Proud of For Kaua‘i

Barbara Bennett, For Kaua‘i owner and publisher, and For Kaua‘i editor in chief Léo Azambuja at Honolulu Airport on their way back from O‘ahu with two Society of Professional Journalists awards June 24.

Yes, I’m proud to be recognized on a state level by the Small Business Advocate in Media and Journalism Award presented by the U.S. Small Business Advocate, Hawai‘i District Office, and three awards for editorial excellence by the Hawai‘i Publishers Association — first and second place in Editorial Opinion, and second place in Enterprise Reporting. All of them are outstanding wins for For Kaua‘i.

Also, For Kaua‘i received two awards during a dinner event in Honolulu, presented by the Society of Professional Journalists. I was unaware of this national journalism organization, which was introduced to us by our editor in chief, Léo Azambuja.

SPJ was founded in 1909. It is the most broad-based journalism organization in the country, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. SPJ promotes the free flow of information through the daily work of its nearly 7,500 members.

I’m proud of our awards and accomplishments. In the beginning, there was some skepticism a locally owned and published community newspaper would not “make it” on Kaua‘i. We’ve been challenged by corporate competition in advertising and much more. Yes, it has been a challenge.

That was six years ago. We are still publishing monthly and have added an annual glossy edition to our product line. This 102-page cultural pictorial glossy magazine is like no other. We are very proud of the beauty and cultural stories included in this “keeper” edition.

I’m proud of our standard of excellence and quality of our culturally based editorial content, as well as our excellence in design, layout, advertising design and website, with high standards in media like no other on the island. This standard or quality is renewed each year by our vision created in January 2011, when we launched our first monthly issue.

For Kaua‘i Vision:

Supporting the community and its people by bringing the best quality print publication and state of the art website to Kaua‘i.

Provide the best community and people news reporting. Assure that content is supported by the best art design for both web and print.

Our vision has sustained For Kaua‘i all these six years. Our goals have been accomplished and we continue to grow. The acknowledgement from state and national publishing companies has given us the drive to work hard month to month.

As the owner and publisher, I have always believed in the power of print. It cannot be replaced with verbal or visual media marketing. And there is some skepticism in the future of print. Trust me when I say, “print will never go out of style.” There will always be readers when you have a quality product that communicates to the people on a small island in the middle of the pacific.

Yes, I am proud of For Kaua‘i newspaper. I’m proud of the new annual glossy magazine which will be received by the island in July. And last but not least, I’m proud of our island of aloha, Kaua‘i.

I’m proud to be all island, all community, all Kaua‘i.