Happy anniversary
... again!Three years ago today, the staff of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin was told that in a few weeks their jobs would cease to exist, and that Hawaii's scrappiest editorial voice would be silenced. It was not due to a failure of business. It was due to a national newspaper chain wanting to increase its profits by placing a chokehold on Hawaii's citizens. It was hubris.
With help from the community and the Hawaii Newspaper Guild, plus a quick legal response from the governor and the attorney general, the newsroom staff managed to buy some time and organize the paper's survival.
It worked. We're still here. It worked so well that this anniversary doesn't mean much anymore, except to the newsroom employees -- and maybe as an irritation to the folks who tried to kill us. Under the ownership of Black Press, the Star-Bulletin has continued to be an integral part of public discourse in Hawaii. Our financial stability is such that a major Canadian publishing chain bought a piece of us last week.
We're still in there swingin'. See you next anniversary.
Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com