The 'new' Star Bulletin

[helen]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

USA Weekend is in the Honolulu Advertiser, while the Parade is in the Star Bulletin.

I brought the Star Bulletin to the Geek Meet yesterday, and ended up giving the Longs Drugs ad insert to sophielynette but I thought encountered the Parade while thumbing through the paper.

Did notice that the Sunday Star Bulletin comic section didn't change at all.

[scrivener]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

Uh, yeah. The Advertiser is a Gannett publication, as is USA Today. You're thinking of Parade, which was in Sunday's edition. Parade, the comics section, and some advertisements were all inserted into the tabloid format. This makes them really easy to find, whether you're weeding them out or selecting them for focused reading.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

[quote=tutusue;230659]As far as I can tell, I'm the only one locally with a tie to Our Gang. /quote]
Did you know Robert Blake?

[tutusue]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

Did you know Robert Blake?

I didn't. Neither did my dad. Blake, who appeared in the talkies, was born long after my dad's limited appearances in the silent OGs.

[Ron Whitfield]

No...

This makes them really easy to find

...they are never easy to find, no matter how much I search, and havn't found one or the other on alternating Sunday's recently. Those are half the reason I bother with those Sunday papers.

[scrivener]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

So you bought this past Sunday's edition and couldn't find Parade in there?

[unidentifiedstar]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

The Star-Bulletin tab and its lower-cost sister MidWeek remain different in material though much similar now in format. MidWeek has dime-a-dozen opinions wrapped like fish in a shopper while the Bulletin still has some Actual Journalism.
But the Gray Stuff – Actual Journalism surrounded by increasingly less-profitable print ads – has been shrinking in the Bulletin for a Long Time. This shrinks the Bulletin’s difference from its sister, despite the dedicated efforts of some Bulletin journalists.

1. The Bulletin, already free at many places, will become a full freebie. Just like MidWeek. Just like Honolulu Weekly. Just like now-gone Downtown Planet.
2. The Bulletin will keep shrinking staff levels over time by dumping positions when people leave or firing more workers in paradise. Closer to size of MidWeek.
3. The Bulletin and MidWeek will get more similar over time. They won’t merge into The BullWeek, we hope. A shopper is not a newspaper.
4. But the downsizing of the only alternative daily newspaper in Honolulu is part of the slow national torture of the Fourth Estate. It means even less government oversight if Sarah Palin becomes President someday. Honolulu Advertiser would have monopoly of weak coverage on an island of one million people in the middle of an ocean. Nightmare.
5. Another strategy would be for Bulletin to shrivel to a Web news venture that doesn’t print. But the Bulletin still would be ridiculously unprofitable because of poor online ad rates. Bulletin also would lose remaining respect with this image. Like the Examiner.
6. "All this change is better than if the Bulletin drops dead tomorrow like the Seattle PI" – that’s the hopeless “it-could-be-worse” argument. Is it really better if the Bulletin still vanishes in 10 years because fewer people want it? No.
7. Some diehards still may hope Gannett will shutter Advertiser to save Bulletin. Keep dreaming. Advertiser will continue to downsize, but finance-driven Gannett is not going to dump hundreds of millions in Hawaii investment down the toilet.
8. The Bulletin will continue to cheapen toward MidWeek. This sucks. Many newspapers including the Bulletin blew it during the past 10 years when they failed to change when they had the chance. Now they are stuck with desperation.
9. Go on and shoot the messenger now.
10. Good luck.

[1stwahine]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

I finally had a chance to read the "New" Star Bulletin.

After work, going home on the Bus.

No moa humbug with opening the papers, das foa shua.

I like it.

Auntie Lynn

[Leo Lakio]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

* Another strategy would be for Bulletin to shrivel to a Web news venture that doesn’t print...
* "All this change is better than if the Bulletin drops dead tomorrow like the Seattle PI"...

Just to clarify - the Seattle P-I didn't "drop dead" as suggested in the latter part of the quote. It has gone to a Web-only format similar to that noted in the former part.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

