The key point is to encourage people to work together, knowing that when any one does well, everyone succeeds. Over the years, salary scales for Honolulu's two dailies have discouraged hiring bright young people from Hawaii's journalism schools. Cub reporters are virtually extinct here. Few editors are willing to take chances on beginners, no matter how promising, when proven veterans can be had for 30 percent more. Too many of Hawaii's new talents go to the mainland or stay out of print journalism entirely while our newsrooms are disproportionately staffed with mainland imports.
Experience is valuable, of course, but there can be too much of a good thing.
Energy, new ideas, understanding what younger readers want to read are also vitally important to a good newspaper. These beginners can learn on the job while moving rapidly up the pay scale. We'll be working closely with the University of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific University and other journalism programs to use our internship programs and entry-level journalism jobs to open career paths for Hawaii's young people. Many people in this room were part of S.O.S., Save Our Star-Bulletin. That combined community effort was a key reason for the Star-Bulletin's survival.