i L i n d . n e t

I was surprised last night to find that all of the local broadcast stations have apparently dumped their 6 p.m. news on Sunday night. At least none of them had news at 6 last night. Maybe I was the last one to notice….

The advertising stuffer that accompanied the latest Hawaiian Telcom bill includes a Honolulu Star-Bulletin special:

Receive a four-month subscription to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin absolutely free.

The financial numbers to evaluate whether this free model works aren’t available, but the Star-Bulletin seems to be pursuing the free distribution option very aggressively.

Yesterday’s rant on the Thunderbirds drew several quick comments. Be sure to check them out.

In a letter to the Advertiser’s new publisher, former Star-Bulletin editor Chuck Frankel, identifying himself as a longtime Gannett stockholder, wonders whether it’s time for newspapers to ban advertising for “free lunch” investment workshops as dangerous as dangerous to readers’ financial health, just as cigarette ads were dropped as dangers to physical health. He points to two critical stories in Saturday’s Advertiser to back up his point.

Another reader observes:

Is there any chance that there is something illegal involved in Amazon’s steadfast refusal to ship certain products here? Could someone in the shipping chain be guilty of restraint of trade? Or am I just really frustrated with this whole thing along with countless other residents of an island state that is both well connected (Internet) and poorly connected (transportation supply logistics for gasoline, food and staples).

There’s a business story here, but both Honolulu papers would likely handle it by imparting some shallow PR spin from Amazon and Home Depot. And that just won’t cut it.

I think there could be something to this. At least it’s worth digging further.

Sunday’s Star-Bulletin has a nice story about Fred Dodge and his family (or I suppose that should be plural,  “families”). The story describes one of my photos from a 1973 protest march from Honolulu Airport to Hickam Air Force Base. The SB had asked for permission to use a higher resolution version of the photo, which I gladly granted, and I scrambled on Thursday to get one over to them, but I guess I must have missed their deadline or something as it didn’t get used. In any case, you can click on the photo for a larger version.

Finally, I supposed Monday morning is as good a time as any for a dose of reality therapy from my friend Chuck Smith’s “Of Two Minds” blog, in which he lists reasons for pessimism about our broken system.