Let facts set the record straight in news battle
By Michael J. Fisch
President and Publisher of The Honolulu Advertiser
This is the first time in my three years as publisher of The Advertiser that I have written a column in our newspaper. I generally leave the writing to our news and editorial employees.
But from time to time, I will write to provide you insight on what we do, why we do it and to answer questions about our business and our place in the community.
Over the past few weeks, The Advertiser and its parent company, Gannett Co. Inc., have taken a number of direct, unfair hits from one of our competitors. When confronted by these kinds of claims I usually sit back and listen, understanding such statements are made in the volatile atmosphere of competition.
But I find myself needing to stand up and set the record straight because the reputations of our nearly 900 loyal and dedicated employees are being assaulted.
Subscriber lists
Among the complaints voiced by David Black, the new Canadian owner of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, is his contention that his delivery problems are because our company failed to provide him a complete list of Star-Bulletin subscribers.
The facts: The sale of the Star-Bulletin was supervised by a federal judge. Under this process, Gannett, through its subsidiary Hawaii Newspaper Agency, provided Black the entire home delivery subscriber database of 47,138 subscriber records on Feb. 21.
This list was in the electronic form Black requested, and it included all of the information he personally negotiated when he made the deal to buy the Star-Bulletin last fall.
On March 14, during the closing of the sale of the Star-Bulletin, we provided Black another electronic file of subscriber data, which was required by the sales contract.
At the same time, we provided Black's representative a check for $379,895, representing the money left on customers' Star-Bulletin subscription accounts.
This money was to be applied against the subscriber records the Star-Bulletin received Feb. 21.
It was the responsibility of Black and his representatives to reconcile these accounts and make certain they had their distribution system ready to deliver their newspaper to their subscribers effective March 15.
They had four months to prepare for that responsibility. We fulfilled our contractual responsibility.
It's been said that we made it difficult for Black and his associates to start up their newspaper. We've been accused of not providing him the information he was supposed to get.
Let me stress this point: This sales transaction was supervised by a federal judge. Every element of the transition and the transaction were negotiated personally by Black. The judge reviewed each question and concern raised by the parties. We provided the required information.
To say we didn't is simply not true. It makes great theater, but it's not true.
Newsprint availability
Black has said Gannett wouldn't supply the Star-Bulletin with the paper upon which the newspaper is printed.
Again, here's the real story: Gannett and Liberty Newspapers LP, the former owner of the Star-Bulletin, agreed early last year to print the Star-Bulletin for its new owner, at a fair market price. This included the newsprint to print the Star-Bulletin. Black chose to set up his own press and bought a local commercial printer, RFD Publications.
But he still wanted us to buy his paper for him, using our company's worldwide purchasing power. We declined because, in part, it would have provided a subsidy to a competitor, which is not legal. Our original offer to print included newsprint at a more favorable rate because we would have been making money on the work. But Black wanted us to simply divert the newsprint supply to him at that more favorable rate.
It did not make good business sense for us to finance our new competitor, and we didn't think it was legal.
Black's company, Black Press Ltd. of British Columbia, owns about 90 weekly and small daily newspapers in Canada and Washington state, and no doubt already has relationships with paper suppliers. He's also a major commercial printer and uses a great deal of newsprint in those operations.
He was simply looking for a lower price and using the court process to try to negotiate it.
David Black has said repeatedly that we do not want a competitive newspaper environment in Hawai'i.
Not true. There would not be two daily newspapers on O'ahu today if we had not agreed with Liberty Newspapers to the sale process that was completed March 14. We welcome and have enjoyed the competitive nature of The Advertiser and Star-Bulletin for many years.
The new competitive environment is both exciting and exhilarating from a news-gathering standpoint and a commercial standpoint. It allows us to now reinvest the millions of dollars we were paying to keep the Star-Bulletin publishing within the old joint operating agreement. We are using that money to hire more news staff and to improve service to readers and advertisers. And we recently announced plans to spend $70 million to build a state-of-the-art printing and distribution facility in Kapolei.
We believe in competing in a dignified, professional manner, not rolling around in the mud.
We'll stick with the facts, something you can always count on from The Honolulu Advertiser, Hawai'i's Newspaper.
