Why the Story is Never About Anthony Kaauamo
Meet Lāna‘i Today’s New Managing Editor
Written by Cory Lovejoy
Amid a plethora of books, camera and self proclaimed “geek” gear, I sit on a comfortable couch across the room facing Anthony. He is sitting at his desk, a painting of Nosferatu under a tropical night sky prominently displayed behind him. He excitedly tells me about his ideas for the photo spread he would like to create for an article about his work with Sharmaine Elan, the student intern at Lāna‘i Today. The photographs he describe are charming and “absurd,” like the duo fleeing from the undead during a zombie apocalypse, meant to evoke the spirit of their journalistic pursuits, rather than actual events.
“Get people to react. Be in the moment. Listen to what the person is saying. Dig in more,” Anthony says these things to me, and I must confess, Dear Reader, as I sit here writing this article, I cannot recall what his words were in regards too. I can say, they are classically Anthony.
I have known him for a decade now. First, as a contemporary creative, when he asked me to write, star in and help direct a short film for 5th Friday, inspired by “Un Chien Andalou,” a short film by Louis Buñel and Salvador Dali. During the filming process we became friends, who never tire discussing the structures and various devices used in stories and movies. As a fellow person of Native Hawaiian ancestry, we’ve had many discussions on discovering and representing what it means to be a Modern Native Hawaiian in our present-day colonized world. I cannot help but think that our Native Hawaiian ancestors are smiling at us collaborating on a newspaper article, as Nā Nūpepa ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i was, and is a very important part of Hawaiian culture, post colonization.
Anthony knows a lot about storytelling, writing and film. He attended the University of Las Vegas, Nevada for two years as an English literature major, to be a writer. While there, he took a film production elective class, which led to him switching his major to film. The change in majors brought him back to the islands, to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa to make Native Hawaiian narrative films. In 2008 he graduated from UH Mānoa, with a film degree, with an emphasis on directing and screenwriting. He has made, helped make and starred in many a short film. You may have seen one or two of them, as they’ve played solo or at film festivals held at Hale Keaka. His wealth of cinematic knowledge and its devices has taught me to appreciate the medium of film from the viewpoint of a director, and greatly influenced my own writing endeavors.
Enough about me, let’s get back to the reason for this article, Anthony and his new job, as editor of Lāna‘i Today, starting in August 2023. I furiously take notes as he tells me about growing into his journalism shoes, and how writing for a small-town paper allows him to enrich it by using literary devices in a journalistic setting. His new job keeps him well informed on current happenings that affect our community, while giving him the chance to talk story with the populace, for him, a perk of the job. He is genuinely interested in what people have to say and finds that people who are shy will openly share their thoughts with him.
Being editor of Lāna‘i Today is more than interviews and writing. There is also the research he undertakes to familiarize himself with and identify the subject properly, which starts with him crafting questions to ask that will best bring out the information he needs. This is followed by hours of transcribing quotes and processing what people have shared before he even attempts to write about it. All of this occurs in the midst of him organizing and planning for future interviews and articles, while juggling deadlines for research and publishing.
For his article on the recent Homecoming Day Parade he interviewed 20 different individuals, wanting “multiple voices” to create a “rounder perspective” of the event for readers. This left him with hours of interviews to sift through. Generally, editors have a team to tackle these tedious tasks. As it is just him, and his student intern Sharmaine, he finds himself doing the brunt of the work. By the time he gets to the writing part of being editor, he often finds himself “exhausted” by all these different aspects, and not in the “headspace” for writing.
Despite wishing he had more control over the layout of the paper, and knowing this is not realistic with the physical space constraints, he continues to exercise a deliberateness in the photographs he includes, and their connectedness to the flow of the story he is telling. He thinks words and photographs are an “interesting mix.” A way to say something without words, “like a children’s book,” that advances the story and adds more depth, by commenting on the article before one reads it, or repeating what was already said in the text. Pro Tip: While the print issues of Lāna‘i Today are lovely, I recommend viewing the issues on LanaiToday.com to fully appreciate Anthony and Sharmaine’s photographic abilities and stylings. The paper’s website is where one can find the latest news happening on Lāna‘i, like the closing of First Hawaiian Bank or LAPA’s cast announcement for their latest play, “Jo and the Gigalytes.”