1. The Bulletin, already free at many places, will become a full freebie. Just like MidWeek. Just like Honolulu Weekly. Just like now-gone Downtown Planet.
2. The Bulletin will keep shrinking staff levels over time by dumping positions when people leave or firing more workers in paradise. Closer to size of MidWeek.
3. The Bulletin and MidWeek will get more similar over time. They won’t merge into The BullWeek, we hope. A shopper is not a newspaper.
4. But the downsizing of the only alternative daily newspaper in Honolulu is part of the slow national torture of the Fourth Estate. It means even less government oversight if Sarah Palin becomes President someday. Honolulu Advertiser would have monopoly of weak coverage on an island of one million people in the middle of an ocean. Nightmare.
5. Another strategy would be for Bulletin to shrivel to a Web news venture that doesn’t print. But the Bulletin still would be ridiculously unprofitable because of poor online ad rates. Bulletin also would lose remaining respect with this image. Like the Examiner.
6. "All this change is better than if the Bulletin drops dead tomorrow like the Seattle PI" – that’s the hopeless “it-could-be-worse” argument. Is it really better if the Bulletin still vanishes in 10 years because fewer people want it? No.
7. Some diehards still may hope Gannett will shutter Advertiser to save Bulletin. Keep dreaming. Advertiser will continue to downsize, but finance-driven Gannett is not going to dump hundreds of millions in Hawaii investment down the toilet.
8. The Bulletin will continue to cheapen toward MidWeek. This sucks. Many newspapers including the Bulletin blew it during the past 10 years when they failed to change when they had the chance. Now they are stuck with desperation.
9. Go on and shoot the messenger now.
10. Good luck.

No bullets fired from me.

I predicted as much when the Star-Advertiser JOA ended in 2001. Eventually, Honolulu would become a 1 newspaper town. That the SB lasted this long suprises me. But the situation wasn't going to last indefinitely.

As far as the sky falling when the SB is shuttered,..... c'mon, get over it! Larger cities like Seattle, Denver, and Tucson are 1 newspaper towns now. And the list of such cities will continue to grow.

As for your prediction that the Advertiser will downsize; that is likely to happen. But then again, the Advertiser will not be alone. All of the major newspapers in this country that survive this current economic downturn will have to trim down in order to adapt to a 21st century media landscape where more and more people turn to online sources as a way to receive news that is fresher and cheaper.

As far as the idea that investigative reporting/govt. scrutiny being a thing of the past with the shrinking number of newspapers, I've got this to say: Journalistic watchdogs are not dying. They're just finding a new home on the blogosphere.

[808golfer]

But the Gray Stuff – Actual Journalism surrounded by increasingly less-profitable print ads – has been shrinking in the Bulletin for a Long Time. This shrinks the Bulletin’s difference from its sister, despite the dedicated efforts of some Bulletin journalists.

....oh xmas tree oh xmas tree.....

I predicted as much when the Star-Advertiser JOA ended in 2001. Eventually, Honolulu would become a 1 newspaper town. That the SB lasted this long suprises me. But the situation wasn't going to last indefinitely.

ha...yeah ole frankie...you just hang in there for the "I told ya so" claim.....jesus, isn't there a statute of limitations on how many years go by when you can claim an "i told ya so".....kinda stale mr market. whatever..

[Media Guy]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

I'm wondering when your retainer as the Bulletin's chief defender runs out!
I have to admire your dedication.

[TuNnL]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

ha...yeah ole frankie...you just hang in there for the "I told ya so" claim.....jesus, isn't there a statute of limitations on how many years go by when you can claim an "i told ya so".....kinda stale mr market. whatever..

Though I usually agree with Media Guy, I have to back you on this one, 808golfer. The fact that the Bulletin has lasted this long is a testament to the (slowly dwindling) staff of hard-working journalists and photographers bleeding for the lower-paying rag. There was another “I told ya so” type professing the “imminent takeover” of “online blog-o-media.” He has been banned from HT for some time now.

[Kaonohi]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

I finally had a chance to read the "New" Star Bulletin.
After work, going home on the Bus.
No moa humbug with opening the papers, das foa shua.
I like it.
Auntie Lynn

I never liked the SB before - (after all, it didn't have my favorite comics) - and even turned down an offer for a free 3-month subscription a few months back.
But when I saw my SIL reading an issue and saw an article I didn't see in the HA, I went and bought one.
It was the super-model of Tabloid Press, with the blaring "WE GOT GUNS!" sensationalist headline. I was more interested in the newly found planets, but as I looked it over, I liked it.
Easier to read.
Not so snooty-upper crust.
A bit smarmy, but there's a trade-off.
What's not to like?

I'll be watching this one....
We may turn into a 3-newspaper town yet.... (if we can call the Weekly a viable "news" paper rather than 'alternative press.')

[Ipo]

Re: The 'new' Star Bulletin

I really like the re-design. I was excited to see the new format when it was announced. I think the layouts make great use of the smaller space available. I do miss the columnists that were let go...I hope that there is a time in the (near!) future that we can bring back more local reporting in both of our papers. Overall, though, kudos to SB.