The Honolulu Star-Bulletin is negotiating the latest twist in the winding saga that has been its recent history. In a time of dwindling newspapers and readership competition from online sites, this 128-year newspaper is planning another reincarnation even while renewing our commitment to serve the public's interest well—perhaps even better.

Star-Bulletin owner David Black has announced plans to buy the rival—but more-profitable—Honolulu Advertiser from mainland media chain Gannett Co. To satisfy antitrust rules, Black is putting his 64,000-circulation daily up for sale. If no credible buyer emerges, the Star-Bulletin and the Advertiser will be merged by Oahu Publications Inc., the Star-Bulletin's parent company, to create Hawaii's lone daily newspaper.

“;We want to produce a strong paper to continue serving Honolulu, Oahu and all of Hawaii,”; Black said this week. “;You have our commitment we will do that.”;

Since coming into Hawaii 10 years ago, Black, buoyed in part by local investors and his purchase of MidWeek, has worked valiantly to keep the Star-Bulletin independent and afloat. It has been no small feat: On a national level, a 20-year-long newspaper erosion accelerated alarmingly as October 2009 figures revealed that weekday sales of newspapers plunged more than 10 percent from the previous year. Among the causes? Rising Internet readership, the recession and price increases.

The circulation numbers tell part of the dismal story. Industry indicators such as advertising and newsroom headcounts also have dropped sharply. Newspapers' Internet sites diverted circulation and advertising even as they got more “;eyeballs”; on stories. In 2009, newspaper sites had more than 72 million unique visitors a month, compared with 60 million in 2007, said reports by Nielsen Online.

Despite that, readers still seem to want their retail ads in print, in the newspaper. Despite years of struggle, online news sites have yet to come up with an industry model to generate significant revenue from retail ads.

The Star-Bulletin's last two decades have mirrored the industry's struggles. It was founded in 1882 as the Daily Bulletin. In 1962, the then-afternoon Star-Bulletin entered into a joint operating agreement with the smaller morning Honolulu Advertiser. In 1993, the Star-Bulletin was sold by Gannett—its owner since 1971—to Liberty Newspapers so that Gannett could buy the now-bigger Advertiser. Six years later, Liberty's plan to kill the ailing Star-Bulletin was halted in court, thanks to citizen activism, paving the way for David Black's purchase.

“;When my late wife Annabeth and I came to Hawaii in 2000 looking at acquiring the Star-Bulletin and MidWeek, we knew we had come to a special community and personally learned about the magic of Aloha,”; Black said.

Since then, it's been Black vs. Gannett, David vs. Goliath. The Star-Bulletin's financial struggles have necessitated austerity, creativity, a major resizing from broadsheet to tabloid, and—though forestalled—ultimately layoffs.

For journalists, the trend toward consolidation is painful. Fewer credible news outlets means less diversity and discourse—and job losses. TV news in Hawaii has already gone this route.

But as other longtime Hawaii companies have learned, it's adapt or die. Times change. People change; habits and needs change. One thing doesn't, though: the need for information and credible ways to give people voice in a democracy.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin has proudly served Hawaii for 128 years. With fortitude, perseverance and yes, luck, we, in a stronger reincarnation, look forward to continue doing this, well into the future.