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Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

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  • Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

    It’s a sad day for Hawai‘i journalism. My prayers are with all of the SB ‘ohana. Hope this draconian step stops the bleeding for now.


    Star-Bulletin to lay off 17 employees, switch to tabloid format

    We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

    — U.S. President Bill Clinton
    USA TODAY, page 2A
    11 March 1993

  • #2
    Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

    Originally posted by TuNnL View Post
    It’s a sad day for Hawai‘i journalism. My prayers are with all of the SB ‘ohana. Hope this draconian step stops the bleeding for now.
    Star-Bulletin to lay off 17 employees, switch to tabloid format
    Yes, I too noticed the Advertiser rushed to have that as a Breaking News item. The story on the Star-bulletin's own website is at this link. Sad news. I'll be curious to see who goes and who stays.
    .
    .

    That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

      Originally posted by LikaNui View Post
      Yes, I too noticed the Advertiser rushed to have that as a Breaking News item.
      Oh, puh-leez! The Star-Bulletin did the same "breaking news" rush when the ax was falling on the Advertiser newsroom.

      If you're gonna offer sympathy, offer sympathy to employeess of both papers.

      This is legit breaking news. The Advertiser should rush to cover it.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

        Hi all. Many mahalos to those of you, posting and lurking, who are sending prayers up and good thoughts out to employees of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin ... and the Advertiser too.

        The wage freeze, job cuts and cost-saving move to a MidWeek-sized and formatted paper are signs of a weakened economy that is devastating most, if not all industries. We just happen to be in a more visible industry -- one that was struggling before the economic nosedive began.

        I am incredibly saddened for my 17 precious co-workers -- and humbled and grateful that my job has been spared this time 'round.

        One point, and please correct anyone who has this misperception. The Star-Bulletin will not become a tabloid in the supermarket-checkout-lane sense. The word tabloid refers to the format. The paper is now a broadsheet -- it will become tabloid-sized, similar in SIZE to MidWeek, but with Star-Bulletin CONTENT inside.

        I probably won't be back here for awhile - but you likely know where to find my e-mail address. Alojas!
        **************************************
        I know a lot less than what there is to be known.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

          I have a feeling we all tend to think this is just a temporary problem, just a setback, just another symptom of a downturn in the economy, that when the economy recovers (in two or three years, perhaps) everything will be back to normal, but I don’t think so. I think this is much more than that.

          I think newspapers (not just in Hawaii, but across the nation) are in deep trouble. I wouldn’t be surprised if in two or three years there are no surviving newspapers left (at least not in the form that we’ve known them). There is a serious transformation happening right now in the realm of the Fourth Estate. There should be more discussion on this topic.

          For now, I wish all the employees who lost their jobs the best of luck. I’m afraid we haven’t heard the last of bad news.

          [At least there's one good news! Good to hear that you're still there, Erika.]

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

            Harsh reality and very sad. Seattle is about a month away from losing one of its daily newspapers altogether, after more than a century of publication.

            The majority of print journalists that I have known, or simply just read with regularity, have been very talented writers; I am saddened to see that the business model that supported their work for generations has disintegrated so rapidly, without providing decent alternative outlets for their craft.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

              Originally posted by mediababy67 View Post
              Oh, puh-leez! The Star-Bulletin did the same "breaking news" rush when the ax was falling on the Advertiser newsroom. If you're gonna offer sympathy, offer sympathy to employeess of both papers.
              That's a bit of an over-reaction to my innocent post. Try to settle down.
              I do offer sympathy to employees of both papers... and to anyone and everyone who loses their job, no matter what industry they're in.
              .
              .

              That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

                Originally posted by LikaNui View Post
                That's a bit of an over-reaction to my innocent post. Try to settle down.
                I do offer sympathy to employees of both papers... and to anyone and everyone who loses their job, no matter what industry they're in.
                Noted. Sorry for my knee-jerk reaction. It's just a number of people I worked with at The Advertiser had their jobs pulled, too, or were given the "choice" of a buyout. They weren't the bad guys. The company they worked for was.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

                  I'm incredibly fortunate not just to still have a job, but to work with such great people.

                  We were a little lucky to already be a thin staff. The Tiser was a bit overstaffed by modern standards -- they pumped up in the effort to kill the Star-Bulletin -- and they've had to let substantially more people go.

                  Note, today's layoffs are just among Guild employees. Non-union and management and freelancers are still to be sorted out. The wage freeze, BTW, is everyone from the top down.

                  Going tabloid is a good thing. Erika's dead-on correct; it's just a printing format in our case.
                  Burl Burlingame
                  "Art is never finished, only abandoned." -- Leonardo Da Vinci
                  honoluluagonizer.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

                    Sounds as thought Erika and Burl already know that they will "survive," which must mean that there are others who know they will not. Any names of the 17 people being cut? Not sought for any other purpose than offering sympathies....

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

                      Yes, thoughts and prayers go out to all staying and going. It's a sad time.
                      Thanks to you all for doing such a great job!

                      Crazy Shirts had the axe out all week laying off several people. Good people some with over 20 years to make way for lesser term employees they could
                      pay less for the work. They even went so far as to not only escort the
                      axed employees out of the building but ALL THE WAY to their cars.
                      So sad that what was once such a glorious family oriented company
                      has gone completely to the pits.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

                        Originally posted by Kimo View Post
                        Sounds as thought Erika and Burl already know that they will "survive," which must mean that there are others who know they will not. Any names of the 17 people being cut? Not sought for any other purpose than offering sympathies....
                        I'm one. Not saying for any other purpose but to ask if people can keep an ear out for some kind of opportunity. I'm 27, and will use this opportunity to do things I've always wanted to do.

                        All I needed was a little push out the door.

                        I still remember when I first moved here, almost immediately signing up to Hawaiithreads because I was hoping to meet new people and getting in touch with the local community. Reading the threads here was a great first step for me, and I was full of optimism.

                        I consider it a great honor when Ben Gutierrez (another recession layoff) told me yesterday that I "get it" in terms of the local community.
                        Last edited by genepark; February 7, 2009, 04:10 PM.
                        ---
                        Gene

                        "A man can surely do what he wills to do, but cannot determine what he wills." - Schopenhauer

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                        • #13
                          Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

                          I always thought of the Star-Bulletin as the underdog of the two dailies.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

                            I agree. We advertise with both SB and Advertiser. I love my Star bulletin rep, always responsive, there when we need her. I wish I could say the same with our rep from Advertiser. Unfortunately we get more business from Advertiser and their circulation is higher. sigh.
                            n'importe

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Ax Falling at Star-Bulletin

                              Originally posted by Walkoff Balk View Post
                              I always thought of the Star-Bulletin as the underdog of the two dailies.
                              And you'd be right about that. But people should read both papers.

                              Adding insult to injury, last night at the Star-Bulletin my car was burgled. Sigh.
                              Burl Burlingame
                              "Art is never finished, only abandoned." -- Leonardo Da Vinci
                              honoluluagonizer.com

                              Comment

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