As Honolulu Advertiser employees were hearing the news that the newspaper was being sold to the owner of a competitor, tweets were already spreading the word.

OnOahu tweeted: “All I have to say about the @starbulletin acquiring the @honadv is THIS IS THE ABSOLUTELY WORST THING FOR HAWAII !!!!!!!”
The general reaction of the news that Oahu Publications, Inc. has reached an agreement to acquire The Advertiser and related assets, including the Web site, nondaily publications and Gannett’s interest in Hawaii.com, was general shock. But there were also a lot of unanswered questions being asked.
Former employee John Garcia asked in his tweet, “Wonder what will happen to the @honadv's website... merge? new domain? keep @honadv brand?”
Catherine Toth, also a former employee who writes a blog for The Advertiser, tweeted: “Not only is this major, it's tragic. I can't bear to see this turn into a one-paper town. Journalists need jobs, too!”
In between the messages of surprise at the news, others wished the employees well or expressed their views.
Even Star-Bulletin employee Gene Park had this to say: “I have many dear, dear friends @honadv. I feel for them.”
Here’s a sampling of some of the dozens of tweets seen on the @honadv Twitter list: