Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 5, 1 June 1984 — OHA Has Role in Portrait of America [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA Has Role in Portrait of America

Ted Turner's mammoth television series, "Portrait of America", a five-year 60-segment documentary is focusing now on Hawaii. The 60-minute specials will profile eaeh of the 50 states and U.S. territories concluding with seven summary programs. The series began in January, 1983, on WTBS, Atlanta, Turner's so called "super station", seen in Hawaii on cable TV.

Turner calls the series the biggest national programming effort ever to be launched on cable and possibly the biggest TV documentary series ever. lt is expected to cost between $13 and $15 million. Turner says he wants to show what is best and most progressive about eaeh state. When asked whether he will present the negative as well as the positive he replied, "No. Anything wrong with that?" Turner says "This is not '60 Minutes.'. We're not investigating eaeh state . . . Of course, if there is a major problem, well deal with it. But we're looking for the good that is there." Executivc Producer for "Portrait of America" is lra Miskin who says eaeh program will take about seven months to produce. "There is an enormous amount of front end research, probably three months of research for eaeh program hour. But the series can't be done without

a great deal of care." Research for Hawaii's portrait got under way June 7 by way of a day-long seminar involving representatives of almost every segment of the community. The free-wheeling exchange of ideas took plaee in a meeting room at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and was divided into a morning and afternoon session with about 15 selected loeal residents attpnHino parh mrptino

There were educators, publishers, Iabor leaders, authors, community activists, lawyers, economists, businessmen, historians, and politicians. The broadcast and print media was represented as was religion, tourism, business, government and a variety of disciplines at the University of Hawaii. OHA Administrator T.C. Yim participated on behalf of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. What the producers are looking for is some kind of focus or theme for the segment. Prior to the seminar, eaeh participant was asked to be prepared to answer three questions:

1."If you were doing a documentary about Hawaii, what would you include and why? 2. What do you think makes Hawaii unique? 3. What would you say could be a theme around whieh we could weave the

story of Hawaii?" The results of the more than eight hours of conversation were tape recorded for future reference and further research. The gathering served to identify additional resource material and provided the Portrait of American team with its first inkling of what is important to the people of Hawaii. "The seminar is only the starting point" says senior researcher Judy Mayotte. After she returns to Atlanta, Mayotte will assign a staff re-

searcher to read everything available about Hawaii including the seminar transcript. A 20 to 25-page summary paper will be prepared and senior staff members will then look for their central theme, a hook on whieh to hang the portrait of Hawaii. We're going to have to wait awhile to find out how well the WTBS artists painted Hawaii, because the 50th State segment is not scheduled to air until November of 1985.

OHA Administrator T. C. Yim, second from left, addresses a member ofthe"Portrait of America" staff as others look on.

This is what appears on the cover of folders passed out at the meeting.