Michael Tsai is a Honolulu-based reporter and teacher with more than 30 years of experience in local print journalism. He covered sports, popular culture and local news for the Honolulu Advertiser and was a general assignment reporter and columnist for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Michael was born in New York, grew up in Palolo Valley, and now lives in Manoa. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA and Ph.D. in English, all from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.Besides his work in journalism, Michael has also taught English at Kapiolani Community College for more than 15 years.

Michael is the author of “The People’s Race Inc.: Behind the Scenes at the Honolulu Marathon” and co-author of “Frommer’s Best Hiking Trips in Hawaii.” His recent publications include an essay on the present and future of sports in Hawaii in “The Value of Hawaii 3: Hulihia, the Turning Point” and a review of William Cassidy’s “Sports Journalism and Women Athletes: Coverage of Coming Out Stories” for “Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly.”

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.