How did you and Joe meet?
Joe and I met when he assumed ownership of the Maui Weekly, a
newspaper I had started a few years earlier. Joe kept me on in a
consulting position for about six months after taking over as publisher.
What were your first impressions of him?
What
struck me in the first weeks of our relationship was his willingness to
take risks, not just willingness but a certain enthusiasm about moving
into this new venture. He was not going to follow a "tried and true"
path. Most significantly, he committed, early on, enormous time and
energy in its [the newspaper] reconstruction. He was hands on from the
start.
What was the newspaper like back then?
The design of the paper, visually speaking, was the first project, Joe insisted on something "distinctive. I quickly understood that Joe was all about branding. He didn't have a particular look in
mind, he didn't turn to other, established, formats for inspiration.
Joe simply believed that when the look was right, no, not "right," but
"just right," that he'd know it. We came up with numerous layouts,
finally deciding on a design that was only vaguely similar to
traditional tabloids. The differences were certainly distinctive and
accomplished his goal: To capture the eye, not "punch" the eye.
Not
knowing Joe well, I suggested it might be a good idea to garner broader
consensus before committing a final design to print. Sugarman responded
with a brief explanation of his business philosophy.
"Ron, standard wisdom encourages the 'ready, aim, fire' approach. In some cases, I take the 'ready, fire...' then 'aim' approach. Let's pull the trigger on this one."
Now
published by the Maui News, the Maui Weekly continues in the exact
format as that which we (mainly Joe) created some seven or eight years
ago. This is significant for the following reason. One, long
established newspapers have definite ideas about format. To take over
an existing publication, especially a weekly publication without making substantive changes is rare.
What was it like to work with Joe on the paper?
Joe
also appreciated the 'flavor' of content, both pictorial and textual.
Digital cameras were just becoming popular and Sugarman purchased a
number for the staff. He gave these to layout, editorial, sales and
news staff and told them to shoot
anything and everything that struck
them as unique. The candid, "man on the street" shots that resulted,
gave the Maui Weekly a --unique-- local look and appeal. Joe recruited
"reporters" at every opportunity. He knew the man/woman on the street
possessed perspective and subtle insights that often escaped the writer
with a "J" degree. Like the paper's staff, the general public was now
enfranchised. Today, on cable and even mainstream news outlets, you see
the same thing, soliciting the viewer, and reader, as informal
reporters. Years after Sugarman opened his pages to qualified, public
input beyond the letters to the editor.
How were you able to hold onto good weekly reporters?
The
inherent burnout factor that affects weekly news reporters is reflected
in technically correct but boring content. This was all but eliminated
by the above steps. Story ideas, good ones, pictures and even
advertising ideas in effect, expanded the limited resources of this
paper. As content poured in, it became clear that Joe really shined as a manager of ideas.
Not many people move through the realm of ideas, random ideas, and
effectively wrestle them onto the printed page. Joe did so
effortlessly, he loved input from staff and general public, and the
dynamic interaction between the paper and its unofficial columnists and
reporters.
How did Joe's sense of humor factor into his management of the Maui Weekly?
Editorial content was also
approached with a different eye. Joe didn't take himself, or the paper,
too seriously. This is important and one of the principle things I
appreciated about him. That's not to imply that Sugarman wasn't a
serious publisher, he was. But he never shied away from opportunities
to have fun; readers appreciated it even as some claimed to hate it. It
was a fabulous 'toilet read,' exactly what Maui wanted. But his
commitment to "serious" issues provided an anchor that kept the Maui
Weekly from drifting into gratuitous sensationalism...usually.
"Rocky
Kapu" is one example. Rocky was one of the Maui Weekly's columnists.
Somewhat sexist, as politically incorrect as they come, Rocky offended
pretty much everyone; conservative, liberal, male and female, his
column generated lots of letters. The column was a political/social
cartoon in text form. Eventually, Joe would respond to critics and
announce that, regrettably, that he would have to fire Rocky. But Rocky
held a spot in Joe's heart and was always rehired. His columns
would
start out just fine, interesting and colorful, but always devolve into the boorish, albeit hilarious, writer he truly was.
Now, here's the kicker.
Rocky
existed only in the imagination of Joe Sugarman. His 'column' poked at
the sacred cows of local life and even national news. While Joe never
said so, I suspected it was his way of encouraging others to lighten up
and "get over themselves." I think, he also enjoyed the fulminations of
Maui's other, "serious," writers who castigated the lack of
journalistic "integrity" of the Weekly. Mostly, however, their
fulminations had more to do with the fact that people were reading our
paper, religiously.
As stated, local issues
of a serious nature received his full attention as well. He understood
better than most the mission of a weekly publication: That local issues
were important and needed to be covered, even championed. In the late
'90s, abandoned cars were blighting Maui's landscape. This became a
cause celebre,
one of many, of his publication. Again, he enlisted the help of the
'everyday' reporter, encouraging readers to take pictures of abandoned
autos and send them, along with the location, to the paper. Pictures
poured in and every week a different wreck was prominently highlighted.
He even enlisted the support of a local wrecker who agreed to haul the
pictured hulk away.
As it turned out, hauling
abandoned autos from public highways was illegal and that part of the
effort came to a speedy halt. But the growing blight on this beautiful
island was faithfully reported, every week, on the pages of Joe's
paper. The county finally responded [it's a long story as to how the
problem began] and started hauling the obvious and growing number of
eyesores away. There are many more examples of his commitment to local
issues.
How would you summarize Joe's life outlook?
To summarize Joe's "philosophy" as pertains to current times: Perspective.
He
looks at things others no longer notice; everyday things that, on the
surface, seem unremarkable. He takes that everyday object and twists it
--just a little-- until that object catches the light in a way people
aren't used to and, in the bargain, catches the eye of the passerby.
The unremarkable becomes remarkable, and he really didn't change
anything but --perspective.
While the visual
format of the Maui Weekly was an obvious change, this wasn't what
caught, and held, the attention of readers. The Maui Weekly, as
published today, is proof. Visually, it remains the same. But the soul
of this publication has returned to the sterile state of a typical,
weekly paper. Perspective is everything.
.