I just saw on the evening news that the Star Bulletin will be purchasing the Honolulu Advertiser. This is a pretty big event!
The Honolulu Advertiser is owned by Gannet, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp and has been the largest paper in circulation on Oahu. The Star Bulletin has been our smaller paper owned by David Black out of Canada. I’ve actually preferred the Star Bulletin over the Advertiser the last few years as it’s been more appealing to Realtors offering better pricing for ads. It also has had a much better business section in my opinion.
Although this is a monumental acquisition, it doesn’t come as a surprise to me. There’s been a trend now for years of newspapers going bust.
More and more dollars are moving towards the internet vs. print advertising. Matt covered this in his blog in March of last year. Since only 4% of Buyers find out about the home they purchase through print advertising, why are we still throwing money away to advertise there? To make Sellers happy? Hawaii Life’s Smart Marketing showcases listings for Sellers where Buyers are going: THE INTERNET and not the Newspapers…
I have to admit however, I did like reading the Star Bulletin… it will be interesting to see how this all transpires over the next few weeks…
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