Anthony’s cinematic approach to the paper, and writing, is a direct effect of his background in short films. Like in a film, everything he includes in the paper is deliberate, from the carefully chosen words to the visual content (where he and Sharmaine personally photograph and video segments for Lāna‘i Today, using his own camera equipment). While this approach gives the readers and viewers a more holistic view, it definitely makes the process arduous.
Our conversation turns off topic for a bit. (We’re friends, remember?) Eventually, I steer us back to the matter at hand, by mentioning I’ve heard people remark about the more “artsy” quality of the paper. Case(s) in point, the February 2024 issue which featured several Lāna‘i poets and a poem in Tagalog, with no English translation. Or the article he wrote with a comic book flair, in the December 2023 issue, about the new fire truck, Keahiakawelo, that left me feeling as if I had read about our very own Lāna‘i Superhero.
Another favorite was his inclusion of the drama that a Streptopelia chinensis, commonly known as spotted dove, caused during a Community Talk Story, held by Gabe Johnson. His inclusion of the spotted dove melodrama brought levity to reporting on an issue that, while important, can be dull at times. It also taught me the creature’s scientific name and reminded me of every group activity I’ve ever participated in on Lāna‘i. If you’ve lived here for an extended period of time, or your whole life, you know as well as I do, that our community is made up of a bunch of lovable, colorful characters. His reason for the “artsy” approach is simple. He is “allowing” there to be “more creativity” in the paper.
He hopes to actively get more Lāna‘i writers to participate in the paper regularly, as he finds it refreshing to hear different voices shared in unique ways. For examples of this, see Josh Ige’s review on Ganotisi’s Korean Chicken, or Rommel Rendon’s article about “Embracing the Art of Slacking,” both can be found in the December 2023 issue. Anthony thinks of “news” in broader terms than just information or what’s happening with so and so. In our small community “news” is personal, as we are all connected to each other. He wants content and participation from everyone. His mission, “a community paper with community participation.”
He goes on to say, he thinks it is a distraction to include “himself” in what he writes, and makes an effort to not be present in the articles, as he feels this makes it become “my (his) personal paper.” He is more interested in hearing other peoples’ experiences. This, he knows is “unavoidable,” as sometimes he has no choice but to include himself in an article, especially if he was a participant in the event.
Paradoxically, he encouraged Sharmaine into going the route of personal experience, with an article she wrote about the new priest at the Catholic Church. He describes her writing as being illustrative and expressive. Her reporting on the subject gave him room to experience what it was like to be at the Catholic Church too early in the morning for music performance. He expresses that he wants her to meet people and tell stories through actions, with ample space to explore them.
Our conversation wraps up with us exchanging memories of Joana Varawa, one of Anthony’s predecessors as a former editor of Lāna‘i Times. He recalls how she was a “strong writer.” I recall how she once told me she wouldn’t write about plants she didn’t know the names of. Whether or not Joana would approve, or enjoy Anthony’s version of Lāna‘i Today, is hard to say, as she was the quintessential lovable Lāna‘i character I mentioned earlier. As for me, I look forward to every issue.
NOTE FROM ANTHONY: Out of respect for my dear mother, Darlene Baybayan, I want to clarify the use of my name: Anthony Kaauamo. She worried I'd be unrecognizable without "Pacheco." Kaauamo, our inoa ‘ohana (Hawaiian family name), represents our lineage and kuleana (responsibilities). I changed my last name from Pacheco to Kaauamo to honor this legacy. Translating to “the carrying stick,” the ‘auamo was a traditional tool for balancing and bearing burdens. -- See, I'm a good son, Mom!