HELL must have frozen over, because that was the prerequisite to write about Joe Moore again. The last time I critiqued the Channel 2 anchorman, fans rallied to his defense. It was the only public dissing of a celebrity I have ever apologized for, leading to my solemn vow of no longer acknowledging Moore's broadcast existence. Amazing transformation
of an anchormanBut last week, Joe did something very brave and amazing. He said what no other news anchor person in Hawaii or possibly the nation could, would or should say -- when actually on the air, that is.
This incident therefore means that 1) I have misjudged Joe Moore terribly or 2) he has matured greatly since 1994, when I first featured him in this space.
Our tiff started four years ago, when I noted that Hawaii's "most popular and best-paid 'journalist' is a news reader who is so bored by his job that he produces and stars in plays, which he regularly plugs on the nightly news."
Although his name was never mentioned, Moore got miffed. He was NOT bored, he retorted, but pursued one-man stage productions because of a genuine interest in famous characters like Will Rogers, Mozart and John Wayne.
My mistake was further poking fun at J.M. in a subsequent column: "Why does the Carly Simon tune, 'You're So Vain' come to mind? Joe, do you really, truly believe you are the most popular and best-paid journalist in Hawaii? How much do you make, anyway? So much for humility."
Indignant correspondence and calls flooded in. One nice lady asked Jesus to help me find the virtue of sincerity, while one huhu man chastised such "snide and retaliatory remarks" and told me to "cut the b.s."
So I did and went one better: I apologized to Joe Moore for making fun of him. He was very gracious in victory, offering me two free tickets to his latest play, which I tried to decline as diplomatically as possible.
That's when I decided never again to write about Joe, especially since I have recently found religion and am trying to follow the adage, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," which is why I hardly write about the state Legislature or City Council anymore.
But hallelujah, a miracle happened last Thursday, according to the stunned folks who witnessed it. On KHON-TV's 10 o'clock broadcast, apparently fed up by the junky slate of shows on the Fox affiliate, Moore decried the "crap" on TV, including his own station, and lamented television's "shortage of well-made dramas, historical pieces and thought-provoking comedies."
Well, praise the Lord! Joe Moore speaketh the gospel truth!
The next day, I tuned into his 6 o'clock report to see if there would be any follow-up and, frankly, to see if Joe had gotten fired for confessing the networks' sins.
BUT no, there he was, still slugging away. At the end of the newscast, he thanked viewers for their calls, faxes and e-mail messages congratulating him for saying what needed to be said by somebody in the industry for a long, long time.
Then Joe Moore one-upped himself, noting that the only way to register one's displeasure over terrible programming was to turn off these series, nay to turn off the TV completely, and to do something more productive and fulfilling than watching the boob tube.
Amen, Brother Joe, for those heavenly words. They show that you are an angel in disguise. Count me among your converts.
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
DianeChang@aol.com, or by fax at 523-7863.