Hawaii is losing a prize of a publisher in Larry Fuller who is stepping down at Pacific Business News.
Larry had come to Hawaii to lead The Honolulu Advertiser. This was after my days there, so I never had the opportunity to work with him in the newsroom. For whatever reasons, he left the ‘Tiser. PBN had the great wisdom to take advantage of Larry’s love of Hawaii.
Now, grandchildren are a stronger pull in the cold of upper middle America. Our loss.
Journalism is in a flux. Minds greater than mine don’t know where it will pool. I doubt it will ever be like it was in my days of reporting. We were well-paid and given latitude to rake muck, dig deep into crime, politics, science, poverty, environment, human rights, civil rights, healthcare, education. Our job was to explain it to Joe and Minnie SixPack.
Larry Fuller is a bit of a bridge to the new world, I think. He assembled a team of editors who know journalism to work with young reporters. Each day, he sent his readers updates on news—tight, clear snips and if we wished, we could drill deeper.
He led business forums and discussion breakfasts—any number of things to engage the business community, give them a chance to think outside their boxes and to network.
Many journalists look dimly on a reporter who “goes to the other side”, that is, into PR. I’ve taken a fair amount of ribbing over the years. Larry was never one to rib and always treated those of us on the PR side of communication with equanimity.
We’ll see where journalism lands in the new age. It will always be the most fun you can have with your clothes on—a license to ask questions and gather information. I hope it keeps some of the objective, fair eye that folks like Larry Fuller have brought to it.
BAHastings
