J Robertson

LIHUE — J.

No period following the J. No a-y. Just plain J is how J Robertson, director of Hoike Community Television, describes his name.

Robertson directs the corps of technicians who are most obviously visible during the taping of the Kauai County Council meetings and several of the county commission meetings.

Add Jul3ia Astatkie, who anchors the office end.

“You need to be sure to add the ‘3,’” the perky redhead said. “Kauai is one of the few places where they can add the 3 to your name. Other places, the computers overload. But J is the first.”

The director corrected her.

“I’m not the first,” Robertson said. “I’m the third. The difference is I use Roman numerals. Jul3ia uses the Western style.”

The bonding of the core crew of Hoike Community Television is the strength of its programs, which have garnered awards for its products, and a loyal fan base of people interested in the community.

Hoike Community Television, mandated by state law 440, occupies channels 53 and 54. It also hosts education channels 355 and 356 on the cable network.

“We’re one of the few states which mandate community television, funded by a percentage of cable TV hookups,” Robertson said.

The Garden Island: With your background in radio broadcasting at KUAI, a longtime strong community radio, how does that help you as director of Hoike Community Television?

Robertson: Growing up, I always was listening to radio. It brought everything into the home or car – news, sports, politics, and life in general. Once I moved to Kauai, communication became even more important. 

I was lucky enough to be hired by John Short and Bill Dahle at KUAI radio in Eleele. Did I ever learn a lot from Bill Dahle in the 25 years with Kauai’s Radio Station. People would gather at Kauai Kitchens or the garage and talk story every day. But the foundation of those conversations was brought about by what was said and reported on the radio.

Bill really instilled a sense of purpose and telling the facts. He didn’t add his personal perspective, although he certainly had such, and he respected everyone on this island. It didn’t matter who you were. To be able to share with people the detailed descriptions of what is going on in a factual, objective, and unbiased manner was imperative. The profound respect he held for Kauai and the people of this island will forever be part of that experience.

Now we have consolidated media – corporate ownership of radio, newspapers, and one of America’s largest cable providers. How does that simple conversation of yesterday exist? It happens at Ho’ike. We don’t generate the news but we do give people a chance to exchange ideas, philosophies or just plain simple stories and adventures.

 We do it through community television. This is a tremendous community resource and those lessons I learned at KUAI have been guiding principles to manage this wonderful enterprise.

I take that sense of fair play, the incredible importance of the single voice of one person on this island, and our general need to know about Kauai as a driving principle. What I brought from KUAI is dedication to the people of Kauai, running a financially responsible operation for the benefit of all. That’s really important. And making sure there is a sense of place and purpose to our work.

TGI: Does Hoike have any kind of partnerships with community, or community organizations?

Robertson: We are always seeking out new partnerships. We have worked with the Kauai Economic Opportunity, the United Way’s 75th anniversary, our Kauai Chamber of Commerce, the March of Dimes, and numerous other organizations. We offer them training or assist with their broadcast production needs. We help them extend their outreach and marketing as long as it is not commercial content.

Another area of critical partnerships exists with our schools and youth. In the past, we’ve had production classes for home school students. We’ve worked with both Kapaa and Kauai high schools. Our production assistance has been used at the Wilcox Kids Video Institute with Mr. H. One of our best and least known projects has been with Kanui Ka Pono Charter School in Anahola. One of our staff members, Tiare Nichols, developed a curriculum for video technology and we provided both the daily instruction as well as the equipment needed to get these young students to create their own stories.

What do people know, but don’t know about Hoike?

Robertson: Everyone knows about Hoike, in a sense. If you ask about watching the government programs, there is immediate recognition. If you ask about some of our community programs, people have seen them. If you put something on the air you will hear about it the next day at the grocery story. What people probably    don’t know as much is our training in video production and the availability of video production equipment from cameras and audio to editing computers.

Another misconception is about our funding.  We do not get any government funds and we do not receive public monies. Not one dime of tax money comes to the community access system. All of our funding comes from the cable operator, Oceanic Time Warner Cable in our instance, as a part of their franchise fee. The cable operator depends on our highways and public rights of way in order to operate and provide their system to the home.  In exchange for that allowance they provide this form of community contribution for the use of the public rights of way. Ho’ike gets a small percentage of the cable revenue on this island.  We are the least-funded in the State, but provide the same opportunities and capacity as our counterparts across the islands. We just do more with less.     

TGI: You mention ‘Hoike builds bridges of communication’ within the community.’ How does that work?

Robertson: One of our primary missions is to build bridges of communication. Perhaps the best example of that is when we work with Hawaiian organizations in the sovereignty movement. 

Here’s the problem – the Hawaiian movement is not getting any coverage by the mainstream television news or broadcast channels. Radio ignores the issue and does not give any time at all to them. And for the most part, the newspapers do not cover the day to day issues. 

The question is how can the Hawaiian community and those interested in the effort communicate? How can they get any information out? We provided studio time and helped get a dialog started in talking with the “Lawful Hawaiian Government” and the “Re-instated Hawaiian Government.”

We don’t edit or filter or change any message. The program is Hawaiians talking to Hawaiians. We are particularly proud to have this service available to all groups. 

This is the best way to get new information to the public, the best way to start or engage in that conversation. This is one of the best ways to bring people together whether they agree or not. Plus it is not restricted to any single issue. 

TGI: The most obvious presence of Hoike is the broadcasting of Kauai County Council meetings and some of the other county commission meetings. What else does Hoike provide viewers?

Robertson: The essence of Ho’ike is giving the people a voice. But video and television is different in that you need certain skills.  

To help, we train anyone in video production. How to safely use the cameras which makes a good picture and how to evaluate lighting and sound requirements.  We offer instruction in sound recording, or audio, as well as a variety of lighting techniques.  

Once you’ve got the filming down, it is time to learn how to edit. We offer final cut editing systems and in addition to the training course we continue to provide in-house assistance for continued education. We even offer supplemental programs in special effects and computer graphics.

The best part of all of this is that once you’ve completed the training course you are a certified producer and entitled to use the Hoike equipment free of charge from that day on. A new course of instruction begins on the first Wednesday of each month. 

An individual does not have to be a Hoike producer to have a program on the air. Any Kauai resident can bring in a program, provided it is non-commercial, and we will play in on the community access channel 54. This is a channel for our island to use to share our rich arts and entertainment, to talk about issues which face us each day, to showcase sporting events, and to provide a glimpse into the life on Kauai.