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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Four-way morning TV news wars -- a sneak preview
IN less than two weeks, Hawaii's early risers once again will have four local TV news shows to choose from -- a development that will take center stage at a forum next week.
KGMB-TV's Sept. 17 entry into the morning ratings battle has the Hawaii chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators asking such questions as how will this affect an already competitive market, what changes can viewers expect and how does (or will) the morning news differ from the previous night's 6 and 10 p.m. shows?
IABC-Hawaii figures other people have similar questions, and has invited two panelists to provide answers.
KGMB's on-air promos identify multimedia master Howard Dicus as its chief explainer, so he was a natural invite. It doesn't hurt that he's funny.
KITV's Dan Meisenzahl will offer his perspective as a morning co-anchor with a background of news and sports reporting and off-camera news producing.
KHNL recently shuffled its morning crew, promoting Kristine Uyeno to solo morning anchor and reassigning former co-anchors Angela Keen to weather anchor and Marvin Buenconsejo to morning reporting. Buenconsejo may also do some fill-in sports reporting, according to John Fink, vice president and general manager.
KHON-TV is the lead dog in the morning ratings race and it's that dominant market share the other stations are after.
Increasing the morning news viewing universe by drawing new eyeballs would be gravy-all-over for the ratings plate.
IABC-Hawaii would have loved to invite all four stations but, "our time is limited ... we have 90 minutes to get folks in and out," said Darcie Scharfenstein, vice president of professional development.
"We usually only have one speaker, but for this one we decided to bring in a second speaker to provide another perspective on the topic and provide a little balance," she said.
The event is open to "anyone who would like to come," she said. Not that there's anything wrong with the usual attendance by business communicators, PR-folk and the like, but Dicus and Meisenzahl are "draws," so, "we've up-sized our room because we're expecting a pretty good crowd," Scharfenstein said.
Reservations for the 11 a.m. Sept. 12 event at the Plaza Club must be made by Monday. The cost is $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers and $15 for student members. Seats may be reserved by calling 585-7931, ext. 105.
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