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  • Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

    Read all about it in tomorrow's Honolulu Star-Bulletin (thankfully I don't have to write it).

    I love the smell of market share in the morning! = )
    **************************************
    I know a lot less than what there is to be known.

  • #2
    Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

    >> Read all about it in tomorrow's Honolulu Star-Bulletin (thankfully I don't have to write it). <<

    Or see the Breaking News blurb on the Star-Bulletin's website, which says, in part: "Dennis Francis has been named president of Oahu Publications Inc. and publisher of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
    Francis, 45, has been general manager of the Honolulu Advertiser for the past six years."

    YeeeeeeHAW! Way to go, S-B!
    .
    .

    That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

      I don't get it...the SB is dying on the vine, with no direction from the very top, that is, Black himself. How can one man, who doesn't pull the purse strings, make that much of a difference? I guess it's just that its some kinda coup to Advertiser haters. Don't get it.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

        Burl Burlingame's latest web update quotes a memo reportedly sent out by the Advertiser's Mike Fisch, and it wasn't just Dennis Francis:
        Several high level resignations have been received today which are effective immediately. Dennis Francis, General manager of the Advertiser since 1998 tendered his resignation to take the position of President of Oahu Publications and Publisher of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. David Black aggressively recruited Dennis and offered him a package worth more than a million dollars to help them try to defeat us in the marketplace. Dennis felt the money was worth making the change from the winning team to the losing team. Dennis has left effective immediately to assume that role. Glenn Zuelis, our Classified Director will join Dennis at the Star-Bulletin in a sales-management role. He too will leave immediately. Marge Inn Francis our long time Credit Manager and wife of Dennis Francis has been put on paid leave until we can determine her status. Obviously these are not planned changes. I will be making further organizational announcements regarding these changes soon. Beginning today Bill Bogert, Richard Fuke, Roger Forness and Miki Sugikawa will report directly to me. As always we will continue to provide our customers quality products and service, focusing on their needs and not the day to day actions of our competitors...
        The "change from the winning team to the losing team" line was rather colorful, for a business memo. A pity Dennis Francis' wife Marge Inn Francis is now in limbo, though.

        I really have no idea how the Star-Bulletin is doing, financially, but obviously they're not as well-backed as the Advertiser. Perhaps, Kawika, stuff like this can remind you that sometimes it's more than just a job.

        Good luck, guys.
        Last edited by pzarquon; June 2, 2004, 08:40 PM. Reason: Add Links

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

          Yeah, I work at the S-B. And this gave us a lift. Believe it or not, the staffers there believe in our product and will do anything we can to serve our readers. Of course, this is no slam against the 'Tizer editorial staff, many of whom are close personal friends. I know they have a hill to climb, and they do a hell of a job under retarded (for lack of a better term) working conditions. We at the S-B are allowed so much freedom and the working environment is so good there. We have a good time, and enjoy going to work everyday. We're appreciated and appreciate what we do. As for prophesy, the 'Tizer's days are numbered. Mark those words. People I talk to in the community are on to what Gannett is trying to accomplish, and it won't fly here. The S-B is committed to its readers and will always be dedicated to putting out what the public needs to know. And, after hearing today's speech by the new publisher, I think this will be even stronger.

          Long live the Star-Bulletin.

          And yes, it's like a cult there. We're dedicated to everything we do. We actually believe in our product.

