Whatever
Happened...
Question: Whatever happened to Linda Coble, the first woman news anchor in Hawaii and former KSSK radio personality? Coble alive and well
and busy as ... heckBy Mary Vorsino
mvorsino@starbulletin.comAnswer: If you saw Linda Coble alongside her husband, news anchor Kirk Matthews, recently on the Channel 2 morning news, you shouldn't assume that the first woman news anchor in Hawaii is returning to television.
She was subbing for anchor Bernadette Baraquio, and has no plans of returning to the job that labeled her as a woman media pioneer.
But that doesn't mean Coble isn't busy.
Coble's latest project is as chairperson of the Kids Voting Hawaii committee, which aims to get kids "in the habit of voting" and comfortable with the voting process.
This year, the program has launched a Web site (www.kidsvotinghawaii.org), the first of its kind in the nation, which will allow kids to vote for candidates online using special codes given to them by their teachers.
Most people remember Coble for her long stint on Hawaii television news. Coble, the first woman television news anchor in the nation, was featured in a 1971 Newsweek article identifying her -- along with Connie Chung -- as pioneers for women in media.
Coble began her career as a newsroom secretary for Channel 4 KHVH (now KITV) in 1969. Within several months, she became a news anchor after working as a reporter.
In 1971, she moved to KGMB 9, where she stayed until 1981. She then moved to a CBS station in Portland, Oregon, where she met husband Matthews.
In 1983, Coble was homesick for Hawaii so she moved back, bringing Matthews with her. The couple married in 1984.
She went back to KGMB, where she stayed until 1988, then moved to KSSK radio for a change of scene and a chance at radio management.
For Coble, the shift from television (all image) to radio (no image) was a relief.
But, just the same, she "dressed up every morning" and avoided the jeans-and-a-T-shirt-uniform at the station, she said.
She worked for KSSK until one Friday in 1998. Coble walked into the station, she said, and was told, "Linda, your salary sticks out like a sore thumb on our bottom line." She was asked not to come back the following Monday.
For Coble, "it was a shock for a while."
But she bounced back, and kept busy with volunteer work and the Rotary Club of Honolulu.
From 2000 to 2001, Coble served as the district governor -- one of 500 worldwide -- for the state's Rotary clubs.
Currently Coble serves as the international membership zone coordinator for the Rotary Club of Honolulu and is on the board of the Hawaii Family Support Center-Healthy Start. She also is a consultant for Jani-King Hawaii, a commercial cleaning company.
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