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January 1, 2004 Top Hawaii Radio and Television News Story Links of 2003 I updated the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide Archive pages and decided to throw together this rough list of top stories that probably made a big impact within the radio and television industry for this year (2003). In no particular order, these stories were some of the biggest for the year: January 12, 2003: Hilo's Mynah Bird Leaves KIPA radio Mel "Mynah Bird" Medeiros, a longtime fixture in Hilo's morning radio market exited KIPA radio and later resurfaced on a newly christianed KHBC Radio 1060 run by his friend and station owner Buddy Gordon. A few months after Medeiros left KIPA, the station was sold and is now off the air. January 29, 2003: Mary Zanackis Wins Case Against Channel 2 "Former KHON reporter and health desk anchor, Mary Zanakis (who now works for KITV Channel 4) won her lawsuit against her former employer, Emmis Communications and Channel 2. A federal jury awarded her $87,000." March 21, 2003: Coverage of Iraqi War Pre-empts Local and Network Programs "Honolulu's 4 major network TV stations made last minute changes to their program schedules as the nation went to war with Iraq late Monday afternoon. Local newscasts have been abbreviated to favor network news coverage of the war, with several news specials and live feeds from CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox and CNN taking the place of regular programs. The cable news channels have practically been covering the war around the clock since it started." July 11, 2003: KITV to Reimburse State for Japan Trip "KITV Channel 4 will reimburse the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau an estimated $4,100. The reimbursement comes after criticism was levied upon the station for sending reporter Mahealani Richardson and a cameraman to accompany Governor Linda Lingle on her trip to Japan this week. The trip was arranged by the HVCB with the agreement of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Governor's office in an effort to brng timely coverage to Hawaii audiences...." September 13, 2003: "The Breeze" Leaves the Airwaves Honolulu radio station KHUI 99.5 FM which aired a heavily traditional Hawaiian music format and was popularly known as "The Breeze left the airwaves. The Breeze went on the air only last May (2002) with a line-up that featured among others, Ola Souza who was doing morning drive, Kimo Villarimo and Mahlon Moore. Public outcry on the format's demise was loud. The station's owners New Wave Broadcasting, changed the format to rock and called the station "Bob". September 16, 2003: "Ice" Film Hits Simulcasted on all Major TV Stations Hawaii's rampant crystal methamphetamine ("ice") use and its devastating effects on the local community was examined in a one-hour television simulcast on Wednesday, September 24 . " ICE: Hawaii's Crystal Meth Epidemic " a documentary by film maker Edgy Lee, was shown commercial-free on nine local television stations including KBFD, KFVE, KGMB, KHET (PBS Hawaii) KHNL, KHON, KIKU, KITV, and Oceanic Time Warner's OC16 . September 16, 2003: Oceanic's Channel 16 Goes 24-7 with Local Shows Oceanic Cable converted their OCI 16 cable channel to a 24 hour, 7 day-a-week full time local broadcast outlet. OCI 16 now airs local programming only ranging from such popular fare as "Local Kine Grinz" and "Tiny TV" to new programs such as the recently completed "The June Jones Show," featuring the University of Hawaii's highly paid football coach. October 29, 2003: Perry & Price Move to John Dominis Honolulu's top rated morning radio show moved its Saturday brunch broadcast to the John Dominis Restaurant in Kaka'ako on December 2. The announcement was made in October by KSSK and program hosts Michael W. Perry and Larry Price, who in 2003 celebrated their 20th year on the air at the same radio station. The popular Saturday show had aired from the Hanohano Room in the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel for many years before a revamping of that venue forced the duo to move out. Summer and Fall 2003: Many Big Island Radio Stations Sold The year 2003 saw the sale of many of Big Island radio stations sold to various entities over the course of several months. The dust is just about beginning to settle with the biggest winner being Pacific Radio Group which aquired many of the island's most well known stations including KKBG FM and KAPA FM. In order to comply with FCC ownership regulations, Pacific Radio Group had to sell several of the stations it acquired, most going to smaller ownership groups. Ratings: Joe Moore Continues News Lead; KSSK Still Top Radio Station 2003 saw the continuation of the Channel 2 News dominance in the Hawaii market with lead anchor Joe Moore. Radio station KSSK FM and AM led the morning show and overall ratings race throughout the year with Cox Radio's KINE, KCCN and KRTR usually filling in the top 5. Original News Over the Air news items with links for 2003 are now filed in the Archives section of this website.
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