MEDIA UPDATE

MoveGuamForward.com

As part of its communication plan, the Guam Chamber of Commerce launched a website, in March, to provide ongoing information to the public on opportunities and challenges related to the military buildup. The content is designed for visitors to comment and engage in dialogue. The website is still a work in progress, according to David P. Leddy, the chamber president, however, current contents include postings of position papers, articles, individual comments and activities pertaining to the military on Guam.

“Eye on Guam” video shorts
Student WAVE Clubs (Welcome All Visitors Enthusiastically) of the Tourism Education Council were invited to participate in the joint Guam Visitors Bureau-TEC led “Eye on Guam” video short program in April to let students express their views on what makes Guam unique through the video medium. The program’s goal to reach the island’s student population was part of GVB’s ongoing initiative to establish the “We Are Guam” brand. Three WAVE clubs — Okkodo High School, John F. Kennedy High School and Astumbo Middle School –– produced video shorts which were screened at GVB’s general membership meeting April 30. Local independent film producers, Don and Kelly Muna, volunteered their guidance to the student filmmakers.

Insiders’ films on life inside the juvenile justice system
In conjunction with 2010 Law Week, Chamorro film maker, Alex Munoz, presented two films written, directed and acted by participants of Films by Youth Inside, at the Guam Judicial Center in Hagåtña on April 29. The two films, “Our Path, Our Journey, Our Voice” and “All You Need is Big Auntie” were made by clients of the Department of Youth Affairs and illustrate a day In the life of juvenile residents of the facility. FYI, a movement founded by Munoz in 2003, aims to “inspire and teach valuable life skills to incarcerated youth through screenwriting and filmmaking.” He has conducted film workshops with youths at Los Angeles County Probation Camp David Gonzalez and to date, FYI has had 50 short films produced by incarcerated youths in L.A., Hawaii and Guam. Both films were also broadcast by KUAM TV 8 and PBS Guam.

2010 BWOY nominee profiled on Chuuk Reform Movement website
Marcia “Ruri” Erra Ayuyu, general manager of McDonald’s Saipan and a 2010 First Hawaiian Bank Guam Business Businesswoman of the Year nominee, was featured in an article posted on the Chuuk Reform Movement website on April 29. The online story about Ayuyu’s nomination was written and filed by Vid Raatior, the founder of CRM. “CRM is a network of globally dispersed yet locally focused Chuukese citizens and allies who share a deep commitment to create a better future for Chuuk through awareness, advocacy and actions,” Raatior says. Of Ayuyu’s nomination, he says, “We are just so darn proud of [her] for this great achievement. It’s not very often that we receive news about a fellow Chuukese receiving a huge honor as BWOY.” Ayuyu is a native of Chuuk and now a resident of Saipan. The article can be found on http://chuukreform.org/

Air Force’s phishing exercise yields results
An e-mail sent as part of an operational readiness exercise by members of the 36th Communications Squadron at Andersen Air Force Base was designed to demonstrate the susceptibility of Airmen to phishing scams and triggered an unexpected result. The message, sent during the third week of April, said that producers of the movie “Transformers 3” were looking to film the sequel on Guam at Andersen and mentioned a casting opportunity. Reportedly, a number of personnel responded and one recipient of the fake communication tipped fan website ComicBookMovie.com about the casting call and movie shoot, which resulted in media inquiries. The Air Force issued a press statement April 26 clarifying that it had initiated the exercise phishing scam. “In order to properly demonstrate the risk of falling for a phishing e-mail, and in order to make the training as effective as possible, a real-world well-known movie title was used for the exercise phishing e-mail. This exercise e-mail has no connection with the movie Transformers 3,” says the statement.

PBS Guam selects young scribes

PBS Guam chose 12 children from kindergarten to third grade as winners of the PBS KIDS GO! Writers contest. The 12 young authors were selected from among 189 entrants by a panel of judges made up of teachers, librarians and a PBS Guam representative. The writing contest encourages children in local schools to “celebrate the power of writing and illustrating.” First place winners’ entries from each division went to the national competition. Winners of the national competition are to be announced during the summer.

Tokyoites read about Rota
Rota was featured in the May 27 issue of Tokyo Shimbun, a daily newspaper that commands more than 3.5 million readers in the Tokyo metropolitan area, following a visit to Rota by one of its editors during the first week of May. The article was also published in the May 28 edition of Chunichi Shimbun serving the Nagoya metropolitan area. The media familiarization visit was facilitated by the Marianas Visitors Authority in conjunction with direct charter flights by Kinki Nippon Tourist from various Japanese cities to Rota. Both newspapers are published by The Chunichi Shimbun Co.

Merged Honolulu Star-Advertiser launched on June 7
The merged Honolulu Star-Advertiser made its debut June 7. The broadsheet newspaper is the result of a merger that followed Honolulu Star Bulletin’s purchase of the Honolulu Advertiser from the Gannett Co. The newly combined newspaper is owned by Canadian David Black, founder of the Black Press Group. The merger of the two papers also meant the loss of nearly 400 positions –– 290 at the Advertiser and about 100 at the Star-Bulletin –– according to Honolulu’s KITV Channel 4 News, in a May 12 story.

Guam’s AG appears in PSA
Guam’s Attorney General, Alicia G. Limtiaco, videotaped a Public Service Announcement that aired nationwide in April during Alcohol Awareness Month. The PSA was taped in Washington and coordinated by the Century Council, a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Va. The community outreach project named “Ask, Listen, Learn” also featured 22 other attorneys general teamed with prominent sports figures, in similar PSAs. Limtiaco paired up with five-time U.S. Olympic swimmer, Dara Torres, to convey the anti-underage drinking message. This is the second year that Limtiaco has participated in the project.

Ho invited to be AAPI Heritage Month keynote speaker
Guam native, Dan Ho, an author and television show host, was invited by Anthony Babauta, assistant secretary of the interior for insular affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to deliver the keynote address at the Office of Insular Affairs’ Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration in May. Ho was invited to present a perspective on his accomplishments as a Pacific Islander, the challenges facing the community, and the integral role Pacific Islanders continue to play in the history of the United States. Ho’s Discovery Channel television show, “The Dan Ho Show,” is syndicated in the United States, Canada and Asia. He has contributed to PBS National, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., The Hallmark Channel and American Public Television. Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Week began in 1977, and in 1992, the month of May was designated AAPI Heritage Month.

Federal court launches website
The U.S. District Court of Guam launched a new website May 28 for the U.S. Probation Office covering the districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The website, www.gup.uscourts.gov, allows the public to find general information about the Federal Probation Office and local law enforcement agencies. The public can access information about pre-trial and post-adjudication supervision, and the court’s drug offender re-entry program.

Arizona Memorial Museum Association changes name to Pacific Historic Parks
The Arizona Memorial Museum Association, the nonprofit organization associated with the National Park Service, changed its name to Pacific Historic Parks on June 1 “to better reflect its expanded support at the four national parks it provides interpretive, educational and visitor activity support for,” a press statement on the name change said. The sites include the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; American Memorial Park on Saipan; War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam; and Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Molokai, Hawaii. The organization’s previous name had been in use for 31 years and was launched in 1979 to support educational programs, museum displays and interpretive programs for the USS Arizona Memorial.