TheBuzz
TheBuzz
KGMB TV's new News Director is Bob Loy, who has served as managing editor and chief investigator for the station's Eye On Hawaii investigative unit for three of his seven and a half years with the station. Competing for news,
sharing an owner"It's the pinnacle of my career," he said, adding he feels "lucky enough to have a talented staff and a committed, station that is an icon in this community."
He said he believes the station will be able to produce news that will show viewers the difference between the station and its competition.
Some of that competition, from KHON TV, shares ownership with KGMB -- the publicly traded, Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp.
The dual station ownership, or "duopoly" in broadcast jargon, doesn't bother him.
"It doesn't concern me in terms of getting the job done," he said, "It doesn't concern me from an operational standpoint, and certainly not from a journalistic standpoint."
Loy said he's had "long conversations" with Emmis executives, and said their only directive about the news was "to do it better than anyone else including the station they own."
He said his only concern surrounds the ownership situation.
Emmis owns and operates both stations under a temporary waiver of FCC rules that require the company to sell one of them, pending Emmis' appeal of FCC station ownership regulations. The waiver expires in August.
Loy said should the FCC rule in Emmis' favor, there could be similarities between their operations and the former Hawaii Newspaper Agency's joint operating agreement. Under the agreement, the Star-Bulletin shared business functions with the Advertiser, but editorial functions were maintained separately.
He said the consolidated operations would seem to apply more to "the technological and operational ends, as opposed to editorial."
Loy will continue his investigative reporting for the KGMB in addition to his new responsibilities.
"I don't think that becoming a department head eliminates your responsibilities as a journalist and that's really what I am first and foremost, so I do intend to keep working with Eye on Hawaii," he said.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com