[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 109 (Friday, June 30, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1378-E1379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          HAWAII PUBLIC RADIO

                                 ______


                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 30, 1995
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, during this Congress we are going to 
have the opportunity to debate the vital role of public broadcasting in 
the educational and cultural development of our Nation.
  As we discuss this issue I want to share with my colleagues an 
article that was given to me earlier this year regarding the merits of 
national public radio. Specifically, the author extols the virtues of 
Hawaii Public Radio. Public radio is unique and adapts to the cultural, 
geographical and regional differences in the United States. For 
instance, while Hawaii Public Radio broadcasts ``Morning Edition'' and 
``All Things Considered'' from national public radio they also read the 
news in Hawaiian and provide the daily news from the Pacific. This is 
an addition to the classical, jazz, blues, and sundry other programs 
that anyone can tune into and enjoy. No other radio station provides 
such a variety of programs to its listeners.
  Mr. Speaker, diversity strengthens and brightens the fabric of our 
society. There is a place for Hawaii Public Radio in our society and we 
must continue to support it. I commend this article to my colleagues 
and ask that it be printed in the Record at this point.
                  [From the Maui News, Dec. 15, 1994]

                         Making the Maui Scene

                          (By Rick Chatenever)

       Amazing--the Newt Age isn't even upon us yet, but the media 
     is already back as the target of choice. From both sides. 
     First White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta likened 
     incoming Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to ``an out-of-
     control radio talk-show host.'' Trying to become the Gingrich 
     that stole Christmas, Newt wasted no time suggesting that the 
     government should pull the plug on public broadcasting.
       How easy it is to forget public broadcasting's role in 
     creating a climate that made someone like Newt possible. 
     True, it probably has something to do with his talents (you'd 
     be an over-achiever, too, if your name was Newt). And it 
     probably has something to do with tapping into the mood of a 
     just plain irked nation. Hey, why can't anyone figure out 
     what's wrong--? Hey, why can't anyone fix it--?
       But PBS was right there with the other panel shows, 
     ushering in the ``don't talk while I'm interrupting!'' shout 
     fests that have now replaced TV analysis from Washington, 
     D.C. insiders.
       Is it politics, journalism or show business--? You be the 
     judge. The players move back and forth freely--Pat Buchanan 
     leaves ``Crossfire'' to run for president, David Gergen 
     leaves ``The MacNeil-Leher Report'' to try to straighten out 
     the Clinton White House, Mary Matalin and James Carville run 
     opposing presidential campaigns, then go on to live out their 
     own Kathryn Hepburn-Spencer Tracy movie.
       When Al Gore debated Ross Perot on the merits of NAFTA, 
     they did it with all the maturity of a couple of second 
     graders, fingers in ears, taunting. ``I'm rubber, you're glue 
     . . .''
       In this climate, he with the longest wind wins, and the 
     spoils go to the most bellicose. Rush rules the roost . . . 
     but you can bet Newt can't wait to get into the act.
       Before he does, I'd like to offer a few words in praise of 
     Hawaii Public Radio.
       NPR, or PRI, or whatever it calls itself to try to stay out 
     of Jesse Helms' direct line of sight, is where the dial of my 
     car radio is most of the time. I quote it regularly. I bore
      friends with stories of whatever obscure character has shown 
     up as an interview subject that day.
       KKUA is a magic link, from the two lane roads criss-
     crossing this island to . . . Everywhere Else. Just 
     mentioning names of NPR voices--Bob Edwards, Cokie Roberts, 
     Baxter Black, Click and Clack, Andre Codrescu, Bailey White, 
     Daniel Shore, Noah Adams, Garrison Keillor, Sylvia Pajoli, 
     Neil Conan, Cory Flintoff, Nina Totenberg, even Frank Deford, 
     when he's not getting to carried away with the sound of his 
     own voice--is enough to draw smiles from those of us who 
     share the habit. When I get together with friends from the 
     Mainland, we discover NPR is something we all have in common. 
     It's the tom-tom beat for the global village. Not to mention, 
     the place to listen to classical music.

[[Page E1379]]

       It's a daily link to what one of my Native-Hawaiian friends 
     still insists on referring to as America. But listening to it 
     from this side of the Pacific is mo' better. Many--many--have 
     been the times when the voice on the radio was coming from 
     Sarajevo, or inner-city Chicago, or Moscow, or London or New 
     Orleans . . . while the view through the windshield was of a 
     cloud-draped Haleakala . . . or whales sporting off Sugar 
     Beach . . . or rainbows disappearing in a West Maui mountain 
     valley. . . .
       Where else can you hear the latest in the O.J. Simpson 
     case, or get the inside scoop on Clinton White House 
     strategy, as you drive the kids to school through a cane 
     field . . . ?
       Where else is the six o'clock news read in Hawaiian? Where 
     else is the latest political upheaval in Papua, New Guinea--
     they happen regularly, and sound like Marx Brothers movie 
     scripts--cause for a daily update?
       On a radio dial dominated by demographics and marketing 
     niches, and crowded with stations all trying to sound like 
     each other, only better, Hawaii Public Radio is definitely 
     something else.
       Mirroring this unique world we live in is one thing. Making 
     it a better place is something else. Just being a source of 
     pleasure in its own right is something else again.
       Hawaii Public Radio succeeds amazingly well on all counts.
       

                          ____________________