July 29, 1974, is a historic date in local television news—it marks the first Honolulu newscast co-anchored by a woman of Asian descent. Barbara Tanabe had previously broken ground in local Seattle news, becoming one of the first Asian-American woman to anchor on the West Coast.

In an era in which women had to work as secretaries to break into the news business, Tanabe was defeating stereotypes, paving the way not only for Asian women, but women in general.

Today, 20 years after Tanabe left the local airwaves, Asian-American men and women can be seen in all facets of the business. Tanabe herself runs a successful communications firm while balancing her professional and private life as a caregiver for her husband.

Born in a U.S. Army hospital in Tokyo, Tanabe was raised in a military family; her father, Frank, worked in Army intelligence. At age 6, the family left post-war Japan for a brief stay in Chicago, before settling in Seattle. Tanabe's father later became a public affairs officer and the family transferred to Okinawa, where Tanabe graduated from Kubasaki High School.

After graduation, she moved back to Seattle and attended the University of Washington, studying journalism and earning a degree in communications in 1971. Famed NBC broadcaster Chet Huntley graduated from the same school of communications. “;It was old-school journalism, very serious; we focused on issues and talked about ethics,”; Tanabe said. “;At that time broadcast journalism was a brand new thing.”;

While still a college senior, Tanabe was hired by Seattle's top-rated ABC affiliate, KOMO. She wrote and reported the news, and hosted a morning variety show. She conducted interviews with Nixon aide John Ehrlichman, former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger, feminist activists Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan, even basketball star Wilt Chamberlain. She covered anti-war demonstrations of the Vietnam era, as well as the feminist and civil rights movements. “;It was an exciting time to be reporting.”;

Inspired by her father, who was interned at Camp Minidoka in Idaho during World War II, she wrote, produced and narrated a documentary, “;The Fence at Minidoka,”; retelling the story of the Japanese internment camps. This earned her an Emmy Award and nationwide attention from network brass, including a then-NBC affiliate in Honolulu, KHON. George Hagar, KHON general manager at the time, recalls recruiting Tanabe.

“;I flew to Seattle and just sat in a hotel room for two days and watched her on the local news. I was very impressed and called her, identified myself and asked her to join me for lunch the following day,”; Hagar said. “;We had a very good conversation and one thing led to another and I offered her a job with the TV2 News Team. She was an incredible asset to our entire station for quite a few years and a very professional newsperson and to this day I have a great deal of respect for her,”;

When Tanabe accepted Hagar's offer, she knew there was an overall lack of women and Asians on the local news. Her KHON co-anchor was B.J. Sams, whom she worked alongside for five years beginning in 1974. “;She was the consummate co-worker and co-anchor,”; said Sams. Their anchor team included sportscaster Les Keiter, not only a former Seattle resident, but also a high school classmate of Tanabe's father. “;It was some of my best days,”; Sams said.

In 1979, the year Tanabe gave birth to her son Nicolas, KHON was purchased by the Des Moines Register and Paul Udell was brought in as her co-anchor. In 1980, she moved to weekend anchoring, working with Dalton Tanonaka and Courtney Harrington. In addition to her anchoring and reporting duties, in 1983 she earned an MBA from the University of Hawaii.

During her days at KHON, Tanabe traveled to China, the Philippines and Japan over the years. She reported from the Great Wall of China, broke the Ronald Rewald fraud case and reported on the Marcos-Aquino elections in 1985. She left KHON in 1987 after 13 years. “;I could see the news business was changing and I wanted to leave while I still loved the business as it was known.”;

In 1987, Tanabe became vice president at Communications Pacific, and later President and CEO of Hill and Knowlton. In 2000, she founded Ho'akea Communications. Former KHON news director Jim McCoy joined her in 2003 as a partner.

At home, Tanabe's husband of 37 years, Roy Kawaguchi, has been battling colon and lung cancer. Due to the trauma of his surgeries and chemo treatment, he now has ataxia, a degenerative neuromuscular disease.

“;Despite limited mobility, he remains in good spirits and keeps me updated by watching news programs throughout the day,”; she said. “;The oncologist continues to monitor Roy and the good news is that there is no recurrence of the cancer.

During Tanabe's years in local news, Kawaguchi was a stay-at-home dad, leaving his job at Boeing so she could pursue her career.

“;As we mature, our roles change, and we learn different things about ourselves,”; she said. “;During this phase of my career, I am glad and fortunate that I can also fulfill my family role without compromising the quality of my professional work.”;