Dalton Tanonaka
| Dalton Tanonaka | |
|---|---|
| File:Dalton tanonaka.JPG News Anchor and Columnist, Dalton Tanonaka | |
| Birth name | Dalton Tanonaka |
| Born | June 13, 1954 Kohala, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Medium | Newspaper, talk show |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Children | Dior Melia Tanonaka |
| Template:Infobox comedian awards | |
Dalton Ichiro Tanonaka (born June 13, 1954) is an American television news anchor and newspaper columnist. He has spent most of his career in Asia, receiving several international and U.S. awards for his journalism work. Tanonaka is also known for his community service, providing scholarships to deserving students and speaking at schools and universities.[1]
Early life and Education
Tanonaka was born in Kapaau, Kohala, Hawaii, not far from the original statue of King Kamehameha I. He was raised in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, attending public schools through his graduation from Kalani High School, where he played football and soccer. After working as a tour escort to “grow up” and save money, Tanonaka graduated from Mesa College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1976 with an Associate in Arts degree, and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism.
Career
After TV and newspaper jobs at the ABC and NBC affiliates in Honolulu and the Honolulu Advertiser, Tanonaka was recruited by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK in 1990. He helped launch and was the anchor of “Japan Business Today,” an internationally-distributed daily program from Tokyo. After the NHK project ended in 1994, Tanonaka joined the launch team of the U.S. business channel CNBC in Asia. From regional headquarters in Chai Wan, Hong Kong, Tanonaka anchored daily news and feature programs including “The NBC Asia Evening News” and “Money, Money, Money.” When the operations of CNBC Asia was moved to Singapore in 1998, Tanonaka returned to Hawaii for a brief period. He was appointed Honolulu’s Director of Economic Development , where he served until resuming his journalism career in 1999. CNN International recruited him to its Asia headquarters in Hong Kong, where he anchored programs including “BizAsia,” “Asia Tonight” and “TalkAsia.”
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the U.S., Tanonaka asked to be released from his CNN contract and returned to Hawaii to make an attempt at public service. In 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for the state office of Lieutenant Governor. Following a brief period as president of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) based in Honolulu, Tanonaka ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004. During this campaign, allegations of illegalities were made by political opponents. Tanonaka cooperated with authorities, but after agreeing to plead guilty to technical violations, U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor ordered him to spend 90 days in the Honolulu Federal Detention Center to “send a message” to the public.
In 2006, Tanonaka joined Indonesia’s first 24-hour news channel Metro TV in Jakarta. He was tasked with creating a new international-standard English program for global distribution. “Indonesia Now” debuted in September 2006, and is seen on international networks such as Japan’s NHK as well as live-streamed on the Internet at www.metrotvnews.com.
In 2010, Tanonaka teamed up with actress Rahayu “Sara” Saraswati for the weekly dialogue program “TalkIndonesia.” In 2011, he created “ASEAN Today,” a monthly program done in partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat. Tanonaka was a regular columnist in the Jakarta Post “Weekender” magazine from its debut in 2007, moving to the Jakarta Globe in 2010.[2]
Humanitarian Work & Activism
As a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Tanonaka created and initially endowed the “AAJA Minoru Yasui Memorial Scholarship” in memory of the late civil rights advocate. It was first awarded in 1993 to promising male broadcast students to support and motivate interest in the field.
In December 2006, Tanonaka was the co-creator of the “Beat The Bird Flu Concert” in Jakarta, Indonesia, to spotlight prevention measures of the deadly virus. He secured Metro TV’s commitment in airing public service announcements and a concert special.
An ongoing environmental disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, prompted Tanonaka and friend Ron Mullers to hold a fund-raising event in 2007 for victims of an unstoppable mudflow that wiped out homes and businesses. After raising nearly $10,000with the participation of Tanonaka’srock’n’roll band, the men went personally to the mudflow site to personally hand out packets of money directly to affected residents.
To inspire young people to reach for their dreams, Tanonaka and Mullers led a community drive to erect a statue of a young Barack Obama in a park near the U.S. president’s childhood home in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was unveiled in December 2009, and moved to its permanent location at Obama’s elementary school in February 2010.
The “Tanonaka International Journalism Scholarship” was named for Tanonaka’s father Thomas, and given to deserving university students in Indonesia. Winners were handed cash grants and received living stipends in cities such as Yogyakarta, Lampung and Jakarta, the most recent in June 2013.
Training professional journalists has been a regular part of Tanonaka’s career. Under a program coordinated by the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), he has travelled to Iran, Pakistan and Mauritius to hold workshops in broadcasting standards and skills. To develop and promote Indonesian artists, Tanonaka created “The Mister Moonlight Show” in 2009, a live music event with Indonesian musicians and singers for five-star hotel venues. It is now in its fourth year.
Books
Tanonaka is the author of four books, compilations of his newspaper columns chronicling his time in various parts of the world. They are “Tanonaka in Tokyo”, “Tanonaka in Tokyo II,” “Dateline Tanonaka,” and “Dalton’s Sambal Adventures.” [3]
Personal Life
Tanonaka was married to the former Yoko Ikeda from 1995-2007. He has one daughter, Dior Melia Tanonaka.
Awards&Honors
Winner, “Bhakti Karya Nusantara Award 2010 (for contributions to Indonesia),” Bali, Indonesia, December 2010
Winner, “PuriAgungSingaraja Award 2009 (for contributions to art and culture), Bali, Indonesia, November 2009
Winner, "Raja Ida Tjokorda Denpasar IX Award (for service to Indonesia)," Bali, Indonesia, December 2007
"Best Newspaper Columnist," Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Awards, Hawaii, USA, June 2000
"Best News Anchor," Asian Television Awards, Singapore, January 1998
"Member of the Year," Asian American Journalists Association, Boston, USA, August 1997
External links
www.metrotvnews.com/indonesianow www.facebook.com/daltontanonaka www.thejakartaglobe.com/columns www.thejakartapost.com/weekender