The Star-Bulletin has consistently earned journalistic honors out of proportion to its staff size.

Star-Bulletin long a leader
in fighting for what’s right

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in Hawaii -- has a proud history of fighting for truth and principle.

The Star-Bulletin has consistently fought for a strong economy, education and people's rights. It was a staunch advocate of statehood to give Hawaii residents equal treatment with other Americans and has waged battles to protect First Amendment rights and maintain an open and honest government.

During World War II, publisher Walter R. Farrington and editor Riley H. Allen prohibited use of the abbreviated word for "Japanese."

The Star-Bulletin's first extra edition on Dec. 7, 1941. [ Click for 60th anniversary coverage of Pearl Harbor attack.]

The Star-Bulletin also took the lead in urging lifting of military censorship and martial law after the Battle of Midway in June 1942.

It began its colorful history as simply a "bulletin."

Henry M. Whitney, editor and book merchant, recorded arrivals and departures of ships and mails, passenger lists and other items of local interest in a hand-written bulletin posted in his stationery shop.

J.W. Robertson & Company bought Whitney's business in early 1882 and put out the first printed issue of the daily bulletin on Feb. 1, 1882. It was one page, four columns wide.

On April 24 of that year, the paper was enlarged to four six-column pages. Thus was born the Evening Bulletin.

Wallace R. Farrington became editor of the Evening Bulletin in 1898, two months before Hawaii was formally annexed to the United States.

The Evening Bulletin and the Hawaiian Star, founded March 28, 1893, were consolidated to form the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on July 1, 1912, and Farrington became president and publisher.

His son, Joseph R. Farrington, succeeded him as president and was general manager. Joseph Farrington was elected as Hawaii's delegate to Congress in November 1942, and was re-elected continuously until he died of a heart attack June 19, 1954.

Under the Farringtons' guidance, the Star-Bulletin was said to have a "liberalizing" effect on "the conservative, closed oligarchy of Hawaii."

Riley H. Allen, who joined the Star-Bulletin in 1905 and was editor from 1912 to 1960, said Joseph Farrington gave his life to the fight for statehood. Farrington's wife, Elizabeth, became president of the Star-Bulletin upon his death but resigned Nov. 21, 1961, in opposition to the newspaper's sale to Chinn Ho, Alexander S. and J. Ballard Atherton, William H. Hill and John T. Waterhouse.

Financier Ho, previously a director of the Honolulu Advertiser, was the group's enthusiastic leader. He felt the only way Honolulu could continue to support two major newspapers was to combine production facilities. So on June 1, 1962, Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser executives formed the Hawaii Newspaper Agency to handle production for both newspapers.

Management of the Star-Bulletin shifted to the mainland when the Gannett Corp. bought it in August 1971. Veteran newspaper executive L. Porter Dickinson succeeded Elizabeth Farrington as publisher in 1962 and was followed by James H. Couey in 1971. Couey died three months later of a heart attack.

Gannett named John A. Scott, retired reserve Marine general and mainland newspaper publisher, as the Star-Bulletin's publisher.

Philip T. Gialanella, with the Gannett Group on the mainland, was named executive vice president and general manager. He became Hawaii Newspaper Agency president in January 1974 and succeeded Scott as the Star-Bulletin's publisher on Oct. 31, 1975.

In January 1993, Gannett officials shocked the Star-Bulletin staff with an announcement that they were selling the afternoon newspaper and buying the Honolulu Advertiser from Thurston Twigg-Smith. Gannett paid $250 million for the morning newspaper.

Liberty Newspapers, controlled by Florida investor Rupert E. Phillips, bought the Star-Bulletin for undisclosed terms. Phillips, who owns a string of mainland newspapers, then promised the Star-Bulletin at least 20 more years of life.

In March 1996, the Star-Bulletin launched starbulletin.com, becoming the first daily newspaper in the state to publish an Internet edition.

The paper's life was nearly cut short in 1999, when Phillips reached a deal with Gannett to close the Star-Bulletin in exchange for a $26.5 million payment.

But a groundswell of community support for the paper led to antitrust lawsuits by the state and Save Our Star-Bulletin, a citizens group, against Liberty Newspapers and Gannett. Gannett and Liberty settled the lawsuits by agreeing to put the paper up for sale.

Willing to take a chance on the Star-Bulletin was David Black, president of Victoria, British Columbia-based Black Press Ltd. The paper changed hands on March 15, 2001. That year Black also purchased the MidWeek newspaper, whose presses were expanded to handle production of the Star-Bulletin.

Under Black's ownership, the Star-Bulletin rolled out a morning edition and a Sunday edition, beginning independent head-to-head competition against the Advertiser for the first time since 1962. The Advertiser responded by launching an afternoon daily edition and a free weekly publication of its own; it dropped publication of the afternoon daily in January 2005.

Awards

Independent judges for the Society of Professional Journalists' Hawaii Chapter, the Hawaii Publishers Association and other professional organizations have consistently recognized the staff of the Star-Bulletin. The paper has earned journalistic awards in numbers out of proportion to its staff size.

Some of the most recent: