Q&A with Ron Winckler, Friend of Joe Sugarman's

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.}

<sub>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."</sub> 

_{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.

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