KITV will pay to join Lingle trip
Advertiser Staff
A Honolulu television station that sent a reporting team to Japan with Gov. Linda Lingle said it would reimburse the Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau for travel expenses the bureau had agreed to pay.
Meanwhile, top Democratic Hawai'i lawmakers said they were "very concerned" about Lingle's involvement in the free trip that KITV-4 accepted, and called for an investigation by the House and Senate tourism committees.
In a joint statement, Senate President Robert Bunda and House Speaker Calvin Say said KITV's inclusion on the trip "appears inappropriate on a number of levels."
"It raises questions about the abuse of taxpayer dollars by state tourism officials," the statement said. "It raises serious questions about any attempt by a state official to compromise the public's right to fair and unbiased coverage by a news organization; and it raises questions about the propriety of using tax dollars to support a profit-making business during a time when so many people and public service organizations in our state are being asked to do without."
KITV general manager Mike Rosenberg yesterday maintained the station did nothing wrong by arranging for the HVCB to pay for a reporter and cameraman to accompany Lingle on the trip.
"We don't think there's a conflict of interest, but the perception of a conflict of interest is something we can't live with," Rosenberg said.
He said he was not greatly concerned about the call for an investigation. "They can do what they want. We live in a free country," he said. "What we want to do is protect the integrity of KITV."
Rosenberg was not sure how much the trip would cost the station. But Tony Vericella, HVCB president and chief executive, estimated the cost at around $4,100.
Vericella said everyone involved in planning the trip felt that allowing the KITV crew to come along was a good idea. He said marketing is one of the bureau's initiatives, and the coverage would be a good way of sharing information about the Japan market with Hawai'i.
Late yesterday, Lingle's chief of staff, Bob Awana, said the governor had had nothing to do with approving the costs for the KITV news crew. He said Say and Bunda "are simply trying to distract the public from the real issues ..."
On Tuesday, Lingle press secretary Russell Pang said the governor had not requested that HVCB pay for KITV, but did agree to the arrangement.
The House and Senate tourism committees had scheduled an informational briefing for 10 a.m. tomorrow after the release last week of a 69-page legislative audit that said the HVCB has misused state money, including paying parking and speeding tickets for Vericella. Senate Tourism Committee Chairwoman Donna Kim, D-14th (Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Heights), said the meeting's agenda had been amended to include the KITV matter.
"Despite knowing of the auditor's criticisms, the HVCB nevertheless decided that spending tax money to pay for a TV news team to accompany the governor and her trade mission to Japan was a proper and justifiable expense," Kim said.
Kim said the Hawaii Tourism Authority, which approves state tourism marketing dollars, did not authorize payment for the KITV trip.
"Not only was this a questionable use of marketing money, but it bypassed the approval process the HTA worked hard to establish," Kim said.
Staff writers Johnny Brannon, Kelly Yamanouchi and Curtis Lum contributed to this report.
