Amid a search for a buyer, The Maui News slashes its print edition to once weekly.
The Maui News announced plans to slash its daily print edition to once a week, shifting the island鈥檚 124-year-old newspaper of record to a digital-first model as its owner continues to search for a buyer.
Chris Minford, the paper鈥檚 publisher and circulation manager, notified readers of the move to Thursday-only home delivery, which begins June 6, and in an open letter to readers. He described the change as an 鈥渆ntrepreneurial decision.鈥
鈥淭his is the future of local news 鈥 and moving there now will allow us to continue serving you in the most effective manner,鈥 Minford said in the letter published on the front page of the newspaper鈥檚 Thursday edition.
Minford did not respond to a request for comment.
Any time a local news organization cuts back, there are risks for the community it covers. Less scrutiny of public officials. Less civic engagement. More political polarization. The decision by Ogden Newspapers to reduce its print product to a weekly publication is happening at a time when multiple newspapers in Hawaii are showing signs of financial duress.
It also comes on the heels of the deadliest American wildfire in more than a century. Recovery from the Lahaina fire that killed at least 101 people, displaced 13,000 survivors and caused an estimated $6 billion in property damage is expected to be a slow and painful process.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really unfortunate development what鈥檚 happening with The Maui News and the timing makes it even more tragic,鈥 said Colin Moore, a political scientist at the University of Hawaii Manoa. 鈥淚n a situation like Maui, where trust is already low, it鈥檚 more important than ever for the people in charge of the fire recovery to be held accountable and these cutbacks just make it more difficult.鈥
“I hope they can survive in this form but it certainly isn鈥檛 going to be the paper that I grew up with.鈥
Lee Imada, formerly of The Maui News
Maui government officials have faced increased scrutiny in recent months. National media flocked to the island days after the deadly August wildfires and regularly grilled officials at what became contentious news briefings during the chaotic first weeks.
Many of the national reporters who descended on Maui left almost as quickly as they came. And unlike local journalists, their outsider status often means they鈥檙e unfamiliar with Maui鈥檚 cultural nuances and political dynamics 鈥 factors that can lend important context to community news.
鈥淭he thing that isn’t always appreciated about local news organizations is that they know the community,鈥 Moore said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to parachute into a community 鈥 even if you have tremendous resources like The New York Times or The Washington Post 鈥 and make those connections on the fly and develop sources that trust you to understand their story. I think that鈥檚 something that local media can provide that really nobody else can.鈥
Publishing a print edition and online, is a leading source of community journalism on Maui, Molokai and Lanai. But the newspaper, which had an editorial staff of 30 throughout much of the 1980s and 鈥90s, has in recent years dramatically curtailed its coverage and the size of its staff.
In June the West Virginia-based media company Ogden Newspapers announced its intent to sell the paper amid yearslong contract negotiations with the , which represents the paper鈥檚 union membership. Ogden has owned The Maui News since 2000.
Lee Imada, who retired from the paper after a 39-year career in 2020, said constant cuts and downsizing have been a blow to the community.
鈥淎s a recently departed managing editor, I tried to pass the torch,鈥 Imada said. 鈥淪omething was given to me and I wanted to make sure that it got passed on for the next generation of readers to have and, unfortunately, it doesn鈥檛 look like that鈥檚 going to happen. I hope they can survive in this form but it certainly isn鈥檛 going to be the paper that I grew up with.鈥
Newsroom cuts have become an industry norm driven by evaporating profits. Nationally, local papers are .
In Hawaii, some neighbor island papers struggling to find enough drivers to get newspapers delivered on time have pivoted to postal delivery. For some subscribers, this means the paper arrives in the afternoon, after the news on its pages has already gone stale.
Other signs of a weakening local news industry include staff furloughs, voluntary buy-outs and ownership changes.
The changed hands in March as part of a court-supervised debt sell-off. The state鈥檚 largest newspaper, as well as on Kauai, , and Midweek, is now owned by Carpenter Media Group, which owns more than in Louisiana, Mississippi and other Southern states.
The Garden Island, Kauai鈥檚 newspaper of record since 1901, has long struggled to retain editorial staff, relying on a revolving door of mainland recruits to fill a dwindling number of newsroom positions.
failed to publish a May edition last year after the paper lost its editor and lead writer, Nelinia Cabiles, who took over when billionaire Larry Ellison bought up the island鈥檚 only dedicated news source.
recently lost its lead reporter, Nancy Cook Lauer, whose of Billy Kenoi exposed the former Big Island mayor鈥檚 misuse of a county-issued credit card. lost its longtime editor and lead reporter, Catherine Cluett Pactol, in August.
The loss of coverage in Hawaii has meant reporting on the bread and butter of local government simply isn鈥檛 as robust as it once was.
“We wanted to go down fighting,” Imada said of the newsroom sentiment when he was a leader at The Maui News facing a difficult financial forecast a few years ago. “My only gripe is that we didn’t get to do that. It just seems like part of the death spiral of the newspaper industry.”
Civil Beat鈥檚 coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
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About the Author
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Brittany Lyte is a reporter for Civil Beat. You can reach her by email at blyte@civilbeat.org