my time writing for the paper and dabbling in broadcast I knew that I wanted to reconnect with journalism, I began to hone the art of my creative mind and somehow better concise writing. I learned to summa- incorporate art into my work. While lis- rize paragraphs of transcribed text into tening to the panelists speak, their words three sentences, picking out the best few reminded me of the artistic girl I used to quotes from a 30-minute-long interview. be and the importance of never losing that creative edge. As I learned from a former Edi- tor-In-Chief of Ka Leo O Hawai‘i, the The panel featured three young filmmak- student paper I currently write for: ers from Hawai‘i Women in Filmmak- “Journalism is real estate.” Whether it ing—Inez Anderson, Jessica Hearther, be on paper, online or television, you are Phoenix Maimiti Valentine—and PBS limited in space or expression. A story Hawai‘i HIKI NŌ’s Robert Pennyback- you perceive as deserving a full page may er. This session focused on youth as only be given half of one; your producer mediamakers and their use of video to may request you cut down the 5-minute convey sincere, human stories. The pan- segment you made to 90 seconds. Jour- el also highlighted Mr. Pennybacker and nalism is not the place for someone to Thank you Congressman Ed Case for visiting our program and his work with HIKI NŌ, the first and connecting these important discussions to civic leadership. write their AP English Literature essay; only student news show (which I have audiences care about the facts of a sto- had the honor of contributing to) in the

6 nation. This session reminded me of a the fire in their voices, the humble yet ship Program, which is funded by the US few things. determined gazes that burned as they Department of Defense. Combining my answered questions. These women were interests in photography and reporting, Until recently, I have not supported unafraid to put their full human selves I will be discussing my personal experi- my creative endeavors as much as my into their work, something that I, until ences and sharing tourist locations and academic ones. Growing up, I loved to recently, neglected to do. general tips about studying in a different draw and write stories; I even recall try- country. Those interested can check out ing my hand at poetry. As the years went Do creativity and emotion have a place http://www.manoanow.org/kaleo/ for by, however, I started to find less use in in journalism? Definitely. Should they updates. creative endeavors as I was introduced to replace concise writing and logic? Of the world of STEM and logic. I was open course not. Kailanianna Ablog is a junior at the Uni- to learning new things, of course, but in- versity of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Outside of stead of partaking in art as a passion, it The panelists made it very clear that her duties as Ka Leo O Hawai‘i’s Opinions soon became an excuse to escape stress. there is a balance between logic and emo- Editor, she is a student interchanger with tion—that emotions tend to drive logi- the UHM Outreach College and a mem- I began to separate art from my person, cal thought. Regardless of one’s interests, ber of SW!TCH, a Korean Pop dance cover despite it having helped shape how I saw there are a multitude of ways that work group. myself and the world. and play can be intertwined and accu- rately expressed. As the panel went on, I While in high school, I spent most of my suddenly realized that I knew all of this: time reaching for high marks and taking art and logic can co-exist. There is beau- REFERENCES AND on extra work. A part of me enjoyed the ty in combining two seemingly opposite RESOURCES competition and opportunity to network concepts. with others. While I bloomed social- To check out more fearless stories, please ly and scholastically, the creative child I had simply allowed myself to forget. see the websites for these two organi- within me remained ignored. zations: PBS Hawai‘i’s HIKI NŌ and Finding an intersection between artistic Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking. I enrolled at the University of Hawai‘i passion and thorough reporting is essen- at Mānoa during the Fall 2017 semester. tial in boosting the field of journalism. As Excited to be majoring in anthropology much as they are mediums of informa- and a staff writer for Ka Leo O Hawai’i, I tion, reporters are also human. Allowing dove into my studies, despite knowing a the humanities to cultivate one’s work, part of my identity was underdeveloped. especially in journalism, can appeal to I learned from a few painful high school the creative mind and invoke sincere re- experiences that I had relied too heavily actions from audiences. on logic and neglected my emotional and creative self. Logic and emotion are often considered two powerful entities. Together, they can I knew I loved my work as a journalist propel one’s best research and nurtures a and an aspiring archaeologist, but I did greater sense of passion, thus awakening not want to forget that the world is not the whole human and reporter within all just arithmetic and made of cold, hard of us. Hawai’i Women in Filmmaking and PBS Hawai‘i repping strong in this very exciting panel on being fearless in the facts. This is where the panel comes back media. Mahalo Kimberlee Bassford for your graceful expert in. To incorporate what the young women moderation. and Mr. Pennybacker had said during the An overarching message the young wom- panel, I am spearheading a new column en had: one, to see a need and go for it, for Ka Leo O Hawai‘i called “Ka Leo two, never be afraid of how people will Abroad,” which details the experiences of perceive your passion, and three, en- students studying in different countries. courage others through your work. The This summer, I am studying in South young women were inspiring, and I felt Korea under the Korean Language Flag-

7 TELL US YOUR STORY Media continues to be a subject of scrutiny and re-evaluation everywhere we turn. What do you want to hear more about in the news? What, to you, is a sign of a strong healthy ACKNOWLEDGMENTS democracy? What kind of news do we need to become better-informed citizens? As we This program was part of the “Democracy and the Informed gear up for another round of Democracy and Informed Citizen programming in 2020, Citizen” initiative, administered by the Federation of State we want to hear from you and feature your ideas in our e-newsletter. Please write to Humanities Councils and supported by the Andrew W. Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities at [email protected]. Mellon Foundation and the partnership of the Pulitzer Prizes. The initiative seeks to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry.

Mahalo nui to our Program Assistant Kailanianna Ablog for her tremendous work; to our stalwart and creative Humanities Advisors, Craig Howes and Jay Hartwell, for all their support; to Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival Director Roger Jellinek for his collaboration and belief; to Try Think staff Rob Chang and Tammy Jones, for helping make safe space for these conversations, and to our Council Staff and Board for all their support of this project.

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TELLING OUR OWN STORIES