The News Maker

Layoffs and a subsequent newsroom exodus turned the spotlight onto KHON-2’s new general manager, Joe McNamara

photo: Jimmy Forrest

Given the tumultuous environment that Joe McNamara stepped into when he took over as general manager of KHON-2 after California-based Montecito Broadcast Group purchased the station in January, it’s easy to presume that the New Yorker was, a hard-nosed, fast-talking hatchet man. Earlier this year, nine of the television station’s top managers had resigned, and there were rumors of dozens of layoffs to come. But in reality, McNamara—or “Joe Mac” as his friends call him—is a pretty mellow guy, who believes in an open-door management style and living by the Golden Rule. “I’ve always lived my life like I could be on the other side of the coin at any moment,” he says. “That’s why I always treat people the way I like to be treated.”

McNamara spoke with Hawaii Business about how many people really were laid off at KHON, Joe Moore and turning the lights out after he leaves the office.

HB: What expectations did you have walking into this position?
JM: I knew that I had a challenge ahead of me, because of how the previous manager had exited. It was kind of a rocky road. Joe Moore was making some comments on the air. There was a lot of speculation in the newspapers. So I walked in, and it was interesting ... I had several of the management come forward in the first week and decide that they didn’t want to be here. They didn’t support the changes and whatnot. And this is no disrespect to anybody, but I applaud them for deciding they didn’t want to be here. At least it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it could be if they stayed around without really wanting to be here. It’s unfortunate, because I think some of those people had good skills, but I think that they had some misinformation about the company and about how things were going to play out here.

HB: It was initially reported that Montecito would lay off 35 people. What are the actual numbers so far?
JM: I’d say it’s under 10 that were laid off. And then about nine left on their own. The number 35 kind of surfaced and got a life of its own. It was never about a number of positions. There were some financial numbers that were put out there that were kind of set up for that, but they were more meant for efficiency.

HB: When you talk about efficiencies, what sort of cost savings are you talking about?
JM: Probably targeted near the million-dollar range [annually]. Some of that wasn’t only done with personnel, although that’s the one thing everybody thinks of. Other things were renegotiating contracts, or different types of equipment that allow us to do things more efficiently, more effectively.

HB: What technological advancements have you made?
JM: We’ve spent way above a million dollars in technological upgrades. And some of those technologies were embraced here, but a lot of them weren’t. As an example, we upgraded our master control, where we take all of our commercials and we air our programs. Just like cameras, where everybody used to have film, then disks, then a little card … that same progression has taken place here. They weren’t using film, but they still were using a lot of videotape. And they’d actually made some investments into technology, there just wasn’t a move to embrace and to learn it.

HB: Joe Moore’s been pretty vocal on-air about his frustrations with the new systems. Are you having as much trouble as he’d like viewers to believe?
JM: I’ve gotten to know Joe pretty well since I’ve been here. I have to say, in the beginning, I was taken back a little bit by some of the things he did, but I can understand, Joe is a dedicated newsperson. He’s got a lot of years in the market. He has the highest reputation and the biggest following of anybody in the marketplace. So after learning that and talking to Joe a little bit, I can understand his concerns and where he’s coming from.

Recently there was a situation where Joe was frustrated and went to commercial break because he could hear an echo. I happened to be nearby watching that live on a big screen TV over at the Waialae Country Club, with Emme [Tomimbang] and a group of people. And then that came on, and I was like, “Oh my goodness.” Well what happened was, somebody in master control had plugged something into the wrong place, and they were feeding the speakers in the studio. Joe could hear himself on the speakers, which are never on. So he’s going, “My god, here we go with another technical problem,” when actually it was human error. I still think [the reaction] was a little overboard, but again, I wasn’t sitting on the other side.

And actually, that was a great turning point for us. Because we all learned that if you’re going to continue to blame the equipment, that’s fine. But let’s recognize that the issues could also be people-related.

HB: Is it true Montecito turns off the lights in key areas of the studio during working hours?
JM: Well, let me just say this—there’s no newscast going on right now and yet they’re running everything continually. I don’t have my lights on today. We don’t need them on. We’ve got plenty of natural light. So I’m just asking people to be aware of that. Besides, it’s in the news—everybody’s trying to conserve energy. And we’re a pretty large energy user. Our bills are around $30,000 a month. And it’s not just the money, but the amount that we’re using.

In the studio we were using in the range of 70,000 watts of power. We put new lights in that cost us $70,000 that took us to about 3,000 watts—with the same amount of light output. So I’m asking people to do the same things in their offices.

HB: What was your reaction to the Office of Hawaiian Affair’s failed attempt at purchasing KGMB?
JM: It [concerned] me from the point of television stations, which are licensed by the FCC to provide news, entertainment and emergency information. And when I talk about providing news and information, news is supposed to remain unbiased. And OHA talked openly about how they thought it would be a great platform for them to push their agenda. On the other side, as a competitor—and this is not being sarcastic—I thought, well, this could be a good move, because it’s certainly not the right way to program a television station.

HB: So are you here long-term, or are you just the turnaround guy?
JM: I see myself here for a minimum of three to five years and maybe beyond that. I think the only thing that would take me away is if there was an opportunity for a bigger market, or maybe an opportunity for a corporate position. But my goal is to be here long-term.

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