Golden nugget may come in the next call.

Answering the telephone is like mining for gold.

Despite the many rockheads, the occasional nugget makes it all worthwhile.

Late one afternoon in November 1993, a reader called with obvious trepidation in his voice. He wanted to bring over a three-page letter to the editor from his girlfriend. Sure, come on down, I answered without stopping my paperwork.

Then he blurted out, 'You know the Magic Island rape victim in the news? That's my girlfriend."

The assertion won my full attention. This woman had been repeatedly raped and stabbed, and left to die on an Oahu beach a year earlier. The trial of her assailant had just concluded in court, with the defendant being found guilty of attempted manslaughter instead of attempted murder.

Incensed by the lesser verdict, the victim wanted to share her detailed reaction to such a travesty. She asked her boyfriend to call both Honolulu dailies.

At my competitor, Brand X, he got the standard and impersonal answering machine. But at the Star-Bulletin, he was confronted with a real, live human being. Guess who scooped whom that week?

Please don't tell my readers, but this is an example of why I try to catch every call.

Only rarely will I ask my secretary to take messages. I've learned that when people are motivated enough to dial my number and ask for me, they believe their comments are so important - at that very moment - that they should be my priority, too.

Even if they're wrong, they don't want to know.

Therefore, I do a lot of humoring and hand-holding in this job. I'll:

* Answer mundane and innocuous questions - like how to fax in a letter - but also ask people why they feel so strongly about these issues. Their replies can often lead to ideas for full-blown columns, features, or news stories.

* Endure rantings while attending to other matters like cleaning my desk or reading mail. It gives complainants a chance to vent, after which they are so grateful for the attention that they forgive and forget - to cancel their subscriptions, that is.

* Listen and, oftentimes, learn.

When I've reached my limit, however, I have some handy lines to terminate calls:

* "Many people absolutely agree with you, Mr. So-and-so." (Reader thinks: "Ah, hah! I am right!")

* "That's a fascinating viewpoint. How about writing a letter to the editor and sharing it with your fellow readers?" (Response is either, "I don't write letters" or "That's a great idea!")

* "I'd like to talk further, Ms. So-and-so, but I have to go to a meeting right now. May I call you back later tonight?" (Reader thinks: "Never mind. I don't want you bothering me when I'm busy. Sheesh, the nerve.")

Answering every jangle does mean working longer hours. But the personal touch - a.k.a. the aloha spirit, good karma, similar sentiments - is repaid many times over.

Besides, cultivating good reader relations is every newspaper employee's job, especially the editor overseeing the community forum.

I don't want the Star-Bulletin and its staffers burdened with the reputation of being arrogant, elitist, and unenlightened in their dealings with the golden citizens of this state. The politicians in this town already think that we're nugget-heads.

NCEW member Diane Chang is senior editor/editorial page editor at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.