REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK
How Hawai'i's Bachelor came about
| • | Play The Advertiser's dating game online |
| • | Women: Sign-up here if you want to date Hawai'i's Bachelor |
By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer
Monday, March 10:
Tanya Bricking, 32, writes about relationships for The Honolulu Advertiser. As the reporter following Hawai'i's Bachelor on stories of love or heartbreak, she'll also keep a behind-the-scenes journal and moderate the dating game.
A writer friend of mine and I hatched the Hawai'i's Bachelor idea one day over lunch.
My happily married 40-something friend was addicted to reality TV, and I think I was teasing her about it.
We discussed whether these kinds of shows contribute to the dumbing-down of society. And we decided that it's easy to get sucked in, because when it comes down to it, everybody needs a little love.
Other people's love lives naturally make for good stories. Why not write about the quest?
We thought it really would be cool to do a dating reality series through the newspaper. We could send people out on dates and write about it.
It would be entertaining. It would be a way to get people to interact with the newspaper. It would attract younger readers. And it would be fun.
Editors signed off on the idea, and that's how it started.
Just a week after launching the dating game, we've had nearly 200 responses from people eager to play.
The daters will keep online diaries, so I'm posting one, too, to let you know what's going on behind the scenes.
The first surprise has been to see who's applying to be the bachelor.
We've received applications from a really wide variety of men, from a bare-chested 20-something (the one my colleague nicknamed "Justin Timberlake") to a 59-year-old school counselor who looks like a cross between Scottish actor Sean Connery and the guy who plays Toby Ziegler on the "The West Wing."
The average age for bachelor applicants is 32, and the candidates span Hawai'i's ethnic rainbow. Many are University of Hawai'i grads. And there are an awful lot of engineers applying. I don't know what the deal is with that profession.
We also have quite a few teachers, a hunky firefighter and a couple of police officers who ready to be in on the game.
The women applying so far are an average age of 28, and their occupations range from clerks to business owners.
Some applications have been practical jokes played on reluctant bachelors. Other singles on the shy side have agreed to let friends nominate them.
Applicants say they're looking for "a radiant smile and a warm laugh," "intelligence" and "honesty."
An alarming number of applicants answered "What's the last book you read?" with "Can't remember."
The hunky firefighter's favorite movie is "Rocky I." And most of the guys are dog people.
They want to play the game because the other things they're trying don't seem to be working.
"I've never been one to follow the well-worn path," one applicant wrote. "You have to take risks in life to achieve your dreams."
We'll get started with the dates as soon as readers vote for their favorite bachelor (voting begins Friday) and we've selected 10 women for the dating pool. Stay tuned, and let us know if you have any info that needs to be reported behind the scenes. You may know something about our bachelor finalists that we don't.
Have a question or comment about Hawai'i's Bachelor? E-mail us at hawaiisbachelor@honoluluadvertiser.com.
