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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Building a morning show, brick by brick
IT may swirl around town that KGMB-TV sports reporter and weekend anchor Steve Uyehara is leaving sports for the station's planned morning show,
news of which broke in these pages in April. Uyehara is a candidate, but nothing is set in stone, he told TheBuzz.
More names may be swept into the walaau vortex due to the volume and visibility of available jobs.
The last time a single Honolulu television station offered so many openings for on-camera news talent, KHNL was launching its news department. That was in 1995.
KGMB is negotiating with several candidates from among the flood of resumes, tapes and DVDs stacked in News Director Chris Archer's office.
"It is unprecedented ... the number of tapes I've watched," he said, but it has been important to see who's available, from here at home to points beyond.
The hopeful number "easily in the hundreds, two- to 300" and are from, "around the world ... markets of all sizes," he said.
"So many people want to work here," though many may be clueless about this Hawaii of ours. "When you come to Hawaii to work, you really have to work," he said.
Archer believes the lure of Hawaii fed the resume pile more than downsizing of newsrooms elsewhere. "In many cases, some of the people who have applied from stations all over the country applied for the wrong reasons."
Many may also not grasp "how important it is to be able to connect with the people of Hawaii. It's not like any other market." Major market experience won't guarantee a gig.
The team-building started with off-camera eyes. "We have recruited an all-star, behind-the-scenes crew (including) Michael Harris as director." Scott Humber, the current 6 p.m. producer with 14 years' experience, will be senior morning producer.
"The whole team has to be able to connect with Hawaii. This morning show is not about one name or one person, it's really about the entire team, the entire state."
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, 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