Bloomberg had an item earlier this summer asking If Politics Is So Easy, Why Can’t Journalists Do It?

It linked to a study showing that only 20 current members of Congress have worked in journalism at some point in their careers. Five were radio talk show hosts, and I am not sure if that even counts.

“Given the importance of name recognition in politics, and presumably the importance of knowing about the issues, why aren’t more former journalists better at the game?” Bloomberg asked. “The obvious answer is that professional politics, like any other pursuit, is harder than it looks, and somebody coming from a successful career covering government may mistakenly believe they know what they’re doing.”

I have another theory: Jobs in the public relations industry pay more and are less stressful. It’s called “going to the dark side,” an unfortunate term that suggests journalists who take a PR gig have sold their soul.

I don’t look at it that way. Everyone has to make a living, and in journalism the hours are long, the wages are low and the job security is iffy.

Still, it is remarkable how many former journalists switch to careers in PR rather than politics.

From Reporting to Spinning

Journalism, PR and government draw from the same skill sets: strong communication skills, a broad understanding of complex issues and a desire to serve some greater good. Ironically and regrettably, all three professions are also held in low esteem by the general public.

PR work isn’t cushy. As a journalist who often calls on communications experts in the public and private sector, I can testify that many are very good at their jobs and work tirelessly.

Courtesy

State Sen. Glenn Wakai

As former journalists, most flacks — a term that is pejorative to some, a badge of honor to others — know what it is I’m looking for and will help me get it on deadline. Of course, some of them don’t do that, since they now represent a paying client and not necessarily the public’s right to know; their job is to put the best face forward.

(The photo at the top right of this column is from the Gridiron 2013 show, held last month, in which journalists and PR executives spoofed local politics and media. The performance, titled “Hey State Senate,” depicts UH President MRC Greenwood and her expensive team of spinmeisters.)

Hawaii has certainly seen many a reporter, editor, anchor or news producer leave journalism for a career in PR. They include Mahealani Richardson, who left KITV last month to handle communications at Shriners Hospital for Children; and Robbie Dingeman, a former print and TV reporter who now works for Ulupono Initiative, a sustainability-focused organization funded by Pierre Omidyar, publisher of Civil Beat.

Many journalists also go into government-related service, and the list includes Peter Boylan, Jesse Broder Van Dyke, Donalyn Dela Cruz, Lynne Waters, Jodi Leong, Jeanne Mariani-Belding, Rod Antone, Scott Ishikawa, Bill Brennan, Tina Shelton, Cedric Yamanaka, Louise Kim McCoy, Carolyn Tanaka and Dan Meisenzahl.

Kelli Abe Trifonovitch, Sean Hao, Greg Wiles and David Choo later worked at the Office of State Auditor. Garett Kamemoto and Harold Nedd went to work for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Jim McCoy and Barbara Tanabe, former journalists, run a PR firm that handles political clients. Former TV reporter Elisa Yadao, an executive at HMSA, often helps out campaigns at election time.

The list goes on, and I apologize if I left some names off; feel free to add them in the comments section below.

Rarely does a journalist who left journalism go back, however — probably because the pay is too low and the workload is too high. Notable exceptions: Kevin Dayton, who twice went from print to the Big Island mayor’s office; Ron Mizutani, who left KHON first to handle PR for Hawaiian Telcom, went back to KHON, left again to work for Communications Pacific and is now back (last I checked, anyway) at KHON; and Gene Park, who has been a print reporter, PR executive and government flack and who is now working for Civil Beat as our social media maven.

From Reporting to Legislating

Mizutani said he went back to journalism following the death of Dan Inouye last year.

“I was overwhelmed with emotion and I felt this intense desire to tell Sen. Inouye’s life story. It was on that day that I said to myself, ‘I tried something new and enjoyed my experience, but I’m a reporter,'” Mizutani told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in March. “‘I need to follow my heart.'”

Courtesy

Rep. Gregg Takayama

Which brings us to politics. There actually have been a few journalists of note who ran for office.

Linda Lingle was a newsletter editor for the Hawaii Teamsters and Hotel Workers union, though that’s not the same as being a working journalist. Ramsay Wharton and Dalton Tanonaka both went back to TV news following unsuccessful runs for office; Wharton’s hiring by Hawaii News Now raised some eyebrows, given her public profile as a Republican candidate, while Tanonaka was sentenced to three months in prison and three months of house arrest for federal campaign violations.

State Sen. Glenn Wakai began his career in television news by working as a reporter and anchor in Guam and Saipan, after returning to his home in Hawaii to work at KHON and KHNL. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2002 and served several terms before moving on to the Senate. Wakai also runs a public relations firm, High Impact Communications. (“Glenn Wakai has spent a career communicating to the public,” says the firm’s website.)

Wakai told Civil Beat that journalism was the “best foundation” he could have before becoming a politician.

“I can’t think of another profession that gives you the scope of knowledge a journalist has to have, whether it’s covering a murder trial, a groundbreaking, the schools — you cover it all,” he said. “Your knowledge is a mile wide and an inch thick. It’s the same with the political world, but you have to be 10 feet deep. So, journalism is a really good foundation, a master’s degree in everything.”

Wakai loved the television news business, but he said after a while he tired of “being a spectator” and began to want to “get in the action” — that is, a life of public service. He wishes more journalists would run for office but understands that a life in PR is “an easier path.”

State Rep. Gregg Takayama, elected in 2012, was an award-winning TV journalist, a press secretary for Inouye, a communications director for Lt. Gov. Ben Cayetano and a spokesman for the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Takayama gets asked all the time about his transition to office.

“I always say that the more well-rounded you are as an elected official, the more experience you bring to the job, the more helpful it is,” he said. “Journalists bring a different perspective, not just to the job but to our fellow legislators. I am always asked for advice on how to deal with the media. I tell them, ‘Treat them like you would treat a constituent,’ because you pretty much know the usual questions and can anticipate the topics of the day. You should be as forthcoming as you can.”

Takayama laments that most local news outlets have cut back on their coverage of government, and that some reporters have a superficial knowledge of the issues. He continues to believe in the importance of good journalism and was the lead introducer of the bill to make permanent Hawaii’s “shield law” on protecting sources. The bill was effectively killed by Sen. Clayton Hee.

Interestingly, Takayama and Wakai both worked at KHON. So did Jon Yoshimura, Bob Hogue, Barbara Marshall and Nestor Garcia, who later served in office.

“Must be something in the drinking water,” Wakai joked.