Testimonials
What People are Saying
Hawaii Reporter Stands Out for Coverage of Ka Loko Dam Stories
By Bruce Fehring, 5/29/2007 1:57:58 PM
Editor’s note: James Pflueger, owner of the Kauai dam that breached on March 14, 2006, killing 7 people, has subpoenaed Hawaii Reporter’s records and editor Malia Zimmerman in his civil lawsuit against the state and irrigation company managing the dam’s water system. His lawyer, William McCorriston, claims Hawaii Reporter is a “blog” and that Zimmerman was a “consultant” to ABC 20/20′s report on the dam breach – so she is not entitled to protect her sources under Hawaii’s generally recognized “reporter’s privilege.” Hawaii Reporter has started a legal defense fund to fight this important First Amendment issue. This is the response from Bruce Fehring, whose family was killed in the dam breach. Fehring has his own lawsuit against Mr. Pflueger.
When disaster struck on March 14, 2006, and 3 members of my family and 4 friends were killed in the Ka Loko Dam breach, we had to rely on many other people to get us through the period of shock, loss, helplessness, and questions which followed, and which continues on a daily basis.
Our family and closest friends comforted and consoled us; Gina from the Kauai Hospice was an angel ready to help in whatever way she could, and then there was the media. Most made plenty of errors in facts or judgment, or just treated the subject as simply a sensational story.
Only a handful saw it for what it is, a major story of failures of mankind, and one of the biggest stories ever in Hawaii, with far-reaching implications for now and into the future.
The journalist who stood out from the rest in terms of doggedness with sensitivity, thoroughness, comprehensiveness, understanding, accuracy, and willingness to probe in places where dangers lie is Malia Zimmerman of HawaiiReporter.com.
Malia is both fearless and principled and, in my opinion, the best investigative reporter I have ever had the pleasure to know. Anyone who argues that Malia is not a “real” reporter has either never met one whom they could not bully before, or is just plain scared of the truth she reports.
Bruce Fehring can be reached via email at mailto:fehring@aloha.net
HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials to mailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com
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“As a source of news and commentary, the Hawaii Reporter is an invaluable resource, even to those of us who live on the mainland. With so much of the “mainstream” media seeking to further a political agenda instead of informing the public, the Hawaii Reporter provides the sort of insight and information that is so necessary for a balanced understanding of the events of the day.” Chris Adamo, columnist, Talon News and Hawaii Reporter
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“Most news sources seem to be run by their legal departments; they pull their punches out of fear that the bad guys will lash out at them. Not so, Hawaii Reporter. They “out” corrupt politicians and inept bureaucrats without hesitation or fear, covering all sorts of news Hawaiians and the world won’t get anywhere else. Bravo!” Louis James, founder, Free-Market.net, Utah, USA
“Hawaii Reporter has well-researched informative reporting on issues that concern the community that are not always otherwise reported.” Michelle Matson, community activist
“What I admire most about Hawaii Reporter is its honesty. Damn near impossible to find the truth in mainstream media. No surprise, they have an ax to grind and certainly have no incentive to tell the truth about them selves. And the owners are reluctant to pay for the cost of investigative reporting as happened in days of yore. Easier just to follow the party line. That is very sad as if we don’t keep an eye on government it will destroy our republic. Unfortunately we can only find the truth on the Internet in publications such as the Hawaii Reporter. No one else seems to give a damn. Or has the guts to print it.” Loy Weston, entrepreneur and author, Honolulu, Hawaii “Hawaii Reporter is a must read for me every morning. I get the news that doesn’t show up anywhere else and I appreciate the hard hitting reporting and guest editorials.” Walt Harvey, Realtor, Hawaii Kai
“Hawaii Reporter provides information which is not available in any other media, especially by the liberal media. The Hawaii Reporter provides information in a concise, to the point fashion which gives the reader a quick grasp of the message being presented without consuming excessive time. And finally, I believe the Hawaii Reporter presents balanced reporting of both sides of the issues. Please keep up your good work.” Howard S. Okada, Hawaii businessman
Take the current gas “crisis” in Hawaii, where state officials are getting ready to institute the same failed policies Nixon implemented back in the gas-rationing/price-capped ’70s. Malia Zimmerman of the Hawaii Reporter remains the sole member of the media in Hawaii who isn’t blaming Chevron and other usual suspects, but instead points out that perhaps, just perhaps, Hawaii’s 60-cent-per-gallon tax might have something to do with the state’s higher than mainland gas prices (by comparison, Zimmerman points out, Alaska’s per-gallon gas tax is 29 cents). Rather than reiterate her eloquent Wall Street Journal essay, I’ll just provide a link to it. Read it and weep that she doesn’t run the Associated Press. Or the Denver Post. My point being Zimmerman didn’t accept what she and all the other Hawaiian journalists are being handed by the “newsmakers.” She looked beyond that; she researched it—and she discovered the truth. That’s journalism. Jim Paine, PirateBallerina.com
For the news behind the news, the story behind the stories, for what’s really going on, I read Hawaii Reporter. Robert H. Thomas, attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation Hawaii Center
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