Incidental Lives: John Fink reflects on 4 decades of broadcast life

On a recent afternoon, amid the last bites of a late lunch, KFVE general manager John Fink’s thoughts drifted back some 22 years to a University of Hawaii volleyball match at the Stan Sheriff Center.

It was the NCAA Mountain Regional Final, and the Wahine — just one year removed from a heartbreaking, season-ending loss to Michigan State in another regional final on the same court — had just dispatched Brigham Young in straight sets to secure a trip to the Final Four. Fink had earlier stepped aside from his broadcast play-by-play duties to assume his new role as vice president and general manager of KHNL and KFVE but was on hand to hear 10,000 fans screaming as seniors Angelica Ljungquist and Robyn Ah Mow ran around the arena, elated, hugging teammates and exchanging high fives with everyone in reach.

Even in the moment, it wasn’t lost on Fink that KFVE’s brand-defining contract with UH athletics was set to expire and that Oceanic Cable was expected to bid hard in an attempt to wrest the lucrative relationship from the station.

“I was there watching everything, and I thought, ‘Look at this. Look at how much this means to people,’” said Fink, whose 33-year tenure at KHNL/KFVE ended Sunday. “Just knowing that we were an integral part of that, and that there were 200,000 people at home watching, I said, ‘We can’t lose this.’”

Fink would go on to negotiate a five-year contract renewal with UH worth $6.27 million, then the most expensive and comprehensive broadcast package for any American university. The relationship between KFVE and UH would later expand to include pay-per-view broadcast via Oceanic Time Warner before ultimately terminating in 2011 when UH opted to continue exclusively with Oceanic.

For Fink the long relationship with UH was not just a cornerstone for the small station’s identity as “The Home Team,” it was perhaps the most compelling demonstration of his belief in broadcast as a medium for supporting local institutions and serving a local community.

“There are people who get into the priesthood to make a difference in people’s lives,” Fink said. “I kind of feel that way about broadcast. It’s tough here, tough to make ends meet. If we can provide quality information in a newscast to help people or provide 3-1/2 hours of the (Na Hoku Hanohano Awards) with great local music to take your mind off of whatever else might not be going right, I consider that a treat. That makes a difference.”

With the November sale of KFVE’s broadcast license to Texas-based Nexstar Media Group Inc., which also owns KHON, Fink has had ample opportunity to reflect on his time at KHNL and KFVE. He is one of six KFVE employees separating from KFVE.

A NEW station, KHII, will take over channels 5 and 1005 on Spectrum, which were previously used by KFVE. The new channel will pick up KFVE’s affiliation with MyNetwork and its lineup of syndicated shows including “The Good Wife” and “The Doctors” and run local newscasts at 4, 7 and 9:30 p.m. (in addition to simulcasts of KHON newscasts).

KFVE meanwhile has moved to channels 22 and 1022 (Spectrum) and channel 13 on Hawaiian Telcom, where it will continue to offer the rest of its existing programming.

Fink, 63, said he has no intention of retiring and will take some time off to consider his next move. Whatever it is, it will have to agree with his understanding of how to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

Born on Long Island, N.Y., and raised in Chicago, Fink moved to Hawaii in 1977, shortly after graduating from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in East Asian history and a minor in communications.

His initial employment as public relations director for Team Hawaii of the North American Soccer League was short-lived (the team moved to Oklahoma), but he used his connections to secure work as a deejay and sports director of KULA-FM/KAHU-AM and sales manager, music director and disc jockey at KIKI-AM/KMAI-FM, where he gained local fame as the Weekend Warrior. He transitioned to television as an account executive at KGMB.

In 1986 Fink was hired as general sales manager for KHNL, where he also served as a play-by-play announcer for UH Wahine volleyball and soccer. He remained in the position for a decade spanning the station’s early days as a Fox affiliate, the start of its local marketing agreement with KFVE in 1993, the transfer of UH sports coverage to KFVE a year later, the establishment of the world’s first all-digital local newsroom and the start of the station’s new affiliation with NBC.

Fink spent the next 13 years as vice president and general manager of KHNL/KFVE before the stations entered into a shared-services agreement with KGMB. He has been vice president and general manager of KFVE since then.

FINK’S ON-AIR commentary segment, “Think About It,” has been a popular feature of evening newscasts, sparking living room conversations without raising hackles.

“He has a way of articulating issues in a way that is understandable,” said Keith Amemiya, who has worked with Fink via their affiliations with the Aloha Stadium Authority and its board of directors. “He’ll take a stand but in a way that isn’t offensive or over the top. He’s very sharp, very diplomatic, very open-minded, and he truly cares about the community.”

Among Fink’s proudest achievements is the development of KFVE’s long roster of original, non-network local programming, including “Heineken Hot Hawaiian Nights” and “What’s Cooking Hawaii” as well as coverage of the Hoku Awards, the Keiki Hula Competition and the Merrie Monarch Festival.

A die-hard music enthusiast, Fink is particularly proud of the stations original music offerings, including KFVE Mele, which has spawned an internet radio component and in-cabin service on Hawaiian Air.

KFVE senior sales and marketing executive Lehua Watson, who has worked with Fink for more than 20 years, said Fink’s affability and passion for what he does make him a uniquely gifted leader.

“He’s very generous, loving and kind,” she said. “I consider myself self-driven, but because of the way he is, I want to work even harder for him.”

COLLEAGUES ON numerous charitable boards that Fink serves say he brings the same effort and energy to his community activities.

“He’s sincere about what he does, and he’s always there for us,” said local attorney Jonathan Lai, who has served with Fink on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation board of directors. “He brings his passion and he makes the time commitment.”

Fink said he considers himself lucky to have had positions at KHNL and KFVE that allowed him to indulge his love of broadcast, music and sports and to continue to cast lines of connection that continue to bear fortune when he least expects it.

“You never know what difference you can make in people’s lives,” he said. “But that’s what we’re here for. That’s what we have to do.”