          And, in all actuality, the S-B is far from "dying on the vine." That's a laugh. Smells like more Gannett propaganda to me.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

            As a news-junkie myself, I have been cheering loudly for the S-B ever since Gannett dumped it off, but in my patient attempts to convert the masses, I have learned a few things that make me think most discussions like this are irrelevent.
            1. A newspaper, on a grand scale, is like the comics page all by itself. People turn to it for the comfort of routine. Baby Blues and For Better or For Worse notwithstanding, the comics page and the characters in the comic strips themselves do not change much, and that's what people are looking for as accompaniment to their Eggos and orange juice. The critical eye we might otherwise turn on them (Beatle Bailey has sucked for more than a decade, but nobody seems to notice!), we save for the stuff that we know is coming up in the day: the idiot who doesn't use her turn-signal, the bozo who puts mayo on your lunch order when you specifically asked for no mayo, the jerk who stinks up the bathroom and leaves no toilet paper for the next person. As long as the paper's there in the same spot in our driveway every day, most of us don't seem to care whose name is at the top of the masthead.
            2. People in Hawaii are loyal to a fault. They read the Advertiser or Star-Bulletin for the same reasons they vote Democratic: they always have--because it's what they grew up reading, because it's what their parents read, because their cousins were once Paperboys of the Year. The other stuff I bring up, like the ratio of locally-written stories to off-the-wire stories or the ownership issues, don't seem to matter. The paper they read is the best paper, because it's the paper they read.
            3. We have lost--nay, surrendered--the ability to read news with a discerning eye. Both papers are ridiculously given to editorializing in what are supposed to be news stories. This is the kind of thing we should be writing complaint-letters to the editor about, but we'd rather fill THAT page with "Go Jasmine" letters.
            4. Because the S-B is the second-place paper in this town, people seem to shun it. The Advertiser sells many, many more copies, so it's the best. Nobody wants to climb on board with a loser. The Star-Bulletin is "dying on the vine," because it's a distant second.


            When you look at it like this, people's attachments to their newspapers are like their attachment to their computers in the Mac-vs-PC debate. It doesn't matter how you frame your arguments; people's minds are already made up. I read stuff like Ms. Engle's post and get giddy with excitement, but then I wonder if any of it makes a difference. Sure, the paper I prefer is better, but in the long run, "better" doesn't seem to matter.
            But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
            GrouchyTeacher.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

              I think you lost me somewhere around "toilet paper."

              So you're saying, you know the difference, but most people don't, so what's the point? That responses here are irrelevant because no one really cares? That local people are stupid, because they watch American Idol?

              Obviously, some people care. And other people can learn to know the difference, or at least, can change. (As for American Idol, it's not like islanders were the only ones watching.)

              I used to be a Pepsi person, could've been one 'til I died, for no good reason. Now I drink mostly Coke. I used to always fly Aloha, for the usual weird local reasons, but now I prefer Hawaiian. And even if I have reasons to cheer for the Bulletinover the Advertiserthat have nothing to do with quality, I still read the Advertiser just as regularly. I read both. Hell, both got my resume once upon a time. And when either paper does something great, or notably bone-headed, I point it out. (To be honest, my collection of layout/headline goofs a few years ago was mostly populated by the Bulletin, and one of the best journalists I know who's also a good friend does layout there.)

              The Advertiseroffers a lot. If you want a newspaper that adheres to the mainstream standards of newsgathering and presentation, they're your pick. They can hold their own against any other newspaper on the mainland, content and look wise. If you want a paper that's thicker, they're the ticket -- higher circulation equals more ads, which one way or another means more pages. And while I'll get mauled at the next social event I attend for saying it, their website is clean and readable. The search engine could work better and their archives could stick around longer, but frankly the Bulletin's once-groundbreaking frame-based setup truly makes my brain ache today. Oh, yeah, and they got Opus (speaking of comics pages).

              So why do I choose the Star-Bulletin, in addition to having many friends on staff? Well, it's got personality. That's a plus, and a minus, believe it or not. I see more creativity, a more playful or scrappy bent, a more "hometown paper" feel versus a slick packaged corporate product. Of course, that means inexplicable five-column photos of babies at the beach on the front page two times in one week, or "packages" that are sometimes hard to differentiate from ads... and with Midweekin the corporate family, I'm dreading the Bulletin's swimsuit issue. But they take risks, have fun. (The Advertiser'sbizarre "date off" thing last year doesn't count.) I like that.

