A note of We published the first "new" Honolulu Star-Bulletin on our new presses Thursday morning. The press installation was completed literally hours before that press run.
explanation to
our readers
We appreciate your patience
>>SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEW STAR-BULLETIN!
as we work out a few kinks
>>REPORT SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS
By John Flanagan
Star-Bulletin editor-in-chiefWhile the quality of printing has been exceptionally good, we encountered temporary breakdowns that kept us from printing and delivering all the newspapers we planned. We apologize for any late or missing papers.
Fortunately, our printing presses now are running without problems. We are getting the paper out on time.
We ask the faithful readers of the Star-Bulletin to give us a few days to get additional phone lines into our offices to meet the unanticipated demand. Our trunk lines have been overwhelmed with calls. The telephone company is installing additional capacity this week and we are bringing in more customer service representatives.
Frustrated callers have tied up newsroom numbers with calls concerning circulation and deliveries. This has kept reporters from gathering information they need to provide the stories readers expect from the Star-Bulletin.
Please, if possible, give us a few days before calling. To subscribe or ask about your subscription status, if you have Internet access we recommend that you use the form at our Web site at starbulletin.com.
Any subscribers who have missed papers will receive credits on their accounts.
The good news is that subscriptions have increased by 4 percent and the number of papers sent to the neighbor islands has increased dramatically. Single-copy sales, from racks and stores, have more than doubled.
For your information
>> The new Star-Bulletin publishes morning and evening editions Monday through Friday. The afternoon edition is home delivered and the morning paper is available from vendors, newsracks and stores. There is no home delivery of the morning paper on weekdays.>> The Saturday Star-Bulletin is a morning edition. It is delivered to subscribers and available in racks and stores. There is no Saturday afternoon edition.
>> The new Sunday Star-Bulletin does not launch until April 1. Many callers yesterday were asking where their Sunday papers were.
>> If you are a Star-Bulletin subscriber and started receiving an afternoon Honolulu Advertiser you didn't order -- as many Star-Bulletin readers have reported -- please contact the Advertiser at 538-6397. We cannot cancel that delivery for you.
To the best of our knowledge, deliveries were made to everyone on our subscription list on Friday and Saturday.
If you don't get a paper
>> If your afternoon paper is not delivered at the same time you received it in the past, we ask you to be patient.As our new distribution system is evolving, some papers are being delivered later than normal.
>> We are crediting subscribers who do not get papers. You can let us know about a missed delivery through our Web site --starbulletin.com -- or reach us by mail at Star-Bulletin Circulation, 45-525 Luluku Rd., Kaneohe, HI 96744.
>> If you call to report a missing paper, then receive it, there is no need to call us again to let us know. We appreciate your kindness, but the telephones cannot handle the volume of calls we now are receiving.
>> Some callers who are subscribers are not on our circulation list.
We are tracking these down. In some cases, the subscription had been allowed to lapse in recent weeks because of uncertainty about whether or not to pay Hawaii Newspaper Agency before the planned sale of the newspaper.
>> We are checking subscriber complaints against our subscriber lists and tracing delivery routes from the printing press through the delivery system to the subscriber's address.
>> We are adding an automated attendance service to our phone system that will allow callers to leave their names, addresses and phone numbers without waiting for an operator. This will be available as early as possible sometime this week.
Again, we ask for your kokua. Please stay with us. You can reach us through the Web at starbulletin.com.
John Flanagan is editor in chief and publisher
of the Star-Bulletin. To reach him, send a fax to 529-4750,
e-mail to publisher@starbulletin.com or write to
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813.