If real change is to happen, voters and journalists will have to keep up the pressure on state and county leaders.
Naka Nathaniel
Naka Nathaniel was an Editor-at-Large at Civil Beat from January to September 2024. Naka returned to regular journalism after being the primary parent for his son. In those 13 years, his child has only been to the ER five times (three due to animal attacks.)
Before parenting, Naka was known as an innovative journalist. He was part of the team that launched NYTimes.com in 1996 and he led a multimedia team that pioneered many new approaches to storytelling.
On 9/11, he filmed the second plane hitting the South Tower. His footage aired on the television networks and a sequence was the dominant image on NYTimes.com.
While based in Paris for The New York Times, he developed a style of mobile journalism that gave him the ability to report from anywhere on the planet. He covered the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and was detained while working in Iran, Sudan, Gaza and China. He is one of a handful of Americans who has been in North Korea, but not South Korea. He worked in 60 countries and made The Times’s audience care about sex trafficking, climate change and the plight of women and children in the developing world.
Besides conflict, The Times also had Naka covering fashion shows, car shows and Olympics. He did all three of those events in the same week (Paris, Geneva and Turin) before going to Darfur to continue reporting on the genocide (it was the fifth of sixth trips to the region.)
Naka lives in Waimea on the Big Island.
Posted inOpinion
Naka Nathaniel: The Paradox Of Honoring Traditions Plays Out In Hula
At Merrie Monarch, a kumu hula continually pushes for innovation in the ancient Hawaiian art.
Posted inOpinion
Naka Nathaniel: Are We Coming To The End Of A Cycle Of Accountability In Hawaii?
The appetite for curtailing white-collar crimes committed in the islands is waning.
Posted inOpinion
Naka Nathaniel: Hawaii Comedian Rap Reiplinger Can Still Teach Us How To Get Along
Earlier generations teased each other using racially based humor without malice. It helped people work together to make things better.
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Naka Nathaniel: The Stories Of Our Ancestors Hold Valuable Lessons In Hawaii
Traditional stories tell us how to live harmoniously in these islands.
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Naka Nathaniel: The Fight For Hawaii’s Soul Comes Down To Money, Rules And Aloha
The frontlines range from the road to Capitol meeting rooms, but it’s the actions we take regardless of venue that make all the difference.
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Naka Nathaniel: Where To Find Hope In Hawaii
How do we keep the sadness of dying away from one’s homeland from befalling this generation of children?
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Naka Nathaniel: Really? Happier On The Mainland?
People with long-standing ties to Hawaii are being pushed away. We seem close to the threshold of becoming a place where only the wealthy thrive.
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Naka Nathaniel: The Issue Of Inequality Really Rankles Hawaii
But there’s one thing the rich can’t buy here — a sense of belonging.