Thursday, 18 December 2008

Harju heads west, to Cambodia

Adam Harju
By Coco Zickos - The Garden Island
Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The ‘ohana at The Garden Island is bidding farewell to its editor Adam Harju.

After three years of significantly improving coverage and bringing compelling material to the readers of Kaua‘i, Harju embarks on a new journey to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, early next week. In Phnom Penh Harju will share his talents with The Cambodia Daily, one of the country’s two English-language daily newspapers.

“Cambodia has a developing democracy and is still building on the idea of a free press,” he said, when asked why he chose to move there. “It was an intriguing opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Harju does not deny that there are many aspects of Kaua‘i he will miss, including the island’s beaches and unbeatable surf.

“I will miss the cohesive and spirited community of Kaua‘i and the strong personal and professional relationships I’ve built,” he said.

In Cambodia, Harju will work closely with the community, just as he has done on Kaua‘i, and will be an integral part of training journalists, as well as writing articles for the daily newspaper.

When asked what one of his most memorable moments was as editor of The Garden Island, he said witnessing the community’s reaction as the Hawaii Superferry made its appearance in August 2007.

“I was proud to see the community stand up for itself,” Harju said.

Mark Lewis, publisher of The Garden Island, said, “Adam has had a profound impact on the direction and quality of the paper over the past three years. It is with great disappointment that we see him go, but we wish him the best in his endeavors.”

When asked who will fill Harju’s shoes after his last day Friday, Lewis replied, “A new editor has not been named yet, though we are looking both externally and internally and are confident we will find someone in the near future who will carry on the good work.”

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