For the first time, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's publication Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi will be publishing one story each month in the Hawaiian language.
The publication began as a student newspaper over a century ago, and it's since become a monthly magazine that is now seeking to hire an ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi editor and staff writer.
To learn more about Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi, HPR spoke with some of the editors guiding the publication's future goals, as well as Haʻailio Solomon, an assistant professor of Hawaiian language, to offer more context.
For Dwight Byrum, the magazine's editor-in-chief, creating a space for ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi was an ambition that became possible only through mindful guidance and effort.
"My previous editor-in-chief, we would often have conversations about including ʻŌlelo into the paper," Byrum told HPR.
"He would be very clear to me that we had to be careful not to be using it for our own sake and to be giving reverence, and that's something I took to heart."
In other words, creating a position for an ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi editor wasn't done just to diversify Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi's catalogue; it was done to open up an opportunity for Hawaiian voices to be heard.
"The position shouldn't be pigeonholing a writer or an editor into writing just about, let's say, Hawaiian rights or ʻāina land issues, whatever it is," managing editor Elle Vincioni explained. "They should have the ability to write whatever they want."
And for Solomon, it's a long-awaited step in the right direction.
"I could say this is probably a long time coming. Better late than never," he said.
"We talk about the importance of the linguistic landscape of a place," Solomon continued, referring to Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi's history and presence at the university.
"It has a certain autonomy over the space it occupies, and if it can produce content or media in a language that we're trying to revitalize, that becomes a very important example," he said.
More information about the open positions can be found on Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi's social media platforms.
This story aired on The Conversation on Oct. 28, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
