Let’s make it
another 120 years

On this date 120 years ago, the first Honolulu "Bulletin" was published, making this newspaper the oldest daily in the islands and among the oldest west of the Mississippi.

It began when book merchant Henry M. Whitney began posting a daily "bulletin" of Hawaii news. When J.W. Robertson & Company bought the business, it published the first issue of the "Evening Bulletin" on Feb. 1, 1882. The Bulletin and the Hawaiian Star, founded in 1893, were merged as the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on July 1, 1912.

During the years, the paper championed statehood, rights for Japanese Americans and Hawaiians, and shone a light on the dealings of the rich and powerful.

Due to the ups and downs of the newspaper business, we almost didn't make it this far. The newspaper was reborn last March 15, and that's one of the reasons the paper you're looking at says Vol. 1 instead of Vol. 120 on the front page, down in the lower right-hand corner. This is a brand-new paper that's 120 years old.

--Burl Burlingame

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