              I also believe, perhaps unfoundedly, that proportion wise, I get more "local news" to "wire copy." Or, at least, local stories are given a bit more weight, placement wise, than national ones. If I want to know about a lot of that stuff, I'll buy a New York Times, or more likely, browse the web. Things come up in the Bulletin that might never otherwise come up on my radar... a beach battle in Ewa Beach, a family tradition in Hau`ula. The fact that their editorials tend to have a conservative bent is offset by the fact that they're generally more anti-establishment. The fact that they're experimenting with Hawaiian language pieces is encouraging. Sure, it means nothing to 99.3 percent of their readers, but it Means Something in the grand scheme of things, and that makes a difference to some people.

              I'll concede right off that it's easy to get a general anti-Advertisersense from any online forum. But I always suspected it's one sided for a reason. I mean, we have and Burl Burlingame and (earlier) Ian Lind and easily half a dozen other regular independent voices out there that come from the Bulletin. Erika Engle got things rolling here, and she hasn't hesitated to speak her mind elsewhere. I sincerely doubt that Advertiseremployees simply don't have anything to say, don't have opinions, or don't care. I think there's simply a far stricter policy on what employees say or even do outside the newsroom. Not unheard of... most media outlets are so current as to have blogging policies. I don't blame anyone for wanting to preserve their job, but the practical effect of this policy disparity is an often one-sided echo chamber of Bulletin loyalists. That, I suppose, I'd say could be something that's pointless.

              But I'd much rather talk about it, and hope to sometimes hear from both sides, than give up on the debate altogether. Honolulu should be proud to be a two paper town, dammit, and if people get all excited and make bumperstickers because their bankis being bought out in a twelve-bank town, then I see nothing weird about healthy fanaticism about our newspapers.
              Last edited by pzarquon; June 3, 2004, 07:00 AM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

                It's rather interesting that this news story has made it to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin's website. As of this mornng, the item is not on the Advertiser's website.

                Go figure....

                Francis Appointed Bulletin Publisher
                Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 3, 2004

                If an Advertiser story shows up on this item, either I or perhaps someone will post a follow-up.
                I'm still here. Are you?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

                  undefined
                  Originally posted by mel
                  It's rather interesting that this news story has made it to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin's website. As of this mornng, the item is not on the Advertiser's website.

                  Go figure....

                  Francis Appointed Bulletin Publisher
                  Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 3, 2004

                  If an Advertiser story shows up on this item, either I or perhaps someone will post a follow-up.
                  I found it in my morning Advetiser - last item in the business briefs:

                  http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar.../bz/bz05a.html

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

                    In an expectedly haughty comment, the Advertiser article says ""We can understand why the Star-Bulletin would want to recruit from our ranks," said Advertiser Publisher Mike Fisch in announcing Francis' resignation."
                    But perhaps Dennis Francis approached the Star-Bulletin, rather than them approaching him? Perhaps instead of the quote above, the matter might be that Advertiser employees are looking to making a change for themselves? Hmmm...
                    .
                    .

                    That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

                      If Black has $1 million to woo one person (and probably a good chunk for the other) does this mean that he has the money to finally restore the paycuts the employees took a couple of years ago?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

                        Originally posted by wikiwiki
                        If Black has $1 million to woo one person (and probably a good chunk for the other) does this mean that he has the money to finally restore the paycuts the employees took a couple of years ago?
                        True that! Our Account Executive from SB was part of that pay cut and she certainly deserved her pay to be restored, if not RAISED.

                        These top-heavy executive's pay packages are a real bane to the working class.
                        sigpic The Tasty Island

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Advertiser defection to the Bulletin.

                          Originally posted by Kawika
                          I don't get it...the SB is dying on the vine, with no direction from the very top, that is, Black himself. How can one man, who doesn't pull the purse strings, make that much of a difference? I guess it's just that its some kinda coup to Advertiser haters. Don't get it.
                          Ummm...someone's doing some "hating" right now, definitely.

                          Comment

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