Hawaii Public Television trying to remake its image
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
When you hear "Hawaii Public Television," what do you think?
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
If you say, "HPR," you're not alone. During strategic planning sessions over the past year, it became clear that many Islanders have confused the station with Hawaii Public Radio.
CEO Mike McCartney says the Hawai'i Public Television station wants better name recognition.
Conclusion: The station did not have a strong identity, and could do better at building good will (and in the process, raising money) within the Islands.
So Hawaii Public Television decided to take action.
HPT is changing its name to PBS Hawaii effective Feb. 2.
In the process, Hawaii Public Television president and chief executive Mike McCartney says, the station hopes to create a better brand name for itself, resulting in more recognition and support as it continues the transition from a state-reliant to a community-based nonprofit.
"Branding is important, and we've had confusion in the past as we've tried to bring the world to Hawai'i and Hawai'i to the world," McCartney said.
• Why: The public station wants to create a stronger identity and build more community support. • What else is new: The station will have a new logo and will expand its Ready to Learn educational outreach program.
It didn't help, said a good-humored McCartney, that Hawaii Public Radio's chief executive, Michael Titterton, shares the same first name.
• What's happening: Hawaii Public Television is changing its name to PBS Hawaii.
"We had lunch one day last year, and we talked about how people listened to ... (public radio) in the morning and watched ... (public television) in the evening, yet many people weren't sure who we were," McCartney said.
The change will involve a new station logo, an expanded TV programming guide dubbed The View for subscribing members, and "an expanded community outreach program that includes Ready to Learn, where we're working with schools, teachers and parents on a project tied in to PBS programs," McCartney said.
The station's call letters, KHET, and its Channel 11 location (10 on digital) will remain the same.
McCartney said that by federal decree, all broadcasting stations here must go digital by 2006, though PBS Hawaii and other network affiliates likely will not make the deadline. All local stations (network affiliates based on O'ahu) are collaborating to erect a broadcast tower to allow the digital format, but lease negotiations are still pending.
"With a change to digital, there will be hundreds of broadcast stations, so it's important that we get our branding out now, so viewers can easily identify and find our quality programming," McCartney said.
"Our on-air look will be different, and our station ID spots will also have a more unified look," Dunning said. "We're also rededicating the station — as not only being a TV station but more of a community resource."
The Hawaii Community Foundation has given the station $45,000, with an equal sum in services granted by the public relations firm Ostrander-Chu to help launch the name change.
PBS produces a roster of programs for family viewers, from "Antiques Roadshow" to "Nova," from "Masterpiece Theater" to "This Old House," and has been home to a number of children's favorites, from "Sesame Street" to "Barney & Friends." The local station daily records satellite feeds for same-day broadcasting at night. During the morning, a number of educational shows geared to school audiences are shown.
Hawaii Public Television/ PBS Hawaii has produced a roster of local specials, tapping Hawai'i's cultural mainstream, with many programs winning awards and earning air time on the national PBS network. For now, only one locally-produced program is broadcast nationally: chef Roy Yamaguchi's "Hawaii Cooks," which starts its sixth season on the national line-up this year.
Two years ago, the station entered a partnership with KGMB-9, the CBS affiliate, to outsource all of its on-air operations in a move that has cut overhead costs, personnel and equipment training and scheduling. The union was the nation's first between a public television station and a commercial operation, where all PBS programs are recorded by KGMB for transmission by PBS.
The station is on leased state land, at Dole Street and University Avenue in Manoa. McCartney said a capital improvement campaign will be launched over the next few years for PBS Hawaii to acquire or build facilities of its own.
