Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 6, 1 Iune 2008 — A new network reaches way beyond the reef [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A new network reaches way beyond the reef

By Liza Simon Public Affairs Specialist The old adage to "think loeal and aet global" is getting kieked up by Paeifie Network.tv, whieh launches this month after a soft launeh in May - to beam nine distinctive ehannels of Hawai'i-based content on to computer screens around the world. This is Hawai'i's first inter-net-based television network and it is the brainchild of noted Hawai'i fihmnaker Edgy Lee. Lee conceived of the network as a compelling and candid cyberspace stage for media portraits by Hawai'i-based creators about Hawai'i. Of course, Pacific Network.tv is meant to entertain audiences from Papakōlea to Paris, but it will also go a long away toward dispelling persistent

stereotypical images of life in the Hawaiian Islands: "In distributing my own fihns about Hawai'i to global markets, it's been my experience that so few people know about the true Native Hawaiian culture and the struggle to perpetuate that culture," said Lee. To ensure that the new platfonn for Hawaiian media is not obstructed the commercial bias of outsiders, Lee's Pacific Network. tv relies heavily on loeal underwriters and sponsors. OHA is one of the founding underwriters of the enterprise. Other Hawai'i-based loeal investors or partners include KGMB9, Hawai'i Puhlie Radio, the loeal affiliate of TimeWarner Telecom and the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. "Volunteers" ean support the network by pitching in annual dues of $35. In the meantime, the network's compendium

of small and big screen images - from photography to feature fihns - all with Hawai'i ties, is free to the puhlie on Pacific Network.tv. "Many people who have never set foot in Hawai'i are on average about 75 years behind in their

impressions of what goes on here, so imagine the change when they see news events streamed live," said Lee. The new network will also include channels that feature interactive programs like "Loeal

Iustice," where retired judge and current OHA Trustee Boyd Mossman and KUMU radio personality Frank B. Shaner ask viewers to heeome jurors in deciding the verdict of a hypothetieal legal case. In yet another nod to a younger audience, another ehannel will invite viewers to upload songs and videos.

The network also offers writers, producers, and media artists of all kinds in Hawai'i the opportunity to eontinue doing the work they do in the plaee they eall home while also reaching out to audiences far beyond Hawai'i, said Lee. □

'ENEHANA ■ ĪECHN0L0GY

After more than a year of work, Edgy Lee launches in June Pacific Network. tv - an internet-based networkfeaturinga Native Hawaiian theme. - Photo: Courtesy ofPacific Network.tv