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**pzarquon** · June 30, 2004, 07:02 AM

Re: Local Papers, Local News?

Here's a link to Ian Lind's site (does he call it a 'blog'?). Reading the background, the comment stems from an earlier complaint someone had about the Star-Bulletin relegating a big national news story (the Supreme Court call on enemy combatants) to an inside page, putting what they judged to be "secondary" local news stories on the front page.

Though the original comment was about the Star-Bulletin, I agree it's a relevant comment on all the local papers in general.

The response you quoted notes that in this day and age, big world and national news stories are covered well and earlier by national news sources, so the focus of a local newspaper should be on local news stories.

While I can see both sides -- it should also be the aim of a local paper to put its readers in touch with the "outside world" -- I tend to agree. I go to the IHT or NYT or CNN if I want to know the larger global buzz. So I depend on local news sources to tell me about court rulings on local shoreline access, or neighborhood board debates, or SUVs going for a swim in Hawaii Kai.

I suppose both papers could do a better job, and I obviously have a pro-Bulletin bias (specifically because they seem to aim for a "local" focus rather than mimicking a big-city paper like the San Francisco Chronicle), but I don't think so poorly of them, I guess, as Ian's correspondent. Both papers have a consistent, dedicated local news section, so I know where to go when I want to get past wire copy out of D.C. and read about hometown issues... and especially compared to other "local media outlets" the breadth and depth of information from newspapers is hard to beat.

So, in addition to debating how the local papers should balance local versus national and world news, I'd love to hear specifically what's not being covered well. Where are the big gaps in local reporting that other local papers in other towns have down pat?

**BKHale2007** · June 30, 2004, 02:20 PM

Re: Local Papers, Local News?

So, in addition to debating how the local papers should balance local versus national and world news, I'd love to hear specifically what's not being covered well. Where are the big gaps in local reporting that other local papers in other towns have down pat?

The Tribune-Herald's arts coverage and nonprofit coverage can use a lot of improvement. But it has broken some big political news: e.g., Lingle's recent appointment of stockbroker John Kai to the UH Board of Regents (she made the announcement at a UH-Hilo press conference a few Fridays ago, and it appeared in the Sunday paper). I really don't know if the other papers reported this at the same time as or before the Hilo paper. There's some other things it's deficient in, but I'll have to mull it over.

Slate has a feature, "Today's Papers", that compares and contrasts the amount of coverage and prominence the major papers (NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Washingtom Post, Wall Street Journal) give news stories. We could use something like that in Hawaii. For instance, the Bulletin may mention candidate X's kickbacks, while the Advertiser doesn't.

**BKHale2007** · July 1, 2004, 10:15 AM

Re: Local Papers, Local News?

But it has broken some big political news: e.g., Lingle's recent appointment of stockbroker John Kai to the UH Board of Regents (she made the announcement at a UH-Hilo press conference a few Fridays ago, and it appeared in the Sunday paper). --#3

Actually not. The Pacific Business News and a local radio station had the news before the Tribune-Herald, and the Advertiser had it on the 19th of June. I think the Tribune would have run it on the 19th, if only it published Saturdays, which I don't think it ever has.

Still, I'm sure it's broken some news, and it can cover local news very well.

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