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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
KHNL losing
news director
who shook up
local broadcastsKHNL is about to lose the news director both credited with and blamed for changing the look and feel of local television news.
Seth Feldman submitted his resignation to KHNL and KFVE Vice President and General Manager John Fink, who announced the news to the staff late Wednesday.
Anchor and reporter Diane Ako is sorry to see him go.
"He's almost single-handedly changed the face of TV news in Hawaii because he's so creative and unconventional," she said.
Feldman increased live reporting from the scenes of news stories, had anchors and reporters deliver news from spots around the newsroom other than the regular set, and increased the pace of the newscasts.
"He had all the other stations scrambling to copy our style. Seth has done a lot for News8; our on-air product has never looked better and it shows because our ratings moved up during his tenure," Ako said.
He has his critics, however, and some have questioned whether he jumped or was pushed.
"People say 'wink wink, nobody resigns,' and yet I'm leaving on good terms," Feldman said.
He believes the time is right.
"It's hard to be the guy who shakes everything up and then be the same guy who's going to be there for the long haul," he said.
Even at age 32, he has more time in grade than Honolulu's other TV news directors. He started at KHNL in March 2001.
Feldman will explore opportunities, not necessarily in the day-to-day news business. He wants to create new shows of various genres, he's a candidate for at least two international journalism fellowships, and he looks forward to traveling.
Fink received about a half-dozen resumes from the mainland in the hours following the announcement.
"Word gets out in this business pretty fast," he said. Fink characterized the salary as "decent," but would not commit to a figure or range.
Feldman will leave at the end of next month, but June 30 is not Fink's deadline for finding a replacement.
"I'm comfortable with the managers we have in place right now. Our timetable is to find the best person available." He will look locally and on the mainland, 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