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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
The Donald takes
to the airwavesThe oft-reinvented Donald Trump will cash in on his television success with "The Apprentice" via a radio gig.
The second season of the NBC executive reality TV series, now in production, will be accompanied by a syndicated weekday radio feature to be carried by at least two Hawaii stations starting Mon. June 14.
"Trumped" will air on KONI-FM 104.7 FM on Maui and KTOH-FM 99.9 on Kauai, owned by Kauai-based H. Hawaii Media.
Jim Carroll, general manager of KONI, jumped at the chance to air the 60- to 90-second vignettes.
He was sold on the radio feature by the popularity of the TV show.
"I know people who hate reality TV and wouldn't miss 'The Apprentice' if their lives depended on it," Carroll said.
Among them is Dianna Hochman, co-owner of H. Hawaii Media and wife of President and CEO George Hochman. She's also the GM of KTOH.
"Trumped" is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, a division of Texas-based Clear Channel Communications Inc.
While Clear Channel owns seven Honolulu radio stations, there are no plans to air The Donald's show on Oahu, according to Paul Wilson, director of programming.
Carroll sees that as a benefit to the Kauai and Maui stations, "because you guys can hear us over there," Carroll said.
With the Trumpster on the radio, another benefit will be not having to look at his, er, distinctive hair.
Roberts rolling with RAM
Roberts Hawaii is implementing a new software package that will integrate numerous forms of record keeping including reservations, driver and vehicle assignments, payroll and billing.
Spokeswoman Sam Shenkus likened the system to a grocery store's scanners that provide immediate accounting, inventory and other information, but it's more than that too, she said.
"If you placed an order saying, 'We want 10 buses to pick us up at the Hilton, take us to the luau and bring us back,' with the integration of the software, you can almost immediately create a billing cycle, rather than going through timecards and verifications," she said.
Pursuing the enhanced efficiency the software can provide reflects Roberts' dedication to "kaizen," Shenkus said.
"It's a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, striving to improve."
The software, designed by Rhode Island-based Versyss Commercial Systems Inc., does not portend a plundering of personnel ranks, she said.
Roberts employs 1,400 people statewide.
"You're still going to have people, but the people will have a much more efficient tool ... the accounting function is going to be dramatically streamlined," she said.
Roberts, a tour and transportation company with a thousand-vehicle fleet, made the purchase about a year ago and has been steadily installing the software and ancillary components since then.
The system is expected to be fired up later this year, Shenkus said.
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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